The persistent signaling from the comm did not have any effect whatsoever on the well-trained reflexes of Woolsey. The beeps that pierced the silence were far, far away, coming from a device on the upper left of someone else's uniformed chest. Woolsey was still staring fixedly at Todd; he wasn't even sure what syllables his own tongue should be making. In fact, there seemed to be nothing to say. Absolutely…nothing. And the longer he attempted to maintain eye contact with the wraith, the more difficult the endeavor became, until at last, he was forced to drop his gaze a little.

The pale green eyes across from Woolsey never wavered. "Youuu…did not expect such things, did you?"

Woolsey compressed his lips a moment. "Naturally not. Although I must comment that…I also find myself unsurprised. Can you believe that?"

"H-h-h." Todd slowly cocked his head, his eyes still searing their proud gleams into thin air. He seemed remotely relieved, as if ancient ghosts had poured gently and mercilessly from his facial sensory pits, from his lips, leaving his soul to perceive it all at last, from without and in the presence of another.

Woolsey slowly and carefully straightened his glasses, and leaned a hand on one knee. "Why did you withhold all of this…intriguing backstory? Why reveal it to us now? You could have talked earlier. We might have been more prepared. More…on alert perhaps."

"I am aware of that, Mr. Woolsey," Todd said, his face growing quieter. "As to the 'why now?' The moment is most opportune. There was certainly no reason for Atlantis to be caught up any of my history. Not at the time."

"You must have considered the unforeseeable future," Woolsey persisted calmly. "We could have been aware of this long before we launched the Beacon network, and even while we were fighting off the last of Death's accomplices." The beeping had long since ceased.

"You do not believe I would have just thrown such data at you so…irrationally?"

"What could be more irrational that keeping such things a secret from Atlantis?"

"I never deemed my past could be of any significance to you, until I began to pursue further knowledge of it. The failing of the Beacons outside your limited territories first drew my attention, although I had maintained a sharp lookout for anything that might indicate my assumptions could be correct," Todd said. "I had to make absolutely sure before I alarmed you with information; any leakage of my awareness could be a serious setback for both of us."

Woolsey reached up to finger his ear, and sighed. "Not to mention, of course I understand that a deeply personal resume is neither freely nor easily given out. But I…must ask. Are any strings are being pulled as we speak?"

"None," Todd said, his voice a little like distant thunder, so quiet, so commanding. "Iiiii….pondered. For some time. I pondered. During the years of the new retrovirus development, my personal concerns assumed third place until I realized that…I had not recalled them for so long, they had become akin to a dream."

"How about a nightmare?"

"I agree."

"Just you wait until Colonel Sheppard returns."

"Ahhhh," Todd said softly. "My penalty…awaits."

Woolsey switched on his comm as it began to beep again. "What is it?"

McKay squawked, as did the speaker. "Sir, Aeden's busted this case wide open. That sample, it's totally alive, he literally just explained how it works and brought it back from the fricken' dead before our very eyes."

"Do you know how that works? Does it bring us any closer to what happened to AR-6?"

"Yes and yes."

"Details."

"He already has them," Todd chimed in.

"I heard that, you," McKay sassed back. "Sir, that mountain is no mountain at all, it's a dead hive. The bio-tech definitely contains a code, part of its mechanism has been modified to produce signals that can definitely be picked up telepathically."

"Excellent. We will return shortly." Woolsey signed off and turned back to Todd. "Would you like me to mention what you told me to Colonel Sheppard?"

"I shall face his possible…undue wrath…on my own."

"Very well," Woolsey said, watching Todd's smirk. The wraith was clearly keen for Sheppard's reaction.

That was right when John returned, a cold beer in one hand. "I took a little trip to the vending machine."

Woolsey wordlessly eyed the frosty can.

"You don't drink a lot sir," Sheppard murmured, shrugging, excusing himself of the fact that he had actually forgotten to snatch two beers. "And technically you're still on duty…"

"So are you," Woolsey said.

Both men glanced discreetly at Todd, who waved a hand dismissively while Sheppard mercilessly cracked open the can and took a swig.

"I infinitely prefer Dr. McKay's beverages," Todd said.

