“Obviously an extremely matriarchal society,” Daniel whispered. “The only female Wraith appears to be the queen. Like bees or ants—I mean, literally. Not to dehumanize them in any way, but—”
“Dehumanize them?”
“So to speak,” Daniel conceded. “You take my point. They’re—”
He broke off when a sudden hush rippled through the room, a whisper of fabric and creaking leather as Shadow’s Wraith sank to one knee, heads bowed.
Maybourne whimpered, “She’s coming,” and pressed himself flat to the floor.
Jack glanced at Daniel, who just gave a little shrug. They stayed standing. So did Earthborn and her nervous escort.
And into the room swept Queen Shadow, living up to every inch of her name. Her hair was black and long, falling down her back and stark against her pallid, alien face. If Earthborn was imperious, Shadow was downright intimidating as she stalked in with deadly grace, the embroidered black of her dress casting shadows in her wake. When she stopped before her throne, casting her eyes about her assembled courtiers, she looked terrifying in her power.
Jack swallowed, found a lump in his throat. He had no doubt that this creature could kill him as easily as he would step on a bug.
Shadow bared her teeth. “Earthborn,” she hissed, “daughter of my sister. Have you come to bend your knee to me at last?”
“A queen bows to no one,” Earthborn said.
“A queen does not,” Shadow said, taking her seat on her throne. Her taloned fingers gripped its arms, tapping against the chitinous substance. Click, click, click. “But of what are you queen? A dying hive and a few old warriors who cling to what Brightstar once was?” Her gaze traveled back toward Jack and Daniel. “And your human pets, of course. This is the force with which you challenge me, Earthborn?”
“You are right,” Earthborn said, “I don’t come to challenge you by force. I cannot. But I come to challenge what you are, Shadow. Truly, you were named well for you have cast such a shadow over our people—you have corrupted them, made them weak. Too weak to hunt, they are fit only to feed. And now you corrupt them with the parasites!” She turned her gaze on Shadow’s blades, all watching her with sharp-eyed suspicion. “How can you bear to witness what she is doing to you, to your brothers? Blades of Shadow, how can you permit it?”
“Enough.” With a slashing gesture, Shadow called for silence. “You have a small mind, Earthborn. You see only the past, only a dream of the past. But you did not know the barren feeding grounds of Pegasus. You did not know the great hunger.” At that, her blades shifted, murmuring agreement. “Had we stayed in Pegasus, we would have died—died fighting over the humans, died of hunger in our wretched long sleeps. But here…? Here there is no hunger. Here, my people thrive. And with the army I am building, we will return to Pegasus in triumph—we will exterminate our enemies and retake our feeding grounds for ourselves alone.” She leaned forward, her eyes devoid of anything human. “And we will take this galaxy too. The parasites carry in their minds all the knowledge of their kind—and now it is ours. Now, we know the secrets of this place and we will take it. All of it.”
A silence fell, Earthborn apparently taken aback.
Of course, it was Daniel who spoke first. “Yeah,” he said, “about that? Not so much, as it turns out.”
Shadow’s head swung toward him, as disdainful as if a bug had just deigned to voice an opinion. “Who speaks?”
“Ah, that’ll be me,” Daniel said, taking a step forward and raising his hand.
Raising his hand?
Shadow rose to her feet. “Earthborn, your pets have no discipline.”
“Well, you might want to listen to this,” Daniel said. “Because I’ve just come from Hecate’s ship and I have news for you.”
Among the courtiers there was a stir. “My Queen, allow me to silence this insolence!” came a voice.
“Hold, Consort.” Shadow lifted a hand. “I would hear what it says.”
“Daniel…” Jack warned.
“Jack…” came the reply—the butt-out-I-know-what-I’m-doing reply. To Shadow, Daniel said, “Hecate’s outwitted you. The hybrids? She’s going to take them. And this city too.”
Shadow threw back her head, mouth wide and teeth like daggers. The sound she made was something between a growl and a shriek—or maybe it was just a freaky-assed Wraith laugh? “That wriggling larva has outwitted me? You waste your breath, human.”
