by Graham, Jo
Quicksilver sat up slowly. Though his limbs were weak they did not tremble. His arms on the side of the bed seemed his own, though marred with the tiny pinpricks of needles. He must have been very ill indeed to have been given medicine straight into the blood, and for the pricks not to have healed almost instantaneously. But then, he had been. Dust had said so.
Carefully he got up and crossed the few steps to the press where his clothes hung. Clean clothes were worth much. Soft black pants to replace the ones he had slept in, those would do. A shirt of dark blue silk, midnight to match the lacquer on his nails, deep bands of embroidery at neck and sleeves, black on blue in an intersecting pattern that looked oddly familiar. It took a moment, but Quicksilver’s mind found it. The pattern was that of a circuit board. This was his dress shirt, its embroidery proclaiming his position as a master of sciences physical. With effort, Quicksilver lifted it over his head, letting the soft folds cascade around him.
The door irised open to admit Dust, who started. “Quicksilver? You are standing!”
“I feel better,” he replied. “Much better.”
Dust nodded gravely. “I am glad. The master of sciences organical has been to see you, and he said that you would wake much restored. I shall be glad to tell him he was correct.” Dust came beside him, looking at Quicksilver half dressed, his shirt ballooning around him. “Let me cinch that for you.” A few quick ties of threads Quicksilver hadn’t even seen, and the shirt fit tightly, only the sleeves billowing while the rest clung to his form.
“I wondered if I could go to my laboratory,” Quicksilver said.
“The Queen has asked you to attend on her when you’re fit. If you are feeling well enough to be up and about, you must see her first,” Dust replied. “She has been concerned. She will not tire you,” he said, seeing Quicksilver hesitate. “It is a courtesy only. You need not attend her more than a few minutes.”
He could think of no reason to refuse, though the idea filled him with a sort of anxiousness. Perhaps he feared she had been displeased with his work? Or that she would blame him for his capture? It had surely been a great expense and bother.
While he considered, Dust brought his coat and set it to his shoulders, a knee length coat of black silk, not leather as a blade would wear, quilted and trimmed with embroidered facings, black on black.
“There. You are ready,” Dust said. He touched Quicksilver’s hand encouragingly. “It will be short, I promise you.”
They made their way through the corridors of the shipworld, cool mist blowing caressingly against their faces from the vents, doors opening before them. At the Queen’s doors two blades waited, their faces stilled to perfection.
“It is Dust of the Queen’s Own Clevermen to see Her Grace,” he said. “With my brother Quicksilver, who has been Chief among the Queen’s Own.”
There was a pause, and the elder of the blades, a tall man with hair worn in long braids, stepped back. “Queen Death will see you.”
A frisson ran through Quicksilver, but Dust propelled him forwards, his hand at his back comfortingly.
The lights were lower, amber instead of blue, and Quicksilver caught his breath.
“Come closer, my paladins,” she said. On a throne carved of a single piece of glowing coral was a beautiful young woman. Her hair was a river of black silk down her back, bound at her brow with a fillet of silver set with fine stones. Her features were even and proud, and her skin had the glow of youth, high cheekbones arching beneath amber eyes that laughed and danced with pleasure.
When she saw him she rose with one graceful movement, her skirts sweeping around her, and came forward. “Quicksilver!” she said, and her voice was melody and delight. “I am very relieved that you are much better. When you were missing we were all terribly worried, and when you returned so injured…” She broke off, smiling at him. “My dear, we feared the worst! And now you are nearly well again.”
“My Queen,” Quicksilver murmured, stricken to the core. He could barely speak, and it came to him that he should bow. He bent his head.
“I commend you for your good care,” she said to Dust.
“Thank you, My Queen.”
“And you, Quicksilver.” He raised his eyes and saw that she spoke with mock severity, as though they were very old friends indeed. “I know that you will want to exhaust yourself returning to your laboratory as soon as you may. But I do insist that you rest yourself and do not exert yourself too much. It is not necessary, as we are in no peril, and it is of great importance to me that you be restored.”