"I can't promise you'll be getting any in the near future," Woolsey said shortly. "Would you care to fill the colonel in? And…complete the story while you're at it?"

"Uh oh, what'd I miss this time?" Sheppard leaned against the wall and raised the beer to his lips.

"I was just telling Mr. Woolsey about what I have termed the "Pyrrion Rapes"," Todd began.

"'M sorry, what?" Sheppard burbled into a swig as he pulled the can away from his lips.

Todd leaned back comfortably. "Tell me, that time you swore you'd get the lore of the Myths out of me one way or another…you had not the patience to remain and hear me out completely."

"Don't blame me, I'd heard a string of poetry and then we got attacked and I forgot," Sheppard said.

"H-h," Todd said. "I'm assuming the answer to my question is no."

"Rapes? That's mainly how the wraith produced until cloning became the new trend. So what's so special about…what I'm guessing was some kind of gang? And just a reminder, I'm not a big fan of cliff-hangers."

"You are sure to reach another as soon as one is past," Todd said. "That is their nature."

"You would know."

"Did you ever wonder why you could not extract further information from me about the Five Myths of Death?"

"No, I just wondered why you wouldn't talk more in the first place. You mentioned the Myths at a time when we weren't running screaming for our lives through a wormhole, and then when I asked for a backstory you seemed…just a little uncomfortable." Sheppard squinted.

"Your long-term memory is improving."

"Get to the point, please," Woolsey said impatiently.

"Sheppaaarrrd," Todd said, "it was not my intention to keep you all in the dark for as long as I have."

"Well as Rodney might put it, you could get a career with CNN, no sweat."

"I purposely did not reveal to you the extent of the lore."

"Could have fooled me."

Todd stared mercilessly at him. "And I believe I was foolish not to have checked in sooner on any progress I hoped you might make towards deciphering the Myths/ But at the time I told you of them, much was at stake, and Dr. McKay was still out of commission. I assumed that Mr. Woolsey would take the appropriate steps in time."

"If only I hadn't been so careless," Woolsey said. "Get on with it, Todd."

"The Pyrrion Rapes occurred during a specific era when the wraith were in one of their…golden ages, well over ten thousand years ago, as you measure time. The wraith produce their own offspring to this day, but they are nowhere near as prolific as they once were."

"Yeah…" Sheppard said, taking another quick swig.

"Many wraith chose to mate with culled humans, as you just reminded us, Sheppard. All offspring…are still fully wraith."

Sheppard was silent.

"The Pyrrion Rapes were named for a wraith of great status and long standing among his factions; he was at that time known throughout much of this galaxy as a most formidable warrior. He and his subordinates and allies were particularly skilled at human rape…before any cullings took place."

Sheppard raised his eyebrows a little. "Big surprise, wraith commit all kinds of atrocities."

"Not all of them," Todd said with hint of a smile. "However, Pyrrius, as I call this wraith since, again, that is the closest translation of his name into your Ancient root language that I can offer you, was significantly stronger than many of his brothers in arms, both physically and mentally. His multi-faceted cunning knew no bounds. Pyrrius lead his hives into planetary systems in a lustful strike against the food source itself, and many human women became impregnated, were culled thereafter, and eventually fed upon after they gave birth. It was not mainly Pyrrius' actions, it was his method, that began to carry his followers into worse and worse habits; worse, I say, because the food source was greatly affected and great immigrations began taking place. The humans readied themselves for ground attacks, knowing that the Pyrrion wraith did not immediately seek to cull. Some of Pyrrius' followers were in fact defeated over time. Hunting grew challenging in particular territories until one day, an opposing force of wraith tried to put a stop to the rapes."

"Led by yourself?" Sheppard guessed.

"Most certainly not," Todd said, stroking the armrests with his fingertips. His long nails softly scratched the upholstery.

There was a moment of silence during which Sheppard lowered his beer can. "You were one of the offspring of the rapes," he murmured.

"Indeed," Todd said. "I am no clone, Sheppard."

"Thought you might be the son of a primary."

"Nothing so grand," Todd said, his eyes half-closed. "Pyrrius was -to use your human terms- my… grandfather."

Sheppard's scowl persisted. "I dare ask…who was your father?"

