STARGATE ATLANTIS: The Furies (Book 4 in the Legacy series) (38 page)

“This is not going to work!” Ronon shouted into his radio.

“I see that!” John shouted back. “You get an opening of any kind, you take it.” He glanced behind. “Radek, can you do anything with the wall panel there?”

The scientist was flat against the wall, an irised control panel almost under his elbow. “I do not know!” he said.

“Try!”

Radek worked his way around as John fired off another round of shots, scattering across the junction at different heights, Cadman covering him. Radek was swearing in Czech as he slipped a thin knife into the biotech circuits, prizing up a knot of fleshy cables like muscles. “I have no idea what these do,” he said. Another stun beam hissed past him, plowing into the wall inches from Cadman. With an oath, he plunged the knife through, severing strands.

Down the hall, just beyond the juncture, a blast door irised shut, cutting all but two of the Wraith off from them. “Great!” John began, just as another irised shut between them and Ronon.

Cadman lunged out, P90 spitting, sending the two drones still on their side of the door spinning. She came up with her face tight, looking suddenly like Carter. “Now what?”

“Ronon?” John yelled into the radio.

“I’ve got a clear side corridor,” Ronon said back. “But I can’t get through this door. I think it’s a pressure door.”

In case the dart bay depressurized. It made sense that the corridors around it could be sealed against vacuum. They weren’t going to get anywhere trying to shoot through that. “Radek?”

Radek looked up from the knot of fibers and shook his head, his glasses on the end of his nose. “I do not know what any of these go to. I am guessing.”

“Ok.” What he needed was Teyla, who could talk to the ship. But she wasn’t here. Time for plan B. “Ronon, you and Keller go aft to the labs and go after Rodney. Keller’s got the sedative, so you can stun him and she can keep him out. As soon as you’ve got him, have the
Hammond
beam you out.”

“Got it.” Ronon didn’t sound particularly worried. “Where are you going, Sheppard?”

“Forward to the power hub where Zelenka said it was most likely they’ve got the ZPM. Don’t wait for us, clear? As soon as you get Rodney, beam out.” John put his hand on Radek’s shoulder. “Ok, leave those alone. Let’s get to the power hub.” Teyla would be with Todd. Like Ronon, she’d find her own way out.

*This way,* Guide said, moving unerringly through the dim corridors of the hive ship. About them alarms blared, the high pitched wail for pilots to the dart bay and the almost subsonic rumble of general quarters. Once or twice drones hurried into them, but none tried to hinder them. Steelflower was a queen, and to attack her without specific orders unthinkable. The merest touch of her mind on theirs assured it.

*Where do we go?* she asked.

*You wanted McKay,* he said.

*Wait.* Steelflower put a hand to his wrist, drew him back. *That is where the team goes, where they go already. I would find Death.*

She felt his surprise, though it did not show in his face. *You seek her out?*

*That is the only way this will end,* Steelflower said. *The only way. You know that, Guide. Queen to queen.*

His mouth opened and shut, as though he wished to say something aloud, but Guide did not, and he felt her will hard as iron against him, a fragile flower, yes, but wrought of steel. *Then we will go this way,* he said. *To her chambers.*

“Come on.” Ronon led Jennifer through the maze of corridors that wound upon each other, twisting around until she had no idea where she was. But at least people had stopped shooting at them.

“Why aren’t they after us?” she asked as Ronon slipped through yet another junction, pausing to look in all directions.

“After Sheppard,” Ronon said. “Or Teyla.” He looked back at her. “We get Rodney. That’s the plan. They can take care of themselves.”

“Ok.” Maybe it was just the stress that caused the world to suddenly wobble in front of her eyes, and Jennifer paused, grabbing the wall. Her stomach rose. No. Absolutely not. She was not going to act like some green kid in front of Ronon. She’d been on missions before. She was not going to do this.

“You ok?” Ronon looked back over his shoulder frowning.

“Fine,” Jennifer said. Step where the floor is, not where you see it pitching. Keep moving. It will all settle down in a minute. It’s just nerves. Squaring her jaw, Jennifer followed Ronon through the maze.