“You are too gracious,” Quicksilver muttered. It was an effort to speak at all, so overwhelming was her beauty and her presence. That she should speak to him thus, dulcetly, and full of appreciation for his work was…
“We were much relieved when we found you,” she said. “Do you have any idea how you came to be alone on Fyvera?”
“None, My Queen,” Quicksilver said truthfully. “I do not even know where Fyvera is.”
She shook her head sadly. “Perhaps you will remember in time how you came to escape. I do not know. But trust that I will avenge you upon the Lanteans, that did this to you!”
“That is kind, My Queen,” he said.
“Do you remember aught of your captivity, of Atlantis?”
“No,” Quicksilver began, but it seemed to him that he did, a brief impression of a chamber with soaring walls, an Eye set in the middle of a floor of unbearably bright stone. And then it was gone. “Not really,” he said.
Her eyes sharpened, and he knew her power as well as her grace, a fluid shift of feature beneath tranquility that reminded him of some other he knew, though her face escaped him. “Do you recall something?”
“Nothing of consequence, My Queen,” Quicksilver said. “A brief impression of a room. Nothing of note.”
She nodded once. “You should write down that which you remember, or tell Dust if writing tires you. Anything you can remember may be of use to us in the future, either to recover another if they are also unfortunate, or to defeat Atlantis in the end.” She looked away, her gaze ranging over the blades assembled in their beauty and honor. “My far-mother tried and failed to take the City of the Lanteans, and she died when her ship crashed in the sea. But her blood is stronger for the centuries that separate us, and I am her true heir! I will not fail! We stand in the age of silver, and our best days are before us!”
Quicksilver felt rather than heard the ripple run around the room, the assent and desire that flowed to her. Who could not desire to serve such, beauty and glory and strength in one?
“I shall give you all you can hope for, My Queen,” Quicksilver said, and bent his knees to her in homage.
Chapter Four: Reluctant Allies
John slid into a chair at the briefing table nursing a cup of coffee. He’d slept badly, but enough coffee would take care of that. Teyla and Ronon were already there, and Carson and Keller came in together. He wondered if they’d actually been invited to the briefing or were just hanging around to find out what the plan was. It wasn’t really a situation where they needed medical advice.
Keller took her seat looking like she hadn’t slept much either, and Carson rested a hand on her shoulder for a moment before he sat down. John thought he probably ought to say something, but he couldn’t figure out what.
“Let me get you some coffee,” Teyla said.
Keller looked up at her gratefully. “Thanks. I can get it, though…”
Teyla was already handing her a steaming cup. “I would offer you tea, but I expect you prefer coffee. It is the least I can do.”
Carson smiled faintly. He had a cup of tea already, cupped in his hands as if to warm them. “My mum always makes a cup of tea whenever something terrible’s happened. I suppose the idea is that if you can still make tea, things can’t be that bad.”
“Things aren’t that bad,” John said, more sharply than he meant to. “We just have a problem here we have to figure out what to do about. Where’s W
oolsey?”
“Not here yet,” Ronon said, as if that were helpful. Probably about as helpful as the question. John took a drink of coffee and hoped the caffeine would kick in soon.
Woolsey came in last, his tablet tucked neatly under his arm. John suspected he’d learned in some management book that making people wait for him was better than waiting for them. Maybe it worked. At least, everyone gave Woolsey their attention instead of making small talk about the weather. Maybe they’d run out of things to say about it. It was still cold, and likely to stay that way for a while.
“I’ll start with the good news,” Woolsey said, with a tight smile that didn’t promise too much. “I have heard both from Radim and from… Todd.”
“We can call him something else if you’d rather,” John said. Teyla gave him a sharp look, as if unsure that he was taking this briefing sufficiently seriously.