"His son, Aurkessh, born of a relationship with a queen of high status and luring beauty. The identity of the primary Aurkessh preferred to serve is unknown to me. I learned some time ago that Pyrrius and Aurkessh found no further use for their queens one day…both of them were inexplicably overthrown and their hive fleets were absorbed into Pyrrius' factions."

"Apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?" Sheppard said. "Guess we now know where you get that queen-killing streak of yours."

Todd smirked a little. "Warriors rarely kill their own queens unless there is some great advantage to be gained, preferable if the queen in question is not, or is no longer, of high status. If the chances of her death being of no consequence are decent and most importantly, she can be easily replaced, a dominant wraith would take all of that as an open invitation to terminate her."

Sheppard nodded slowly. "Well we know your expertise at determining all of that before you slice up a primary is up to par. Got any ideas why Pyrrius and Aurkessh killed off their queens? Why the simultaneous murders?"

"I still do not know the entire story," Todd said. "But I learned that they were seeking something that the wraith as a whole…did not have."

"Probably ascension," Sheppard said drily.

Todd shook his head. "Absolutely not. There is lore about a fail-safe. Something having to do with…an heir."

Sheppard glanced at Woolsey.

"And I am not entirely sure what such a thing implies, despite my long research," Todd told him. "Allow me to take you further back, Sheppard. Pyrrius…was among the first offspring of Death."

Sheppard stared. "You're a direct descendant of Death?"

"Yeeeesss," Todd hissed softly, teeth bared. "One of thousands…among thousands…among thousands more."

Sheppard exchanged another glance with Woolsey. "Ok, so no wonder you weren't all enthusiastic to talk about your…ancestors. Guessing this has a lot to do with why you're worried about that Consort."

"He fathered Pyrrius," Todd said, still looking fierce. "I do not believe for an instant that he is dead just because the Primary is."

"And you felt like telling Woolsey this but not me?" Sheppard said.

"H-h-h-h-h-h, you were the one who went running out of the room because you couldn't handle what you were hearing," Todd said. "Take this as critical advice. It is time you fully faced the wraiths' deeper secrets, Sheppaaarr-D. Otherwise…you may… rather, you will, find yourself at their mercy in the distant future. Ignorance on your part is not a luxury anymore, no more than it can be for myself."

"Right," Sheppard said drily, taking another swig. "So…can I ask…uh, what happened to you after…you know…"

Todd's heavy-lidded green eyes were fully open, a calm fierceness resounding within them like liquid light. "I do not know anything about the human woman who carried me. She was most certainly fed upon after I was brought forth, probably by Arrkessh."

Sheppard nodded grimly. "Why didn't he make her a worshiper?"

"Generally, the human parent of a wraith child is not permitted to live. It would…complicate matters otherwise."

"Is there anything you can remember from…you know, back then?" Sheppard nodded sideways a little.

"My childhood was no different than that of any wraith child," Todd said. "I did not know at the time nor for hundreds of years which wraith had fathered me, nor who his sire was. Wraith…grow slowly. I attained adulthood surrounded by many wraith who had come into being with either a human female or human male as one of their producers. I was skilled mainly in the cloning facilities before I eventually gained a significant status after I set out with my first hive. You would probably be…rather bored to tears hearing about ramblings through ten thousand years of history, during which I spent my life communing with the structures of nanites and intricacies of cloning facilities, the purposes of war, enduring inevitable hibernations, growing my own factions, expanding territories, killing rivals, and feasting with delight upon the sweet, succulent energy of human beings. I knew the best feeding grounds."

Sheppard grimaced. "And you make it all sound like a bad thing."

"Unfortunately, we don't have time to delve into what ultimately led to my capture by the Genii. May I suggest we return to the labs, I believe by this time Dr. McKay is thoroughly versed in what my second-in-command discovered for him." Todd stood up. "I will fill you in on the rest there, that way the doctors and Teyla can be updated as well."

"Wait, so, what does all of this have to do with a threat?" Sheppard said.

"Do you realize that my ancestor might know who I am? That he may have discovered what I am about? My dealings with Atlantis are not a secret anymore, Sheppard."

"Since at least seven years ago, and I don't know if they ever were completely isolated. You're thinking the Consort might strike at us, and even seek out Earth?"