It was only at the doors to her chambers that drones hindered them, four with pikes coming forward to bar the way into Death’s chambers. “What business have you?” the blade who was the doorwarden asked, coming forward to speak with Steelflower. His name was Green, and Guide knew him only slightly, but before he could so much as phrase a polite question Steelflower’s mind was on him.

*Open the doors,* she said, her mind voice echoing in Guide’s own mind. *And tell these drones to stand aside.*

He resisted. Of course he did. But only a moment before he fell to his knees, his head bent, forehead almost touching the hem of her emerald coat, and a frisson ran through Guide. She was strong, almost too strong in her urgency. He should have known she was of Osprey. The mind touch, the flavor of it, was too familiar for it to be anything else. He should have known. This was brighter than Alabaster when he had last seen her, a child still, bright almost as Snow. Perhaps brighter, some traitor part of him said. She was stronger. Snow’s mind had been versatile, clever as a cleverman, her thoughts whirling about like snow on the wind, this way and that as they danced in the air. Steelflower was all discipline. Her will did not waver.

*She is not here.* Steelflower spoke in his thoughts, releasing Green as though opening her hand. *Death is not aboard this ship, and has not been these many sleeps. It is a trap.*

*So be it,* Guide said, and let his satisfaction show through. He had thought it was. He had told her it was a plot to kill Steelflower. Let her know his wisdom!

*We will take the ZPM,* she said. *That at least we can do. And then we will find our way off.*

*As soon as the shields drop, our men will have us out,* Guide said, ready with a means as a proper consort should be. *They will lock on to the transmitters we wear, and they will do their part. We have only to wait for the Lanteans to drop the shields.*

*That should present little difficulty,* Steelflower said coolly. *But I would not have them bring us away empty handed. Show me where the power room is.*

The
Hammond
twisted, turning almost end over end as it dodged through a cloud of Wraith Darts, shields flaring blue almost to opacity with the volume of fire taken.

“Forward shield at 70%,” Major Franklin said, “Holding steady, ma’am.”

Sam Carter leaned forward in her seat, trying not to sway around with the weaving and bobbing targets outside. It was a side effect of the inertial dampeners — when you could feel nothing of your motion there was a true disconnect with the visual data. Past a certain point it was confusing. The body tried to compensate by moving in concert with the visual stimuli, even when it wasn’t necessary.

But that was a scientist’s impression, not a starship captain’s. “Any change in the other hive ship?” she asked. She absolutely didn’t flinch as the refuse of a breaking up Dart collided with the forward shield, shearing off harmlessly a few meters from the bridge viewport.

“Negative. They’re just sitting there, ma’am.”

Which was Todd in a nutshell, Sam thought. The
Hammond
and Queen Death’s ship could go at it while he stood back waiting for a winner. And the last thing she could do was give them a run to provoke them, not with her hands full with the other hive ship.

“Leave them be,” Sam said. “Concentrate on the Darts. Once their cover is gone we can open them up.”

Alarms screamed in the corridors of the hive ship, but John thought the resistance was actually lighter than it had been. Three teams on the loose were at least splitting the defenders, not to mention whatever havoc the
Hammond
was wreaking. Three of the big guys were guarding the power room, but a nice one-two play from him and Cadman put them down, enough bullets in them to sink them in deep water. Cadman wasn’t sparing with the ammo.

“Ok,” John said, making one more quick check around the room. “Cadman, we’ll cover. Radek, get that ZPM out.” He ducked around one of the festooned pillars that sheltered the consoles from the door, Cadman behind the one on the other side. They had overlapping fields of fire this way, but he could see further down the hall to the right.

Radek threw himself at the console, laying his P90 across the edge of it, his glasses sliding down his nose again. “I will be a moment,” he said, peering at the alien interface. There was no need to tell him to get on with it as fast as possible. Putting the pressure on Radek didn’t work the way it did with Rodney. All it would do would be fluster him and cause him to make a mistake.

For the moment there was no movement in the hall. John chinned his radio on. “Ronon?”

There was no reply. He’d like to take that as Ronon was busy. He would take it that way. For the moment.

