Title: Show No Fear
Author:
Feral Geek
Rating: Pg-13
Summary: Chapter 27, if you're here
and don't know the story, go back to chapter one and start reading.
Disclaimer: Amie no own Stargate or Wraith, they own Amie
A/N:
Wow...my review threat really worked last time, but I won't ever do
it again, I promise.
But that doesn't mean you can't still
review -pleading expression- pretty please with a chocolate covered
Colonel Sheppard on top?
Okay that sounded reeeeeeeeeally
wrong
ONWARDS!
---
Pre-mission checkups could be just as bad as post-mission checkups at times.
Team members would often be desperate to get out of the infirmary and off somewhere; be it another planet, or a warm shower and bed, this want often made them somewhat irritable.
However the medical staff that morning would find Team Two, the one lead by Major Lorne, to be quite agreeable.
In all honesty, Adrienne was rather fond of the Major, and while the man could come up with very good retorts, and was often sarcastic, he made for a good patient.
As usual the checkup went by quickly, this time littered with bits of conversation which was, surprisingly, started by Adrienne "So Major...where is the team off to this time?"
If
the soldier was startled by the rather random speech he gave no sign,
"Just a regular check in with P3X-719."
That made her blink,
that was one of the planets her team had often gone to, and in fact
it was the one where she had met Cavan. "Hm, well...tell the
medicine woman I say hello, okay? She is a bit irritable
though...reminds me a bit of McKay..."
Lorne grinned and shook
his head, "Sure" was all the response she got before clearing him
for the mission.
--
The rest of her shift went rather smoothly, it was a slow day and none of the returning off-world teams required serious medical aid; just the typical disinfectant as well as some stitches in one scientist's arm.
However outside of
the infirmary, things did not go so well.
The sensation of being
watched.
Like sets of hard, cold eyes were boring into her back;
members of the expedition constantly studying her as though she were
some strange insect.
It had been going on for so long that she had
almost grown accustomed to it.
But
it still shivered her skin.
And when she was alone, the feeling
would intensify, but still no one had said anything yet.
This was probably because she was rarely alone these days; if she wasn't in the infirmary, Cavan or Dalkar would be trailing behind her and if they were gone, it would be one of her teammates.
Today however, she was completely alone as she left the infirmary, and the feeling of eyes on her back made her twitch.
Head bowed she stalked down the corridors, mostly ignoring the people that glanced her way, and the few people that noticed the stiff posture edged out of her way.
When her shadows finally spoke, the
halls were empty and they were close to the earth sciences labs.
The
tiny group was mostly composed of soldiers, but two of the five were
scientists, all of them part of the first wave.
They had been here
longest, and they had been enemies with the Wraith longest.
It
would take them longest to forgive.
And they would never
forget.
She was the one who made first contact, growing sick
of them trailing after her; she spun on her heel and stared at them
until one finally spoke.
He was a scientist, and she thought she
recognized him as one of the chemists. His question was simple,
"Why?"
"Why, what?" she practically spat the words out, despite the fact that she knew exactly what 'what' was.
From
the look the group gave her, they knew that as well, but their
speaker answered, "A wraith...why did you do that with a
Wraith?"
At that, she smirked faintly, one eyebrow quirked, "By
that do you mean, 'why did you fuck a Wraith...or...why did I fall
in love with a Wraith...or...get impregnated by a Wraith?"
One
of the soldiers gave her a very flat look, "All of the
above."
Apparently it would be harder to drive this group away.
She sighed softly and folded her arms across her chest, "Honestly? I don't know why I did it...I just did...sometimes you are just meant to be with someone...and it really won't matter to you what they are...just who they are." She paused slightly, gauging their reactions before continuing, "I look at him...and I don't see a Wraith...I don't see the enemy...not anymore...I see the person I can't see myself without..."
When she finished, one of the scientists nodded, looking slightly repentant, but the other's just maintained their rather cool exteriors.
There were so many reasons that she should not be with a Wraith, and all of them tumbled through the little groups thoughts, one of the soldiers finally chose a tactical reason that practically knocked the medic off her feet.
"You're a liability, if this little alliance goes sour the Wraith know we exist and they know our weaknesses...with some of their people on Atlantis, they are bound to know that we don't have a ZPM anymore." The marine looked her right in the eye and continued "And you could be the reason that they attacked us...that thing you claim to love could have tracked you back to Atlantis before the third Siege, and it might only be staying out of some feeling of responsibility...Wraith don't have emotions."
During his
little speech, it felt like she couldn't breath, throat tightening
and eyes narrowing as the blood drained from her face.
So angry,
she couldn't even force an answer out, and her mouth worked
soundlessly until a low growl sounded behind her.