"Yes."

"Well, you're a good-enough story-teller," Sheppard said as Woolsey stood up. "I'm kinda keen to hear more."

"And I thought that first part was sarcasm," Todd said smoothly, preceding them out the door.

"How about the second part? Meaning I don't think you're finished telling us everything."

"I will reveal the remainder, especially as regards the Five Myths. That bio-tech should be our next priority."

Woolsey and Sheppard were not exactly unaccustomed to being ordered around by Todd, and they followed him through the bustling corridors back to the labs.

"Teyla must have come up with something about the Myths by this time," Todd remarked over his shoulder. "She is, after all, the demise of Death."

"Well, you can bet on one thing. If some nutty old grandpa wraith wants to take us down, he better watch himself," Sheppard said. "I betcha he hasn't dealt with Atlantis in over ten thousand years."

"He would have overseen at least a portion of the early Lantean Wars," Todd said. "While Death slept."

"Why does that give me the creeps?" Sheppard said.

"Todd," Woolsey said, "How long do you think we have?"

"I cannot say," Todd said. "But the failing Beacons continue to multiply. It is as though someone does not want the Alliance to continue tracking the retrovirus progress. I had to restart three systems manually."

"I heard. Well, we'll fill the rest of the team in and get down to business now that we've wasted enough time," Woolsey said.

When the trio arrived at the labs, the place was busy, and Ronan was nowhere to be seen.

"He is aboard Todd's hive ship as arranged," Teyla told Sheppard as the wraith stalked past them towards McKay and Aeden. "Studying the technology instead of being disgusted by it, although he cannot interact with it. I talked him into going. He is refreshing his tracking skills with the mist as well."

Sheppard nodded. "Can't say he'll call that a vacation. And have we got a load of backstory to tell you, Teyla," he murmured. "How's everything going?"

"So far, Aeden has us convinced that he understands everything about that bio-tech," Teyla said, her arms folded. Her lean muscles moved a little under the bare tan skin of her shoulders. "Aeden allowed me into his mind. This was all apparently a failed experiment, and that geological structure is not a mountain AR-6 found. It is a dead, buried hive ship."

"You're kidding."

"It is very much in decay," Teyla said. "And I don't think we can probe into it until we learn exactly how the pathogen has interacted with the minerals and any other materials that were introduced, manually or otherwise. Aeden doesn't believe that the hive crashed; it is there on purpose. The rock… is not rock at all."

"Was the ship a cloning facility? We didn't detect any dormant life signs."

"We still do not know," Teyla said, with a bit of concern in her eyes. "It could be that, or, it could just be that the ship that was never used. It may have been grown there on the planet's surface. McKay has determined that it is not very old. Maybe a few years."

"A few years?" Sheppard repeated. "What about the culling?"

"Aeden informed us that he and Todd are both certain beyond a doubt that AR-6 was culled and that the team's tracking beacons are well out of reach of long-range scanners. It was not a local wraith faction that was involved."

"Got any evidence for that?"

Teyla nodded and led Sheppard to one of the tables. "The weapons, John."

"What weapons?"

"Major Brandon discovered an underground tunnel leading to a walled section not far from the hive mountain," Teyla said, picking up a long, thin blade. "It's fashioned from trinium."

"Holy…" Sheppard murmured, taking it and turning it over in his hands. "Don't tell me there's Nacquada inside."

"Rodney thought to examine it for Nacquada, although he knew the idea was absurd. No traces were found."

Sheppard held the blade aloft and whirled it a few times. "Got some nice weight to it," he said. "Does it hold any special powers? Ancient technology?"

Teyla reached for the handle. "No, but these symbols are of an older wraith dialect than the one we know."

"Hm."

"This," Teyla said, tracing a finger along some of the grayish runes. "It translates loosely as "Ancient blood."

"Sounds appropriately gruesome. Got any ideas about what it might mean?" Sheppard looked around at Todd. "Did he see this?"

"Yes," Teyla said. "Remember too, the wraith are always in communication. Todd and Aeden can still converse without our knowledge."

"I'm not sure that's a bad thing."

"No," Teyla said. "There is a lot more going on here than we were told however."

