Act 2

As if the incessant drilling behind his eyes wasn't already enough, Sheppard winced as they came through the Gate and the rhythmic blaring of the city's alarm added another jackhammer to the mining going on inside his head.

"Somebody get a medical team," he called out almost before he was completely oriented, and he let go the hold he had on the vest of the unconscious marine he had dragged through the Stargate behind him. "And get McKay down here, now!"

Other members of the, much depleted, alpha team exited the event horizon after him, some of them dragging, as he had been, unconscious team members behind them. He sighed softly as he watched them, and moved aside for the medical personnel that came rushing into the area, summoned at his behest.

"What happened?" Woolsey came down the stairs to the floor of the Gate Room, frowning, and looking at him with urgent expectation, then looking around, he added, "Where's Ronon?"

"What happened," Sheppard replied, rounding on the base commander irritably, "is that your Intel was a crock!"

"I assure you, the Intel came from a reliable source," Woolsey countered.

"Yeah, well," Sheppard said, "they started out all friendly, concerned and in need, took us just far enough from the Gate and then turned on us so fast they made the Genii look like… fluffy bunnies. McKay!"

"This had better be good, Sheppard," McKay answered Sheppard as he arrived and hurriedly caught the object that Sheppard tossed in his direction. "You pulled me away from half a dozen important—"

"Find out what you can about that," Sheppard interrupted, nodding toward the weapon now in McKay's hands.

"It's a stunner," McKay said, making a move to hand the weapon back to Sheppard, looking offended that the Colonel had dragged him away from his lab, all the way down to the Gate Room, just to have him look over something they already knew as much about as they were ever going to get to know. "A Wraith Stunner."

"Take another look, McKay," Sheppard instructed, "It might look like a Wraith Stunner, but, I can assure you, it's anything but."

"What do you mean?" McKay looked up at him and then, frowning, looked around the Gate Room. "Where's Ronon?"

"He got hit by one of those things," Sheppard said, gesturing toward the weapon, then at the marines that were being wheeled away by the medics. "They all did. Took 'em down without even so much as a whimper."

"Even Ronon?" McKay's frown, and the way he began in earnest to examine the weapon he still held in his hands, did little to comfort Sheppard.

"Even Ronon," he said, his voice falling.

"So it's a very much improved Wraith Stunner," Woolsey said, peering at the weapon. "We knew we couldn't expect the Wraith not to make technological advances, especially with scientists like Todd working on—"

"These are not Wraith weapons," Sheppard insisted. "They might have been… developed from – based off of Wraith Stunners but—"

"No, no, no," McKay rattled off quickly. "To be able to develop something like this would take a knowledge of technology far in advance of anything the indigenous peoples of the Pegasus galaxy have ever developed. We know that the Wraith routinely monitor those kind of advances; stop their food sources from becoming too… clever, shall we say."

"Isn't it possible that these people are some kind of… Wraith worshippers?" Woolsey asked, "We've seen that before and—"

"It's possible," Sheppard said, the doubt clear in his voice. "But I think that the skeletal remains of several Wraith hanging in cages beside the roadways kinda makes that unlikely."

"Remains?" Woolsey asked.

"Roadside cages?" Rodney asked a second later.

"Just… see what you can figure out about that thing," Sheppard said irritably, "and fast. I want to know what it is we're up against. Meanwhile have Lieutenant Edgecombe and his team meet us in the conference room."

"You're going back out there?" McKay asked. He sounded as though he thought Sheppard was crazy.

"Well," Sheppard answered, "unlike the marines we brought back, Ronon was right in the thick of it when they hit him."

"They've taken him prisoner?" Woolsey asked.

"Dragged him off to one of their settlements," Sheppard confirmed angrily. "And as soon as I can assemble an assault team, and preferably figure out a defence against those things," he nodded again toward the weapon in McKay's hands, "I mean to go and get him back."

**

The woman could barely see. She hovered in the entrance to the cavern waiting for instruction or invitation to enter… to bring the report. For a long time he sat, motionless still, with his back to her, all his attention centred on the young one before him.

"If you have come to inform us that they escaped," he said at last, his voice a whispering echo around the irregular walls, "then you have wasted your journey. She already knows."

"Not all of them," she dared, and took a step into the darkness. "One of them we brought back to the settlement above."

The Guardian stood, and turned in a single fluid motion, advancing toward the woman, hand outstretched to grasp her by the throat and drag her further into the cavern and to her knees in front of the adolescent female.

"One is not enough," he hissed angrily, "Look at her—"

"I cannot," she protested.

"Look at her!" he grabbed the back of her neck and forced her to look up into the female's bloodshot eyes, more red than golden-yellow. "A single mind cannot sustain her mental development. She needs more!"

**

There was something supremely unsettling in the knowledge that the reason they were motionless in space; that the Hive was all but lifeless around them, was because the very fabric of the ship had been weakened by the subspace radiation of hyperspace travel. She shivered as she thought on how the organic, semi-sentient superstructure was once again regenerating.

Vega wrapped her arms around herself and leaned against the bulkhead beside the viewing port. The state of the Hive was not the only reason for the way she felt. She was afraid because, for the first time since she woke to find herself among the Wraith, she knew that Todd was nowhere nearby.

She hadn't realised, until she arrived at the viewing port, that she was watching for the return of the cruiser on which he had left; waiting to feel safe again, and with that realisation came a hundred other thoughts, a nest of confusion inside of her.

The absurdity of actually being able to feel safe aboard a Wraith Hive ship washed over her with an intensity that became more overwhelming as the maelstrom whirled inside of her – with everything she had seen and heard; everything she felt and all the things she did not know or understand – and then there was Todd.

He was her biggest fear. More accurately, the way she felt – more specifically, the developing… closeness between the two of them.

