Here we go. Chapter 3.
Read this after reading the first part:
Spoiler:
“I told Sheppard to head for the dart bay, and I would catch up right after him. I was going to hold back the Wraith for him.â€
More Wraith continued to enter.
“There was a lot of them. I tried to buy as much time for Sheppard as I could. I dropped at least half a dozen of ‘em.â€
Ford shot a few more of them.
“I managed to hold them off for another minute, before I had to change magazines. Had to pull back a bit. Went mostly for head shots; try and snipe them down quick and save ammo. Managed to get another stunner and use that instead.â€
"The hive was taking damage, and a lot of Wraith were heading towards the dart bay. I had to pull back, or about 50 more Wraith would come from all around me."
"So, what did you do?" Janus asked.
"I figured that I could get the jump on one of the pilots, and get my own dart after most of them had gone through. Back in the other direction, there was that Neera person just, staring at me. Wraith worshipping piece of--- she just stood there. Can you believe that there's some like that?"
"During the first war, a number of planets tried to negotiate with the Wraith. They were simply taken later than those who fought back directly."
Ford wasn't surprised at all.
"How about those who buried or dismantled their gates?" Ford asked Janus, figuring he'd know.
"Many of those worlds were never heard from again from Atlantis. When our ships came to several of the planets, there was very little left. On more than one occasion, there was some debris from Wraith fighters left in orbit."
"Some picked up and pretty much left their world."
"Again, with you and the Wraith collaborator, what did you do?"
"I pointed my gun at her, and told her to walk forward slowly. A couple other corridors were empty, and just as she started to walk towards me, she tried to run the other way. I shouldn't have bothered, but I ran after her anyway. Figured I'd bag us a Wraith worshipper for show. Another two of them came out of nowhere and tried to jump me. And then, some Wraith came at me again. One tried to stun me, but it didn't work. The hive was taking some serious hits, I thought it was from Sheppard's guys on the outside, apparently the hives were whaling on each other."
"And then, how did you get off the hive, if you are here talking to me?"
"That's when they came, and picked me up."
A man wearing some equipment came up from behind a Wraith and fired some kind of pulse beam at another Wraith, disintegrating it. A wraith tried to strike another that appeared but was repelled by a defensive shield.
"Take them down!" Ford shouted to the unknowns.
Another one appeared and fired a staggered burst at another Wraith. This one didn't disintegrate, but was killed. He stood over the Wraith's body waiting for it to revive. After a few seconds, the Wraith still didn't move.
"Get up!" One of the men said directly to the Wraith on the ground.
"I know you can hear me. Get up, or I'll drag you on your feet."
"Who are you?" Ford said.
One of the men turned to Ford, his eyes locked on his. Ford looked back at the man's helmet, his eyes focused on him.
"You're not with them, are you?" the man said.
"Hell no!" Ford said getting back up.
"Your friends are already gone."
The hive is rocked again. Neera and the other Wraith worshippers use the brief moment to try and run again.
"God damnit! They're running again!" Ford was angry.
"They won't get far."
As Neera and the others ran back down the corridor, they ran into one more of the new group. This one activated something on her belt and raised her arm forward, projecting a shield from the back of her wrist. This shield extended all the way along the corridor wall, blocking the three from going further.
"You're not going anywhere." the woman said. "Your Wraith masters can't help you."
Neera and the two others stood defiantly, with blank stares.
Several Wraith came up behind the woman just before she said, "I already know they're behind me." Several of them shot her several times, to no effect. The lead Wraith came up to strike her, and his efforts were useless against her shield.
The woman turned to the Wraith, as the others, including Ford walked towards them.
She fired at one of the Wraith, vaporizing it. The Wraith fired at her again, taking cover. The woman pulled something off of her belt, switched it on, and tossed it down near the Wraith, where it detonated. The remaining Wraith were killed in the explosion, where the woman and the rest of them were protected by her shield.
The leader turned back to the Wraith on the ground.
"Stand up!" he said.
The Wraith finally stood up, with a sinister look in his eyes.
"My shield is not operational. Try and do it."
Ford couldn't believe what he saw. The leader was challenging the Wraith to feed on him!
"Try it! That's all your kind is capable of."
The Wraith hesitated for a moment.
In one quick instant, the Wraith lunged forward with his hand right on the leader. Ford was shocked.
Nothing happened.
"Tell us, do Wraith experience true fear?"
He looked at his team.
"Look at him, he knows he's beaten. Just a walking corpse. Last words?"
"We will find you!" The Wraith shouted.
He grabs his arm, and shoves him against the wall. He readies his weapon again, and fires. The Wraith is vaporized. Ford couldn’t believe it. Whoever these people were, the Wraith couldn’t feed on them.