Woolsey chose to ignore the remark instead. “Both of them are willing to talk. Radim believes his intelligence network may be able to determine whether Wraith worshippers visited New Athos, and possibly even find out which hive they were working for.”
Ronon was leaning back in his chair in what might have looked like a casual pose if you didn’t know him. “Do we like the idea that Radim’s got people working with Wraith worshippers?”
Teyla turned the look on him. “Would we like the idea that he did not? We must get our information from somewhere.”
“What does Todd have to say for himself?” John asked.
Woolsey looked like that hadn’t been a pleasant chat. “He is also apparently willing to talk.”
That seemed too convenient. “Why?”
“I pointed out to him that having Dr. McKay in the hands of a rival Wraith could have serious consequences for him as well as for us.”
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea to play that up,” John said. “We don’t want him to get the idea that it’s a good idea to grab Rodney himself.”
“At least then we might be able to bargain,” Teyla said.
“With a Wraith,” Ronon said, looking skeptical.
“With a Wraith who has depended on our assistance in the past.”
“He is at least willing to talk to us. At the moment, that’s an improvement on our current intelligence. I think we may be able to persuade him that Dr. McKay could provide an unwanted advantage to whichever one of his rivals is holding him.”
“Assuming it’s not Todd,” John pointed out.
“Assuming that,” Woolsey granted him. “But at least with a meeting we may have some chance of finding out if that is the case.”
“So what’s the catch?” John said. “You said this was the good news.”
“Both Radim and Todd insist on a meeting in person.”
“Fine,” John said. “They’re welcome to come to Atlantis. Alone.”
“Yes, I think we’d all prefer that,” Woolsey said. “Unfortunately, we’re in no position to demand ground of our choosing. Radim has requested that we send representatives to the Genii homeworld, and under the circumstances, that does seem reasonable.”
It didn’t seem very reasonable to John. “Because holding Dr. Beckett at gunpoint and stealing our medical supplies was just a friendly gesture.”
“A misunderstanding,” Woolsey said. “Which has been resolved.”
“You can’t blame Radim for what Sora did,” Carson said. “She’s a loose cannon, and always has been.” He looked less troubled by the whole incident than John felt.
“Todd has proposed a site he claims to be neutral ground. PX5-422. According to the Ancient database, it’s uninhabited.”
“I want it checked out in advance,” John said.
“Yes, of course. We’ll send a team, but I want you to leave at once for the Genii homeworld. I’ve been trying to convey a sense of urgency about this to Radim, and it won’t help to keep him waiting.”
“Back up,” John said. “I should go deal with Todd. Teyla and Ronon can go talk to the Genii.”
“I want you to deal with Radim on this,” Woolsey said. “Given what we know about the Genii, I think they’ll prefer to deal with our military commander. I’d like you to take Teyla and Dr. Beckett with you. Ronon, Dr. Keller, I’d like you to handle the meeting with Todd, once our advance team reports back that the site is safe.”
“All right,” Keller said. She sounded a little skeptical. John was more than a little skeptical himself. “We can do that.” She looked over at Ronon, who shrugged a little uncomfortably.
“You don’t want Teyla to come with us?”
Woolsey looked at John. He looked tempted to say something for a moment, and then reconsidered whatever it had been. “I think it’s best if Teyla accompanies Colonel Sheppard and Dr. Beckett,” he said. “Our relationship with the Genii is a delicate one, and I have every confidence in your negotiating skills.”
“Thank you,” Teyla said, inclining her head politely.
“Our relationship with Todd could include him sucking the life out of people if he gets cranky enough,” John said. “I’ll go. If you want to send a military officer to go deal with Radim, send Lorne.”
“Thank you for your recommendation,” Woolsey said. He hesitated just for a moment, and then said, “Please be ready to dial out for the Genii homeworld in twenty minutes. Dr. Keller, Ronon, I’ll let you know as soon as we hear back from the advance team.”
There was an overly quiet pause.