What had begun as simple recognition, on her part, of the Wraith so often mentioned in Colonel Sheppard's reports…

"What are you researching anyway?" she asked the Wraith as she watched him, wracking her brain to try and figure out why it was he was so familiar to her.

"I am trying to find a cure for the effects of the Hoffan drug, and a way for the Wraith to guard against it," he told her openly, "among other things."

"Other things?" she queried, picking up on his manner of giving her just enough information to let her understand that there were things that he couldn't tell her, for the sake of her safety. It confused her that it would concern him.

"Well, now," he said, walking a little down the line of alcoves and looking on their occupants, whom she knew to be hybrids. "Michael's hybrids are unlikely to be able to help in that respect, are they?"

"Michael's hyb—" The truth, the realisation of why she knew this Wraith, hit her as surely as if he'd taken the butt of a P90 to the side of her head. His manner, the star-like tattoo around his left eye… "Todd?"

He spun around to face her so quickly, and startled her so badly that she fell back against the bench that passed for her bed as he started back toward her.

"Do not call me by that name here," he said urgently, glancing at the door as though it would open any moment. "Colonel Sheppard sent you?"

He sat down beside her on the bench and reached out to draw her back into a more upright, more comfortable position.

"No, no, I…" she frowned and looked up at him, "I was beamed aboard one of Michael's Darts as Doctor McKay was searching the rubble for—"

"You have its research?" he cut in.

"No," she said and looked away. "He took it from me."

"A pity," he said with a sigh. "But perhaps we can be of more assistance to each other than I thought."

…had snowballed out of their control when the fickle Queen she had been forced to serve had sent her to him as a physical reward for his achievements.

Sheppard's reports named Todd as unusually honourable, for a Wraith, who had picked up an understanding of many human nuances during his time in the captivity of the Genii. Sheppard had not exaggerated and even though the Queen had sent her to be used as his plaything, he had not taken advantage of the fact, or of her.

"I will not make that decision for you. Some Wraith… would. I will not. It must be your choice and I expect you to be honest with me."

She ran a hand over her face, and for a moment sighed. Honest – how could she be honest with him if she wasn't even sure what she felt? Was that even true? Here she was, standing at the viewing port of the Hive, waiting for him to return like some… lonely lover, pining away. True, she didn't feel safe, and knowing he was away, she felt threat and menace from every dark corner of the Hive, but her line of thought, as she waited for the return of that safety, rekindled feelings that left her in an almost breathless turmoil.

… His hands on her… the feel of his breath, his protective arrogance…

"I will bring my concubine where I wish," Todd answered the other Wraith, and drew Vega even closer for a moment.

His use of the word made Vega's heart and stomach change places. To hear the open secret, so plainly spoken between two commanders among the Wraith, and in front of other sub-commanders, was disturbing enough, but combined with the idle caress that had become almost a clear defiance of the Hive Commander, it left her trembling with the uncertainly of her own feelings, let alone of his. She swallowed, and knowing she should do something to display the mutual involvement in this supposed tryst, ran her own hand down the leather of the arm that surrounded her, and onto the back of his right hand, to run her fingers along his.

"After all," Todd continued, shifting his hand beneath hers, guided beneath her touch to slowly climb her body. "Our Queen has given her the freedom of the Hive… unless of course…" she had to stifle a small moan as she felt the warmth of Todd's hand at the underside of her breast, and felt him breathe out slowly, before he eased her away from him. She found herself standing beside the two Wraith who now faced each other. "…you wish to challenge me."

The memory of being in his arms on the bridge, and later, again, in his laboratory, suddenly flooded through her hard and fast…

Todd eased her away from the workbench. He turned her in his almost soft grasp, to hold her as he had been on the bridge, one arm across her waist, the other teasing at the sensitive skin of her neck.

"I think you'll find that we could have plenty left to explore…" he said. Her fingers found their way to cover his hand, to slide over his pale digits. She leaned her head back beside the opened buckle, breathing in small snatches at the swirl of sensation his actions, and her own response, were causing. She closed her eyes as he finished softly, "If that was what you wanted."

"I don't know what I want," she told him, her voice an honest and frightened whisper, but she could not ignore the desire that was stirring in her. "Are you making me feel this way… with your mind, I mean?"

"Do I need to?" he purred, drawing her back a little more closely against him, and switching the positions of their hands, so that his larger fingers ran strong caresses against hers, front and back, until his fingernails could scrape lightly against her wrist. "The same… pulse…" his voice sounded right beside her ear, and she had not realised he had leaned down to her. She jumped a little, and let out a small gasp, that became a moan as he continued with both his words, and his caresses, "…flows in your veins… as in mine…"

"Todd…" she whispered in a rush.

"No." The word was more like a breath that moved over her, a warm wind that set every nerve jumping and every hair to stand on end. "Not any more."

The breath continued, and he allowed her to turn in his arms.

She looked up at him, her breathing unsteady and asked, "What… do you mean?"

He tilted his head, and ran his fingertips over her cheek, almost lightly, almost gently. "Beyond a certain point…" He took a step closer, and she couldn't help but back up until the arm around her waist tightened and drew her closer again. "…if we cross that line, it changes many things…" His fingers moved against the small of her back, drawing the smallest of voiced sighs from her as she rested her hands against the warmed leather of his chest, feeling the deep rising and falling of his breathing. "…that we know of one another. I would no longer be the one you know of only as… Todd."

"That's not necessarily true," she said, her voice trembling as much as her fingers, which moved idly over the broad plains on which they rested. "You—"

"You would prefer I entered into this only for my own…" his fingers began to travel in a slow, sensual crawl over the skin of her neck and shoulders. The light scrape of his fingertips was almost a burning fever that swept over her as he finished, the word almost a sigh from his lips, "gratification? Would you have me treat you as the Hive Commander treats the one sent to him by the Queen?"