"Yeah exactly, that's what Todd just gave me and Woolsey. I need to talk to you and McKay and we'll have to fill Ronan in later. Over here. Rodney? Zelenka?" Sheppard gestured, and the little group gathered about thirty feet from where Aeden was working. "Ok, here's the picture," Sheppard said in a low voice. "Rodney, you're going to love this. Todd just told us about his own history."

"Really?" McKay perked up.

"Yeah, cut to the chase, one of Death's ten kabillion grandkids was his dad."

"Oh geez you're fricken' kidding me," McKay said.

Zelenka briefly turned down the corners of his mouth. "Mm, so that's where he gets it."

"Todd called his grandfather Pyrrius, apparently he was this galaxy's version of Jack the Ripper. One of the woman he raped had Todd."

McKay, Zelenka, and Teyla all stared.

"I think there's something else. Teyla. Ever wonder why you feel such a sisterly connection to Todd when you talk to him with your mind?"

There was a moment's silence. "Wraith-kin," Teyla whispered.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking."

"Wait, his mother was wraith-kin?" McKay said, discreetly pointing a thumb over his shoulder.

"Maybe. I have to ask him. The point is Todd fears Death's Consort, his first ancestor, might still be alive, looking to strike back at us, avenge Death, and obtain the location of Earth in addition to taking over the Pegasus Galaxy and who knows what else."

"Oh great," McKay said, tilting his head to the side. "Have the Five Myths got anything to do with this?"

"A lot," Sheppard said. "Todd said he'd fill us in."

"Good thing, I hardly had a chance to look them over. By the way, Zelenka's got an idea that'll blow your hair off."

"If I've got any left by the time I'm done being surprised by the next pieces of info I still don't know," Sheppard said. "Anyhow, Todd didn't tell us about his past before for the simple reason that, who would just spill his guts like that without a sufficient reason? There's a lot more to it, looks like he's been investigating his own history the past few years. He had to be sure of it before he told us. Looks like once the Beacons started going down and AR-6 disappeared, he had no choice but to give us the info."

"Let's see, maybe Todd is one of those persons who likes to make an impression?" McKay said.

"We need to get organized. We were brainwashed through a wormhole, and I'm not letting it happen again." Sheppard stepped forward.

"What if it was mere chance that AR-6 was culled?" Teyla suggested as the group moved back towards the wraiths' stations. "And if not, perhaps this Consort is looking for a way to shut down the retrovirus."

"That's possibly the case, but I don't see why he would," Sheppard said. "The food supply is preserved and the wraith will technically live forever if the virus is allowed to finish its work."

"That's the key right there," McKay said. "If he finds out a way to shut the virus down but keep it active only for himself and his accomplices, that could be a huge setback for other factions and spell total wraith control over the Galaxy once and for all. Both races would be at his mercy."

"Precisely," Todd chimed in, making them all jump a little. "And if and while he is preparing to strike, I believe that AR-6 is in the custody of at least one of his accomplices."

"That's what I was thinking," Sheppard said. "But how can we make sure he's still alive?"

"There is a simple test," Todd said. "But I dare not attempt it just now."

"Mind-meld," Teyla said.

"Why would it be dangerous?" Sheppard asked.

McKay looked at him. "Um, hello! Because wraith can kill each other and it would reveal information about Atlantis, not in that order. Aeden, don't destroy those devices, whatever you do, I worked on those things for like four weeks out of a month."

The wraith put down the medical instruments and eyed McKay solemnly.

"It is far more than that," Todd said calmly. "If I seek to join our minds, he will know who I am."

"You'll probably end up on the wanted list," Sheppard said. "But if he is still alive, why doesn't he try and reach you?"

"He has fathered thousands," Todd said, as if Sheppard had asked a ridiculous question. "His third-generation offspring would certainly not be on his mind, especially since my bearer was a human being. He may or may not have interest in individual identities; neither do wraith necessarily preserve knowledge of their bloodlines. They breed like…"

"Bugs," Sheppard finished.

The little group exchanged glances at these words.

"It is no mere coincidence that Ritha Guider was targeted," Todd said. "After all, the rune you showed me on that dead hive ship was that of Death. That hive holds the key. I have sent some of my crew to the planet. Ronan Dex knows of this activity and will be keeping you informed."

