STARGATE ATLANTIS: Lost Queen (SGX-04)

by Melissa Scott

  Light Breaking received the idea with an approving nod, and she made the connection to Alabaster herself. The other queen listened in turn, and promised to speak to the Lanteans for them, and to return their answer as soon as possible.

  *Which,* Light Breaking added, after the connection was broken, *may mean tomorrow or next week or never. But we have done what we can.*

  We should do more, Everlasting thought, but was careful not to let those words rise to the surface of his mind. He bowed instead, and backed from the zenana.

  To his surprise, however, Guide himself signaled them only thirty hours later. Light Breaking received the call in the zenana, her lords about her, and Everlasting was unsurprised to see annoyance flicker across Guide’s face. Guide bowed his head politely enough, however, and Light Breaking lifted her hand in a graceful welcome.

  “I am glad to see you returned so soon, Guide.”

  “It was made clear to me that the matter was urgent,” Guide answered. “And, as it happens, to more than just your hives. When we spoke to the Lanteans, they said they had found traces of Wraith activity in the system. If that is the queen Moonwhite, trespassing by accident or by pure necessity, that is one thing.”

  Everlasting held himself perfectly still, though he wanted to show teeth at the veiled insult. The Hivemaster hissed very softly, and Forge tilted his head to one side as though he didn’t understand. Light Breaking said, “Which of course is why we wish permission to search for my sister.”

  “And they are willing to grant it,” Guide said. “But on terms.”

  “I had expected no less,” Light Breaking said. “Name them.”

  “Your party is to number no more than four,” Guide said, “and it is to arrive on Teseirit by Stargate. There are to be no Wraith ships in orbit while you are on the planet. The Lanteans will meet you at the Stargate, and they will go with you as you search. And will, of course, aid you in their search.”

  “You can’t have thought that would be acceptable,” the Hivemaster said, as though the words had been startled out of him.

  Light Breaking lifted her hand, though Everlasting didn’t think she was actually displeased. “We must have a ship in orbit, or on the planet. How else can we search?”

  “As I have said, the Lanteans have offered to put their systems at your disposal,” Guide said.

  “We thank them for that generous offer,” Light Breaking said, “but we must be certain. And of course my sister will have every reason to conceal herself from the Lanteans, and their scanners. I am, of course, willing to send a small party.”

  Guide dipped his head again, and Everlasting thought he was hiding a smile. “The Lanteans were very definite —”

  “So am I.” Light Breaking smiled, showing teeth.

  “I will carry that message back to them,” Guide said, “and see if we come to some arrangement.”

  “I appreciate your efforts,” Light Breaking said, and nodded for the Hivemaster to cut the transmission.

  Distant Thunder, the Master of Sciences Physical, snarled openly as soon as the screen went blank. *He overreaches.*

  Light Breaking turned to fix him with a stare, but the cleverman held his ground.

  *It is not his place, Lady, even if he was Consort once and is now the Queen’s acknowledged sire. He has no right to dictate terms.*

  *I would rather deal with him than Alabaster,* Light Breaking said. *There’s a bit more room to maneuver. Everlasting. If they agree, who should we send?*

  *Blaze must go,* Everlasting answered. It was his right as Consort to the missing queen, and it had been his idea in the first place. *And I would want to join him. With your permission, Lady.*

  *I will consider it,* Light Breaking answered. *In the meantime, who else?*

  *Surely Blaze will want to choose men of his own,* the Hivemaster said.

  *Indeed he may, but I will claim at least one more place,* Light Breaking answered.

  *Forge,* Distant Thunder said. *Blaze cannot think him involved, he was on Alabaster’s hive. And his skills may be useful.*

  *Well, cleverman?* Light Breaking looked at the Master of Sciences Biological, who bowed deeply.

