The Return of Katie Brown
Part IX - Reunion
Petra's eyes went wide and her breathing speeded up. "Peter...alive?" She scanned the faces around her. "But how? Dr. McKay said…"
"We are all very sorry that you've had to think he was dead for all these years." Sheppard felt it was his duty to tell the story. "About a year after he was, or we thought he was, well, you know, our team went on a mission to D44-JT8. When we exited the space gate we found a hiveship in orbit…"
Three Years Ago
"Power is minimal. There's enough for life support-barely, short-range sensors, maybe thrusters. It looks like the hyperdrive, communications, weapons, inertial dampeners, long-range sensors and so forth are all offline. It's just…drifting. Orbit is low but stable for the moment but eventually it will fall into the atmosphere and burn up." McKay said from his seat to Sheppard's right. Teyla was curious and Ronon impassive though they could tell he was pleased with the information. It was safe to say that they all had their issues with the Wraith but his were still fresh in everyone's minds. Not more than a few months ago they'd found that the Wraith had completely destroyed his civilization.
"Let's see if anyone's home." Sheppard flew toward the ship and waited to be noticed. No response. "Okay. How about we go in and have a look around?"
"You do know that's breaking and entering, right?" Rodney pointed out. "Not that I'm adverse to the idea. I'm just saying." He'd been hoping for another chance to learn more about Wraith technology, without being shot at, if possible and it looked like he just might get that chance.
"We'll go in through the Dart Bay. That way it's only…entering. The worst we can be charged with is illegal trespass and that's just a misdemeanor. It's only a felony if we take stuff that doesn't belong to us."
"Gee, thanks so much for the lesson in criminal law, Major Who-Gives-A-Flying…"
"Rodney!" Sheppard admonished the scientist. "Watch what you're saying. We're in mixed company." He turned back to the HUD. "Ronon might be offended."
* * * * *
Sheppard was on point. Rodney came next with Teyla and Ronon taking turns on their six. The interior lighting was completely out in some places and dim in others. There was just the faintest throb of power. Rodney found a data terminal and began to run a diagnostic. It ran for a few minutes then went offline. All he was able to find out was that most of the systems had been damaged by weapons fire. Someone had used a Wraith stun rifle as well as a weapon similar to the energy pistol Ronon carried to inflict considerable damage. Too much for Rodney to affect repairs with his current level of understanding of Wraith technology.
They found the first body ten minutes into the recon. The Wraith warrior had been first stunned then impaled with a Wraith stun rifle. A few minutes later they came upon what could only be described as a killing frenzy. A half dozen Wraith had been killed in the same manner as the first but the slayer hadn't stopped there. Their throats had also been cut and they'd been stabbed repeatedly. It was the same all over the ship. That is until they found the queen. She had not only had her throat cut but had been thoroughly gutted. The state of decomposition indicated that she had been the first to be dispatched. Upon seeing this Rodney quickly exited the chamber and could be heard retching in the corridor. Teyla was right behind him offering silent comfort, water to rinse his mouth and a cloth.
He tried to give her a smile of thanks but couldn't quite manage it. "Sorry you had to see that. I shouldn't have had a big lunch just before a mission."
"I have seen much worse, Rodney." She nodded over her shoulder at the scene behind them and rubbed his back to sooth him. "Do not allow it to trouble you."
"Thanks." He saw just the barest flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. "Did you…?"
Teyla nodded and called out. "Colonel Sheppard, Ronon!" The two men were at her side within seconds, weapons ready. "We saw movement in that direction." She pointed her P-90. "Someone is still alive on this ship."
* * * * *
Their footsteps were muffled by the ship's organic surface as they moved in the direction Rodney and Teyla had indicated. They came to a chamber filled with pods that had once housed humans for the crew to feed upon. All were empty. "Looks like they forgot to stock the pantry." A gagging sound behind him made him flinch, just the smallest twitch of one shoulder and he immediately regretted his words. "Sorry."
McKay waved his apology away. "If the cocoons are empty and the hive is dead then who or what did we see?"
"It was your imagination." Ronon guessed.
"I saw it as well." Teyla informed him. A loud crash brought all of their weapons up to ready position.
Using hand signals, Sheppard sent Ronon and Teyla down opposite corridors to flush their target back towards him. Moments later they heard a cry that was equal parts rage and madness, just before a human male burst into the dim light.
He was nearly six feet tall and skinny. His clothing was much like Ronon's but dirty and worn. His dark hair hung to below his shoulders. He swung the Wraith weapon and Ronon stunned him. He fell at Sheppard's feet.