"I told you," she whispered, and shook visibly as his fingers completed their maddening glide toward her own hand, and lifted it away from his chest, to toy idly with her fingers. "I… I don't know what I want. I—"

"Oh, I think you do," he told her softly and, turning his head, lifted her hand, exposing the inside of her wrist to the touch of his breath. She pushed against his chest with her other hand, overwhelmed and uncertain of trusting – not him, but herself. As if he knew what she was thinking, he said, "You only fear to admit it to yourself."

"But—" She gasped as the breath against her wrist became the touch of his lips, the light, nipping scrape of his teeth against her pulse point, the long goatee that brushed against the side of her arm only adding to the rush of sensation. Her voice cracked as she continued, "What is this?"

"Mutual and dangerous fascination, perhaps?" he suggested, barely a murmur amid his continued, seductive attentions.

"Dangerous?" she breathed, her head swimming.

"There are many dangers, Alicia," he said, abruptly releasing her hand from his grasp and straightening up to look into her eyes. She couldn't help but back away at the slightly feral glimmer that lay barely concealed there, "for both of us…if we make this journey we are beginning."

He took another step toward her then, and she backed away, gasping as she made contact with the workbench behind her. He stepped closer again, and with nowhere to go she raised her hands between them once more, leaning away, but unconsciously, while grasping the front of his coat for support, pulling him closer.

"But… you wouldn't—"

"I told you once," he rumbled as he leaned over her a little, his hands, both of them, beginning a slow, suggestive climb over the front of her – his right against her bodice, his left, still lower. "to never forget where you are, and who you are with."

His voice held soft menace, as one of his hands came to rest, his fingers lightly curled around her soft throat, his weight barely pressing over her as he leaned closer still.

"I remember," she let out the words, a whisper that revealed both her trepidation, and her desire. "Hard to forget. You—"

"Awaiting the return of your master..." The bitterness in the Wraith's voice cut into her memory and she spun around to find the Hive Commander dangerously close to her. "How admirable."

"Commander," she began to try and inch away from the bulkhead; to put herself into the more open space of the hallway. He anticipated her and stepped in closer, making it impossible. She looked up into his predatory face, only accentuated by the way his hair, unlike other Wraith, was pulled back from his face. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Do not think I don't see through the clever sophistry you weave here, Human," he said as he dwarfed her, making her take another step towards the bulkhead.

"I… have told no lies, Commander. I have sought only to serve my Que—"

His backhanded slap drove her backwards to collide with the uneven surface of the wall. She hit the back of her head and bit her tongue, yelping slightly from the pain, but that, too, was cut off as his fingers closed around her throat.

"You are fortunate that my Queen has many concerns that occupy her attention, so that she has not the time to see through the duplicity of an ungrateful handmaiden," he snarled.

She clawed at his hand, beginning to feel light-headed from lack of oxygen. Desperation started to blossom inside of her and with it came her struggles.

"Please," she gasped, meaning to protest innocence of his accusations.

"Know this," he warned softly as he let go of her. She fell to the floor and he leaned down, his face against hers and his feeding hand hovering barely millimetres from her heaving chest. "The moment you slip, the instant he leaves any evidence of your collusion, I will expose the both of you for the liars you are. Then I will show you what it truly means to be concubine to a Wraith Commander, and afterwards, I shall take even greater pleasure in feeding on you."

Under normal circumstances, the threat would have been a waking nightmare to Vega, but since the last Wraith that tried to feed on her had suffered the effects of her exposure to the Hoffan drug, at Michael's hands, she felt somewhat safe from that fate. She perhaps even hoped he would try, but then she remembered the condition in which Hanna had returned from the Commander's bed.

Nausea rose to strangle her as surely as the Commander had, only moments ago, been doing. Hanna was a true worshipper, and was as loyal and obedient to the Hive Commander as she was to the Queen. If she had returned so injured from her time with him, Vega couldn't help but doubt there would be much left of her own life on which the Commander would feed.

She shivered, and began to scramble away, but there was no need for her haste. The Commander had already turned, and was now stalking away.

**

Sheppard watched as the two teams began to assemble in the Jumper Bay. Lieutenant Edgecombe would pilot the second Jumper.

Sheppard sighed. He would have preferred to have Lorne as back-up, but from what Keller said, the longer the major remained as a hybrid, the less receptive he became to any approach by Atlantis personnel. Sheppard began to despair at ever getting Lorne back to his old self.

"Colonel Sheppard," Woolsey called as he hurried into the Jumper Bay. "I trust you'll be taking adequate precautions to ensure that no more of our people are in any way compromised by these weapons."

"That's why I'm taking the Jumpers," Sheppard said. "We'll cloak just as soon as we get through the Gate, fly right up to their doorsteps if we have to."

"So what you're saying is that you'll be relying on the element of surprise," Woolsey asked. "I wish I was comforted by that."

"Look, bottom line," Sheppard said, cutting the air with his hand, "we'll do whatever we have to to get Ronon out."

"You don't even know that he's alive," Woolsey argued.

"Oh, he's alive," Sheppard answered. "These people wanted prisoners for something. Otherwise, why – when you have technology like that at your disposal – use non-lethal weapons?"

"You have a point I suppose," Woolsey said after a while. "All right. Maintain radio contact at all times and if anything goes awry—"

"Believe me," Sheppard said, "nothing is going to go wrong."

"I wish I had your confidence, Colonel Sheppard," Woolsey said with a sigh, "I'm still not convinced that we're not dealing with the Wraith, and this time we don't have Teyla to warn us."

"Now you start to appreciate her participation," Sheppard muttered to himself.

**

He sat motionless, his back against the corner of the cell, his knees drawn up. Though his hands were clasped around his legs, his head was up. His eyes were open and staring ahead.

He knew the human psychologist was outside the bars of his holding cell, but did not acknowledge his presence. He did not feel the need. Heightened instinct and senses told him of the man's predatory nature. He could smell his aggression and excitement.

