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childofathos) wrote2009-04-02 11:32 am
childofathos) wrote2009-04-02 11:32 am
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[Milliways] OOM: The Kindred #4
She wakes up on a hive ship. It is a situation she is all too familiar with. She is unsure how long it has been since she was taken or even how long it has been since she awoke. All she can do is to wait and see what her captors have in store for her.
She is not expecting to see him, though perhaps she should have been.
“Michael.”
He meets her greeting with the cool indifference he has always shown her.
“Why am I here? What do you want?” When she is met with only contemptuous silence, she snaps, “Answer me!”
“I am disappointed,” Michael finally responds, the sneer in his voice more than evident. “I was expecting a little more gratitude after everything I went through to arrange this…family reunion.”
She hesitates as the situation starts to become clear. “My people,” she whispers. “You took them. Where are they? What have you done with them?”
She has seen what Michael does to his human captives, and if her people have been harmed in anyway, she will relish the chance to take her revenge on Michael. She will have no mercy.
“They are alive and well,” he is quick to assure her. “And working with me toward the common goal we all share.”
Michael’s words are always calculated to confuse, to put her off her guard, to make her uneasy.
“What are you talking about?” Her people would never help this…monster.
He steps closer to her cell. “The extermination of the Wraith. I’m building an army that will soon replace them as the dominant race in this galaxy.”
She’s seen this as well. Seen the…creatures he is creating. “An army of monsters.”
“I’ll admit, my early attempts were a little…crude. But that’s all changed now. I’ve refined the retrovirus to create the perfect balance. Ability beyond any normal human but without the one weakness that will be the downfall of the Wraith.” He holds up his right hand, palm facing her, and she sees smooth, unbroken flesh where there should be a Wraith feeding-apparatus. “The need to feed.”
And another piece falls into place in Teyla’s mind. “It was you. You’re the one responsible for spreading the Hoffan drug.” The one that has killed so many thousands of people across the galaxy.
“Consider it the opening salvo in a much broader assault.”
“How were you able to discover the drug?” Once she is free, once she has escaped or been rescued, she will need to take this information back to Atlantis. Whatever she can find out now may be of inestimable value later.
Michael turns away and walks down the hallway.
“How were you able to refine it?” she calls after him.
He turns back. “I had help.”
And with a cruel smile, he walks away.
“Wait!” she shouts after him. “Where are my people?” She is so close to finding them. So close to having the answers she has waited these many months for.
“Michael!”
But he is gone, and she is alone again.
***
It has been at least a day since their last encounter, and she has not seen Michael personally. Several of his…servants have come by with food, but she has refused it. She will not take the risk that it may have been tampered with.
She is not surprised to see him, nor to see that he is carrying a bowl of the same gruel the others had brought.
“I understand you’re refusing to take food. It’s not poisoned if that’s what you’re worried about.” He dips a finger into the bowl and eats a small amount of the porridge, stepping closer to her and holding the bowl out to her through the cell door. “Take it.” When she does not immediately accept it, he adds, “You need to keep up your strength.”
She looks down at the bowl and then up at him and bats the bowl harshly out of his hand, sending it clattering across the floor. If she is here much longer, she will have to accept his food, but for now, she will remain strong.
“What do you care about my well being?” Her voice is cold and hard. If he thinks to weaken her resolve with his false concern, he will see that he is much mistaken.
“I care a great deal.”
She gives him a look of utter disgust.
“I may not be foolish enough to consider us friends,” he continues. “But…we do have a history. And even though you’ve betrayed me repeatedly, you’re still the only one, human or Wraith, who’s ever come close to understanding what I’ve been through.”
Her lip curls into a sneer. “Really?”
“We’re not that different, Teyla. You’re a human with Wraith DNA. A hybrid. Just like me.”
“I’m no murderer,” she says, pushing aside the part of her that says that he’s right. They are the same.
He tilts his head curiously. “You kill to protect yourself and your own. So do I. Of course, circumstances require me to do it on a slightly larger scale, but the principle is still the same.”
“You’re insane,” Teyla says, putting every ounce of conviction she can muster behind the words.
He blinks and swallows, and for a moment, Teyla almost thinks he looks…hurt by her words.
“Spite me all you want,” he says quietly. “But don’t do it at the expense of the child.”