The ship is rocked severely. One of the men examines a device on his arm.
“The hull is becoming compromised. The hive ships are going to destroy themselves.â€
“We need to evacuate.â€
“You guys got a ship?†Ford asked.
“Not in the dart bay.†The woman said to him.
“What about them?†Ford asked about Neera and the other Wraith worshippers.
“Good question.â€
One of the men picked up a Wraith’s body and put it in front of them.
“It’s only appropriate that they should perish with their deities.â€
“No.†Ford said, pointing at Neera. “They could be useful.â€
“You do make a point. At least we aren’t taking the entirety of your original group.â€
“The Athosian would try and attack us when she believes we wouldn’t suspect. Before I would likely vaporize her.†the woman said.
“Yeah, she’s like that. How’d you know about her?â€
The ship is rocked again.
“We need to go now!â€
“Grab that one.†One of the men grab Neera and the rest group together.
The leader raised his visor, showing his face much clearer.
“You’re going to get what’s coming to you. The end of days, is it? Yes.â€
As the leader joined the group, along with Ford and Neera, the man amongst the two Wraith worshippers on the ground tried to rush at the leader and get his weapon again.
The leader spun around fast and had his arm weapon aimed right at his head.
“You don’t stop. You never do. You sure are loyal to your deities.â€
The leader knocked the man off his feet and he fell back to the ground, aside the Wraith and the other Wraith worshippers.
“Don’t want to come along? Too bad.†He then fires his weapon, killing him.
He turns to Neera and the other woman.
“That’s what will happen to the rest of you.â€
The ship shakes once more.
“Transport ready.â€
The team, Ford, and the two remaining Wraith worshippers disappear.
Seconds later, the Wraith ships are destroyed.
The team reappears in a security-type area, surrounded by eight more people, two of them wearing combat visors.
“Take these two to holding. Have this one sent to Medical.â€
“What the hell’s going on?†Ford asked as Neera and the other Wraith worshipper are walked out of the room by six men.
“We would like to ask you a few questions about your operation.â€
Ford immediately remembered his friends back on the planet.
“I’ve still got my people back on the planet where we had the dart. Can we pick them up?â€
“Possibly. Do you have the location?†The leader said.
“I’ve got a gate address.â€
“That should narrow down the location. Our closest ship could investigate.â€
“What do you mean?â€
“We don’t really use the Stargates. We abandoned our use of them millennia ago.â€
“How do you get around?†Ford asked.
“Take a good look around here. You’re on a ship. We’ll discuss this more when you are tended to in Medical.â€
“What about the rest of my men?â€
“We’ll send a message to the nearest ship to acquire them, if they can be of value.â€
“So we’re not going to Atlantis?â€
“No. We’ve chosen not to reveal ourselves to outsiders to have them tell of us. The ones from Atlantis are not effective in fighting the Wraith on a mass scale. Neither are we, yet.â€
“I can’t say they’re the best at what they do.â€
“Stopping to take humans out of cocoons while attempting to run from the Wraith is one of the most foolish decisions that can be made with your level of technology.â€
“You sure are trusting me with a lot. How do you know I won’t try and run first chance?â€
Another man entered the room.
“We’ve got a location where your men are.†He said. “Another ship will retrieve them.â€
“If you trust me, then I’ll trust you. Make sure you get all the equipment and supplies and take care of the live Wraith in the caves.â€
“Live Wraith?†the woman asked.
“For the enzyme. We’d get more of it that way, having them chained up.â€
“The ship should have them in under two days.â€
“Two days?†Ford was a bit unnerved.
“Our ships are rather slower compared to that ship your people use.â€
“I’ve got a better idea. We use the Stargates. Or more specifically, I use the gate. You drop me on the nearest planet with a gate, I go through. I get my men, we kill the Wraith, we clear out, you pick us up.â€
“The planet does have a Stargate, yes. We traced a fighter/culler heading back down to the surface.â€
“That’s Sheppard. Obviously not the same dart, but he does know where my operation house is, and the Wraith might know, too. I got to get down there and gate there before they show up.â€
“You aren’t going alone. I’ll have a strike team go with you. You’d certainly need more numbers to clear out quickly enough, if what you say is true.â€
--
Ford continued to tell his story to Janus.
“I volunteered to lead them back to my safehouse, and help us clear out before the Wraith would show up. It’s also how I got to know Vina.â€
More Wraith continued to enter.
“There was a lot of them. I tried to buy as much time for Sheppard as I could. I dropped at least half a dozen of ‘em.â€
Ford shot a few more of them.
