*The blades who returned from the attack say that her Dart was not destroyed. Its pilot attempted to free those held in the buffer before the crash, but was not fully successful. If we can retrieve the Dart, we can save her.*
*Let me go,* the Consort said, still on his knees. *Snow…*
The Queen ignored him. *No one can live forever inside the buffer.*
*No, and it also depends on whether or not there is sufficient power to maintain the matrices.* Spark spread his hands. *But it’s the chance we have.*
*We cannot simply take the Dart,* she said. *They have proven themselves too strong for that.*
*I have not attempted it,* the Consort said.
*There is another option,* Seeker said, before the Queen could speak.
*Well?*
*We have their man,* Seeker said. *I believe they will trade for him.*
*Bargain with the humans?* Seldom Seen asked.
*We bargain with humans daily,* Seeker said. *Don’t deceive yourself.*
*I’m impressed with your willingness to sacrifice,* Spark murmured.
The Queen glared at him. *Unless you have something constructive to say, you may be silent. Seeker — will they trade?*
*As I said, I believe they will.* Seeker bowed. *From what I have been able to learn of their culture, loyalty to one another is a primary virtue.*
*I still say we can take them,* the Consort said.
The Queen took a deep breath, mastering emotion with an effort that made the other shiver. *You, Guide, will determine whether or not we can retrieve the Dart directly. In the meantime — I will speak with this Daniel Jackson.*
Seeker bowed again. *I will fetch him at once.*
CHAPTER TWENTY
Technical Solutions
THE SUN was not quite up as Sam uncoiled herself from the borrowed sleeping bag and made her way out into the mess hall, past the first teams packing up supplies to complete the evacuation of the city. Breakfast was not formally ready yet, but there was an urn of Athosian tea and a platter of something that looked like oatmeal cookies on a side table, and a hurrying airman informed her that she could help herself. She skipped the cookies but drew herself a cup of the tea and stepped out into the open area in front of the hall.
The bodies had been cleared away — presumably not harvested, or at least she hoped Beckett’s orders had prevailed — and Jack was sitting on one of the piles of stone that had served as a fire point the night before, staring out at the lake.
“You’d think someone would have tried fishing here already,” he said.
Sam shrugged. “Not everyone’s an enthusiast, sir?”
“Or a bird-watcher.” Jack grinned. “All right, Carter, what have we got?”
Sam squared her shoulders, wishing the tea carried as much kick as a proper cup of coffee. “Major Sheppard and Lieutenant Ford are dealing with the expedition’s problems, but it looks as though nine more Marines were killed, plus a couple of airmen.”
Jack grimaced.
“On the plus side, Sheppard seems to have taken over command without incident, and Dr. Beckett is ready to start weaning people off the enzyme drug. The plan is to finish withdrawing people and equipment to the Athosian settlement as fast as possible.”
“You finally saw Beckett?”
“Yeah. For about five minutes, and then he and Dr. Wu were trying to get the guys who’d been most affected by the drug to check themselves into the infirmary. Teyla said she’d be in touch this morning about the civilian evacuees, but it looks as though that part of the plan was successful.”
“Indeed.”
And that was Teal’c, walking up from the lake along with half a dozen Athosians and Teyla, who smiled a greeting, and hurried on toward the mess hall.
“The Wraith concentrated their attack on the encampment,” Teal’c went on, stopping with his hands behind his back. “We were able to get everyone across the lake to safety. And we shot down one of the Darts in the process.” He gave Sam an almost mischievous look and added, “Though I’m afraid it landed in the water.”
“We’ve got one that’s dry,” Jack said. “And may contain a Wraith queen.”
Teal’c’s eyebrows rose. “Indeed.”
“Also one live Wraith,” Sam said. “Who says the Wraith in orbit will be willing to trade Daniel for him and the queen.”
“Before or after she is extracted from the machine?” Teal’c asked.
“Before, I hope,” Sam answered. “And, with that in mind, sir — I’d like to take a look at the Dart, see if I can figure out how to contact the hive.”