Crouching Sheppard started to turn him over when he saw the end of an incision peeking out of the collar of his shirt. "Ronon." He pulled the shirt down to show a scar at least six inches in length along his spine. There were other scars as well but more jagged.
The Satedan moved closer, his weapon still trained on the unconscious man. "Runner." He said confirming Sheppard's assessment.
The two men carefully turned him onto his back. He appeared to be in his early thirties. A scar made a diagonal slash on the right cheek with the lower end covered by dark facial hair touched here and there with gray as was his hair. There were more scars on his chest and arms. He probably has them all over, Sheppard thought. "These scars are a little older. Looks like he was tortured before being turned into a Runner." Sheppard sighed in disgust. "Let's get him to Beckett." As he and Ronon lifted the unconscious man between them he remarked to Rodney, "Technically, this isn't a felony because, well, he really doesn't belong to the Wraith."
* * * * *
"You were right, Colonel. The poor lad was tortured before the tracking device was implanted about a year ago." Beckett handed him a small metallic object about the size of a ping-pong ball with a tail. "We've had to keep him sedated because he refused to allow us to help him.
"He's severely malnourished, dehydrated and has a concussion. Scans show that he's had some broken bones that didn't heal properly. There are also a few infected wounds that we're treating with broad spectrum antibiotics. He obviously hasn't been able to spend a great deal of time this past year on personal hygiene so he's been bathed and shaved. And that was a bloody scuffle. Literally. It took four of my male staff to do it. We've also had to cut off most of his hair, it was so tangled. "
"Where is he?"
"Main isolation. It seemed the best place for him for the time being. He seemed to prefer being alone. Colonel Sheppard's men are there and I took the liberty of doubling the guard." A voice sounded in his headset. "Beckett. Aye, we'll be right there." To the others he said, "Dr. Cole wants to see us right away. Elizabeth and Rodney, too."
* * * * *
The group entered the isolation room to see Amanda Cole checking the man's vitals. Fluid dripped into a vein via an I.V. in his right hand and a BP cuff was around his left arm. When she heard the door she pulled a privacy screen around the bed and came toward them.
"He's sleeping now. Must be having one heck of a nightmare and I don't blame him with what he's been through. We've had to restrain him and up the dosage on his sedative twice." She looked down to where her fingers were clenched together so tightly they were white. "The reason I called you, Carson, is...we know who he is. A DNA test is being done to confirm but I don't think it will be necessary."
"Who is he?" The group moved quickly to the bed. A gasp came from someone but no one would have been able to say who.
"Oh, my God!" Elizabeth was the first to speak, her voice hoarse with shock. "That's…that's…"
"…Peter Grodin." Rodney finished for her.
* * * * *
"He'd been tortured by the Wraith but he refused to give them the information they were after so they made him a Runner."
"A Runner?" Petra asked.
Ronon answered her question, "Humans hunted by the Wraith for sport."
She turned the concept over and over in her mind. It made her lightheaded and nauseous. "H-h-how do you know this?"
"I was a Runner for seven years until Beckett removed the tracking device."
"What information did they want?"
"The location of a new, fertile feeding ground: Earth."
"How do you know he didn't tell them where Earth is?"
"If he had then they would have already gone there and began culling." Sheppard exchanged glances with the others.
"Dr. Wakeford, we don't know how he got on board the hiveship but we do know that he's the one that killed the hive and the queen. The evidence is unquestionable. We assumed he transported the others on board down to the planet. He was also responsible for the damaged systems. Unfortunately, he doesn't remember anything from before we rescued him, not even his own name. He answers to Peter but that's only because he has accepted it as his name."
Her face went pale where the tendrils of dark hair curled against her cheeks. "I have to see him. Where is he?"
"On New Athos living with Teyla's people."
* * * * *
"He lives alone far from the village and works in the tava fields. Halling and his son, Jinto, have been kind enough to see to it that he is taken care of and not disturbed. I will go ahead and prepare him for your visit." Teyla had been walking along side Petra who was followed by two guards. Sheppard, on her other side, brought the group to a stop near a large cluster of trees as Teyla continued on. Ronon brought up the rear with Beckett, McKay and Keller. The physicist and the physician had insisted on coming. Neither was fully healed from their injuries but wanted to see this through.
Petra was anxious not knowing what to expect. Drs. Keller and Beckett assured her there was a chance that seeing her would bring it all back. There was no way to know so she had to be prepared for anything.
