Rid of the awful Wraith gown, Jennifer couldn't decide if the oversized leather uniform Guide had provided to her for the mission was better or worse. As the group moved through the Stargate and into their traveling formation, the only visible difference between Jennifer and her comrades was her significantly shorter height. Three Wraith flanked her while Bonewhite stayed close to her side. Guide and another led the group, holding weapons in their hands which Jennifer did not recognize. Whatever they were, they evidently packed more of a punch than that which were typically utilized by the Wraith. Meanwhile, she had only been provided with a set of chains.
In spite of her tense curiosity, the doctor knew better than to speak aloud, and so, she concentrated on sending her thoughts to Bonewhite telepathically.
"I thought Guide said the animals were inside the colony walls?"
Obviously surprised that she would speak to him so directly, Bonewhite's brows fell back to their normal position before he appeased her.
"Most of them are, but there are other dangers here. Namely for you."
"Such as?"
"There is a chance the plague that killed off the humans here could remain."
"Thankfully I now know about the healing benefits of my Wraith-kin genetics," Jennifer retorted silently, and she smirked at the alien beside her. Bonewhite wrinkled his nose and had silence not been so important at the time, he would have scoffed.
"I presume you have not heeded my words to keep your distance from the commander then?" He looked at her briefly, disapproving and...angry? Jennifer realized she was absorbing more than just words from him now—his emotions were being shared with her as well. But why would he be so angry?
"You may be Wraith-kin, but you will never be Wraith, regardless of how hard the commander may try to change that fact," Bonewhite answered mentally, and there was a molten quality to his silent words that made Jennifer's stomach twist. Bonewhite, although detached, had always been sensible when dealing with her. This time though, the blonde felt uncomfortable walking beside him. Unsafe, even. Up until that moment, she hadn't ever actually felt afraid of him.
The group halted suddenly, abiding Guide's command from the front, and for what seemed an eternity they stayed, silent and still, tense and ever-increasingly alert.
"The entrance is not far from here," Guide spoke aloud, although his volume stayed low. "In the past, the beasts awaited our entry and tried to ambush us the moment the gates opened. We must be vigilant this time, for we are without the humans charged with keeping the beasts under control. Doctor Kell-err has never dealt with these creatures before."
The team acknowledged his words, and then the commander ordered the Wraith beside him to switch places with Jennifer. As she moved up beside him, he offered her a weapon. She took it with a gloved hand, but Guide held fast and connected his eyes and mind to her own.
"This weapon is typically reserved for those with a somewhat more...substantial...body structure than yours. Tread lightly, and fire only as a last resort. There will be no time for my team or myself to retrieve an injured female, and we will leave you to the beasts if the worst happens."
Nodding stiffly, Jennifer gave another light tug on the gun and Guide released it. His yellow eyes stayed locked on the brown of the woman's, and after a moment, she had to look away. In spite of how long she had coexisted with the Hive's commander, something about his eyes still screamed that he was a predator waiting to strike. She heard him utter something between a growl and a simple exhalation, and when she next looked to him, he was ordering the team to continue forward once more. From behind her, Bonewhite's feeding hand fell to her shoulder blade and she jumped, startled, into motion.
Before long they had arrived at the entrance to the colony. Walls of a strange blue stone towered over them, and as Jennifer came to stand at the gate, the other members of the team fanned out to form a barricade behind her. Guide stood halfway between her and the barricade, gesturing with one arm to a panel beside the door. Jennifer followed his pointing finger and saw several marking in the stone. She stepped closer and ran her own fingers over the markings. When she realized what they were, she groaned.
"Latin?" the doctor complained, spinning around to face Guide. "I haven't had to translate Latin since middle school, Guide. How on Earth do you expect me to—"
"We are far from Earth," the commander interrupted, seeming utterly confused.
Jennifer's mouth, previously having been open to finish her sentence, closed, along with her eyes. Someday she would learn to curb her human idioms when speaking to him.
"Nevermind," she muttered quietly, and then turned back to the stones.
By the time Jennifer had finally managed to explain to Bonewhite how to properly open the gate, the planet's star was low in the sky and nightfall was near. Jennifer stood between the first and second commanders now, the rest of the team before and behind them, weapons raised and poised to attack anything that might come at them. Bonewhite tapped into his wireless command panel and a few seconds later, the gate slid open.