Almost hesitantly she turned to the sight that had made the little group back up nervously; it was Dalkar, hunched over slightly with bared teeth, hands twitching slightly.
He looked as though he was going to attack the humans, and most of the people in the hallway had witnessed him fighting, having offered to teach a few Lanteans how to fight.
He took one step forward, speaking slowly, "I thought such actions were not possible," there was a palpable note of disgust in his voice as he shook his head "My people are right in saying that many of you are fit for nothing more than fodder."
This
said, he turned to Adrienne and spoke rather stiffly "My apologies
for not escorting you from the infirmary, shall we go?"
Still
twitching slightly, the woman nodded, and without another glance,
stalked off down the hall, closely followed by the Wraith.
But
instead of leading her too her new quarters, Dalkar led her to one of
the empty labs, the door closing behind them.
"We must
talk...there are some things you must know..."
--
As the pair made their way to the room, the Stargate activated and Cavan stepped through.
He had woken on the planet a few hours ago to
the sight of one of the Lantean soldiers standing over him, eyebrow
arched.
After much blinking, the Wraith got up and recognized the
soldier to be one Major Lorne.
He didn't say anything, but the
man kept his gun trained on Cavan as the Wraith made his way to the
'gate.
As usual, all eyes were pinned on him as he made his
way through the Lantean city.
First he stopped in the infirmary,
and was met by one Doctor Beckett saying "She went back to your
quarters", as he bustled past.
He was not far from the new rooms when he ran into Dalkar, literally, the younger Wraith making his way out of one of the laboratories, looking slightly worried.
When
the other stopped him, Cavan began to grow worried as well.
That
small feeling of dread increased as his companion shrugged slightly
and said, "She knows that we used her to find Atlantis...I told
her."
A few moments of uncharacteristic gaping before he
asked, "Why did you do that?"
Once again, Dalkar shrugged,
"She needed to know...and a group of the Lanteans brought it
up...they had suspicions...go find her...you need to talk."
Cavan
nodded slightly and made his departure, the strange mixture of anger
and worry causing him to feel ill as he made his way through the
city.
From
there it would not take him very long to get to their quarters;
however Adrienne beat him to them.
When he arrived, the door
refused to open for him, and after many attempts at manually
unlocking the door, he settled for banging on it.
During a short
pause in his attempts, the metal of the door vibrated, as through
someone on the other side had hit it.
Adrienne's voice was
slightly muffled, but still comprehensible, "Please...go
away."
Cavan exhaled sharply, resting his forehead against
the door, "No...we must talk."
"About what?" the sharp
tone was one he barley remembered her using, the words sharp and cold
sounding, "About how you used me to attack Atlantis?"
"Yes...you
already know that, you have no reason to be angry."
"No
reason?" The door slid open so suddenly that he pitched forward,
only to be sent reeling back when Adrienne shoved him out of the
front room. "No reason? I have every reason to be angry! You used
me! Some of my people died and it is my fault."
Cavan
watched as the woman squared her shoulders, fixing him with the same
furious gaze she pinned on him the first few times they met.
He
took a step closer, and she backed up, the doors slamming shut in his
face.
The Wraith resorted to speaking through the door,
knowing she was just on the other side. "All is fair in war. I had
an advantage and yes, I used it. I did not know you, and you did not
know me! Besides, your people killed many more Wraith that day!"
The
moment the words left his lips, he wanted to take them back, knowing
that he had only inflamed her anger.
"You attacked us! Not the
other way around, and honestly I am more angry about how you didn't
even have the decency to tell me this yourself...instead I have to
hear it from someone else!"
"The Lanteans woke us! We were
enemies, besides, I did not want to burden you with that knowledge,
now open the damn door!"
"No!" there was a barley audible
sigh, and he could barley hear the next words, "This was all a
mistake."
Cavan
turned on his heel and left.
--
Adrienne
didn't know he had left...she did not even know that he had heard
her mutterings.
"A big mistake...I shouldn't be angry."
Unknowingly she mimicked the posture her mate had taken earlier,
head against the door, "You are right...all is fair in war...and in
truth...I don't hate you for what you did...I hate myself for
letting it happen...I feel sick."
Her shoulders shook slightly, today was getting to hard to handle and she just wanted someone to hold on to.
The door opened, and when she was met with silence, she looked up into an empty hallway.
"Cavan?"
---
A/N:
YAY!!! Guess what happens next chapter? Go on! Guess!
Anyway! I have the first two chapters of Malka's story up, so go check it out, the Title is 'Requiem for a Dream' It's a more in depth look into Wraith society than this fic, and I hope you enjoy it!
