Note: I hope everyone had a great holiday season and wishing you all a happy New Year. Here's to a bright 2023.
00000
ACT 2 – TRUTH
Chapter 33 – The Sacred Tale
Two hours and nothing significant had changed.
And the time ate away at Oneakka.
There was still no response from Deployment Station's repeated dials into the station…former…station's Portal. Which clearly meant it was buried, and buried meant that BreakAway One had gone down hard. Hard enough to significantly bury the Portal, but also to prevent anyone from getting to it and being able to easily dig it out yet for the dial-in to work.
If Raven had been in that BreakAway…
Over the last two hours, there had been numerous calculations run by Military analysts on the trajectories and speed of the three BreakAways before their paths had been blocked by the planet's cloud cover and scattering atmosphere, but without knowing precise damage to each BreakAway or whether their individual onboard piloting systems had managed to compensate at all, it was pure guess work.
And all eyes were almost exclusively focused on the ongoing battle between the Wraith Fighters and the civilian ships that had formerly been docked at the station. The civilian ships were surprisingly holding their own, with two initially having managed to jump into hyperspace, but the Wraith had been fast on the others. Where damage from the station collision hadn't already taken out hyperspace engines, the Wraith had targeted them specifically. Since then, a back-and-forth battle had been ongoing, the civilian ships spreading out across the area near the planet to reduce the Wraith numbers focused on each, carefully deploying their limited weapons and using their slightly more powerful sublight engines compared to the Wraith Fighters to action constant manoeuvring to make them as difficult targets as possible. With rapid instructions from the Military via the audio links, the civilians were doing well, but they'd still taken a lot of damage.
It was likely only the Wraith's desire to board the ships rather than destroy them that was actually keeping the civilian ships intact so far. The Wraith Fighters needed control of the larger ships, which was only possible by landing on the outer hull or breaking into bay hatchways and boarding. It was worth the risky work for the Wraith though as they needed to be able to land their short-range Fighters, find food in the form of the crews, and, most importantly for them, control hyperspace capable engines. Stuck above the dried up planet deep in Alliance territory, the Wraith were a very long way away from their own kind and they had to know that the Military Fleet were incoming at the fastest speed.
And it was because of that fact, that only a few minutes ago the Military had ordered one ship to further sabotage its own hyperspace systems as it was now clearly losing the battle to stop the Wraith from boarding. It was the largest of the civilian ships and therefore the biggest target. Given the near stalemate of the battle, the Wraith had started working together in a larger swarm to target the ship and had finally managed to blow a hole wide enough in the large back door of the ship to gain access to its bay. There were now three Wraith Fighters inside the ship's bay, but with Military instructions the crew were fast working on shutting and disabling internal doors that should block, or at least delay, the Wraith from progressing further inside the ship.
But, despite all that action, fierce hurried back and forth over the audio links, Oneakka's attention kept returning to the two other screens on the section of the console in front of him and Massa: the projected trajectories of the BreakAways into the planet's atmosphere and the local sentry satellite's live-feed of the ongoing firefight on the edge of the planet's atmosphere.
Not all the Wraith Fighters had decided to focus on the civilian ships, with a good half of them instead having initially pursued the falling course of the station and then it's separated BreakAways. The Wraith's sensors were as limited as everyone else's in the planet's atmosphere, but Oneakka knew what the Wraith's strategy would be, because it was what they always did in similar circumstances; they would land on the surface, staking out a base of sorts, linking up their Fighters to provide shelter and power, then run raids on the – any – survivors from the station's crash. He'd run numerous missions over the years hunting down lone or small groups of Wraith left stranded on planets and moons, the Warriors and Drones running small limited raids on local populations in the night and slipping away into the landscape undetected. Such clean-up missions were the most basic and common work for the Elite, with frequent requests for help arriving in from beyond the Alliance's border. Often they were populations that didn't want the Alliance involved in their world, but they trusted the Elite. They knew a report of a possible Wraith living close to a population would be answered by the Elite without being followed by the Military Fleet. Sometimes, the locals barely knew the Elite had been there, just the few who had invited the Elite found waiting at the Portal to greet them and point in the right direction.
But the Wraith faced difficulties with establishing a base on Saoka's planet: They had to contend with the scattering jamming effects of the atmosphere, which would limit them being able to communicate with each other and blind their sensors when tracking down any survivors. But, that wouldn't stop them from running visual inspections of the planet's surface, running low flights and literally looking out the transparent turned sides of their Fighters to find survivors or their tracks.
However, even that plan was being impressively limited by the former station's wing of Defence Fighters. Most of the Fighters' Pilots were ex-military, with a few ex-Salvagers thrown in, all tempted away from near retirement to Saoka's employment thanks to the excellent pay and livings standards on the station. It meant that every one of those Pilots had long and significant experience in battling the Wraith in flight, and it was showing. They were working excellently together, alternating between chasing and running from the Wraith down into the scattering planet's atmosphere and back out again, using the Wraith's limited sensor ability to their advantage. So far over fifty Wraith Fighters had been destroyed just by their work, and that wasn't including the station Pilots who were assisting the civilian ships.
Still, even with the impressive battling, clearly some Wraith had gotten down into the planet's atmosphere and were now undetectable, and those still fighting would be watching the clock as much as Oneakka and the Military were doing. The Fleet ships were inbound, still three hours away, but word had gotten out and further support was also incoming from the two closest planets. Ten extra ships were inbound, though still unlikely to arrive until the Fleet ships. However, the most unexpected additional help had been a cruise ship. The vessels were pleasure craft that ran long paths around the Alliance with stops at almost every planet and moon, providing a tour of the Alliance for those rich enough or having saved enough currency. The trips were a common choice for recently retired Military staff, who received heavy discounts on the tours, and it turned out that one nearby cruise ship had over twenty ex-Military onboard. The ship had already been volunteered by its owner and, with a brief stop with a trader ship to offload civilians and take on additional fuel and volunteers, was now inbound to the fight, less than an hour away.
Oneakka tapped on one screen, again calling up the service records of the ex-Military and the cruise ship volunteers. The experience on the inbound ship was ridiculous with an ex-Fleet Commander onboard, a handful of Pilots, two ex-security who had worked on the Hastos for the Elite, and the rest career Military. They had already formulated a plan with Deployment Station, inbound to supply backup and refuelling to the former station's wing of Fighters. The Fighters Pilots were doing amazingly, but they needed breaks and the incoming ex-Military on the cruise ship could even take shifts on the Fighters.
It was frustratingly still too long though and time felt like it was creeping along at the pace of a sickly snail for Oneakka.
He turned from the console and paced away, the movement helping dissipate the frustration of being completely unable to help Raven, if she was even still alive.
There was far more room now available in the Security Centre for the pacing, Massa and a few others stood around the central console assisting Aedii and the Military response. All battle-rotation Elite were now down at the Portal, kitted out and ready to deploy at the first possible instance. But, being off-rotation, Oneakka couldn't join them.
But he had a plan for that.