"Steady..." Guide commanded to his team without speaking. Cautiously, they stepped through the doorway and the gate scraped shut behind them. The Wraith that were in the back moved to the sides and then out into the front. The silence around them had the entire group tense.
"This is...different...than the last time we were here..." Bonewhite commented softly, his leather-clad arm brushing against Jennifer's as he held his gun level and swept his gaze from one side to the next. On her left, Guide curled his lips and growled. His feeding hand raised and his finger pointed at a figure moving in the distance, its form almost hidden by the darkness.
"Load your weapons with the sedative," he commanded and the group silently did as he asked. "Spread out. In this darkness we have the element of surprise."
Mere instants after he had uttered the words, three monstrosities launched into the midst of the team, separating them and taking out several members in just a few swipes. They were larger than a horse, with strange, flattened skulls and muzzles on an elongated neck. They lacked much of a tail, rather possessing a short, thick stub still very capable of damaging anyone it struck.
One of the animals approached Jennifer, and her body shrank to the ground of its own accord. She scurried backward until her shoulder blades hit the stone walls surrounding the colony. She saw the silhouette of the commander leap to one side and launch a sedation dart from his gun. It struck the beast, but it remained standing, issuing a scream at the strike and turning its attention to Guide now. He launched three more darts, all of which hit their target, but still the creature did not go down. Bonewhite, busy with his own individual, appeared to have lost his weapon and had taken to physically assaulting the beast. In her hand, Jennifer's gun quivered.
Another roar sounded to her left and the doctor looked over just in time to see the shadow of one of the animals launch itself at Guide and take him down. Her heart leapt into her throat and she raised the gun. Beneath its mass, the Wraith commander struggled to regain his footing, repeatedly slamming a blade into his attacker's side.
A shot sounded from her other side and Bonewhite's monster dropped like a stone to the earth below. The third animal that had been busy with the remainder of the team turned its attention suddenly to Jennifer, and she quickly scrambled to her feet upon noticing it. Steeling herself, she raised the gun Guide had given to her and fired.
The kickback of the weapon sent her stumbling backwards and into the wall, her head striking the stone and dizzying her. Her aim was true, however, and her would-be assailant collapsed with one enormous paw just a few feet from her person. In spite of her blow, Jennifer fought back to her feet once again, staggering toward Guide, while Bonewhite ran toward two other injured members of their team.
The blonde dropped her gun and dragged the short chain from her utility belt, rushing at the attacking creature. From the ground, Guide roared, infuriated, as the monster managed to swipe his weapon from his hand. A moment later and a strangled cry ripped from the Wraith's throat—the animal's claws had dug into his midsection, tearing through the thick leather.
Jennifer hurled the chain at the creature's rear legs and snapped up Guide's fallen tranquilizer gun from the ground nearby as the chains caught and the beast tripped up. Three more darts were fired into its side before, finally, its legs buckled and the full weight of its body crumpled onto Guide. In the distance, other members of the same enormous animals watched, but they made no moves to attack. The doctor dropped the gun again and crouched by Guide's side as he wrestled himself from beneath their catch. Gasping for breath, his yellow eyes wide and bloodshot, the commander stared at Jennifer as though she had two heads.
"You should not have come!" he snarled, and when he coughed, Wraith blood bubbled up from the wound in his abdomen. "Our mission was to capture the beast alive, and you abandoned it for my sake. Your human nature...it disgusts me." He winced.
Jennifer rocked back onto the balls of her feet and scowled at him.
"That thing is alive, no thanks to you, and quite frankly, I would rather have you alive than that." She pulled up her sleeves subconsciously. "Now, let me have a look at that wound."
But Guide refused, getting painfully to his feet and enticing Jennifer to do the same. Bonewhite and the two survivors made their way to their unconscious prey and secured it, preparing to remove it from the colony. Guide would not look at the woman as he turned his back and slipped his blade back into its sheath.
"I will deal with you when we return to the ship, Doctor Kell-err. Move out!"
A/N: Awwww, poor Guide...his pride is hurt! I hope Jennifer didn't come off as TOO much of a badass in this chapter, but I do feel like it was time she proved her worth somehow. I promise there shall be fluff in the next chapter, if not a bit more...hint hint. We shall see how it plays out. I never quite know where these two are going to end up when I start writing...
As always, I appreciate your reviews! They inspire me to continue!