She is frightened, truly frightened for the first time since being taken, and she cannot help glancing down at her belly as if to be certain it is still there, that her son is still safe.
“My child is of no concern to you,” she spits out.
“On the contrary,” Michael says calmly. “I have great plans for him.”
He glances quickly at her belly and then back to her face, a small smile flitting across his lips before he pivots on his heel and marches away.
She cannot imagine what plans he has for her son, and she does not intend to stay long enough to find out.
***
The next time someone approaches her cell, she does not even look up to see who it is.
“I told you, I’m not hungry.”
And then she turns her head, but the person at her door is not Michael, nor is it one of his servants.
It’s Kanaan. And she knows this is not a vision. He is truly there, truly, physically standing in front of her. She rises, smiling despite herself at the relief of discovering he is still alive.
“Kanaan!”
And then she truly sees him. Even in the dim light of the hive ship, she can see the changes. His skin is paler, tinged with blue. On either side of his nose are the slits common to Wraith. His eyes do not quite seem to focus on her face as he watches her.
“What has he done to you?”
He does not answer. His face betrays no emotion.
“Kanaan, it’s me. Teyla. I came for you, just like you asked.”
The voice that responds is not Kanaan’s.
“Like I asked,” Michael says, stepping into her view, standing beside Kanaan. “I was the one in your visions. Appropriately disguised, of course.”
She glances from one to the other, unwilling to believe such a thing. “You are lying.”
“I reached across then thousand light years between us and touched your mind. There is more of a bond between us than you know. Once the child is born, the bond will grow even stronger.” He looks at Kanaan and back again at Teyla. “Enjoy your reunion.” And he is gone.
Once she is certain Michael has left, she steps closer to Kanaan, gripping the web-like bars of her cell. “Kanaan,” she says quietly. “You must help me. You must help our child! Please, Kanaan.”
The answer she receives chills her to her bones, and the voice is almost entirely unlike the one she remembers.
“The child will serve the cause. Then one day soon, the galaxy will be ours.”
He leaves without another word, and Teyla can only watch him in despair, certain now that she will not be able to escape. Her only hope is that her team will find her, in all the vastness of the galaxy, that they will find where the ship is in orbit and take her back.
[ooc: Dialogue comes from the Stargate: Atlantis episode "The Kindred".]
She is not expecting to see him, though perhaps she should have been.
“Michael.”
He meets her greeting with the cool indifference he has always shown her.
“Why am I here? What do you want?” When she is met with only contemptuous silence, she snaps, “Answer me!”
“I am disappointed,” Michael finally responds, the sneer in his voice more than evident. “I was expecting a little more gratitude after everything I went through to arrange this…family reunion.”
She hesitates as the situation starts to become clear. “My people,” she whispers. “You took them. Where are they? What have you done with them?”
She has seen what Michael does to his human captives, and if her people have been harmed in anyway, she will relish the chance to take her revenge on Michael. She will have no mercy.
“They are alive and well,” he is quick to assure her. “And working with me toward the common goal we all share.”
Michael’s words are always calculated to confuse, to put her off her guard, to make her uneasy.
“What are you talking about?” Her people would never help this…monster.
He steps closer to her cell. “The extermination of the Wraith. I’m building an army that will soon replace them as the dominant race in this galaxy.”
She’s seen this as well. Seen the…creatures he is creating. “An army of monsters.”
“I’ll admit, my early attempts were a little…crude. But that’s all changed now. I’ve refined the retrovirus to create the perfect balance. Ability beyond any normal human but without the one weakness that will be the downfall of the Wraith.” He holds up his right hand, palm facing her, and she sees smooth, unbroken flesh where there should be a Wraith feeding-apparatus. “The need to feed.”
And another piece falls into place in Teyla’s mind. “It was you. You’re the one responsible for spreading the Hoffan drug.” The one that has killed so many thousands of people across the galaxy.
“Consider it the opening salvo in a much broader assault.”
“How were you able to discover the drug?” Once she is free, once she has escaped or been rescued, she will need to take this information back to Atlantis. Whatever she can find out now may be of inestimable value later.
Michael turns away and walks down the hallway.
“How were you able to refine it?” she calls after him.
He turns back. “I had help.”
And with a cruel smile, he walks away.