He had his instructions…

…and he would not fail. In spite of his condition, he knew this place, and its people, and even though Teyla was no longer in the city, he could not be sure that he would not be needed yet.

**

Just as the last time he had visited the Atlantis expedition member, turned hybrid by Michael, as, some would insist, the only way to save his life, Lorne said nothing, and did not move for the entire time that Varnerin stood outside his cell watching him.

At first he found it mildly amusing, and resolved to see how long it would last. However, as the time passed, still with no response from the hybrid, it started to grate on his nerves almost as much as the constant presence of the marine watching over the two of them.

"Would you step outside, please," he said to the man beside the door. He thought perhaps the sound of voices might rouse the major from his silence, but he did not give any sign that he had even heard.

"Sorry, sir, I can't do that," the marine answered. "Colonel Sheppard's orders."

Varnerin grumbled inwardly, though he wasn't really surprised. During his last visit with Lorne he had attempted to get the former major to talk and had, perhaps unwisely, used a taser on the man. The entire incident had been reported by the duty soldier and had not done much to improve his relationship with the existing members of the Atlantis Expedition. Even Richard Woolsey had baulked at his use of such methods, and he had been certain that he could wind the little weasel around in knots and get him onside without a problem. Though Woolsey had defended him to a point, he was nowhere near as malleable as Varnerin had hoped.

It would prove to be somewhat of a hindrance. He was becoming more and more certain of that and he didn't have time for obstacles.

"Reuben, I'm sure we don't need to tell you how important it is that you… keep this to yourself until you can establish your place in Atlantis, or until you have no choice otherwise than to reveal our intentions…"

He hadn't needed the little pep talk from those who had contacted him with the proposition. He wasn't stupid.

He took a deep breath to calm the irritation and turning his head slightly to address the marine, said, "Open it."

As the force field began to discharge, and the doorway to slide open, Lorne finally moved, starting to get to his feet.

"Please," Varnerin said cordially, "there's no need to get up. I was intending to sit, after all."

He gestured to the opposite corner, ironically the one where Lorne had pinned him by the throat after his use of the taser.

Lorne tilted his head, as though this confused him for a moment, before he said, "You're intending to attempt to build some kind of relationship between the two of us."

"I just want to talk. I have some questions," Varnerin said.

"You know I will not answer them," Lorne said, though he did return to his former position, "so why do you waste your time?"

"Perhaps I don't consider it a waste." Varnerin lowered himself to sit, almost mirroring the Hybrid-Lorne's position. "They're not particularly questions about your… what is he, your… leader?"

"He is the future of this galaxy," Lorne said.

"Interesting." Varnerin blinked. Of all the answers he could have predicted Lorne would give, that was not on his list of expectations.

Lorne tilted his head and was silent for a moment before he asked, "Is that what you wish to hear?"

Varnerin couldn’t help but chuckle. "Very clever… Very disarming, but not at all necessary, I assure you. I'm not here as your adversary – not today, in any case."

"You are on nobody's side but your own," Lorne accused softly.

"I'm here to do a job – just like everyone else," Varnerin answered. He found Lorne's manner somewhat disturbing; the way that he seemed to know more than he would say.

"You had questions," Lorne said, fixing his eyes on him and Varnerin thought that the intensity of the stare would probably have intimidated a lesser man.

"I do," he said, almost lightly. "If I were to ask you, in your opinion, which is the more dangerous to the Pegasus galaxy - the Wraith or this new army of hybrids Michael is creating - what would be your answer?"

"Are you asking me as a member of the Atlantis Expedition or as I have become?" Lorne raised an eyebrow, and even Varnerin chuckled a little at the irony of such a question.

"Either," he shrugged, "both."

"Why do you wish to know?" Lorne asked.

"Let's just say… I'm interested," he said.

"Let's just say… I don't believe you."

Lorne's mimicry was chilling, even to the professor, and dropping all pretence of light heartedness he said, "Tell me about the Wraith, Major Lorne."

**

Todd was surprised to have felt her summons as soon as he arrived back to the Elder Hive; surprised and a little irritated by it. He had work to do and running to meet with the Queen would be a delay he could ill afford. Still, a summons was a summons, and so he found himself striding down the long hallway that led to the Queen's Chamber.

The drone guards stood aside as he closed in on them, and through the open doorway he could already see the bulk of the Hive Commander, on his knees before the Queen. He watched the way she stalked around him, fingers trailing over his shoulders and his neck, the barely noticeable tremor in the touch.

He realised, as he watched, how close she was to her zenith. He sighed. A Queen in such a state was even more unpredictable; even more deadly to those around her, and this Queen needed little further excuse for her extreme nature. He took another deep breath, stepped through the open doorway, and after barely two long strides, came to one knee, head bowed, waiting to be acknowledged.

"What is he doing here?"

The rumbling objection of the Hive Commander made him look up, though he kept his head bowed. There would be no question that the Hive Commander would not detect the condition of his Queen. His irritation at the presence of another male commander so close to the Queen, and with such unrestricted access, was understandable. Todd knew that he represented a threat to the certainty of the selection falling in favour of the Hive Commander when the time came. It was not just the Queens who became unpredictable at such times.

Todd sighed – how little he realised the viper they, all of them, held at their breast. He had no doubt that she would see her plan through to completion… and yet… deep within the depths of his mind he could not help but wonder – would she truly keep the germ of her own exalted progeny as it slept within her… or would she, like many others of her kind, come to consider the presence of such a one an untenable threat.

"He is here because he is chief among my scientists…" the Queen answered, and Todd felt her approach, tensed and tried to smother instinct deeper still than such thoughts of filicide, but not before he had wondered at how long he would hold that honour. "…and working on a project that will benefit all Wraith. Besides, he also has first hand knowledge of these Lanteans with whom we find ourselves so much at odds."