Once Elite were deployed onto the planet, a second group would follow, Healers on two medical support Portal-able ships. Each ship standardly had at least two Security staff or Elite Warriors onboard to protect the Healer crew and patients collected. He'd put his name down for one of those support roles on one of the medical ships. Nothing had flagged up preventing him from the volunteered duty, and, on pacing back towards the console, he called up the list again to check. His name was still there, so no one – namely Meiyo – had restricted him. All the other assignments on the two Healer ships had been taken up, the future mission fully staffed and ready to depart when the time came to deploy.
But that could be many long hours away still…
Hours of more waiting, more listening to the panicked voices of untrained civilians having to face most people's worse nightmare in facing the Wraith.
Oneakka's nightmare was the waiting.
No, that wasn't right, it was the waiting to find out if his very worst nightmare had come back to haunt him yet again: another he cared for killed.
More death and pain that he could do nothing about.
He reached up, rubbing one palm up over his Mohawk and back again as he reached the wall of the Security Centre, turned and paced back towards the console again.
"…we have sections…twelve through…fourteen shut and disabled," a hurried breathless voice cut through the others. "Wraith confirmed inside the ship." There was some loud barely audible shouting and fizzing sounds. "Back! Back! I've rigged it, run."
Oneakka heard the small pop and bang of the explosive the civilian Ship Commander had made following Military instructions. The rapid sound of running followed, fast breathing and people shouting in the distance.
"Hatch control is showing an error, I think we fused it," came the rapid report from the Ship Commander.
"Excellent, Commander," a clipped, but relieved, Military voice replied. "Now fall back to positions as instructed. Power down the back section of the ship."
"On it, Deployment Station," the voice replied, breathless again, pounding feet around him. "Through! Through there, go!" He ordered his crew. "All back. Are we clear at the back of the ship?"
"Yes, Commander. Cutting power now," another voice replied to him.
"We're cutting all power across the back of the ship, Deployment Station," the Commander repeated unnecessarily to those listening in.
"Understood, Commander," Deployment Station still confirmed verbally.
Oneakka was at the console, so he turned and paced away again.
The civilian ship in question was big, and even with the back half of the ship's power and controls cut off, the Wraith had plenty to keep them busy. They would ransack the ship, attempt to tap into the powerlines to open the doors and, failing that, try to physically force their way through the hatches. Hopefully the ship's crew had followed Deployment Station's orders thoroughly, literally cutting the powerlines to stop the Wraith from tapping into power, but there was always a chance that such a civilian made ship had redundancies in place that might allow the Wraith to still get control of some power. If nothing else, he'd seen Wraith use their own ships to partly power Human tech. The truth was that, without Military support to deal with the Wraith directly, it would only be a matter of time until the Wraith got to that ship's crew.
Hopefully that wouldn't be within the next few hours.
What was clear was that the second the Fleet ships arrived in that sector, their primary target was that civilian ship. All focus would be on regaining control, saving the crew and preventing the Wraith from using the hyperspace engine to escape.
Which meant less attention on survivors on the planet's surface.
If Raven had survived and was down on that planet, help was still too many hours away from reaching her.
And if she wasn't alive…
He kept pacing as he listened to panicked civilian and quick Military voices filling the air.
He realised he had no idea if Raven had left any instructions on the event of her death. It wasn't like she would want her Glisi family informed, was it? If there were Glisi funerary practices, he wasn't all that sure she'd want them given how her people had treated her.
And he really couldn't imagine that she'd want to be buried on the Glisi world; she'd hate to be lain to reset in the cold dark soil.
The wall arrived in front of him again, so he turned and paced back towards the console, only Massa abruptly stepped into view, shoving a tall stool into Oneakka's path.
"Sit," Massa ordered in a sternly firm voice.
It wasn't a tone Oneakka heard very often from Massa, but it was the one he used when his next step would be to wrestle you to the floor. On any other day, Oneakka would have teased Massa about it, or resisted just to see if Massa would follow through with the threat, but not today.
Today, he let Massa's heavy hand on his shoulder steer him to the stool in front of the console. More firm pressure on his shoulder helped him down onto the seat, and the act of sitting felt strangely good. He realised that his wound was aching, not he'd done anything particularly strenuous today. Though, admittedly he had been stood the entire time in the Security Centre, over two hours now.
He frowned at the time display on a console screen.
Still too long for help to arrive for her.
Massa's hand squeezed his shoulder and released. Oneakka watched Massa's dark hands moving back on the console, calling up data on inbound ships as he helped formulate the best way to utilise the nearby planet volunteered ships.
Oneakka had done some of that work and he watched Massa update the details with some new information just in; two more additional ships were on their way to the fight.
At least he could get to the planet himself when the time came, even as basic support on the medical ship. He was off-rotation, but he could do that, could help out.
To be able to bring Raven back home; if not alive, then her body.
He owed her that.
And if she had not recorded any last wishes for herself, he'd bury her on Ugun.
Then at least he could visit her grave.
0000
They'd found a surprisingly suitable trolley to hold Saoka's stretcher. It had been used to move the heaviest items around the station, apparently able to carry several times Saoka's weight according to the embossed label near the wide metal bar handle on one end. It had four decent-tread wheels, a flat top, then sectioned off compartments underneath into which they had secured some medical and food supplies. It was the best possible cart that Seeal could have hoped for and should manage with the uneven long walk ahead of them.
However, there were some problems with it, the most significant being that the thing was heavy, so would require both her and Nanuet to push it. Though Nanuet had perhaps ten times the muscle she had, and could no doubt push the thing himself for awhile, she wasn't entirely sure what his stamina was going to be like for the long trek ahead. It had been a staple lesson from her pit fighting days that the fighters who supported the biggest intensely built-up muscle were the ones who tired the fastest in a long fight. When facing someone like that, the technique to defeat them had been simple: to make them tire themselves out, to keep dodging and ducking to draw out the fight as long as possible. There had been no breaks in the pit fights, if you had wanted water, you had to grab it out of your coach's hand and drink while still in the fight. Someone of Nanuet's build would have been easy to defeat, as long as you avoided him hitting you while he was still at full strength. Nanuet was clearly very strong, but he didn't have the lifelong honed streamlined power of Oneakka. The only Elite she'd seen with muscle even approaching Nanuet's size was Si, but she'd seen how spookily fast that male could move despite his size. However, the Elite were far from a good model of anything approaching 'normal', all of them having been specifically selected due to extraordinarily abilities of some description. Still, she found herself repeatedly comparing Nanuet to Oneakka as she worked with the Bodyguard to secure his employer to the trolley.
The end result of their handiwork was pretty impressive, in her opinion. She suspected that nothing short of an explosion would be able to remove Saoka and his stretcher from the trolley. As it was, it was likely that when they got Saoka to eventual help, that he'd have to be cut out of the eclectic mix of straps and ropes that now held him on the trolley.