“Go right ahead,” Jack answered. “In fact, I’ll go with you.”
“Yes, sir,” Sam said. She refrained from saying she knew perfectly well that he didn’t want to be asked to help with the evacuation.
The crashed Dart seemed closer to the camp then it had in the dark. Sam climbed over piles of rubble still marked by the flash fire, stood for a moment examining the long lines of the Wraith fighter. It had gone in almost nose first, she thought, breaking off the long needle only a meter or so short of the cockpit. Nose first and right wing down, she amended; it looked as though the fire had come from that shattered wing — the beam weapon overloading, maybe? — but the stern-mounted engines seemed to be intact.
She walked around it, studying the shape, the materials, trying to get a handle on the Wraith technology. Up close, the surface wasn’t smooth, but gently ridged, curves flowing into curves, the tail kicking up like pinfeathers. It didn’t look like anything the Goa’uld had, or anything Ancient, for that matter, and she wished again that Daniel was there to interpret. But that was the whole point, to get him back, and she climbed up on the intact left wing to peer into the cockpit.
It was even less familiar than the exterior, even accounting for damage. The pilot’s chair was oddly shaped, ridged like a leaf — maybe it was formed to the body of the particular pilot who flew it, she thought, or maybe it reshaped itself to each user. She reached through the broken glass to touch it, grimacing at the weirdly fleshy texture. It wasn’t like leather, but like hide over muscle, medium soft and unpleasant. Behind it, a secondary canopy like a spine and ribs covered a device she didn’t recognize. The displays were all individually shaped, each piece different from the others, apparently held in place with cords like vines. It was hard to escape the idea that the whole things was somehow organic, an interior grown to fill the sleekly curved metal shell. A few lights flickered weakly, golden characters that she didn’t recognize blinking on a side screen, a set of telltales flashing steady yellow, but she’d have to trace the connections to see what they meant.
Not that it would be impossible to do that. She slid back off the wing, and almost collided with Jack. “Oh. Sorry, sir.”
“Anything?”
“There’s some power,” Sam answered. “Which I think is a good thing. And if you give me a few hours, I can probably identify the communications system and figure out how to contact the hive. But before we do that, I’d like to be sure the — what did he call it, the buffer? I’d like to be sure it’s still working, and that we actually have this queen alive.”
“You want to talk to the Wraith,” Jack said.
“Yes, sir.” Sam paused. “Actually, I want to bring him here. Along with a laptop.”
“You’re sure about that?” Jack asked. “The Wraith, I mean, not the laptop.”
“Yes, sir. It’s the fastest way to get the answers we need.”
“Right. I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you, sir,” Sam said, and resumed her examination of the Dart’s systems.
It was some time before Jack returned, long enough that the sun was high above the ruined city, hot on her back even after she’d shed vest and jacket to work in her tee shirt. She heard footsteps crunching on the stones before Teal’c called her name, and tipped herself upright, squinting into the sun. They’d brought the Wraith, all right, his feeding hand wrapped in a leather sheath benea
th the handcuffs, and both Jack and Sheppard had their weapons trained on him, while Teal’c brought up the rear, laptop tucked under one arm. Seen in daylight, the Wraith didn’t look any less intimidating, pale green skin, heavy claws, too many sharp teeth that showed as his lips curled in a silent snarl.
“I wouldn’t complain too much,” Sheppard said. “We could always give you to Teyla.”
“Or Specialist Dex,” Jack said. He smiled at Sam. “One Wraith, as requested, Colonel.”
“Thanks.” Sam looked at the Wraith, wishing she could read his expressions. “I want to be sure your — queen, you called her — I want to be sure she’s safe before we call your hive.”
The Wraith blinked once, but didn’t answer.
Sam tried again. “If you help me understand these readouts, you’ll get back to your ship that much faster. Because I can and will figure them out. It’s just a matter of how long.” The Wraith met her gaze with unnerving calm, the pupils of his eyes contracted to narrow slits in the sunlight. “Look, do you have a name?”