Her fingers curled beneath his chin and she raised his head from its bowed position. He exhaled audibly, at her nearness and her touch.

"You have what you need?" she purred as she circled behind him, leaning down to take in the scent and the sense of him.

"I do, my Queen," he answered, his voice a gravelly murmur.

"Good," she sighed and left him to return to the Hive Commander and take his steadying hand as she mounted the steps of her dais, to take her throne. At her right hand, a seat had been arranged and on a lower platform, part way up the steps on the left hand side, a second chair had been placed. "Then join us. We have much to discuss."

As Todd took his place on the lower of the two stations, the Queen turned to the Hive Commander to receive his report.

"We have maintained a watch on the Lesser Queen as you instructed," he told her. "Recently, she has taken her Hive to one of her primary feeding grounds. She has remained in the system, in orbit of the planet's moon after their cull was complete."

"What is she doing?" the Queen thoughtfully tilted her head.

"It is possible, my Queen," Todd offered, "that following the assault the Lantean's made on her Hive when she attempted to ensnare them, the Hive is in need of greater repairs than those to which we became privy."

"That was my thought as well," the Hive Commander cut in before Todd could speak further on the matter.

"And yet the Lanteans did not follow them," the Queen said, looking this time in Todd's direction.

"The Humans of Atlantis have been known to follow a Hive to its destruction, yes," he mused, careful to phrase the answer in an offhand kind of way. "However, in this instance, with the arrival of this Hive and our obvious supremacy, their primary goal would have been one of rescue for those of their kind held in captivity. Once both our Hive and that of the Lesser Queen left the system, there was no threat to those they sought to protect, therefore, they did not pursue."

"And what of this… woman – the one they call… Teyla?" the Hive Commander asked with contempt.

"What of her?" Todd asked, dismissive of the other Wraith. He was unwilling to reveal that he knew she had once been a captive of the Renegade, and that she was important enough to the Lanteans for them to have given him some of their research into the Hoffan protein in exchange for any intelligence he could provide as to her whereabouts. It seemed so very long ago.

"Every indication I have been able to find suggests that she has been absent from any team of Human soldiers that have hampered the proper operation of Wraith Hives among our feeding grounds," the Hive Commander said.

"Is it not possible that our Queen… affected her more than we at first believed?" Todd answered smoothly, inclining his head respectfully to the Queen. "She would need time to recover, after all."

The Hive Commander locked eyes with Todd, pure malevolent hatred streaming from every pore of his being. Todd felt the push of the Commander's mind against his own – accusatory and threatening – posturing, Todd realised, for the favour of the Queen.

"Enough!" she growled, evidently unimpressed by the gesture.

=enough= =enough= =enough=

"Yes, my Queen," he answered with the slightest of bows, before, dismissed, he took his leave.

Todd turned to follow, but was halted suddenly by the vice that grasped all of his muscles.

=wait= =wait= =wait=

He turned back, his body automatically inclined to put his head lower than the Queen's. She did not move, nor speak until the Hive Commander had turned the corner at the end of the hallway, then she came to Todd, sliding her hands from his belly to the tops of his shoulders and he straightened at her touch.

"You understand more than you have spoken…" she said.

=of my purpose= =my purpose= =purpose=

Her voice dripped amused, yet threatening, tones over him. He fought to keep his own responses from driving him to act. He was Wraith, yes, but he refused to be a creature of instinct. Besides which, she was right – still, his own, stubborn pride would not allow her to toy with him like that, and as he had once before, he grasped her wrists, and spun her around in his arms, pulling her closer, and holding her through her struggles.

"I understand you have another in mind," he growled against the side of her head, "but first you must subdue him…"

~to your will~ ~your will~ ~will~

"Bring me to him," she said, and as her struggles ceased and her manner changed, Todd released her.

"As you wish," he inclined his head in a respectful bow as he stepped back and indicated for her to precede him with a sweep of his hand, "my Queen."

**

Sheppard watched through the view screen of the Jumper as the other, flying beside him, shimmered out of view. Immediately he activated his own Jumper's HUD. The last thing they wanted was for the two of them to collide. That would do Ronon no good.

"Jumper Two, this is Jumper One," he said smoothly, in control. "Edgecombe, take circuit of the area, see what you can find."

"Understood, sir," Edgecombe's voice came back. "Don't want any nasty surprises."

"Colonel Sheppard, this is Atlantis," Woolsey sounded almost immediately after Edgecombe, over the com. "I strongly suggest that before you go in, you do a little recon up in orbit as well. Just to be sure there are no Wraith waiting out there."

"Way ahead of you, Atlantis," Sheppard answered, and already his Jumper was climbing toward the upper atmosphere.

"Keep us posted, Colonel," Woolsey said. "We'll keep an active Gate as long as we can."

"Understood, Sheppard out." He shut off communications with the City as the blue of the atmosphere began to give way to the darkness of space. It always took his breath, the transition between the two. He couldn't help but grin over at the rookie member of his team riding shotgun. "Really something, isn't it."

"Yes, Sir," the man answered. "Never thought I'd see anything like this."

"You just wait until you catch your first glimpse of a Hive ship," Sheppard said, then added hurriedly, "of course, you won't right now, because there's nothing out here and they're all being paranoid about this place being anything to do with the Wraith."

"Of course, Sir," the marine said, but Sheppard saw that his eyes flicked from side to side as he searched the boundaries of what was visible through the view screen, and also that he did not fail to take in the sensor telemetry coming in on the HUD. "Nothing in visual range, or on sensors."

"See, what did I tell you?" Sheppard answered, nodding, and began to turn the Jumper to prepare for re-entry. "No Wraith – nothing to worry about."

**

"You're going to want to shut down that wormhole and shut it down now," McKay said as he all but ran into the control room.

"Doctor McKay?" Woolsey queried, blinking in surprise.