What have I done? I tried to kill two people! She thought and not for the first time. My life and career are over. I'll be in prison for a very long time.
Teyla's return interrupted Petra's thoughts. "He is ready for you now. I have told him only that you are a friend who wished to see the tava fields while visiting Atlantis. I must warn you not to try to touch him unless he initiates the contact. He can become…agitated." Her eyes were filled with kindness and sympathy.
Petra nodded her understanding and, at Sheppard's nod, started forward. Her breathing increased as they rounded the trees and a large cultivated area came into view. And suddenly there he was! She saw a dark haired man crouched between two rows of plants covered with what looked like pea pods. His hair was long, below his shoulders, shot with silver strands and slightly curled like her own.
"Peter, this is the friend I was telling you about. Her name is Dr. Wakeford." He stood and Petra had to hold in a gasp. She'd known about the scar on his cheek but it was startling to see.
"Welcome to New Athos, Doctor. It is good to meet someone interested in our farming techniques. I will do my best to answer all of your questions." His voice was the same but in his brown eyes there was not even a glimmer of recognition.
"Thank you, Peter. And please call me…Petra."
He gave her a small nod and gestured toward the field. Brother and sister moved away from the Atlantis team.
Sheppard and the rest could see the two of them talking, Petra nodding as Peter spoke of farming and harvesting of the tava beans with the same enthusiasm he'd once talked about his work on Earth and Atlantis.
* * * * *
Petra kept staring at Peter's face trying to fit this current image into her memory of him. He had the same dark hair only longer, the same brown eyes that still flashed with intelligence and something else less definable. Pain. That was it. The sort of pain that couldn't be eased with anything but time. She had the feeling that there would never be enough time for his pain to heal. Then there were the dimples. Barely a hint of an indentation when he spoke about his work in the fields. As they walked she noticed a slight limp caused by the improperly healed break of his right foot. She could see some of the scars on his arms peeking from under the edges of the short sleeved shirt he wore.
"Petra, is something wrong? You have the most peculiar expression on your face."
"It's nothing. I'm sorry for staring."
"Ah, the scar. I tend to forget about it for the most part. I do not even remember how it happened." The fingers of his right hand reached up to touch the old wound and he looked at her with a contemplative expression. "May I ask, have we met before? Something about you seems…familiar. It is almost as if…" he waved the thought away, "I am sorry. I hope I have not made you uncomfortable."
"No, but you do remind me of someone I loved…love very much."
"Your…mate?"
"No, I don't have a…mate. You remind me of my brother. We were very close. He…passed away several years ago and I still miss him. This place reminds me of where he and I used to go to ride horses together."
Just for a moment Peter saw Petra as she must have looked back then. Hair long and flying free as her steed thundered across the hard packed ground, a delighted smile on her pretty face. He could even hear her laugh. But the memory, if that's what it was, slipped away again before he could latch onto it completely. He pushed down the frustration he always felt when this happened and managed a small smile in return.
* * * * *
Rodney was sitting on a boulder, Jennifer by his side and his arm around her when Petra returned. She looked each in the eye.
"Dr. Keller, Dr. McKay, I would like to apologize for what I tried to do to the two of you. Despite what Mr. Woolsey thinks I did not come to Atlantis with the singular purpose of finding out what really happened to my brother though it was an added incentive.
"When I read your report about what happened, you seemed to blame yourself for Peter's death and so did I. There was no real plan for getting revenge but all I could think about was that you had caused someone I loved very much to be taken from me and wanted to do the same to you. When I saw Dr. Keller in the corridor that night it seemed that fate had taken a hand. But she was only injured and I think I went just a little crazy. That is when I decided to take care of you instead. As a physician, I had access to your medical records and found out about your allergy to citrus.
"After that, I used my friendship with Jerry Fischer to find out where the two of you would be that night on the balcony. However, I did not foresee your rescue by Drs. Brown and Kavanagh due to your history with them.
"I only hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me."
She turned and made her way quickly through the group from Atlantis, head down, arms swinging. "Let's get out of here." Sheppard and Teyla fell into step with her, the guards behind them with Beckett, Ronon, Jennifer and Rodney again bringing up the rear. "I'd like to get back to Earth and start serving my sentence as soon as possible so this nightmare will end."
"What about Peter?" Teyla inquired.
Petra stopped and looked sorrowfully toward where the man that used to be Dr. Peter Grodin now toiled in the tava fields. The tears she'd been able to hold until now escaped and slid silently down her cheeks. "My brother is dead."
TBC