"Why Ronan, again?" Sheppard asked Teyla.

"Because he was bored," she said.

Aeden smirked and grunted.

"There isn't much time," Todd said. "Dr. McKay, the Five Myths."

"Ok, so we got somewhere with the Fifth stanza," McKay said, holding up his tablet and jerking a thumb at Zelenka. "With a little help from this guy, we figured out that the line "feed upon the heart" could mean commencing a dialing sequence. Zelenka thinks the motion looks just like a wraith slamming its feeding hand to a victim's chest."

"Well done," Todd said. "The Fifth stanza also refers to a constellation. Have you figured out which one?"

"No because there's several glyphs on the gate that have thirteen stars," McKay said.

Todd stared in the semi-darkness as Aeden finished up his work. "Aldeni. The constellation Aldeni was the rendezvous point for Pyrrius' fleets."

"Hey…the jaws!" McKay scrolled around on his tablet. "Come to think of it, it actually looks something like an Iratus bug. John, get a load of this."

"You never told us how the Myths came to be in the first place," Woosley said. He was leaning on one of the tables and scrolling around on a laptop. "Care to share?"

Todd looked over at him. "I was born with dim knowledge of them. Many were."

"All? Or only the descendants of Death?"

"Her descendants, those of my sire's line; and over time, all know because they interbred with the other main factions."

"So the Myths are not some child's tale," Sheppard said. "They contain information about something important, maybe about this Consort? Rodney, what about the other stanzas?"

"I examined those too, just not as much as the fifth, I didn't have the time. Ask him." McKay nodded at Todd.

"The existence of Death's Consort is likely shrouded because he knows something that we do not. Arrkessh believed that an ancient fail-safe was kept by Death herself, and she allowed none but herself and the Consort to be involved. They were far-seeing. It is said that an heir, a wraith, would inherit the secrets. She would not risk her Consort being exposed to the galaxy before her time had come to begin ravaging the planets as preparation for her great plans."

"When did your dad fill you in?" McKay interrupted.

"Before he died."

"Aurrkesh is dead?"

"He communicated to me over a great distance while I was still imprisoned by the Genii," Todd said. "His time was growing short; it was only the second time in my life he had made contact with me. Kolya had me partially stripped and beaten to test my endurance, and amidst my pain, Aurrkesh contacted me. He informed me that the Myths were not all that they seemed, and that Death would strike twice. Once would appear sufficient, but a second time could be on the horizon."

"What did he die of?" McKay said.

"I believe he was fed on," Todd said. "He did not speak of it. But I felt that some horrendous act of vengeance had been carried out against him."

Woolsey interrupted. "You said you hardly knew who Death was."

"That is true," Todd said, his arms hanging down at his sides. His fingernails were dull in the lighting. "Until I learned more from Aurrkesh. He studied his ancestry, for he coveted Death's secret powers and then revealed all he could to me in revenge for her treatment of him. The Elder Consort is indeed real, and over the last few years, I initiated a private investigation in order to discover if he was still alive. All indications point to his dormancy. He may even now be in the last hours of his hibernation."

Sheppard stared. "How long before I showed up did Aurrkesh talk to you?"

"A few years."

"And he knew you were still alive?"

"Oh yes."

"Like he cared."

"It was important that he pass on his knowledge. But he did not get to finish, because he died very shortly afterwards. I lost the connection, we could not maintain it long."

"Todd, he fathered a lot of wraith like Pyrrius did. Why'd he choose you?"

Todd cocked his head a little. "Because I had the highest status at that time. He knew nothing about my dealings with the queen I pretended to be consort to of course. Besides…it seems that he approved of my strength and victorious status. He had watched me from afar for hundreds of years, hoping that one day I might take his place."

"He wanted to turn you into a rapist like himself?" McKay said. "Whatever for?"

"The rapes were not merely about offspring, it was about dominion over both wraith enemies and humans alike within particular, giant territories," Todd said. "It was about having a name that would keep percentages of the food source out of the hands of other factions. The wraith were at war more than once over difference styles of approach to harvests, and they also sold humans in exchange for various goods."

"What about the Myths?" McKay said.

"I assumed you would gather intel from them eventually, and then contact me with the inevitable questions."