"I routinely monitor for transmissions and other such phenomena coming into Atlantis from off world through an active Gate. I just detected a very strong carrier wave for a specific type of signal that interferes with the normal operation of the brain causing it to shift from beta, to a rotating pattern of alpha, theta and delta waves, triggering hallucinatory dreamlike states of awareness in which the individual believes he or she is somewhere else experiencing whatever is in their worst nightmares," he said, almost without pausing for breath.

"Excuse me?" Woolsey raised his eyebrows, not at all wanting McKay to actually repeat himself, rather to explain what he meant.

"Look," McKay said, somewhat irritably, "bottom line is we've encountered something like this before. It messes with your head – and it's Wraith. Banks, shut it down."

"Wait," Woolsey told Banks, and she stopped, her hand hovering over the controls.

"We don't have time for waiting," McKay insisted. "The longer we're exposed to that thing, the more likely it is we're all going to go stark raving—"

"Colonel Sheppard, this is Atlantis, respond please," Woolsey said.

"Go ahead," Sheppard's lazy and somewhat complacent voice came from the com.

"Doctor McKay has detected the presence of Wraith… mind altering… wave signals coming from your location. We're shutting down the Gate to limit base exposure. I strongly suggest you find Ronon, and quickly."

"To hell with that," McKay murmured and then called out, "Sheppard, McKay…"

"Rodney," Sheppard said. "Wraith? There's no trace of 'em anywhere. What are you talking about?"

"Just shut up and listen to me," McKay said urgently, "Remember M1B-129? Well somewhere on that planet you've got yourselves another one of those… phantom devices, only this one is fully operational with all the bells and whistles I can think of. You need to get the hell out of there."

"I'm not leaving without Ronon," Sheppard said. "I'm perfectly lucid, and none of my team is affected."

"For now, yeah," McKay yelped, "but what happens when you lose it and start… shooting each other like you shot me?"

"He shot you?" Woolsey asked, then shook his head and held up his hand to prevent McKay from telling him the story. "Never mind. Colonel Sheppard, I really think that until we've investigated this matter, you should return to Atlantis."

"No," Sheppard said, with a true force of conviction. "Tell McKay—"

"Still here," McKay muttered.

"—to keep working on ide—"

"Doctor McKay, this is Doctor Keller. I think we have another problem. Whatever you do, don't shut down the Gate."

**

"Ah, Crap!" Sheppard said, "Maybe I spoke too soon."

He quickly turned the Jumper and increased their speed as they returned toward the area where they left the other team.

"Jumper Two, this is Sheppard, Edgecombe, what have you got?"

"A small settlement, to the west of the Gate, nestled at the foot of a group of irregular, cliff-like structures, Colonel." Edgecombe answered. "No sign of anyone, except the natives, sir."

"See," Sheppard said, talking mostly to himself, "like I told you, no Wraith."

Sheppard saw it too and immediately began to try and work out a strategy that would get them in, locate and rescue Ronon, and get them out before any of the supposed ill effects began to hamper them – and before any more of them could fall prey to the weapons these people possessed.

**

"Doctor Keller?" Woolsey calling her name drew her attention away from the monitor she was watching. She turned to see Rodney following him into the infirmary, computer tablet in hand, head down, pushing repeatedly against the touchscreen.

"Mister Woolsey," she greeted him and moved away from the comatose marine. "Rodney, thank you for listening to me and coming so soon."

Rodney looked up and said brusquely, "Yes, well, time is an issue here, isn’t it?"

"I'm aware that we only have a total of thirty-eight minutes, Rodney," Keller said, feeling slightly hurt by his tone, even though she knew it was nothing but the way he was, and there was nothing personal meant by it.

"In thirty-eight minutes, everyone on this base is going to be a slathering idiot," he said, and looked up from the tablet at last, "unless we shut down the Gate."

"I don't think so," she said.

"Pardon me, Jennifer, and no offense, but, I rather doubt you unde—"

"Did you find something, Doctor?" Woolsey cut in.

"Several things, actually," she said and gestured toward the marines. "These men are in an artificially induced unconscious state. Their brainwaves are alternating between the three states in which a human exists during sleep, with unnaturally long periods of dreaming, beta wave activity between, and then incredible periods of delta waves following that. When we brought them back here, though, while the Gate was inactive, every single one of them began to experience a slow shutting down of their brain activity."

"You mean their brains started to die?" Woolsey asked.

"I mean they started to shut down, yes," she said. "When Colonel Sheppard went back to the planet, the Gate was active and suddenly the activity picked up again, they went back into the strange… cycle they're in and—"

"Okay, so not gibbering idiots, but brain dead coma patients," Rodney cut in. "The point is—"

"The point is, Rodney, it's artificial, yes, but it's not random, or universal – otherwise why hasn't everyone fallen victim to this?" she pressed.

"Well, it's length of exposure, isn't it?" he snapped fearfully, "which is why – as I keep saying – it's important to shut down the Stargate!"

"No, Rodney, it’s the weapon," she said, "the one Colonel Sheppard brought back, I'm certain of it, and I'm equally as certain that something in that signal, that you're so bothered by it's stopping you from thinking straight, is maintaining the artificial rhythm of the brainwaves, for whatever reasons."

McKay frowned and turned his attention to his computer tablet again. After several moments of reading and pressing, and even more frowning, his eyes widened and he looked up first at Keller and then toward Woolsey.

"Oh my God, she's right!" he exclaimed, "I can't believe I missed that. Right there, hidden in the carrier wave oscillation. Jennifer, I'm sorry, I—"

"It's all right, Rodney," she smiled at him briefly. "Your past experience with the Wraith device made you overcautious, that's all."

"The question is: what are we going to do about it?" Woolsey asked. "As you have said, Doctor Keller, we can't just cut them off from it."

