“You will come with me,” the newcomer said.
There was no point in resisting, and Daniel nodded. “Ok — do you have a name? I mean, you know who I am, but what am I supposed to call you?”
The Wraith considered him for a long moment, his expression unreadable. “You may call me Seeker.”
Seeker and the drones brought him out of the cells and into a broad main corridor filled with Wraith. Some of them stared as he passed, and once or twice Daniel felt the pressure of a mind against his, but always it slipped away. Certainly the hive seemed well-manned, full of Wraith in their dark leather, shadows against the grim organic walls. All of them were male, or drones, but Daniel was beginning to pick out at least two different types among the males. There were the long-coated, long-haired males, usually with tattoos on their hands and faces, and then there were ones with shorter, paler coats and a variety of different hairstyles. The latter seemed to acknowledge Seeker more than the others, but that was all Daniel could make of it. Once, as they passed a cross-corridor, his eye was caught by brighter light, and he glanced toward it just as shadow crossed between it and him. It looked almost human, but it was gone before he could be sure. And that seemed at best unlikely, if not impossible: what human would be allowed to move freely on a Wraith hive?
They left the main corridor for a maze of smaller passages, with brighter, mottled walls that curved in on each other, as though they spiraled into the heart of the hive. There were obvious compartments here, hatches braced with ribbing that looked grown from bone and tendon, and Seeker stopped at one, waving his feeding hand at a sensor plate growing from the wall. The hatch rolled back, revealing a long narrow space lined with consoles and screens. A lab, Daniel guessed, and one of the drones shoved him toward a low chair.
“Sit,” Seeker said, and turned to examine one of the screens.
Daniel did as he was told, though the chair itself felt more like bone than wood. It was knobby like bone, too, and he suppressed a shudder. “So, um, Seeker. What exactly do you want from me? I mean, up to a point, I’d be glad to cooperate —”
The Wraith swung around again, almost too fast to follow, and tossed a small ovoid at Daniel’s chest. He caught it, awkwardly, and realized it was an Ancient device shaped something like one of the communications stones. He felt writing under his fingers, and turned it over gingerly.
“Do not use without full supply of — I’m not sure what poteras means in this context, but you shouldn’t use this without it.”
“Interesting,” Seeker said. He held out his hand and Daniel handed him back the device. “You are not of the Ancestors’ blood.”
“No. No, I’m not.”
“Then what are you? You are most certainly not any ordinary sort of human.”
“Um.” Daniel had no idea how he ought to answer that question. “We’re travelers, from far away —”
Seeker pressed two clawed fingers into his neck below the point of his jaw, forcing his head up and back. “You’re no more a Traveler than I am.”
“If ‘traveler’ refers to some ethnic group, no, I’m not,” Daniel said. It took all his willpower not to push himself further back into the chair. “I simply mean that we travel. A long way.”
Seeker hissed softly, but released him. “And yet you do not know who the Travelers are — or, I think, the Wraith. I would have been willing to swear that there were no humans left in the galaxy who did not know us.” He paused, and Daniel felt the pressure of his mind again. “Tell me, Daniel Jackson, where are you from?”
Daniel shook his head. “I really can’t do that.”
“Of course you can.”
The pressure increased, subtle but definite, seeking a glimpse of night sky, some image of Daniel’s home world, some clue to its location. Daniel parried as best he could, blocking each probe only to feel the pressure resume elsewhere. This was nothing like the Replicator Carter’s attack, a single illusion backed by endless brutal strength. This was fluid, deadly, as strong in its way as the Ancients’ mental powers, but not without limits. He allowed Seeker a glimpse of Cheyenne Mountain — contextless, it should tell him nothing more than he’d already guessed — and in the same moment reached out himself, grasping for control. Seeker snarled and flung him back into the chair, but not before Daniel had caught a glimpse of a scarlet-haired female — Seeker’s queen — surrounded by other Wraith that Seeker saw as old and well-loved rivals.