The only small problem with that was the toilet issue, but when she'd quietly broached that subject with Nanuet, it had turned out that the Healers had already planned for that with some medication and equipment including Saoka being fitted with a catheter. That issue resolved, she and Nanuet had waited while a Healer took one final look at Saoka, and Sais had reappeared with some more supplies that she secured into the compartments under Saoka; from what Seeal had seen, those supplies had included several folded blankets, a spare coat, and a slim metal box. The box presumably was something station-related, or perhaps something that belonged to Sais herself given that she was intending to remain behind with the worse injured. Everything ready, Sais had then shared a quick emotional farewell with Saoka and Nanuet. As grey as Saoka's dealings were, he certainly surrounded himself with very loyal and well-trained staff and colleagues, but then Seeal guessed that was probably easy with such a large pool of people in the Alliance territory and the amount of currency he had at his disposal.
Eventually, everything was secured, goodbyes were shared with two other station staff, and finally Seeal set her hands alongside Nanuet's on the thick metal push bar at the back of the trolley and they wheeled Saoka to the, now noticeably shorter, queue out of the station. Given the amount of time that had passed in sorting the trolley, Seeal was pretty sure they were now at the back end of the thousands of evacuees and those in the slow shuffling queue looked like they'd needed medical care before they could leave.
As she and Nanuet wheeled the trolley into the line, she ran her eyes over those ahead in the queue. A few places ahead, there were two children, the young boys clinging to the legs of a female who had her hands protectively around their shoulders. Neither of the boys stood tall enough to reach her waist. All three of them were dressed in thick padded coats with the station's advertising on them, along with clearly new hats and gloves, and the younger boy was clutching a very pristine stuffed toy.
Behind the small family, there were two elderly civilians, one of them clearly favouring one leg, but holding herself upright on two mismatched sticks. The person then directly in front of Saoka's trolley was wearing a station uniform heavily stained with grease and dirt which suggested he was one of the station's mechanics, but the thick bandage around his forehead and clear blood dried around the back of his neck suggested he hadn't had a great time during the crash.
As the queue moved forward another couple of paces, Seeal set her hands on the trolley's handle and pushed it forward a little. The weight of the trolley resisted for a moment, but she got it moving the short distance with some rocking shoves, Nanuet's hands missing off the bar alongside hers. She glanced at him on her left as the trolley stopped. He'd disposed of his smart suit jacket and shirt and was now in a simple dark station shirt and open coat. She was impressed that there had been spare clothing big enough for him. He'd also acquired a holster from somewhere, in which he'd slid four weapons that had been hidden under his jacket, which were in addition to the blaster he'd given her. He'd kept his smart trousers though and she'd bet good currency there was at least one weapon hidden around one of his ankles. Either way, he was clearly a very good source for weaponry supplies in the trek ahead should the need arise, so she'd made sure to memorise exactly what weapons he had and where they were on the holster.
Currently though, Nanuet was distracted with unwrapping a long piece of dried meat and was chewing on it with obvious hunger. Clearly all the muscles were already requesting fuel. She'd not eaten anything herself yet, but she could feel the first niggles of impending hunger. She'd wait though until they reached the promised tunnels before she'd have something. Though, as they waited, she reached down to a small compartment in the back of the trolley facing her and Nanuet. She'd found that the compartment easily held the width of the station's smallest metal water bottles, so she'd put two in there along with a couple of bags of dried kita fruit from the supplies Sais had stuffed into the trolley's compartments. She pulled out the water bottle closest to her and unscrewed the top as she watched the station mechanic in front of them waiver a little on his feet.
The water tasted cool and refreshing, and had a softness that implied it was heavily filtered. As much as she'd pretty much hated everything from the Glisi world, the water there had tasted wonderful. In all the years since, on all the planets she'd visited, she'd never tasted such naturally pure water as on her original world. Still, this filtered water was decent enough and she screwed the lid back on and set the bottle back into the little compartment just as the queue paced forward.
This time the line moved further, her and Nanuet together now pushing the trolley finally out of the lobby and into the short bit of corridor that now led to a door-sized hole cut in the thick outer wall of the station. Through it, low sunlight shone in between two station Security who were controlling how many people left at one time. Seeal watched the two males talking to the civilian about to leave, pointing outside and clearly explaining something. Presumably it was how to get to the tunnels, or maybe the route down out of the station wasn't so straightforward.
She watched as the civilian at the front stepped out into the sunlight, moving down and aside out of view.
The queue paced forward, the female with the two boys now at the exit. Seeal watched the Security talk to her, the hand gestures implying directions were being given. The female nodded and then reached down, gripping hold of each boys' hands, and she carefully stepped outside, guiding the children with her.
The line naturally moved forward again, the elderly couple now limping to the exit. As the trolley rolled to a stop, Seeal glanced over her shoulder to those queuing behind her and Nanuet. They were more walking wounded, sporting various limps, bandages, and all looking pale and worried. Directly behind her were three males, all middle-aged and clearly all the same family given how similar they looked. They were dressed in identical station-given coats, one was limping, and another had his entire arm wrapped up in thick bandages resting in a sling.
Clearly the survivors around her were not a group that were going to be all that helpful should the Wraith attack, but rather people she might have to protect.
She glanced back round to Nanuet as he pushed the trolley on another few paces. He'd almost finished his meat snack and was looking calm and in control.
Something like a few hours ago when she'd visited Saoka in his office, Nanuet had been glaring suspiciously down at her, but now, here they were, stood shoulders brushing as they worked together to get Saoka out of the station to safety.
Honestly, life was just bizarrely unpredictable lately…though she was pretty sure she'd been thinking that thought for quite awhile now, so was it really 'lately'? As she pushed the trolley on another pace, almost to the exit now, she tried to work out how long ago it had been that she'd left Creass on Lalwani and had delivered Dream's backup database to the Elite. How long ago that she'd made her deal for the chance to clean her record. It had been months since she'd achieved that surprisingly quick aim, but she struggled to work out exactly how long it had been since she'd left Creass employment.
How long she'd known Oneakka.
Half a yearly cycle? Probably longer?
Which would mean that her life had been unpredictable for far longer than she realised, so perhaps this was just normal for her life now? Maybe that was what happened when you lived around Elite and their Military trained staff.
Though today felt particularly far from 'normal' even of her recent life, her fight with Oneakka having started it all. Though, things had felt weird and unstable for a couple of weeks now with Oneakka, their fights increasing and growing in intensity. Today's fight had felt particularly vicious, both of them knowing each other so much better now that they knew exactly how to cut each other.
And now she was about to head out into likely Wraith-infested skies and tunnels, and she might never see the big Oaf again.
What she wouldn't give for him to pop up outside that exit, arriving with the other Elite to save the day… To turn up with all his strength, experience and trust to help solve everything.
But that clearly wasn't going to happen.
She winced at her soppy thoughts and made herself focus forward as the injured mechanic disappeared outside, leaving the way to the exit clear for her and Nanuet. Both the Security males moved forward, both frowning worriedly down at Saoka and then sharing quick updates with him and Nanuet, before they both then frowned faintly at her. She really was known to all the Security staff here, which she took as a compliment and a good sign of their security measures. But, for now, both males turned their attention back to Nanuet.