Teyla, McKay, and Zelenka all shook their heads, looking completely unsurprised.

"Ok, so you played your typical game with us. Go on," Sheppard said.

"The first few stanzas are about Death's history and the ancient search for her secret powers. She was one of the first human beings bitten by an Iratus bug, and she had been one of the most powerful women in her day. The Iratus bug that bit her was a sizeable one. The bite marks were present as the earliest of tribal markings upon her throat until the day she died."

"What the heck?" McKay said. "They never healed?"

"That's completely abnormal," Zelenka said.

Todd shook his head. "The insect remained attached for so long that it became fused until eventually she tore its body from her throat and consumed the Iratus. Yes, she ate it; she did not feed upon it."

"What the hey," McKay said. "Did she ever eat more of them?"

"She did have a tendency to sink her teeth into bugs on occasion; I learned this from Arrkessh. He plumed the depths of Pyrrius' mind before he was killed by the ingenius humans he sought to snatch in a later attack. A great army of them impaled Pyrrius upon his own dart, tied his arms, and stripped out his feeding organs, leaving him without sufficient energy to heal. His death spelled the end of his faction, for they were leaderless and queen-less.

"Yeah, ok, that was gross," Zelenka muttered, breaking into some unintelligible mumbling in his own native language.

"Death would not have fought to keep her bloodline so pure without sufficient cause, and the rapes were not her idea of good conduct," Todd said sarcastically. "I believe she is the one who killed Arrkessh in the end."

"Yeah, probably," Sheppard said. "There's clearly a lot of history we still don't know. So you're saying that the only way we can find the Consort is if you reach out telepathically."

"It is the most plausible way, at the risk of exposing all that I have worked for," Todd said. "I imagine Death herself trained him in the art of snuffing out a wraith's life over a vast distance after obtaining his or her secrets."

"I thought the males were weaker when it comes to mind-meld," McKay said.

"They can learn much," Teyla said. "Especially if trained by a powerful queen."

"Sooner or later, I am certain Death will be avenged," Todd said. "It is inevitable. It is in the nature of a male wraith to grieve his former queen. The backbone of the oldest wraith factions outside the Alliance was utterly rent when Death met her end. Although I kept a sharp eye, I saw no reasons to fear. No signs. But I watched. And waited. Just…in case. I had to be sure." Todd looked solemnly upon them all. "I had to be sure. I could not risk revealing my suspicions even to my second-in-command at the time; Teyla, you will find that he is very much on our side."

The woman nodded. "John?"

Sheppard inhaled, softly, slowly, and put his hands on his hips. "All right. Here's the deal. Todd? What are the odds, say, that Ritha might be...raped."

Teyla gasped, and Zelenka looked scared. Mckay clenched a fist.

"I don't know," Todd said. A strange gleam came into his eyes. "She might be more useful to them as an informant."

"But we can't be sure of that."

"No," Todd said. "Don't worry, Sheppard, I don't believe that the Consort would like a human queen." He laughed a little.

"I'm worrying, ok?"

Woolsey snapped on his comm. "Chuck, all systems remain on standby. We are moving the City. Cancel the last three off-world visits we scheduled for later today."

"Yes, sir. All teams accounted for."

"Except AR-6," McKay muttered.

"Todd?" Woolsey said. "If you're planning to be the one to discover more of Death's remaining followers and the location of her Consort, I suggest you begin now."

"I will leave one of my hives to watch P6L-266 and report on any further findings," Todd said. "Ronan Dex may remain with my ship if he so chooses, or he can return to Atlantis. In the meantime, my second-in-command must return with me."

"Understood." Woolsey nodded. "McKay, you've got everything you need?"

"Yeah. Todd, I'll be checking back in with you on the Myths. How about the Primary Gate?"

"I am still searching for that as well," Todd said.

"We'll rendezvous when Todd finds out where the Consort might be, sir, if that is agreeable to you," Sheppard said. "I'm taking a jumper after we move the City. See if we can't check out the wraith home world and examine the Space Gate for clues."

"Just what I was going to suggest," Todd said.

Woolsey nodded and switched on his comm again. "Get Ronan back here, Amelia."

"Yes, sir."