“You seem determined to make me kill you,” Seeker said, after a moment.
“You’re going to feed on me anyway,” Daniel answered.
“That is not inevitable.”
“In that case…” Daniel paused, but couldn’t see any harm in trying. “There are people back on Athos who would be willing to ransom me.”
Seeker gave him a skeptical look. “And how many lives do you believe you’re worth?”
“Maybe we could think of something else to trade,” Daniel answered.
“There’s nothing else you have that we want,” Seeker said. He turned away, pacing the length of his laboratory and back again, the skirts of his long coat hissing at his ankles. If there was only one queen, Daniel thought, unable not to make the connections, or only a few dominant females per hive, then display must be vitally important for the males, to earn and keep a queen’s attention. “A human who does not carry the Ancestors’ blood, who knows nothing of the Wraith, and whose people carry weapons far in advance of anything we permit… You are a puzzle, Daniel Jackson.”
“All we want is to return home,” Daniel said. “We’ll go, leave you in peace —”
“Go where?”
Daniel shook his head and Seeker smiled, showing a mouthful of very sharp teeth.
“And that is the answer I will have from you. Make no mistake. I will have answers.” He turned away before Daniel could speak, and touched a control buried in one of the consoles. “Dekaas!”
A moment later, an inner door slid open, one that Daniel hadn’t noticed in the dim light. A figure in a short coat appeared, short coat and short hair — not a Wraith at all, Daniel realized, but a human, an ordinary-looking man with graying hair and a wary expression.
“Lord?”
“Take Daniel Jackson to my quarters and keep him there. See that he is fed and sleeps and that you explain how it would benefit him to cooperate.” Seeker picked up the Ancient device, bounced it thoughtfully in his hand, and turned away. “I’ll return later.” The laboratory door rolled shut again behind him.
“Very well,” Dekaas answered, and beckoned to the drones. “This way.”
“You’re really on his side?” Daniel asked, and the other man stared at him for a moment before a wry smile curved his mouth.
“Better to serve the Wraith than to be their dinner. Now, move.”
By dint of concentrated effort, Jack drifted back to sleep before dawn, and woke again to the bustle of breakfast being prepared in the main cavern. Teal’c was awake already, talking quietly to one of the guards — a new one, presumably the morning relief. Jack rolled out of his cot, running his hands through his hair, and moved to join them.
“Morning. Any news?”
“Good morning, O’Neill,” Teal’c said. “Apparently the attack on the city was not as bad as feared.”
“That’s good news,” Jack said. “Any word on Carter and Daniel?”
“Regrettably, no.” Teal’c gave the guard a faintly reproachful look, and the young man blushed.
“With the attack, we could hardly make contact with our people in the city,” he protested.
“Indeed.”
“No, we couldn’t,” Sheppard said. He’d come up quietly enough that Jack glared at him. “We’ll send someone back tonight, make contact then.”
“That will be too late,” Jack began.
“Teyla says the radio’s been quiet,” Sheppard offered. “No more threats. It’s possible Sumner’s calmed down.”
“But hardly likely, Major!” Jack glared at hi
m.
Sheppard bit his lip, but before he could answer, a stocky woman in an Atlantis uniform hurried up to him carrying a laptop.
“Major Sheppard! You need to see this.”
“What’s up, Anderson?”
She angled the screen toward him. “You remember I brought the portable telescope array with me when I left?”
Sheppard nodded. “Teyla said you could set it up on the ridge if you hid it properly.”
“Yeah.” Anderson nodded back. “Last night — I think I’m picking up a ship in orbit. A big one.”
“Crap,” Sheppard said.
“The Wraith?” Jack didn’t dare move closer, not with the guards frowning unhappily. “Dr. Anderson, do you have any idea when the ship arrived?”
It was a gamble, he knew, but she didn’t seem bothered by his assumption of authority. “Early last night, it looks like,” she said, poking at the laptop. “I first picked it up around — at 2210 last night.”
“How does that fit with the Dart attack?” Jack asked.