"The path to the closest access to the tunnels is well trodden now," one of the reported. "Following the dugout line caused by the crash, then it's apparently a clear path up over a ridge and into the tunnels."
"Good," Nanuet nodded.
"But you're going to need to be careful getting down from here," the other noted as he pointed out through the makeshift exit.
Nanuet moved around the trolley, so Seeal followed, both of them joining the Security at the exit and looking out into the sunlight.
The reason for why the exit had been cut here became very obvious as Seeal peered out. There was a high ridge of ground that was jutted up against the side of the former station and the thousands of other survivors who had exited this way had already worn down the brown rocky ridge, showing it was stable.
"If you go across here," one Security explained as he pointed out of the exit, "then the path is down to the right, worn enough for the trolley now, but I'd recommend you take it down backwards."
"Allow us better control," Nanuet nodded, his shoulder pressed up against Seeal's.
Seeal frowned at the path leading down. It didn't look too steep, and she could see the mechanic and the elderly couple carefully making their way down it, gradually disappearing from view. It looked like stable ground, but wheeling the trolley down it was going to be interesting given its weight. But it was clearly the only way down, so it would have to do.
With help from the Security staff, they managed to turn the trolley around in the corridor space, and, pulling the trolley behind them, she and Nanuet stepped carefully out through the exit.
The air registered as cool even to Seeal as they drew the trolley out onto the high rocky ridge, and she felt a rush of instinctive relief at breathing open, moving air again. Fortunately, the ridge felt stable underfoot and the trolley's wheels were handling the rocky ground. As they pulled the trolley around the tight turn to access the path downwards, Seeal took in the vast landscape stretching out around this side of the fallen BreakAway. The lowering sun had a pink-orangey light to it, casting long shadows over the very dry, barren landscape that stretched out in all the directions that she could see.
It wasn't the most welcoming of places, but there were no Wraith in sight, so that was good at least.
Focusing on the task at hand, she and Nanuet braced themselves and started slowly drawing the trolley down the sloping path.
She might have questioned Nanuet's stamina for the way ahead, but his strength now was an absolute blessing. Bracing his shoulder against the trolley, he kept it from rolling too fast, and she quickly discovered that she wasn't helping all that much, so she switched to helping brace Nanuet himself as they slowly worked their way down the gradient.
The previous users of the path had flattened out most of the larger bumps, but they'd also loosened a lot of pebbles in the soil, so a fine dust and the constant scattering falling stones underfoot made the job that much more worrying. Saoka didn't say anything during the descent, but so focused and panting at the effort needed to help keep herself stable and brace Nanuet, Seeal wasn't sure she'd have been able to hear him. As it was, their handiwork in fixing the stretcher to the trolley was already paying off big time. A few glances up past Nanuet's grunting hard work to control the trolley from freewheeling down the slope and crushing them both, she could see that Saoka wasn't at too sharp an angle, but it couldn't be comfortable for him.
Another small turn in the path navigated, the slope began to reduce and things started to get easier. Letting go of Nanuet, she moved back to the trolley's handle and peered up over it to Saoka. He was awake, one hand held up to shield his eyes from the sunlight, and the stretcher looked secure, so he was okay.
Then soon enough, the path finally started approaching the promise of flat ground ahead, so she and Nanuet let the trolley move a little faster and, finally, the path levelled out.
Relieved at the first obstacle successfully tackled, they had plenty of space to now turn the trolley around for the path ahead. And as Nanuet checked on Saoka, Seeal assessed the way ahead beyond the trolley.
The path ahead was very clearly delineated by the long carved out valley that the BreakAway had clearly created as it had crashed. The walls of the artificial valley rose up on either side of the long line of other survivors making their way along the 'valley' floor, with pieces of station debris and burn marks scattered along the way. Lifting her hand to shield her eyes against the sun hanging low in the sky ahead, Seeal could see that the far end of the long line of survivors eventually rose up one side of the valley's ridge towards the promised, but unseen at this distance, tunnels. It didn't look too horrendously far, but the sun was definitely heading towards the distant barren horizon, and they really wanted to get to the tunnels before it got dark.
Nanuet satisfied that Saoka was undisturbed by the descent, they got the trolley moving, so much easier now that they could push it rather than pull it. The ground was far from even though, so it clearly wasn't the smoothest ride for Saoka, but they worked to keep to the more well-trodden areas of the path to try to even things out for him.
As they progressed though, Seeal noticed that a lot of people further down the line were frequently looking up to the sky overhead. Despite knowing she likely wasn't going to like what she saw, Seeal looked up.
Directly overhead, the clouds hung in thin but stacked overlapping layers, the lowering sun streaming light under them painting them in bright pinks and purples. And through the layers and the pretty colours, Seeal could see tiny little flashing bursts of light.
Weapons fire high up in the atmosphere.
She frowned up at the sight, catching herself straining to hear for the tell-tale buzz of an incoming Wraith Fighter despite the fact that the battle was clearly too far up for her to be able to hear it.
She wasn't sure if the Wraith were fighting the station's Fighters, the Trader ships that had previously been docked at the station, or perhaps the Wraith were fighting each other over who got the tasty unprotected Humans on the planet.
All she knew was that she had absolutely no control over what was happening up there, and that they needed to get to the tunnels as quickly as possible.
As if hearing her thoughts, Nanuet started pushing the trolley a little faster.
0000
New Breath's anger had rolled in waves through the Hive for considerable time before the Young Queen had started to regain some control of her tumultuous emotions. The mix of a Queen's fury and embarrassment made a particularly strong impact on the crew, the Warriors and Drones all focusing on their work with a noticeably subdued quiet. Mind Song had had a few significant discussions with the Hive's Primary though, the Warrior seeming far more open to input after the battle, though Mind Song made sure to 'suggest' ideas rather than order them in any way.
The end of the journey though hyperspace to the selected gathering point for the Hive and any Cruisers that had followed was fast approaching, so he had made his suggestions to the Primary about how best to start working with any Cruisers and Wraith kin that wished to join New Breath after the battle. Given how young New Breath's crew were, this was another new tradition for them to learn, though the inclusion had already begun. New Breath now had an additional thirty-eight new Fighters and Wraith kin who had taken the offer of a bay to land just before the evacuation from the battle. Thirty-eight new kin for the Hive. And the Primary had invited Mind Song to join him visiting the rescued other lineage new crew, stating that seeing a Warrior from another lineage to the Hive would help. Still, Mind Song had made sure to play a respectful supportive role during the meeting, standing behind the Primary's shoulder as the Warrior debriefed the new crew and oversaw the inspections of their Fighters – most of which had already been undergoing additional fluid infusions to assist with the radiation and weapons damage. The damage was healing, and the new crew all seemed recovered from any injuries and were clearly grateful to have been given a safe harbour.
All of them had come from the youngest Queen's Hive from the former Gathering. So, with their Queen, her Hive, and her Cruisers all destroyed, they literally had nowhere to go. They had all very eagerly pledged allegiance to New Breath's Hive, though the Primary had wisely decided to hold off on introducing them to their new Queen as yet. Better for her to be calmer first.