“I’ve been calling him Will,” Sheppard put in, when the Wraith said nothing.
“Will?” Jack asked.
“Yes, sir,” Sheppard said. “Doesn’t he look like a Will to you?”
“I do not see it,” Teal’c said.
The Wraith ignored them all, and Sam frowned. “Come on, either you want to save your queen or you don’t.”
“And you wish to save your companion,” the Wraith said. He took a step closer to the Dart’s cockpit. Jack cocked his P90, but the Wraith didn’t look back. “Very well.”
“What I want to know is whether your queen is still safe,” Sam said again.
The Wraith’s eyes widened. “The power levels — they are very low.”
Sam studied the readouts, and shook her head. “I don’t see it.”
The Wraith lifted his bound hands, pointing. “There, the left-hand screen, the one in the middle. That is only a third of what it should be, and that is not enough to keep the matrices stable. You must let me divert power to the buffer.”
“Not likely,” Jack said, and Sam shook her head again.
“Tell me how to do it.”
The Wraith bared teeth, but caught himself. “The middle console is the main drive. If you adjust the middle lever to the far right position, that should resolve the problem.”
Sam studied the controls. “This one?”
The Wraith nodded.
She reached into the cockpit, slid the lever as far to the right as it would go. The Dart shuddered beneath her, and both Jack and Sheppard raised their weapons. Golden symbols flashed across the main display screen, and she thought the Wraith flinched. “What’s wrong?”
“The power is flowing, but — it’s not enough. The buffer is failing.”
“Can we — retrieve — your queen?” Sam asked.
“Carter, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Jack said.
“There’s not enough power,” the Wraith answered. He lifted his hands again, then let them fall. “The Queen will kill you all.”
“Wait a minute,” Sheppard said, and Jack lifted his P90.
“If that’s the case, why should we keep you alive?”
“I do not care.” The Wraith looked away. “The Queen herself will kill me if you do not.”
“Hang on,” Sam said. If that console monitored the main power plant, then she thought she could see how the leads ran. She dropped from the Dart’s wing and ducked under the tail, reaching up to lever off a half-sprung panel. Yes, that was the main power generation system, she was fairly sure of that, and there were pieces that looked familiar, as though they had been derived from Ancient technology. “Ok, if this is the plant — Will, is this the main input?”
The Wraith gave her an uncomprehending look. “Yes.”
“Sheppard, get McKay up here with a naquadah generator.” Sam studied the machinery a moment longer, then reached into the cavity and popped loose an internal cover. “Teal’c, can you give me that computer? I think I see how to fix this.”
Teal’c handed her the laptop without comment, and Sheppard reached for his radio, not taking his eyes from the Wraith. “McKay!” He relayed the order, and listened for a moment. “He’s on his way, Colonel.”
“Good.” Sam pulled a flashlight from her pocket and examined the network of fleshy cables that disappeared into the depths of the engine. “We may just be able to pull this off.”
The warrior and his pack of drones hustled Daniel through the hiveship’s corridors, a drone pushing him on every time he tried to slow enough to catch his bearings. He was totally lost, he admitted, unable to match anything he saw to the corridors he’d seen when Seeker brought him from the feeding pens, and he slowed again.
“Hey! Hey, where are we going?”
The warrior ignored him yet again, and the nearest drone gave him a hard shove that almost knocked him off his feet.
“You know, I’d be more cooperative if you gave me a little information to work with —”
This time, the drone lowered his long weapon, but instead of arming it, he thrust forward, hitting Daniel between the shoulder blades with an end that proved to be painfully pointed.
“Ow.” Daniel lifted his hands, picking up his pace. “Ok, I got the message. We’re in a hurry.”
They turned into a broader corridor, one with high arching ceilings. It looked faintly familiar, Daniel thought. If he hadn’t been in this particular passage, he’d been in one very like it. Unfortunately, that didn’t help very much.