  *If my Lady wishes it, of course I will go.* He straightened. *And will we provide the ship to take us to the nearest Stargate? I can’t think Guide will like it if we each send one.*

  *That,* Light Breaking said, *is something Blaze and I will need to discuss.* She waved a hand in dismissal. *But first the Lanteans must agree to our request. Go now, my lords, but be ready.*

  The lords of the zenana filed out obediently. Everlasting hung toward the rear, hoping that the queen would signal him to stay, but she made no move, and at last he bowed himself out with the rest. He found himself at Forge’s side, and the cleverman slid an arm through his before he could move away.

  *I would like a moment.*

  Everlasting let himself be drawn aside into one of the chambers grown for the clevermen. It was pleasant enough, softly lit, mist coiling up from the corners, and in spite of himself he felt some of the tension leave his shoulders. Forge dropped onto one of the several couches, graceful without deliberate airs, and said, *I don’t want to go.*

  Everlasting had been about to seat himself, and checked abruptly. He made himself move again, settling himself comfortably against the long shaped cushions, and said, *Why not?*

  Forge raised his brow ridges at that. *I am a cleverman, not a blade. And this is not a matter that will be settled by science.*

  *It might yet be,* Everlasting answered. *Our queen is right; Moonwhite will be hiding from the Lanteans’ sensors as much as from the Lanteans themselves. And Distant Thunder is right, too. You, at least, could not be involved in any conspiracy.*

  *And I presume there is none?* Forge tipped his head to one side.

  *I could take that as an insult.*

  *None was intended, as you well know.* Forge paused. *Let me speak openly.*

  Everlasting nodded.

  *If Moonwhite is dead, the most likely hand behind it is our queen’s. We all know this — you would not otherwise even think of sending me. Can you tell me that you know nothing of this?*

  *I know nothing more than you,* Everlasting said. *I give you my word on that.*

  For a long moment, Forge didn’t move, but then his lips curved into a wry smile. *I believe you. And I think that worries me even more.*

  Blaze stood in his queen’s empty zenana, the throne gleaming white at its center. If Moonwhite were truly lost… It was a thought that made him shudder, and he was glad there was no one else there to see. But it had to be faced, the worst possibility of all. If she were lost by accident, some terrible mischance, Light Breaking would take her sister’s people into her hive. She might eventually breed them a queen of their own again, as it would be a shame to waste a hiveship on a queenless crew. She might even welcome him, who had once been of her faction, potential pallax and lord of her zenana, and he did not know what to think of that. In time, the grief would wear away, and he might welcome that favor, but now the possibility grated, irked him like sand on raw flesh. But if Light Breaking were behind the attack, he could not join her hive — he couldn’t stand against her either, not when most of the hive would rather serve Moonwhite’s sister than a stranger. Sorocide was the rule among Wraith, and the sisters’ friendship the exception, but he would not serve her. Though surely if the sisters had fallen out over policy, Light Breaking would have proclaimed the deed, and demanded the hive’s allegiance. That thought was perversely reassuring, and he took a steadying breath. And if Alabaster were behind this… That was the real unknown factor, the blank face on the die, the counter that shifted from ten to none depending on its place on the board. Even together, the two hives could not stand against her, not with Guide standing in for the consort and the Lantean alliance in place. And yet — if she wanted their hunting grounds, she didn’t need to risk even the sort of attack they could make. Neither Moonwhite nor Light Breaking would have f
ought, not if Alabaster had pressed her demands. And that brought him back to the possibility of accident, of catastrophic drive failures and breached hulls, all the one-in-a-million chance that went with space travel. It was possible for a ship to vanish, and have no one ever learn its fate.

  But he was not there yet, and with a bit of luck, might never be. A chime sounded, drawing his eyes to the unlit screen set into the rear wall, and a voice spoke over the ship’s intercom. “Commander. The queen’s sister wishes to speak with you.”

  “Put her through.” Blaze straightened his spine and turned to face the screen as it came to life, displaying Light Breaking’s well-remembered face. “Lady.”

  “Guide has spoken with the Lanteans,” she said, “and they have made us an offer.”

  “Will they let us search?”

  “On terms.”