"And I can't waken them," she said, and the rush of uselessness she felt in her ability to help these men only strengthened. "I've tried everything, and as soon as we have to shut down the Gate—"

"Maybe… if we took them back to the planet, established a kind of… field hospital," McKay suggested. "If we could locate the device, maybe there's some kind of setting that would be some kind of a wake up call."

"Wouldn't that be dangerous?" Keller said. "What if these people came with more of those stun things?"

"We'd have to have a defensive… perimeter," Rodney said,"but if it's the only way to save these men, and to save Ronon..."

Both she and Rodney looked at Woolsey, who stood frowning, looking over at the marines. He was clearly thinking.

"Do it," he said finally. "Take Captain Warsh and his team as your military support, at least until Colonel Sheppard can join you."

"Thank you, Mister Woolsey," Jennifer felt a flush of relief and gripped the base commander's arm for a moment.

"Don't thank me yet," he said seriously. "If there's even a hint of the Wraith, beyond this device of theirs, I'm afraid you're going to have to abandon these men, and make your way back to Atlantis. Do I make myself clear?"

Keller fixed him with a terrible stare, and pulled her hand away from his arm.

"Perfectly," she said. "You're more afraid of the Wraith than you are of our reputation in losing Atlantis personnel."

**

Sheppard flattened himself against the building on one side of the settlement, close to the large building in which he had detected Ronon's subspace transceiver. He looked across to the other side of the village, to watch as the shadowy crawl of Edgecombe's team moved into position.

It was a simple strategy, storm the settlement with air support from the two cloaked Jumpers; take out anyone that so much as pointed one of the stunners in their direction; get Ronon, and get out.

Cautiously, moving slowly so as not to attract attention, he keyed his headset mic, and speaking quietly, ordered, "All teams, this is Sheppard, sound off."

"Ground Two, standing by." Edgecombe's soft voice came back almost immediately, while the man gave a visual sign from across the clear space at the centre of the settlement, where inhabitants were milling back and forth as they went about their daily life.

"Jumper One, in position."

"Jumper Two ready, Colonel."

"All right," he took a breath, "on my mark. Three, two, one – mark."

"Everybody down!" he yelled authoritatively, his call echoed by the many members of both teams. "Down on the ground now, and nobody gets hurt!"

He caught a blur of motion from the doorway of one of the buildings, even as, all around him, the inhabitants of the settlement were hurrying to obey, and quickly turned his weapon that way.

"Drop it!" he instructed. The man did not. In fact, he extended the weapon, taking aim in Sheppard's direction. Sheppard pulled the trigger on his own weapon, aiming at the outstretched arm, and the man fell back against the door, the stunner falling from his hand. "Down on the ground!"

The would-be assailant complied, all but falling to lie on his belly in the dirt outside the building.

"Nobody makes an aggressive move, no one else gets hurt," Sheppard called. "Those inside: come out slowly with your hands where we can see 'em."

One or two more shots rang out from the marines in Edgecombe's team, as some of the natives tried to act in defence of their home. Sheppard didn't really blame them. He would have done the same. Most of the inhabitants, however, seemed to be cooperating with his instructions, no doubt in fear of the display of martial force.

Finally the door to the large structure ahead, where he knew they had Ronon, opened, and a tall, rather stately dressed woman came out into the weak sunshine.

"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded, walking fearlessly toward Sheppard, even as he turned his weapon to bear against her. "Who are you?"

"Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard," he said. "That's far enough. You are?"

"I am Atterna Rowf. I lead these people," she said, spreading her hands to either side of her.

"You have one of my people," he said.

"And he has been well cared for. I assure you, no harm has come to him," Rowf answered.

"You bring him, and his equipment, out here now," Sheppard said, "and we'll take him, and leave you alone… so long as none of your people get frisky, nothing bad needs to happen here." He keyed his headset mic, "Jumpers, go."

Gasps sounded from several of the natives who were huddled on the ground as the Jumpers above and behind him decloaked, displaying the full extent of their military strength.

Atterna Rowf nodded briefly with a sigh. "Very well, Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, you will have your friend." She turned her head slightly, and called, "Bring him outside."

"Thank you," Sheppard said over the top of his P90, not without a hint of sarcasm. "It's been a pleasure."

**

Vega was pacing back and forth across Todd's laboratory.

She tried to sit, instead of pacing, perching herself on the edge of his cot, but she could not be still, when every moment her mind was racing with the dark possibilities of what could have delayed his return to the laboratory.

Perhaps the Hive Commander had found some evidence against him, against them both and was even now punishing him at the behest of the Queen. It did not register in her frightened mind that had this been the case, then she, too, would more than likely have been hauled before the Queen to answer for her crimes – if not already dead.

She heard him before she saw him. She had come to recognise the sounds of his movement without even realising that she had. She spun around to face the door as he came through it, and lifted his right hand to close it behind him.

She looked him over. He looked weary, and there was a slight red tint behind the yellow-gold of his eyes, as though he was hungry, but she could see no obvious injuries. Relief flooded through her like the water in the creek back home on a rainy day, and she started to cross the room toward him.

"Todd—"

"Stay where you are, Alicia. Do not come any closer." He stopped at the side of the workbench and leaned on it, breathing deeply, even as he held out his hand to signal that she should stop.

She froze at his words, and frowned as she watched him visibly fighting with something, struggling to pull himself together.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Tears sprang into her eyes and she took a hesitant step in his direction. Perhaps there was something wrong that she had missed when she had looked him over, something she didn't know about the Wraith. A terrible thought struck her then: what if he had tried to feed on someone like her – a survivor of the Hoffan plague? "Tell me!"

"I have just come from the Queen," he rumbled. "I cannot guarantee that you are safe from me."

She blinked. Then she frowned and took another hesitant step.

"Alicia," he warned.