On the walk back up through the Hive, the Primary had said little, but what he had had hinted at his own worry about the future from here. Mind Song had repeated his points from the battle, that New Breath now stood in a strong position for her youth as she was likely now the most experienced Queen in fighting the Skerti. Mind Song had advised that, once the Hive and any accompanying Cruisers dropped from hyperspace, that the combining of all sensor readings and image captures from the battle would be vital. All the data needed to be studied in detail to assess Skerti strategy and their strange oval ships.
However, there was still one area in which they lacked almost all knowledge: what were the Skerti and what were their abilities. The Skerti Queen that Long Sleep had encountered had had an exceedingly powerful mind, but what else? They did not even know what Skerti truly looked like, other than a vague outline of the Queen that Long Sleep had observed through a thin curtain.
They could gather all the retrospective data on the battle they'd all just survived, but it wasn't going to tell them any of those more detailed answers.
No, instead it was likely that there was only one final source of Wraith-held knowledge about the Skerti to unearth…if it even existed. And if it did exist, getting to it would require New Breath to be open and honest, two features that were rarely exhibited by a Queen.
And the timing of asking her would have to be carefully chosen.
Though that window to approach her was gradually reducing the closer they came to dropping out of hyperspace. Once they arrived at the gathering point, New Breath would be focused on finding what Cruisers had followed her and who would pledge loyalty to her. Before that distraction began, Mind Song needed to find his moment.
Which currently required loitering at the end of the hallway down from New Breath's Queen's Chamber.
Her anger had started to subdue, her mind withdrawing into more control, though heavy plumes of frustration and doubt occasionally broke free. It was surely almost time…hopefully.
Shifting to look down the hallway to the closed webbing into the Queen's Chamber, Mind Song could see that the two Drones stood in silent sentry duty hadn't moved an inch. The Primary had visited New Breath a short while ago, taking with him Mind Song's analysis ideas on collating the other Cruisers' data on the battle, and the Primary had emerged seeming relieved to be out of the Chamber. And he was her chosen Primary, while Mind Song was still an outsider, and an angry Queen made a very dangerous host.
"Are you sure this is the best time?" Long Sleep asked from where he had been leaning against the hallway wall.
Amused at his brother's easy reading of him, Mind Song turned to look at his Batch Brother. "No," he replied simply with a smile.
Long Sleep smiled back as he shook his head. Beside Long Sleep, Michael had been waiting with them silently, the shadows of the wall webbing around him making his unusual short hairstyle seem whiter though also adding the subtle suggestion that there were faint streaks of strange darker tones to his hair. His mind was very calm though, no doubt because he still felt far safer here than he had on Lost Lineage's Hive. Still, his choice to stay with them both, not break away and simply pledge his loyalty to New Breath was interesting. Most Warriors would see being here as an opportunity to sink into a new secure Hive, like those in the new Fighters down in the Bay, but Michael seemed curious to find out Mind Song's plan.
Or perhaps it was his gratitude for their having brought about his rescue, or that they were as 'unusual' as he seemed to be. Perhaps he felt safer with those who were not such standard Wraith kin.
Alternatively, he simply saw far more potential with them than with the young crew on an only recently matured Hive.
And a Queen who was far from happy.
Mind Song sighed faintly as he glanced back down the hallway to the closed entrance to her Chamber. He had hated every moment of his long imprisonment by the Prey Kolya, but there had been something of an edge of peace to the moments when he'd been left alone in his cell. Times not to have to think of strategy and question everything around him. Though, he considered as he started forward, perhaps he was fooling himself. Moments like these, taking a dangerous step into the unknown, waiting to see if his strategies would work or have to be rapidly adjusted, these moments were exciting and made him acutely aware of the lifeforce flowing through his veins.
Behind him, he heard both Long Sleep and Michael's footsteps following him towards New Breath's Chamber.
Pulling up outside the closed entrance, Mind Song did not speak to the Drones, instead he gently reached out with his mind, requesting New Breath's permission to enter.
He felt her sense him, her mind focusing intently on him for a moment before sharply withdrawing. There had been a lot in her short mental touch: the anger of course, surprise and, yes, some clear resentment as well. It was all to be expected, as was her immediate lack of response.
He waited patiently, knowing she would invite him in or tell him to leave in her own time.
Behind him, he heard Michael shift in place, some worry now working along the edge of his mind.
The entrance into the chamber slid open abruptly, the webbing covering slipping aside, and through the open entrance Mind Song saw New Breath sat in her throne to the left.
"What is it, Strange Mind?" She called out loudly, her invitation delivered with impatience and resentment still strongly pulsing through it.
Mind Song schooled his mind a little calmer as he started forward, bowing his head to her as he stopped in the middle of the Chamber and faced her. New Breath was sat in a reclined slouch in her throne, her arms outstretched along the bone armrests with an air of sullenness to her. She had control of her mind, but it was still oscillating wildly with a moody unpredictability that further explained the relieved look the Primary had had on leaving her presence.
"Have you come to offer me more of your experienced advice?" She asked bitterly.
"I bring only questions, Great Queen," Mind Song replied, bowing his head again.
"Questions?" She repeated in the same bitter tone. "Such as where I can possibly now win myself a Feeding Ground after I failed and fled from a battle? I have no place, no territory to rule, and likely all but a few damaged and broken Cruisers that followed me in the escape."
"Cruisers full of Warriors and databases of other areas of the galaxy, intel for you to exploit," Mind Song pointed out. "As well as everything gathered on the Skerti' strategies."
"The more mature Queen at the Gathering whose Hive was destroyed," Long Sleep added, "she likely had a Feeding Ground you could now acquire, especially if any of the surviving Cruisers were hers."
New Breath's eyes shifted away a little; she hadn't thought of that. Mind Song felt her mind steady a little and start to draw under tighter control, her thoughts turning.
"And the sharing of the Skerti' presence among other choice Sister Queens will be advantageous to you," Mind Song reminded her. "Perhaps even also mentioning Lost Lineage's true nature."
"As a traitorous duplicitous Bitch Queen?" New Breath spat out angrily, clearly enjoying the description.
"That would certainly capture her nature, yes," Mind Song mused.
New Breath glanced aside again, but he saw the faint edge of amusement cutting through her bitterness. She shifted slightly in her throne, sitting herself up a little from her depressed slouch.
"If I could gather enough support, defeat the Skerti properly…" New Breath considered, the claws of one of her hands tapping thoughtfully on the bone armrest. "I will have to deal with the Bitch. None of the lineages ever trusted the Warrior Lineage, so it should be easy to turn others against her."
Now she was thinking more like her Sister Kin.
"Indeed," Mind Song replied. "Though I suggest that first, we focus on the Skerti. After all, Lost Lineage could still have her uses."
New Breath considered him, her lips pursing. He could feel her mind shifting; she wasn't sure what he meant, but she wasn't about to admit as much.
"For now," he continued, "we must focus on gathering what we can about the Skerti."
"The sensor readings from the Cruisers," New Breath put in, recalling the Primary's 'suggestion'.