“I cannot get it out,” Radek said. “
Co s tím?
” he said, his fingers flying over the board of the interface. “Sheppard, I have a problem.”

Footsteps in the hallway. Cadman sent a spray of bullets flying just at knee height, not really able to see what she was shooting at.

“Hold your fire!” It was Teyla’s voice shouting back. “John, it is us!”

Cadman looked at him questioningly. Prisoner or not? Up and up or at gunpoint?

“Hold on,” John said, and added for Cadman’s benefit, “she’d have said Colonel Sheppard if she were a prisoner.”

Cadman nodded. She was still learning the subtle things. “Ok.”

“Come on in,” John called.

Teyla hurried around the corner, Todd at her heels, a long bladed pike in his hands as he looked behind them.

“The power is fluctuating,” Radek said. “This ship is seriously damaged.”

“Good for Carter,” John said. “Now pull that ZPM.”

“I cannot! I told you.” John took a step toward him, and he could see what Radek meant immediately. Long, vinelike tendrils wrapped the ZPM, its glowing surface seamed with green pulsing cables. “I cannot get it out. It does not obey an extraction order.”

“What if you cut the cables?” John asked.

“Jen pøes moji mrtvolu,” Radek said fervently.

“You will blow up the ship momentarily,” Todd snapped, his coat flowing around him as he leaned over the screen. “You cannot pull it without turning it off unless you want to simply destroy us all.”

“Then turn it off,” John said. He looked around. “Teyla?” Surely a queen could tell it to disconnect.

“Let me see the interface,” she said, sliding in beside Radek. “Perhaps…” She closed her eyes, her fingers on the tactile pads.

Todd looked back toward the door. “We do not have long,” he said. “Sheppard, this was a trap for Steelflower as I thought. This is likely not the only ship of Queen Death’s. We must get off this ship before reinforcements arrive. She would have anticipated that our hive ship would fight if Steelflower were ambushed. It is only that your Carter attacked first.”

“Right,” John said. He keyed the radio again. “Ronon? What’s going on, buddy?”

“Almost
there,” Ronon said quietly into his radio. “I need silence, Sheppard.”

“Ok. Check in when you’re done.” Sheppard’s voice was worried. And why not, Jennifer thought. This was all crazy. Crazy dangerous. The world pitched around her for a second and then steadied.

“It should be just up here,” Ronon said. He glanced at her, his brow furrowed. “You stay behind me. Once I’ve dropped Rodney, I need you to sedate him to keep him out. With this thing set on stun Wraith don’t stay out long.”

“I’m ready,” Jennifer said. Her hypodermic was loaded, capped tightly in an inner jacket pocket. Even a Wraith would be out for a couple of hours with what was essentially enough anesthetic for major surgery. Rodney wouldn’t be able to give them a fight while they were removing him from the hive ship and getting him safely aboard the
Hammond
.

The world steadied. Cold sweat still stood out on her face, and Jennifer shivered. She was getting a grip. Her heart wasn’t pounding quite so fast. At least Ronon hadn’t noticed.

Ronon slid up almost against the door to the lab, listening. Jennifer, behind him, couldn’t hear anything, but apparently Ronon could because he smiled wolfishly. Here we go, it meant, and he looked almost happy as he activated the door, thundering through with a barrage of shots.

“Hey!” It might have been Rodney’s voice, Rodney’s voice utterly changed. She heard a shout, and then the shots ceased.

Jennifer peered around the door trying to see what had happened.

“Come in,” Ronon said. He sounded satisfied as he keyed the door closed behind her. “Got him. He was by himself.”

Rodney lay unconscious in the middle of the floor, one arm flung up over his face. Jennifer knelt beside him, rolling him carefully onto his back.

His hair was stark white but thicker than it had been, spiking up like an 80s rock star over a green seamed face, the sensory pits along the sides of his nose making his face look thinner and more pinched. His eyes were closed. The pulse at his neck was steady, his skin soft and a little oily under her hands. This was the first time she had touched him in two months, she thought. All the times she’d wanted to and touched empty air.