“She’s going to poison you,” Daniel said. “It’s what Hecate does. Medicines, poisons: it’s all the same to her. The only Wraith who will survive are the ones carrying symbiotes, and them she can control.”
“No one can control a Wraith,” Shadow hissed. “We are too strong. It is your lies that are poison, vermin.”
Daniel shrugged, hands spread. “Well, you can’t say I didn’t warn you.” And then, with a look at Maybourne, he added, “But ask him, he knows.”
Crap, Jack thought. Crap…
Shadow’s gaze dipped to where Maybourne was making like a carpet on the floor. “Steadfast,” she said, using his Wraith name. “Of what does he speak?”
“Nothing, my queen.” He shook his head. “I know nothing. I’m loyal. Always loyal.”
“Rise,” she said, the word oily through her teeth. “Look upon me.”
Hesitant, Maybourne pressed up onto his knees, head bowed. “My queen…”
“Speak, if you know any truth in this,” she said. “I will reward you.”
At that, his head shot up and, even in the dim light, Jack could see the gleam of hunger in his eyes. “Yes, I am loyal.”
Shadow bared her teeth. “Speak.”
“Hecate…” He glanced back toward Daniel and Jack, and for a moment Jack thought he saw regret in his ravaged face, some notion of paths not taken, but then it was gone and he shuffled forward toward Shadow. “She has planned this for years, my queen. For decades. She wants this city, but you can stop her from taking it. You are powerful. Strike now, before she has released the poison. Then it will all be yours!”
Shadow rotated her head, breathing out in a low angry snarl. Like lightening, her hand reached down and snatched Maybourne up, lifting him off his feet. “You swear this is true?”
He nodded, struggling limply in her grasp. “I swear, my queen.”
“And you have heard this from the parasite yourself? From her human lips?”
Another nod. “My queen, I swear it.”
Shadow bared her teeth. “Then you will have your reward, Steadfast.”
“Thank you,” he gasped, fingers scrabbling against Shadow’s wrists. “Thank—”
The word choked off as Shadow plunged her feeding hand into Maybourne’s chest. “The Gift of Life,” Shadow breathed, bringing him close to her face, “is a precious gift for our loyal subjects.”
Maybourne nodded, even though he grimaced in pain as her claws closed on his chest. “My queen…”
“Here, then, is your reward. Traitor.”
And then Maybourne was screaming, his legs kicking as his body arched back and desiccated before Jack’s eyes.
He had to look away, stomach turning at the sight.
“Oh God,” Daniel whispered and for a moment their eyes met.
“Not your fault,” Jack said.
“But I shouldn’t have—”
“Daniel. He’s the reason for all of this.” He glanced over in time to see Shadow throw Maybourne’s body to the floor, sending it tumbling over the edge of the dais. Jack looked away from his gaping mouth, his blank eyes. Stupid sonofabitch. “It was always gonna end this way for him, Daniel. Always.”
But he could see Daniel hunch his shoulders, turning in on himself, and knew he wouldn’t view it that way; too much compassion had always been Daniel’s problem.
“Consort, send blades to hold the Astria Porta on the planet,” Shadow hissed, turning to her courtiers with a swirl of her skirts. “And then go to the cruiser, take command yourself. I would see the parasite
’s ship burn; there will be no quarter.”
One of her courtiers stepped forward, his long coat sweeping the deck as he bowed low. “As you command, my queen.”
Daniel gripped Jack’s arm. “Sam,” he said. “Sam’s still on the Ha’tak.”
So was Sting.
Perhaps Earthborn’s mind had turned the same way, because she said, “It seems we have common cause against this parasite-god.”
“Now hold on,” Jack said, but then Earthborn turned and met his eye—not for long, but long enough to understand that she considered this a ruse. But what her endgame was, Jack couldn’t tell. His fingers itched; he wished he still had his weapon.
“Hecate must be stopped,” Earthborn said aloud, turning back to Shadow. “We must do all that we can to ensure that happens—even if that means working together, sister-of-my-mother.”