"Yes, because there is one weapon that always outweighs all others," he took a small pace towards her, angling his head to prompt her.
New Breath's eyes narrowed as she struggled to work out what the one weapon was. "Knowledge?" She asked tentatively.
"Exactly, Great Queen," Mind Song smiled at her and she sat up a little straighter on her throne. "And we lack it."
"The sensor readings will provide us with knowledge of their tactics, weapons capabilities, and we managed to destroy those oval ships," she frowned.
"Yes," he agreed, "but we do not know the basics of the Skerti. What do they look like? What are their strengths? Their weaknesses? Why have they not shown their faces? Why use Human Prey ships when their own technology seems formidable?"
New Breath leaned forward in her throne. "We need to capture one of them, study them up close."
"Yes," Mind Song nodded.
"That they use Human Prey ships could be an advantage," she considered. "We subdue those all the time."
Mind Song wasn't entirely sure that was all that accurate given the Armoured Herds' significant strength and the new technology of Sheppard's kind.
"In the next battle with them," New Breath shifted further forward, "we could dedicate a small force to focus on capturing a Prey ship, bring it aboard and imprison the Skerti."
"A good plan," Mind Song nodded. "But if we can find out about the Skerti first, then we will be better prepared as to how to capture and hold the Skerti inside. For some reason, no Wraith has recorded a single encounter with a Skerti besides my Batch Brother. Despite what seems to have been significant battles and losses across many different lineages, none recorded anything about the Skerti. My Batch Brother and I had hoped an Elder Queen from that era of the battles with the Old Lanteans might recall word of mouth among your sister ancestors, but…"
"They are all lost," New Breath finished. "From what I know, Sharp Claw was the last of that eldest generation. There are none, at least none whispered of, that exist still."
"Could some be hiding as Lost Lineage managed to do?" Michael suggested.
New Breath glanced towards him, her face shifting as she considered his strange appearance. "It is possible, but Lost Lineage had still been known to Sharp Claw and a few others, including my own Mother Queen."
Ahh, so Lost Lineage had been known to other Queens.
"Do you know how old Lost Lineage is?" Mind Song asked.
"Younger than my Mother Queen was," New Breath confirmed what Mind Song had suspected. "It is possible that there is an Elder Queen out on the far edge of the galaxy away from the Armoured Herd, holding her territory easily without challenge, but, if so, there are no whispers of her."
Mind Song nodded. "From what I could gather from Lost Lineage's database, she stole a vast number of Hives and their knowledge, including many from Elder Queens of the correct era, but still none mentioned the Skerti."
"Then the knowledge does not exist," New Breath concluded with a shrug. "We will have to gather it ourselves." Confidence was returning to her mind and posture.
"Or we just haven't looked in the right place," Mind Song tempted.
New Breath frowned at him, her pale brow lowering to peer at him from under it. "Speak plainly, Strange Mind," she ordered him.
Mind Song took a small step closer to her. "If we cannot find an Elder Queen who knows of the Skerti, then we need knowledge far older."
New Breath narrowed her eyes at him, her mind turning again. "You speak of Atlantis? Of Old Lantean knowledge?"
It was a clever leap, and one potentially useful or the future. "Not exactly," he replied. "I am speaking of Wraith kin," he watched her face, waiting to see how she would react. "Of the First Lineage Queens."
New Breath's expression and mind snapped shut instantly.
He hadn't been sure before now, had worried that his Birth Queen had told him a tale of nothing but fanciful fiction, yet New Breath's reaction said it had been true.
Relief made him relax, despite the significant danger he had just put himself, Long Sleep and Michael in.
New Breath's wide eyes watched him carefully, her mind held tightly closed.
"My Birth Queen," Mind Song began to explain, "told me a story, of an ancient plan devised to ensure that Wraith would remain unending. That when the Old Lanteans began turning on Wraith kin, and the chance of extinction was a very real possibility, a plan was formulated. A failsafe to ensure all the lineages would always be able to continue. That, once enough Queens had been birthed and had started spreading out into the stars, the original First Queen of each of the lineages gathered together and they hid themselves away. Hid where no living creature would find them except one of their Queenly descendants. And there, the First Lineage Queens, as ancient as Wraith kin's first appearance, sleep in the deepest of hibernations, waiting should a time arrive that they are needed to return Wraith to existence once more."
As his voice died away, Mind Song watched New Breath. Where before her posture had been slumped and indifferently emotional, now she sat as tall as he'd ever seen her, her body held strong and tight as she watched him.
He waited.
Aware of Long Sleep and Michael's minds reacting to the story he had told; one which, if Mind Song's Birth Queen was to be believed, no other male Warrior had heard for many thousands of years.
But Mind Song had always wondered about that. Over the years he had considered the tale of the First Lineage Queens, wondered how such a long and deep hibernation could be sustained without some respite and feeding. And surely there would need to be guardians, sentries to watch over the Queens in their slumber? Where would those Warriors or Drones get their food?
And surely, out of all the lineages, he would have imagined the Warrior Lineage, or the now extinct Mind Lineage, would have returned to retrieve at least their own lineage First Queen in order to revitalise their own line once more. But that hadn't happened. Not even Lost Lineage, seemingly the last of her entire Warrior Lineage had not gone to find her First Queen among the group.
Plus, the logistics of finding a hiding a place where absolutely no one, not Wraith kin, not Old Lantean, New Lantean, or Armoured Herd could even accidently find them seemed very unlikely. He'd struggled to think of such a place truly secure enough. Yet, there was much he did not know in the universe, so it had simply remained an idle occasional thought experiment to ponder…until now.
Until he'd heard of the Skerti and discovered the frustrating blank spot in Wraith knowledge of them. For if the Skerti were a living breathing creature from back in those most ancient of times, they had to have emerged from somewhere. Surely, there had been knowledge of them before, and the name of the Skerti had still somehow become a myth, whispered in fear by Wraith ever since, despite their name seemingly not recorded anywhere. How could that be if there wasn't some knowledge of them in the past? Possibly held only by the Elder Queens and their Hives, but if they were all truly gone, then only older Queens were now a possible source. And that left only the First Lineage Queens from his Birth Queen's tale.
A tale that seemed to be no mere myth given New Breath's silent tension.
Which confirmed his Birth Queen's other piece of information, that the knowledge of the First Lineage Queens was only ever spoken in two circumstances in a Queen's life: when she was told the secret knowledge by her Mother Queen and when she told her own Daughter Queens. At no other time was it to be spoken of out loud, not even with other contemporary Queens. And certainly, never to any male ears.
Why his Birth Queen had decided to tell him of the First Lineage Queens she had never explained, and it was possible she had told other males who had served her over her long life, but she had emphasised a warning to him. She had made it clear that to speak of what she had told him would bring death from any Queen who heard him. That each Queen was specifically instructed by her Mother Queen to guard this knowledge with their life and to take the lives of any who stole the knowledge.
But then his Birth Queen had been very contrary to tradition, her experiments with mutations only one part of her willingness to break convention, and he had been unsure if she had even been truthful in her tale.