  Blaze hissed softly. That was better than he had hoped, and the relief was almost painful. “What terms?”

  “Only four Wraith may land on the planet, and they must be escorted by the Lanteans. We have persuaded them to let us put a small cruiser in orbit so that we may search more efficiently, but they are adamant about the rest.”

  Blaze nodded. “We should send Far-faring — it’s the smallest of all our cruisers, but still carries a full complement of Darts.”

  “And is yours,” Light Breaking said, but the words held no heat. “But, yes, it is the smallest, and I agree it should be the one we send. But I also want to name men to the party.”

  “I intend to go myself, of course,” Blaze said. “And I would not object to bringing one of your people with me.”

  “Everlasting,” Light Breaking said, “and also Forge.” She lifted a hand before he could protest. “Forge cannot have been involved in any plot, and he is my Master of Sciences Biological as well as pallax. He is my pledge to you that I have nothing to do with this.”

  Blaze bowed deeply. “Thank you, Lady. I will be glad of his company.” He didn’t have to pretend sincerity: he had known Forge before the two hives split, and knew his temperament; besides, if the queen’s scout was badly damaged, his skills would come in useful.

  “And your second?”

  Blaze hesitated. There were a dozen blades he could choose, any one of whom would leap at the chance to serve their queen. But he and Everlasting were both just as competent, and if he could only bring one more, it should be someone whose skills were unique. “Salt.”

  Light Breaking tilted her head as though he had surprised her. “The storymaker?”

  “My queen knows and trusts him,” Blaze answered, “and he has never declared himself for either of you above the other. That is my pledge of trust.”

  She nodded slowly. “That is — wise, I think. Very well, if he will go, I will name him to the Lanteans.”

  “He’ll go,” Blaze said. The storymaker wouldn’t refuse to help either daughter of the queen he had served.

  “I expect he will,” Light Breaking answered, and broke the connection.

  Salt had no true home on either hive, though a portion of the guest quarters was permanently at his disposal on both ships. For an instant, waking in the quiet dark, he could not remember which ship he inhabited at the moment, which queen he presently sought to entertain, but then the memory came rushing back. He snarled and waved for the lights to brighten. He could see no good ending at the moment, and that fear wakened the grief of his old loss, Edge raven-haired as her daughters, and twice as daring. That daring had been her death, as he had always known it would be. That it had taken their son — his impossible, unlikely son; storymakers might share a queen’s bed, but did not provide her children — as well was an added sorrow.

  He put those thoughts away, and uncurled from his nest, then reached for the clothes that had been left for him. Edge’s daughters had extended him many of the privileges of a Queen-father, since Edge had never formally chosen a Consort, and the blades of her zenana had been an ever-changing group. In truth, she had preferred clevermen, being herself too like a blade in temperament; her Masters of Sciences had been her most constant companions, though they had not fathered daughters. Salt had outlived them both, Dustwind lost with Edge, and Jewelbright killed shepherding the daughters’ long retreat, as he had outlived most of his generation: he was willing to accept those courtesies that eased his way. In truth, it was probably time he went looking for an apprentice — the habit of mind that made a storymaker was uncommon, a happy accident rather than a talent planned and bred for. Certainly both Light Breaking and Moonwhite were too young to expend fertility on such indulgence. They needed more blades and clevermen, and daughters to continue their lines, far more than they needed odder talents. No, he thought, fastening the line of tiny clasps that closed his second-best coat, he would need to look to one of the larger hives, with a well-established queen and the time and leisure to breed more than the most necessary children. After Death’s attempt to bring all Wraith under her rule, those were few and far between, and he allowed himself a sigh of regret. When he was young, the Ancients had been gone for a thousand years, and the galaxy had been filled with queens worthy of service…

  And if he was succumbing to nostalgia in his old age, it was long past time to find an apprentice, and then he could retire to the core of the hive and grow old and toothless in its embrace. He snarled at his own fancies, and glanced at his image in the mirror the hive shaped for him. The Wraith who looked back at him was tall and lean, well past maturity but still handsome according to the canon of Osprey, light-boned and strong. He had given up the most elaborate hairstyles with Edge’s death — there had seemed to be no reason to bother, in those bleak days — and now he tidied the long fall into a single silver braid. He flexed his fingers thoughtfully, and the door slid back to reveal one of the young to-be-blades who served as messengers.