They stopped at last in front of a set of double doors guarded by drones and a warrior with elaborately-dressed hair. The two warriors exchanged looks — and probably telepathic communication, Daniel thought, though he couldn’t grasp it — and the doors slid open. The warrior caught Daniel’s shoulder, pushing him on into the room.
It was even more ornate than Seeker’s quarters, a long, irregular oval that centered on a throne that seemed to be carved from great fans of bone. There were low benches around the walls, and smaller seats defining areas surrounding tables that held what seemed to be gaming boards, but at the moment all the Wraith were gathered around the throne. He recognized Seeker, standing beside a taller Wraith in a plain leather coat, his hair loose and untidy, a star outlining one eye. A slender Wraith with his hair in a single severe braid stood beside a stockier male who carried some kind of data reader in one hand. In the throne sat the hive’s queen. She was paler than most of the males, and unlike the first queen Daniel had seen, her hair flamed scarlet even in the dim light. Unlike the males, her clothes were light and flowing, a long-sleeved gown of a green so pale it was almost white, cut low and tight through the bodice to reveal distinctly mammalian breasts, and she wore a single jewel the color of her hair at the hollow of her throat.
“So you are Daniel Jackson.” Her voice was deep and rasping, as though she rarely spoke aloud.
“Yes.” Daniel was pleased that his voice didn’t waver.
“Daniel Jackson who does not know us — does not know Travelers or the Wraith or any of the ordinary facts of life among our scattered worlds. Daniel Jackson whose people are strangers to us.”
“We — my people — are strangers, yes. And we made a terrible mistake coming to Athos,” Daniel said. “And, honestly, all we want is to go home again. Surely we can make some kind of bargain.”
The Queen rose easily to her feet. She was taller than Daniel had realized, and her skirt was cut shorter in the front, presumably for ease of movement, revealing long and shapely legs. It was disturbingly sexual even if the display wasn’t intended for him, and he swallowed hard. “What sort of bargain?”
“Let us go back where we came from, and we will stay there and not bother you ever again. We had no idea what we were going to find when we came here, and I don’t think the leaders of my people will want to risk any further encounters with any people as fearsome as yours.” It was a mix of truths and half-truths and outright lie
s, and Daniel did his best to project absolute sincerity. “My people will be glad to have me back —”
“And that,” the Queen snapped, “is all that saves you. Your life hangs in the balance, Daniel Jackson, and it is only that my daughter has been taken prisoner that renders you of the slightest worth.”
Well done, Jack. Daniel hid his relief. “I’m sure some arrangement can be made —”
Her mental attack slammed him to his knees, her voice cold and angry in his head, freezing his resistance. She was stronger than Seeker had been, and did not bother with subtlety; she reached for images of his home — of Earth, she had the name, and before he could stop her she had an image of the night sky outside Cheyenne Mountain and of the Stargate in its chamber.
No! Daniel gritted his teeth, marshaling everything he had learned from the Ancients and from fighting the Replicators, shoved back hard. She gave way, baring teeth in a snarl, and the pressure abruptly eased. She shook her head hard, the crimson hair flying, and looked at Seeker. He bowed as though in answer to some unspoken thought, and the stocky courtier lifted his head as well. The Queen smiled and looked back at Daniel.
“My clevermen tell me you are not from this galaxy at all. The stars you call home do not exist here, they cannot be seen in those patterns from any known world, or any system that we can identify. And yet you are not of the Ancients.”
Crap. Daniel took a careful breath. “We’re not Ancients, no.”
“And you’re not from this galaxy.”
Daniel said nothing, and her smile widened.
“You need not bother denying it, I know it to be true. How did you come here, I wonder?”
Too late, Daniel realized her attack had already begun, her thoughts wound with his so that the answer was very nearly surprised from him. He shoved her away, piling clumsy barricades between her and his memories, images of desert and light and flame, anything he could think of that might disconcert her. She retreated, struck again, deft as a fencer, turning his own fires against him so that his nerves were seared with flame. He cried out, flailing, and again she retreated, showing teeth in triumph.
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