Yet, New Breath's continued suspicious silence said otherwise.
"You speak forbidden knowledge, Warrior," New Breath finally stated, answering that question for him. A small wash of grief-filled affection for his old Birth Queen stirred through him, now knowing that she had given him such a secret to hold.
"I have never spoken it or told anyone else," Mind Song replied calmly, but keeping direct eye contact with New Breath. "Not even with my Batch Brother until recently," he added as he gestured to Long Sleep to his left, "who I trust more than any other living being."
New Breath remained still, frowning faintly at him now; perhaps contemplating how best to kill him.
"My Brother and I were in no way exaggerating to you," Mind Song continued, "that Wraith kin are in the most dangerous of positions than ever in our past. We have lost vast numbers of Queens, Hives, and kin to the Armoured Herd. Even without the information of Atlantis' survival, the New Lanteans have also proven to be dangerous and destructive, and, Great Queen, I will share with you something I have shared with no other besides my Batch Brother. That the Queen Killers of the Armoured Herd are working with the New Lanteans."
New Breath's frown deepened. "How do you know this?" She demanded.
"During my capture, I saw them interacting," Mind Song summarised vaguely what had truly happened. "They are working together against us. We have lost over half the galaxy, Feeding Grounds are limited, and our own kin are murdering each other rather than stopping our enemies. And now we have the Skerti to deal with as well, who clearly set a trap in that battle we just escaped. They destroyed three Hives, at least seventeen Cruisers and numerous Fighters in what was a very short battle. Our kind are under attack like never before, and we know nothing of any significance of the Skerti and seemingly neither do any other living Wraith kin. Unless the First Lineage Queens are real and perhaps hold the knowledge we are seeking."
And with that, he had spoken all he could, made his argument as thoroughly as he could. His last gambit perhaps before New Breath tried to have him killed.
Silence hung in the Chamber, but he could see New Breath was thinking now, her eyes shifting away from him, her mind stirring within her controlled walls.
It was up to her now, the way forward would be decided by her. If she turned on him and the others, there was a chance they could overpower her, escape without being killed, but it would be difficult, likely impossible. But it was worth the risk, because, if this was not the way forward, then there was only one final route to take. One that Mind Song did not want to risk if he did not have to.
New Breath let out a long sighing breath as she leaned back to settle more comfortably in her throne. "Your Birth Queen broke a sacred order by telling you what she did."
Hope flickered in Mind Song's heart. "Yes, she did."
"No male ears should ever hear of it," New Breath stressed, her eyes shifting off him to Long Sleep and Michael. One male knowing was apparently wrong, now there were three of them who knew the 'sacred' truth.
"She warned me as much," Mind Song confirmed, sensing truthfulness was important now. He let his mind open enough to let her see flashing moments of his memories of the conversation he'd had with his Birth Queen so very long ago, let her see the face and attitude of his long lost Queen. He watched New Breath's face as she observed the memories, content it seemed that he had not forced the information from his Queen. He also sensed that New Breath rather eagerly enjoyed the chance to see sight of a former powerful Elder Queen.
New Breath's mind pulled from the memories and her sharp eyes met his. "She told you that the punishment was death?" She asked, threatened.
Mind Song nodded. "Yes, she did."
New Breath frowned. "Then why tell you?" She seemed honestly confused at his Queen's choice.
"I honestly do not know," Mind Song replied.
"I do," Long Sleep cut in suddenly.
Mind Song looked round to his Batch Brother. When he'd only recently told Long Sleep of the tale of the First Lineage Queens, his brother had not seemed affronted that he had not been told before now, instead he had seemed strangely relieved that he hadn't known.
Long Sleep looked back at him now with a soft smile before turning to New Breath.
"My Brother is somewhat humble regarding his achievements and past status," Long Sleep began. "Our Birth Queen experimented in genetic mutations in her batches, and though many were unsuccessful and had deadly outcomes, there were some of us who survived and proved ourselves to our Queen. Among us she formed a trusted group of advisers, of which my Batch Brother was our leader and her most trusted. She was a Queen of strategy and cleverness that I see in my brother, and it does not surprise me in the least that she trusted him with secret knowledge. After all, she shared with me some of the same regarding the origin of Wraith organic technology, of how we used genetic modifications to create the first ships out of spores and coral on our original world."
Mind Song had known Long Sleep had learnt his Keeper skills on their first Hive, that he was exceptionally skilled at such things, but he hadn't put the pieces together to realise that their Birth Queen had been the one who had trained him in the knowledge. He met Long Sleep's eyes now and they shared an amused smile. Their Birth Queen had always been an expert strategist and clearly that had extended into how she had shared her most ancient of knowledge, ensuring than none of her advisers had all of it, instead spreading the knowledge to the most appropriately skilled Warrior in her service.
Amused at that revealed truth – and wondering what other secrets his now lost mutated brothers might have carried – Mind Song looked back towards New Breath.
She was quiet, both verbally and mentally, but her posture had relaxed somewhat. She was clearly thinking thoughtfully now, strategically perhaps rather than emotionally.
Her gaze met his again.
"Even if I believe that you have kept your word, it is ancient and untested knowledge," she stated. "And it is forbidden to test it."
"Forbidden to test it?" Mind Song asked, curious at the stressed point.
"My Mother Queen made it clear that though the failsafe, as you call it, exists, it is not to be used. That though each lineage has its First Queen preserved, it is all the Queens since then that hold the true power."
A very interesting turn of phrase.
"There is only one circumstance when the First Lineage Queens are to be approached and woken," New Breath continued, "and that is when only one single Queen remains."
His Birth Queen had not mentioned this part.
"A single Queen of each lineage?" Mind Song checked.
"No, the last single Queen of all living Wraith," New Breath corrected. "It is only at that point, of near absolute extermination, that the last Queen is to travel to the hidden place and sacrifice her own life to awaken the First Queens to regenerate our kind."
Ahhh and there it was, the reason why no Queen would test it all these millennia: Because it required their own death. Since every Queen had the ability to make more of their own lineage, birthing occasional Daughters as well as Warriors and Drones, to be pushed to the point of sacrifice would only happen in an extinction level situation for Wraith kin.
Which implied, perhaps, that the First Queens had indeed been left in undisturbed hibernation all these years.
"Then they could hold the knowledge we need," he considered out loud. "Or, at least, those who may protect them while they slumber."
"If the tale is true, they are only to be visited by the last Queen and who is to give up her own life," New Breath frowned at him. "I am not the last Queen, and I will not be sacrificing myself to beg for a little knowledge of the Skerti that the First Queens may not even hold."
"Of course not," Mind Song replied. "But perhaps a group of your Warriors might travel there on your behalf? Risking their own lives in your place."
New Breath tilted her head, considering the idea.
"Wraith kind are under great threat," Long Sleep put in from Mind Song's side. "We face enemies on multiple fronts and are in the most threatened state we have ever been in our history. Surely such a plea to the First Queens, or to the guardians who protect them, might gain us even a little of the knowledge we seek?"