"You won't hurt me," she said to him, but even to her own ears she sounded unconvincing. "Don't be ridiculous. You—"

"You do not understand," he said softly. "At a time like this, being in close proximity to a Queen can drive Wraith to madness. A commander among Wraith, those of us with individuality…" he paused to take a breath, "…those of us with the ability to…"

His voice trailed away into nothing, and he closed his eyes. He stood very still, and Vega began to worry even more as she tried to make sense of everything that he had only halfway said, and everything else that had gone before.

He swayed slightly, and before she knew what she had done she crossed the rest of the distance between them and took hold of his wrist. She meant only to lead him to one of the stools, to sit him down before he fell. If this was something the Queen had done to him, there was no telling how long he would suffer, or by what he was stricken.

As her fingers closed around the cuff of his jacket, his own hand fastened like a vice around her wrist and pulled her closer, twisting her arm behind her back. His right hand mantled, and started toward her. His eyes flashed open, but they were still slightly glazed.

"Todd, stop! Stop!" she struggled with him, futile even in this worrying, slightly disconnected state, as he was far stronger than she could ever hope to master. In the end, pinned as she was, she did the only thing she could to try and shock him out of his stupor.

Her free hand flashed up under his incoming arm and she grabbed his chin, pulling his face down toward hers. Then, standing on the tips of her toes, all but falling against him, she pressed a sudden, fierce kiss against his lips.

It was harsh, with little feeling – though even as her lips met his she felt her colour rising, burning even to the tips of her ears – and it was brief, but she knew it had worked when, as she pulled away, almost breathless with her own audacity, his grip on her wrist eased. His right hand paused, centimetres from her chest, before settling gently, closer to her shoulder as he let go of her wrist altogether, moving to hold her gently, to steady her instead.

"Stop," she whispered shakily, and swallowed hard.

"That was… quick thinking on your part," he murmured, and she was relieved, almost to the point of feeling tearful, to hear the slightly amused tone in his voice. She knew he was himself again.

She swallowed again to try and find her voice.

"Yeah, well it seemed better than the only other option I could come up with," she said, and found herself wondering if a swift knee to the groin would have worked in any case. Suddenly overcome with profound embarrassment, the full realisation of what she'd done hitting her, she twisted out of his grasp and walked away from him, stopping in the middle of the laboratory to catch her breath; try to compose herself again.

He followed her. The warmth of his hands came down on her shoulders, and she couldn't help but shiver as he called her name into the awkward silence she had placed between them.

"Alicia—"

"It's all right," she said. "I know she did something to you, and you weren't yourself."

He let out the low rumbling that she had come to know was his sound of agreement, before he said, "I told you that the Queen seeks evolution. She has been… preparing herself; plans to further her own bloodline with the production of a Queen, her… daughter, as you would say."

She turned to him then, frowning. Almost angrily, accusatorily, she asked, "You didn't!"

Todd blinked, then looked at her seriously for a moment before he put back his head, and laughed.

"What's funny?" she demanded, pulling away from him and going to sit on the side of his cot. She was irritated, and wasn't sure if it was at herself, for being upset that he might have succumbed and mated with the Queen, or at him for laughing at the suggestion. Didn't he think he was good enough?

"My dear Alicia," he said, sobering quickly, "she has someone far removed from me in mind for that task, I can assure you."

She looked up at him then, meeting his eyes, and the worried expression she saw there. He sighed, and came to her, unfastening the buckle on his coat, before sitting beside her, and reaching to take her hands. She looked at her hands in his, then up into his face, tilted as it was, as he was watching her curiously.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I have no right to be angry with you, just…"

She broke off, and shrugged.

"Just?" he prompted.

"I was worried about you," she swallowed, and shivered, remembering the reason for her coming to him in the first place. "The… the Hive Commander cornered me." A frown appeared on Todd's face, and before she stopped herself she freed one of her hands and ran the tips of her fingers over the frown lines. "I'm all right," she told him, "but he's on to us. He… he knows."

"What did he say?" he asked, and he started to get up, to finish unfastening his coat; to toss it away as though it was soiled and reeking.

Vega blinked, and wrapped her arms around herself a little as he slipped it off and stood in only the sleeveless vest he wore beneath, that looked as though it was made of some kind of linen, and his leather pants.

Swallowing she said, "He warned me that when we slip up; whenever he has evidence against us, he will expose us for the liars we are."

"Troubling," he said, cocking his head to the side, "but not insurmountable."

"That's easy for you to say," she said, and realising she was staring, she turned her face away toward the bulkhead. "You don't have to go back there to Ms Looney-Toons, and Her Royal Wraithness."

"But you do," he said, his voice little more than a soft grumble, ignoring her sarcasm. "In order to allay suspicions, you must return to your duties, but first… I would like your help… if you are willing?"

**

"Sheppard, this is McKay. Where are you?"

Sheppard couldn't help but glance back at the immobile Satedan, lying in the back of the Jumper, watched over by the marines of his team.

The natives, in the face of the overwhelming display of firepower, had quickly done as he'd asked and brought Ronon to them together with his blaster, and the few other weapons he had been carrying. It had gone smoothly – like clockwork, and these things never happened that way. He'd just been waiting for the spanner to come flying at his head.

"Here it comes," he murmured under his breath, before he answered, "McKay – we're inbound, with Ronon. ETA," he paused to check the HUD, "six minutes."

"Negative, Colonel," McKay's voice came back over the radio, and Sheppard frowned.

"What do you mean, 'negative, Colonel,' we're on our way back to the Gate. We have Ronon and everything is A-Okay."

"I'm afraid not," McKay answered, "There've been… complications. I'll explain properly when you get here, but for now we've had to establish an off-world field hospital for those injured by those weapons. Adjust your heading to bring you in West-south-west of the Gate. You'll see us."

"I'll say there have been complications," he grumbled, but turned the Jumper in the direction of the field hospital, easily locating it with the Jumper's sensors. "Why can't these things ever go according to plan?"