Shadow’s head twisted in a profoundly alien gesture. “I have no reason to trust you, Earthborn.”
“Nor I you,” Earthborn said. “Your human pet has betrayed you and now Hecate threatens the lives of us all.” Her gaze swept over Shadow’s courtiers. “You have led our people wrong, Shadow, but I am willing to overlook your folly because we are blood. We are Wraith. And we must stand together against the parasite that now has the means to destroy us.”
There was an unsettled murmur from the Wraith, a shifting of feet, of glances. If Jack was Shadow, he’d be worried; he’d seen crowds turn like this before. “You speak true, of blood,” Shadow said. “Your mother was my sister, and the hives of Brightstar and Shadow were ever close.” She swept an imperious hand toward her, as if she was doing Earthborn a favor when it was obvious the tables were turning. “Come, sister-daughter, we will face this enemy together. Our hives united once more.”
It was a politician’s answer, Jack thought, a blatant attempt to mend fences before they gave way.
“I accept your offer,” Earthborn said. “You will find—”
“Your blades may attend,” Shadow said, speaking over her. “The humans will be taken to the feeding pens.”
Crap.
“The humans are not—”
Shadow whirled around. “Do not press your luck, child.”
Earthborn fell silent.
Jack swallowed, felt the tension radiating from Daniel. Shadow had no reason not to use them as a snack on the road, but he knew there was a play to be made here that might just keep them alive. Might just turn the tables again.
Earthborn fixed her eyes on him. Her alien features were difficult to read, but Jack thought he was getting better at interpreting their expressions—for all their bloodsucking weirdness, the Wraith were more human than they liked to believe. Earthborn blinked her reptilian eyes and said nothing, leaving the ball in Jack’s court.
And, really, there was only one thing to do. “Uh, your majesty?” he said to Shadow, bracing himself for the fallout. “As much as I’d love to be turned into tomorrow’s cheesesteak, that’s probably not the best use of my talents.”
Peeling back her teeth, head crooked, Shadow said, “You are insolent.”
“Yes,” Jack agreed, “insolent, impertinent—even downright impudent. But the thing is, I can do something no one else here can do. Something you want very, very much.”
Daniel murmured, “Jack…”
He ignored the warning.
Nostrils flaring, Shadow hissed, “And what is that, human?”
Jack just looked at her and said, “I can pilot the city.”
Arbella — 2098
On the ground, it was not as bad as Teal’c had anticipated, but he knew that it was only a matter of time before the tension boiled over. He had seen restive crowds such as this before, when he had enforced the will of Apophis upon unwilling populations. Already, a few scuffles had broken out but they had been quickly dealt with by those who were still keen to retain order. Common sense still prevailed—for now.
He and Rya’c pushed their way through the crowd towards the president’s residence, drawing more than a few glances, some of them in open hostility. But no one acted, and there were enough people shouting their support of SG-1 that Teal’c felt no immediate threat.
Still, though, the atmosphere thrummed with an unspent friction; if they did not act, it would spill over into violence. And he would rather that violence was focused in the right direction—against the Wraith and the forces of Hecate.
“Teal’c!” A voice echoed over the shouts of the crowd and Teal’c turned to find a familiar figure making his way towards them.
“Lieutenant Jefferson.”
The soldier came to join them. “Isn’t this something?” he said and Teal’c saw that the man was eager for combat. Perhaps that might be a good thing—but not here. “We owe it all to SG-1, man! Hey, you’re Dix, right?” he added, turning to Rya’c who was surveying the crowd with concern.
“If it ends in bloodshed here on Arbella, it is not ‘something,’” Teal’c said. “If you owe SG-1 anything, then help us use this anger in a way that can save both Arbella and Earth.”
Jefferson nodded readily. “Anything.”
“Where is General Bailey?”
“She’s with the president. To be honest, I don’t think they know how to handle this.”
“Then perhaps we can offer some clarity. Will you take us there?”
