Stars, Shadows and Lust Ch. 01

I looked at Neal, and raised an eyebrow. He grinned, and began to detach a camera from its mount.

*

We'd gotten a look at the gateroom during our initial tour. Then, it had been a hub of activity, with scientists manning the various stations and Marine teams on watch. Now it was a scene of controlled chaos and everyone raced around, preparing for a potential invasion.

I spotted Mr. Woolsey, along with Colonel Sheppard and his gate team, which consisted of Dr. McKay, Teyla, and Ronon. I looked to Neal, who handed me some headphones. I put them on. No one, I noted, had bothered to remove their mics.

I was just in time to catch the tail end of Mr. Woolsey's question. "-hiveship find us?"

I raised my eyebrows. A Wraith hiveship? I'd expected to see action on this trip, but not so soon.

I heard Dr. McKay typing. "I'm scanning for signals now." He paused. "There's a signal coming from the detention area."

Colonel Sheppard growled. "Todd." He turned to Dr. McKay. I hoped Neal was getting all this on camera. "How? I thought you searched him?"

Dr. McKay shifted uncomfortably. "Yes, well, Wraith technology is biological. It's possible we missed something that was... Still growing."

"Incoming transmission!" called a technician.

Mr. Woolsey nodded. "Put it on screen."

I looked at Neal, gesturing to the screen in question. He shook his head. He couldn't get a clear shot without calling attention to himself. I sighed, and hoped that the mics would pick up the other side of the conversation. Neal, looking thoughtful, handed me the camera and pulled out his tablet. Was he adjusting the pickup of the mics?

Colonel Sheppard growled. "Kenny. How did you get here?" Kenny, I remembered, was another Wraith, Todd's apparent second in command.

"We received a transmission from our commander," Kenny told him, "Who we believe is currently in your custody. Release him, and we will leave and not trouble you further."

Colonel Sheppard growled, "Somehow I don't believe that."

"Believe what you like," Kenny said. "You have ten minutes to comply, after which we will send out darts."

Mr. Woolsey nodded. "We must discuss this." He turned to one of the technicians. "Cut the transmission. After the technician complied, he turned to a marine team. "Go get Todd."

Colonel Sheppard turned to him. "Are we really going to release him? After everything?"

Mr. Woolsey shrugged. "He did help save Earth."

"Yeah, after his scheming put it in danger in the first place!" shouted Colonel Sheppard.

Mr. Woolsey shrugged again. "Nevertheless. I don't think we can afford a battle with a hiveship just now. None of Earth's warships are with us, and we are still getting settled in."

Ronon growled. "And you really believe they will just leave after we give them what they want?"

Teyla raised her hand. "I believe Todd, at least, will abide by any agreement we make." She shrugged gracefully. "Or at least the letter of it, if not the spirit in which it was made."

Mr. Woolsey nodded slowly. "So we negotiate."

I caught movement in the corner of my eye, and turned the camera. The marine team was returning. With them was Todd.

I made sure to get a nice, long camera shot of the Wraith. He had white hair, and greenish white skin marbled with dark veins. Two slits split his cheeks. Sensor pits? A star tattoo surrounded one of his eyes, and he wore dark leather clothing. His eyes were green, with slits for pupils, and he had neatly groomed white beard. I wondered how his appearance compared to the average Wraith, and wished I could get a look at Kenny.

Todd smiled, baring sharp teeth. "I take it my ship has arrived."

Mr. Woolsey nodded. "Yes. Now, before we let you leave, there are some conditions."

Todd laughed, a rather chilling sound. "I assumed as much. Allow me to speak to my second, to allay his worries about me, and we can discuss this at length."

I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned, keeping the camera trained on the Wraith. There was a marine behind me. He was scowling. "You're not supposed to be here." He raised his voice. "Colonel?"

Colonel Sheppard looked over. "What is- Oh." He looked at me, and then looked down to the mic still fixed to his collar. He laughed. "Press conference is over, kids."

And that, I thought, is the end of that.