  *Your pardon, but the queen would like to speak with you.*

  That was not surprising, given the negotiations. *I am at her disposal,* Salt said, conventionally, and followed the boy through the maze of corridors to the zenana.

  Light Breaking was there alone, and that was surprising enough that Salt found himself looking from side to side as though Everlasting might suddenly appear from the shadows. Light Breaking bared teeth at him.

  *I wished to speak to you, not to my consort.*

  Salt bowed, spreading his hands. *And here I am, Lady.*

  She stared at him for a long moment, not entirely mollified, and then with an effort relaxed against her throne. *We have come to terms with the Lanteans. We will be sending a cruiser to Teseirit — well, Blaze will, his Far-faring is better suited to the business than either of mine — and four men will be allowed to accompany the Lanteans on the planet. I am sending Everlasting and Forge, and Blaze has requested that you be his second.*

  Salt lifted his head, startled. *Why?* He could think of a dozen more likely men, blades and clevermen both.

  *He says it is a token of his good intentions,* Light Breaking said, with a thin smile. *You were my mother’s man — you are still hers, in many ways, which does not trouble me. You have never favored me over my sister or her over me, and I believe you will not do it now.*

  *I am a storymaker, Lady. What can I do that a blade cannot do better?*

  Light Breaking paused, her thoughts momentarily shuttered. *My sister loves you,* she said at last, *as I love you. If someone has persuaded her that I mean her harm —*

  Salt looked up sharply. *So that is what you fear.*

  *Among other things. Can you tell me I am unreasonable?*

  Salt shook his head. He had seen that sort of manipulation in other hives, and to a lesser degree among the blades vying for Edge’s favor. *Lady, I cannot.*

  Light Breaking sighed. *She will trust you. And I trust you. Bring my sister back.*

  *If I can,* Salt answered, and they both knew it for a vow.

  CHAPTER TWO

  GUIDE had promised to perform the introductions himself, and so his scout emerg
ed from hyperspace over Teseirit only a heartbeat after Far-faring. Everlasting suppressed a snarl — having to depend on the wily old commander set his nerves on edge even before they had to deal with the Lanteans — but Blaze merely nodded as the comm screen lit to reveal Guide’s face. He looked like a mere blade, his hair loose and disheveled, the star tattooed around one eye very dark against his pale skin, but no one, Everlasting thought, was deceived.

  “If you are ready, you may come aboard.”

  Everlasting did snarl this time, and Forge cocked his head to one side as though he were curious. Salt smiled in what looked like genuine amusement. Blaze ignored them all, and said, “We will.”

  “The Lanteans are waiting.”

  “Then we will not delay,” Blaze said, patiently enough, but even so it was a good hour before the heavily-laden scout descended to the makeshift landing site, the passenger compartment crowded with their party and Guide’s men. They were at one end of the long clearing that held the Stargate, at the opposite end from the gate platform itself, and the ground between was covered with knee-high grass and starred with flowers. The sun was past the zenith, but its light was bright enough to make Everlasting wince and narrow his eyes, and he felt Forge flinch. Guide lifted a brow ridge at them.

  *Surely a little sunlight doesn’t hurt.*

  Forge controlled his thoughts with an effort, but Salt laughed aloud. *Of course it hurts, Commander, and you’ll suffer with us. Still, lead on.*

  Guide stiffened, though he had more self-control than to show even a hint of teeth, but then he released breath in a sound that was not quite a hiss. *Salt. And why would your queen send a jester, I wonder?*

  *I’ve known Moonwhite since she was a child just walking,* Salt answered, as though it were a real question. *And Light Breaking, too. And of course, I can bear witness.*