“Already there, General,” Sheppard answered, with the ghost of a grin. “Halling says the first attack on the gate started after one this morning, and another wave came through the gate about three. That’s the one that hit Emege.”
“This changes everything,” Jack said. “We’ve got no idea what Sumner’s going to do now. We have to get Carter and Jackson out of there.”
Sheppard looked over his shoulder, and Jack saw Teyla walking toward them, her long brown coat flowing back from her shoulders.
“Jinto said you wanted to see me, Dr. Anderson?”
The scientist nodded. “Yes. There’s a large ship in orbit, and I think it’s probably the Wraith.”
For a moment, Teyla’s face was old and bleak, but then she’d shaken herself back to order. “You are sure of this?”
“As sure as I can be.” Anderson offered the laptop screen again, and Teyla bent her head to it, but Jack guessed she didn’t know what she was looking at any more than he did. “There’s definitely something in orbit that wasn’t there yesterday, which implies a ship, and — who else could it be?”
“There are others in the galaxy who use starships rather than the Stargates,” Teyla said. “But, no, if it were any of them, they would have tried to contact me or Halling.” She frowned at the screen. “This is a worrying development, Major.”
“I need to get my people out of the city,” Jack said.
“We need to get all our people out of there,” Sheppard said. “Everyone who’ll come.”
“Which is hardly everyone,” Teyla answered, “and to attempt it puts us all in danger.”
“The Wraith must be planning a big attack,” Sheppard said. “What else could they possibly be doing here? You said yourself we were too advanced for the Wraith to let us live. They’ve come to wipe us out, just like you said they did to the Genii.”
“I wish it were not so,” Teyla said, “but, yes, it seems the most likely answer. I must inform Halling and the rest of the council.”
“Our people,” Sheppard said again, and she stopped, taking a deep breath.
“I know. Yes, we must do what we can for them, though what that will be —” She shook herself. “John, I must warn Halling and the rest of my people. Then, yes, we will discuss this.”
She turned without waiting for his answer, and Sheppard looked at Jack. “She’ll be back shortly, sir. In the meantime, I’d welcome any suggestions you have.”
“It might be easier if you let us out of here,” Jack said, and Sheppard bit his lip again.
“I can’t do that, sir. But if you’d care to join me for breakfast, we could talk.”
Jack’s stomach growled at the thought, and Teal’c cocked his head to one side. “That would be welcome, Major Sheppard.”
Breakfast did mean being let out of the cave, though Jack thought it probably wouldn’t do him any favors to mention it. They were still under guard, though the skinny Athosian boy didn’t look old enough to shave, and the old man who filled their bowls with a savory-smelling stew gave them an uncertain glance. Sheppard returned a wincing smile that was unlikely to reassure anyone, and motioned them to a group of stools set to one side of the central fire. Jack wolfed down about half the bowl — a lot like the grits he’d had at bases in the south, if grits were flavored with smoke and salami — and then pointed his spoon at Sheppard.
“Major. How many people have you got in the city?”
“It depends on what you mean by people,” Sheppard answered. “Most of the civilian staff isn’t happy with the current state of affairs. Most of the Air Force personnel would follow me — or you, sir — but the Marines are Sumner’s picked men. And they’re all on the drug.”
“Which I’m guessing is addictive,” Jack said.
“Dr. Beckett says it creates a dependence, but it should be easy to wean them off,” Sheppard answered. “Teyla disagrees.”
Jack nodded. He wasn’t going to argue with Teyla about that one. “So the civilians and the Air Force personnel — are the latter armed?”
“They were. I don’t know if they are now.”
“And presumably Colonel Sumner has Colonel Carter and Daniel Jackson under guard,” Teal’c said.
“That may not be our biggest problem,” Sheppard said. “If we catch a break — Zelenka may be able to get to them.”
“Zelenka?” The name was vaguely familiar, but Jack couldn’t attach a face.