“Wait!” she shouts after him. “Where are my people?” She is so close to finding them. So close to having the answers she has waited these many months for.
“Michael!”
But he is gone, and she is alone again.
***
It has been at least a day since their last encounter, and she has not seen Michael personally. Several of his…servants have come by with food, but she has refused it. She will not take the risk that it may have been tampered with.
She is not surprised to see him, nor to see that he is carrying a bowl of the same gruel the others had brought.
“I understand you’re refusing to take food. It’s not poisoned if that’s what you’re worried about.” He dips a finger into the bowl and eats a small amount of the porridge, stepping closer to her and holding the bowl out to her through the cell door. “Take it.” When she does not immediately accept it, he adds, “You need to keep up your strength.”
She looks down at the bowl and then up at him and bats the bowl harshly out of his hand, sending it clattering across the floor. If she is here much longer, she will have to accept his food, but for now, she will remain strong.
“What do you care about my well being?” Her voice is cold and hard. If he thinks to weaken her resolve with his false concern, he will see that he is much mistaken.
“I care a great deal.”
She gives him a look of utter disgust.
“I may not be foolish enough to consider us friends,” he continues. “But…we do have a history. And even though you’ve betrayed me repeatedly, you’re still the only one, human or Wraith, who’s ever come close to understanding what I’ve been through.”
Her lip curls into a sneer. “Really?”
“We’re not that different, Teyla. You’re a human with Wraith DNA. A hybrid. Just like me.”
“I’m no murderer,” she says, pushing aside the part of her that says that he’s right. They are the same.
He tilts his head curiously. “You kill to protect yourself and your own. So do I. Of course, circumstances require me to do it on a slightly larger scale, but the principle is still the same.”
“You’re insane,” Teyla says, putting every ounce of conviction she can muster behind the words.
He blinks and swallows, and for a moment, Teyla almost thinks he looks…hurt by her words.
“Spite me all you want,” he says quietly. “But don’t do it at the expense of the child.”
She is frightened, truly frightened for the first time since being taken, and she cannot help glancing down at her belly as if to be certain it is still there, that her son is still safe.
“My child is of no concern to you,” she spits out.
“On the contrary,” Michael says calmly. “I have great plans for him.”
He glances quickly at her belly and then back to her face, a small smile flitting across his lips before he pivots on his heel and marches away.
She cannot imagine what plans he has for her son, and she does not intend to stay long enough to find out.
***
The next time someone approaches her cell, she does not even look up to see who it is.
“I told you, I’m not hungry.”
And then she turns her head, but the person at her door is not Michael, nor is it one of his servants.
It’s Kanaan. And she knows this is not a vision. He is truly there, truly, physically standing in front of her. She rises, smiling despite herself at the relief of discovering he is still alive.
“Kanaan!”
And then she truly sees him. Even in the dim light of the hive ship, she can see the changes. His skin is paler, tinged with blue. On either side of his nose are the slits common to Wraith. His eyes do not quite seem to focus on her face as he watches her.
“What has he done to you?”
He does not answer. His face betrays no emotion.
“Kanaan, it’s me. Teyla. I came for you, just like you asked.”
The voice that responds is not Kanaan’s.
“Like I asked,” Michael says, stepping into her view, standing beside Kanaan. “I was the one in your visions. Appropriately disguised, of course.”
She glances from one to the other, unwilling to believe such a thing. “You are lying.”
“I reached across then thousand light years between us and touched your mind. There is more of a bond between us than you know. Once the child is born, the bond will grow even stronger.” He looks at Kanaan and back again at Teyla. “Enjoy your reunion.” And he is gone.
Once she is certain Michael has left, she steps closer to Kanaan, gripping the web-like bars of her cell. “Kanaan,” she says quietly. “You must help me. You must help our child! Please, Kanaan.”
The answer she receives chills her to her bones, and the voice is almost entirely unlike the one she remembers.
“The child will serve the cause. Then one day soon, the galaxy will be ours.”
He leaves without another word, and Teyla can only watch him in despair, certain now that she will not be able to escape. Her only hope is that her team will find her, in all the vastness of the galaxy, that they will find where the ship is in orbit and take her back.
[ooc: Dialogue comes from the Stargate: Atlantis episode "The Kindred".]