“I’d like a word before we go, if you haven’t got somewhere else to be,” John said evenly.
“Not at all,” Woolsey said.
“I will go and prepare for our departure,” Teyla said, with a careful smile. “Carson, are there medical supplies you should bring with us?”
“I expect I could find some,” Carson said, rising. Ronon and Keller were already slipping out wordlessly.
John waited until they’d all gone before he spoke. “You can’t seriously want to send those two to deal with Todd. Ronon doesn’t have any other setting for dealing with the Wraith other than ‘shoot them,’ and Keller’s a little green for this kind of thing.”
“She has been the chief medical officer in Atlantis for over two years,” Woolsey pointed out. “And she’s worked with the Wraith — and with these particular Wraith — before. Todd was generally cooperative with her attempts to find a way for the Wraith to survive without feeding, which is frankly the closest we’ve come to a good working relationship with him.”
“I just don’t think she has a suspicious enough nature.”
“That would be more suspicious than Dr. Keller but less suspicious than Ronon?”
“Yes,” John said, although he felt he hadn’t exactly won, there.
“Colonel Sheppard,” Woolsey said, looking weary. “Please believe I’ve thought this through. I think our chances of obtaining any useful information from Todd at this point are minimal. We don’t have much to offer him, and we have no reason to believe that he has the information we need. I don’t want to leave any avenue unexplored, but I think our real hopes rest on what we can find out from Radim.”
“You didn’t say that in the briefing,” John said after a minute.
“Would you rather I had told Ronon and Dr. Keller that I think they’re unlikely to find out anything? I would like them to try. If there’s someone you think would be better suited to that mission — besides yourself and the team you’re taking to the Genii homeworld — I’m open to suggestions.”
He wished he had one. “There’s not,” John said.
“Then please trust that Ronon and Dr. Keller can handle this mission,” Woolsey said. “I realize you haven’t always had the best working relationship with the Genii in the past, but I think Radim respects you, for what that’s worth.”
“Probably not much,” John said.
Woolsey looked at him hard. “Is it really your best assessment that we can’t reach a stable truce with the Genii? I’m asking for your professional opinion.”
J
ohn took a deep breath and tried for that. “I don’t know,” he said. “Radim keeps saying he wants one. It’s just that he keeps being around when things go wrong between his people and ours. I’m not saying that he’s responsible for what Sora does, or for Kolya killing our people or capturing me or generally being a pain in the ass. I’m just saying he’s been involved in a lot of situations that have left me pretty reluctant to trust him.”
“I’m not asking you to trust him sight unseen,” Woolsey said. “Or at all. But you said yourself in the briefing for the new military personnel that the Genii are our best allies here in the Pegasus galaxy.”
“We need better allies,” John said.
“Maybe so, but that’s not today’s problem.”
“Is there a quota?”
“There are priorities,” Woolsey said. “Dr. McKay is the priority today. Try to get us some way of finding him.”
“I’ll do everything I can,” John said.
“I’m sure you will.”
Ronon was at the rail at the top of the steps in the control room. “So what are we doing?”
“I’m going to go talk to the Genii with Teyla and Carson,” John said. “I’ll get Lorne to take a team and check out the planet where Todd wants to meet. If Lorne clears it, and we’re not back yet, you and Keller go see what he has to say.”
“Just how fast do you think you can talk to the Genii?”
“I can talk pretty fast. How fast Radim’s going to be willing to talk, I don’t know.” John shrugged. “I want you to stay put unless the site is clean. If it seems like Todd’s trying to play us, the mission’s scratched. I’m serious.”
“I’m not going to let Keller walk into a trap,” Ronon said. “If it doesn’t look good, we’ll just stay here and Woolsey can negotiate some more.”
“I’ll say hi to Radim for you.”
Ronon snorted. “I think I’d rather deal with the Wraith. We’ll get in less trouble if we have to shoot them.”
“Think diplomacy,” John said.