“One of the science team, Dr. McKay’s second-in-command,” Sheppard said. “There’s a tunnel system under the city, Zelenka was exploring it when the Wraith first came. Dr. Weir talked about moving part of the expedition down there while they explored the city, but there wasn’t space enough for everyone, so Colonel Sumner vetoed the idea.”
“That figures.” Jack closed his eyes, trying to visualize the layout of the camp. “The problem is, we’re operating on a deadline.”
“We’re not going to be able to do anything before dark,” Sheppard said.
Jack shook his head. “That’s cutting it too close, Major. Let me and Teal’c go in after them. If your guy, Zelenka, can take us in through those tunnels, that would be ideal. We can release our people, and maybe that will distract Sumner enough for you to get your people out.”
“It’s an idea,” Sheppard began, and Teyla came to join them, breathing as though she’d been running.
“What is an idea?”
“General O’Neill has a suggestion,” Sheppard said, and ran through the idea. With a few additions of his own, Jack admitted, and not bad ones, either.
Teyla nodded slowly. “Yes, that could work, and I believe the council will agree. But we cannot make the attempt in daylight. If General O’Neill will make his attempt in the mid-afternoon, and if he is willing to lead them off — then we can move as soon as the sun is down.”
“You’re putting all the risks on us,” Jack pointed out. “Can we get some support before sunset?”
“We cannot fight Colonel Sumner’s men,” Teyla answered. “Our goal is to help our friends, Major Sheppard’s people, escape before the Wraith can destroy them all. That is all we can do.”
“Great.” Jack rocked back on his stool. The odds weren’t wonderful — were pretty crappy, in fact — but it was the best chance they had of saving Carter and Daniel. “All right. We’ll do it. But your guy, Zelenka, he’d better be waiting for us.”
“I’m sure he will be,” Teyla said, with a smile that left him with no confidence whatsoever.
“Can we have our weapons back?”
“As soon as we are ready to leave,” Teyla answered serenely, and Jack rocked back on the stool again. At least they had a fighting chance of rescuing Daniel and Carter before Sumner did something they’d all regret.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Ouroboros
THE SUN was fully up now, shafts of light streaming down through the broken ceiling — floor, really, Sam thought, the floor of the half-collapsed buildin
g above them. Zelenka had done his best to shore up the area where they were, but she couldn’t help eyeing the farther walls uneasily. The stone was cracked and fragile-looking, brittle as bone left too long in the fire. Zelenka saw her looking, and gave a little shrug.
“Yes, well, I would not go too far in that direction. Whatever the Wraith used to destroy the city, it leached the strongest minerals from the stone.”
“Like they draw the life from humans,” Dex muttered. He was sitting on the ground at the foot of their improvised ladder, back against the wall. “Is there any way we can get weapons? We’re too vulnerable like this.”
“Only by going back toward the camp,” Zelenka said. “I’m reluctant to make the attempt.”
Sam moved cautiously toward the nearest piece of broken stone, wishing she had one of the Ancient sampling devices or even a geologist’s test kit. She went to one knee, probing the stone floor, and when she was sure it was going to hold her, turned her attention to the crumbling wall. It looked like limestone or some other form of calcium carbonate, which might explain how the Wraith had damaged it. If they had created some sort of blast weapon that disrupted the same chemical bonds that were dissolved by water and mild acid — yes, there were tiny pits in the stone, though not the large holes that flowing water would have made. She touched it, lightly at first, then pressing harder, and jumped as the stone fell away under her touch, opening another hole in the floor. She winced at the noise, and Zelenka gave the ladder a nervous glance.
“We should be out of earshot,” he said, but his tone didn’t carry much conviction.
“Sorry,” Sam said.
“We should move on.” Dex was already on his feet.
Zelenka hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, it would probably be wise. And we need water and food.”
Sam nodded. Her mouth was painfully dry — she was hungry, too, but water was the pressing need.
“We will have to go back toward the camp,” Zelenka went on, “but if we are careful, I do not think we will be discovered.”
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