"The tale spoke of no guardians," New Breath frowned.
"Would you leave yourself unprotected while you slept, Great Queen?" Mind Song asked her.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "You speak very fluidly of this idea that is only required now. I am starting to suspect this was always your plan, Mind Song."
Her words were full of suspicion and accusation, but her sudden use of his correct name implied something else: he had earned her respect.
"Our plan was to find an Elder Queen," Mind Song reminded her. "If we could not find one who had knowledge of the Skerti, or, as seems to be the case now, there are no longer any Elder Queens alive, this was a final possibility to explore. I honestly did not think it would be necessary, but things have turned very grave for our kind."
"Or perhaps you think the First Queens would be better at fighting the Armoured Herd and the Skerti?" New Breath suggested. "Perhaps you are tricking me into revealing their secret location in order to replace me and my living Sisters?"
The idea had not occurred to him in truth, but it was an interesting strategy.
"I am not looking to trick you, Great Queen," Mind Song told her. "And what good would ancient Queens be in battle against the new Armoured Herd of which they have no experience? We know the ancient ships, like Lost Lineage's Hive, are vulnerable and weak. Just because the First Queens are ancient, does not mean they are better."
That answer seemed to please her, though she was careful not to show too much of her reaction. If given the chance and opportunities, he honestly suspected New Breath had the skills to become a formidable Queen.
"So, what is your plan?" She asked after a beat. "To go to the possible guardians, or the First Lineage Queens themselves and beg them to share their knowledge of the Skerti? The tale says nothing of information, only a way to regenerate Wraith kind should the worst happen. That is if the tale is even true."
"The tale tells of the last surviving Queen to visit and sacrifice their life, there is nothing about what a group of Warriors may find," Mind Song pointed out. "And I am willing to test it, to see if there is one last chance to dig up lost hidden knowledge of the Skerti."
"If the First Queens do exist, and if you can meet with them – or any possible guardians – they may simply have you killed," New Breath stated.
"That is very possible," Mind Song nodded. "But I believe it is worth the risk. These are dangerous and unpredictable times, and such times require us to adapt our thinking and methods. That is after all how the Armoured Herd have achieved such significant victories against us; they predict our behaviour and have learned how to exploit our weaknesses. So, we must start to do things differently as well, to find or create opportunities where there were seemingly none before. And I have learnt recently that one can find surprising opportunities and allies in the most unexpected of places."
And though he spoke of Sheppard, it also applied to this Young Queen. She was an opportunity for him and Long Sleep, and now Michael, but they were for her as well. Experienced Warriors available to her, and just the fact that he was willing to test the forbidden ancient tale of the First Lineage Queens, well, most Queens would leap at the chance to find out something no other did.
"You would have to go alone," New Breath uttered after silent contemplation. "I will not risk this Hive to such foolishness."
"We would simply require a ship capable of hyperspace travel," he replied, "which I am assuming we will need to reach the First Queens?"
"I will not risk any of my Warriors to the plan either," New Breath added, ignoring his question.
"Of course," Mind Song inclined his head with a smile. "We would not ask you to risk any of your Hive."
"And that is the problem," New Breath replied quickly, her eyes locked on him. "If you survive the encounter and if you receive the knowledge that we seek about the Skerti, you have no allegiance to any Hive, let alone my own. You could take what you learn and share it with another Queen."
"You could come with us," he suggested knowing that was not likely.
"Or I could keep your Batch Brother with me," New Breath pointed a dark claw towards Long Sleep. "To keep me company and to see to the repairs of my Hive. You can take the one that smells strange," her claw pointed now to Michael, "and then return to me if you survive your trip."
He hadn't expected that, but he was impressed, nonetheless. New Breath had gauged him correctly; if Long Sleep remained here, Mind Song would most certainly return here. It was a clever play on her part, using what limited leverage she had over him.
Long Sleep shifted beside him and Mind Song turned to his brother.
"I should go with you," Long Sleep insisted quietly, his eyes conveying what Mind Song could feel hovering on the edges of both their thoughts. They had been apart so long, it felt wrong to part again so soon and with no guarantee of seeing one another again.
"What other way is there?" Mind Song asked him.
"Surely many other ways than risking your and Michael's lives on a journey to somewhere that may never have existed or may have been destroyed long ago."
"Then there will be little threat when we arrive there," Mind Song smiled faintly at his brother as he reached out and squeezed Long Sleep's shoulder. "I believe it is worth the risk," he stressed calmly as he glanced from Long Sleep to Michael. "If you are willing to risk this trip with me?" Mind Song asked him.
Michael was silent for a moment, his mind clearly working behind his intelligent eyes.
"I owe you my freedom," Michael stated. "I will join your mission."
Mind Song smiled in gratitude, though 'mission' had been an unusual, rather Human word to use.
Under his hand, Long Sleep shifted anxiously, drawing Mind Song's attention back to him.
"If you are to die, then I will be at your side," Long Sleep insisted.
"How sweet," New Breath uttered, clearly feeling a flush of power at her successful strategy.
"I believe this to be the last hope of finding out about the Skerti," Mind Song reminded Long Sleep. "And if I do not survive, then I will die knowing that you will live on."
Long Sleep frowned, but Mind Song could tell that his brother understood his logic.
"Trust me, Brother," Mind Song added as he again squeezed Long Sleep's shoulder. "We both know the future is grim for our kind, but if we are already falling, then we must reach for something different to grasp hold of to save us all."
And the 'mission', as Michael referred to it, would also provide a very important piece of information for the future. That, if all strategies failed and seemingly all hope was lost for his kin, then there truly was a failsafe in place.
That the Wraith truly were unending.
And whatever the answer turned out to be, it would help him formulate the way before. And those potential future plans would require a Queen and other strategies that would seem just as mad as seeking out the mythical First Lineage Queens.
Long Sleep let out a deep breath and finally nodded his agreement. "You could convince the universe to shut down all the stars with your words," Long Sleep muttered with a begrudging smile, clearly still unhappy.
Mind Song chuckled and then turned back to New Breath. "Great Queen, if you will allow me to seek out the First Lineage Queens, I agree to leave my brother in your care, and we will pledge ourselves to join your Hive before I leave."
New Breath's pleasure was as obviously as her surprise at the offer, and she barely controlled her smile.
"But," he added, "while I and Michael are gone, I humbly ask that you remain out of battle. If we gain the knowledge we seek, it will be useless if you and this Hive are lost while we are gone."
But it was Long Sleep's survival that he cared for the most.
New Breath clearly would guess as much, but his point was still valid. It would be wiser for her to wait in safety for his return, or at least long enough to find out if he could return.
"Very well," New Breath declared. "I shall use the time to gather the Cruisers that hopefully survived the battle, combine and study the sensor data, and consider how best to fight against the Skerti when we next face them."
Mind Song bowed his head and looked to Long Sleep once more as he released his shoulder, noticing that Michael had stepped forward to now stand alongside them; now a part of their team.
"Then," Mind Song looked back to New Breath, "the first question, My Queen, is where can we find the First Lineage Queens?"
000000
TBC