With Jefferson’s aid, they approached the president’s residence, from the front this time. When they reached the door, the two nervous-looking guards stationed there glanced at each other before motioning the three of them through. Teal’c surmised that they were more concerned with a potentially riotous mob than three men who may or may not have been allies. Teal’c hoped they could all be allies yet.
“Dix, Teal’c,” said Bailey in surprise, when they entered the library. Jones was seated behind his desk, looking worn-down but in control. Teal’c thought it likely that General Bailey’s calming influence had much to do with that. She turned to the president and said, “Sir, this is Dix. He’s… he’s a friend of Arbella.”
There was a pause as Jones watched Rya’c with careful eyes, before nodding and saying, “You’ve picked a poor time to visit, Dix.”
“President Jones, I prefer to go by Rya’c now. It is the name my father gave me. And I believe I have come at a fortuitous time for both of us.”
“Oh?” The president’s raised eyebrows looked skeptical.
“There is indeed a battle to be fought,” Rya’c said. “But your task is to ensure that it is not between your own people.”
“Don’t you dare tell me what my job is,” replied Jones, his voice fraught with emotion.
Teal’c knew they must tread lightly and reached out to put a stilling hand on his son’s arm. He wished for Daniel Jackson’s calm counsel at times like this. He himself was not a statesman, but he could speak from the heart. “President Jones, when I was dispossessed and anathema to my own people, I found a home among the people of Earth. Your people. I have seen firsthand the great deeds of which the Tau’ri are capable. I believe you can achieve greatness once again. I believe you must.”
“You’ve seen what’s happening outside,” said Jones. “Is that what you wanted to achieve by coming here?”
Teal’c bowed his head. “SG-1 did not seek to bring strife to your planet.”
“Maybe not, but you did.”
“Come on, Gun.” Bailey leaned forward, resting her hands on the desk. “You know this has been coming for years. If we don’t handle it right we could have an insurrection on our hands. Surely it’s better to focus our efforts on something decent and good. Otherwise we’ll have bloodshed in our streets.”
“General Bailey speaks true,” Teal’c said. “Your people face a greater threat than this disorder. The Goa’uld, Hecate, has turned her eyes on your world.”
“Our gate shield—”
“It will not protect you,” Teal’c said. “Hecate seeks to gain a ship of vast power, a ship constructed by the Ancients. If she is succ
essful, she will use that ship to impose her will on the entire galaxy. None, not even the System Lords, could stand against her. And she intends to begin her campaign of domination with Arbella.”
Jones eyes flashed and he thumped a fist on the desk. “Because you betrayed us to her, because you—”
“No!” Teal’c allowed his own anger to show. “You are a fool if you believe Hecate has not been planning this for decades. The Goa’uld are a cruel and vengeful species who rule by terror. Your ancestors escaped them, they defied them. Do you believe Hecate will allow that defiance to go unpunished?”
“My father speaks the truth,” Rya’c said, his voice thick with remorse. “I too heard the Lady Hecate speak of her intention to crush Arbella. It is… It is still difficult for me to believe, but it is the truth and cannot be avoided. Hecate was never a friend to Arbella; she has planned this day for many years.”
Teal’c’s heart went out to his son and yet swelled with pride at the same time; he understood the pain of facing harsh truths, and the courage it took to do so.
Returning his attention to President Jones, Teal’c took the anger out of his voice. This man, too, must face a painful truth and must face it now. “Nothing can stop Hecate from reaching for your world,” he said. “Nothing can stop her from crushing it. Nothing but your decision to fight.” He leaned closer, pressed his hands on the desk and loomed over the president. “Hecate must be stopped. Will you lead your people against her, President Jones? Or will you hide with your arms over your head and hope to be spared? I warn you, your hope will be in vain.”
The president rubbed his chin, brow furrowed as he considered the situation. He looked resigned, the anger having left his expression. After a taut moment he raised shrewd eyes to Teal’c and said, “It seems I have no choice.”
“Not if you wish your people to survive.”
He made a curt gesture to the dark and riotous streets beyond. “Then tell me how we handle this.”
Hecate’s Ha’tak — 2098
Stargate SG-1 30 - Insurrection Page 23