“I managed to hold them off for another minute, before I had to change magazines. Had to pull back a bit. Went mostly for head shots; try and snipe them down quick and save ammo. Managed to get another stunner and use that instead.â€
"The hive was taking damage, and a lot of Wraith were heading towards the dart bay. I had to pull back, or about 50 more Wraith would come from all around me."
"So, what did you do?" Janus asked.
"I figured that I could get the jump on one of the pilots, and get my own dart after most of them had gone through. Back in the other direction, there was that Neera person just, staring at me. Wraith worshipping piece of--- she just stood there. Can you believe that there's some like that?"
"During the first war, a number of planets tried to negotiate with the Wraith. They were simply taken later than those who fought back directly."
Ford wasn't surprised at all.
"How about those who buried or dismantled their gates?" Ford asked Janus, figuring he'd know.
"Many of those worlds were never heard from again from Atlantis. When our ships came to several of the planets, there was very little left. On more than one occasion, there was some debris from Wraith fighters left in orbit."
"Some picked up and pretty much left their world."
"Again, with you and the Wraith collaborator, what did you do?"
"I pointed my gun at her, and told her to walk forward slowly. A couple other corridors were empty, and just as she started to walk towards me, she tried to run the other way. I shouldn't have bothered, but I ran after her anyway. Figured I'd bag us a Wraith worshipper for show. Another two of them came out of nowhere and tried to jump me. And then, some Wraith came at me again. One tried to stun me, but it didn't work. The hive was taking some serious hits, I thought it was from Sheppard's guys on the outside, apparently the hives were whaling on each other."
"And then, how did you get off the hive, if you are here talking to me?"
"That's when they came, and picked me up."
A man wearing some equipment came up from behind a Wraith and fired some kind of pulse beam at another Wraith, disintegrating it. A wraith tried to strike another that appeared but was repelled by a defensive shield.
"Take them down!" Ford shouted to the unknowns.
Another one appeared and fired a staggered burst at another Wraith. This one didn't disintegrate, but was killed. He stood over the Wraith's body waiting for it to revive. After a few seconds, the Wraith still didn't move.
"Get up!" One of the men said directly to the Wraith on the ground.
"I know you can hear me. Get up, or I'll drag you on your feet."
"Who are you?" Ford said.
One of the men turned to Ford, his eyes locked on his. Ford looked back at the man's helmet, his eyes focused on him.
"You're not with them, are you?" the man said.
"Hell no!" Ford said getting back up.
"Your friends are already gone."
The hive is rocked again. Neera and the other Wraith worshippers use the brief moment to try and run again.
"God damnit! They're running again!" Ford was angry.
"They won't get far."
As Neera and the others ran back down the corridor, they ran into one more of the new group. This one activated something on her belt and raised her arm forward, projecting a shield from the back of her wrist. This shield extended all the way along the corridor wall, blocking the three from going further.
"You're not going anywhere." the woman said. "Your Wraith masters can't help you."
Neera and the two others stood defiantly, with blank stares.
Several Wraith came up behind the woman just before she said, "I already know they're behind me." Several of them shot her several times, to no effect. The lead Wraith came up to strike her, and his efforts were useless against her shield.
The woman turned to the Wraith, as the others, including Ford walked towards them.
She fired at one of the Wraith, vaporizing it. The Wraith fired at her again, taking cover. The woman pulled something off of her belt, switched it on, and tossed it down near the Wraith, where it detonated. The remaining Wraith were killed in the explosion, where the woman and the rest of them were protected by her shield.
The leader turned back to the Wraith on the ground.
"Stand up!" he said.
The Wraith finally stood up, with a sinister look in his eyes.
"My shield is not operational. Try and do it."
Ford couldn't believe what he saw. The leader was challenging the Wraith to feed on him!
"Try it! That's all your kind is capable of."
The Wraith hesitated for a moment.
In one quick instant, the Wraith lunged forward with his hand right on the leader. Ford was shocked.
Nothing happened.
"Tell us, do Wraith experience true fear?"
He looked at his team.
"Look at him, he knows he's beaten. Just a walking corpse. Last words?"
"We will find you!" The Wraith shouted.
He grabs his arm, and shoves him against the wall. He readies his weapon again, and fires. The Wraith is vaporized. Ford couldn’t believe it. Whoever these people were, the Wraith couldn’t feed on them.
The ship is rocked severely. One of the men examines a device on his arm.
“The hull is becoming compromised. The hive ships are going to destroy themselves.â€
“We need to evacuate.â€
“You guys got a ship?†Ford asked.
“Not in the dart bay.†The woman said to him.
“What about them?†Ford asked about Neera and the other Wraith worshippers.
“Good question.â€
One of the men picked up a Wraith’s body and put it in front of them.
“It’s only appropriate that they should perish with their deities.â€
“No.†Ford said, pointing at Neera. “They could be useful.â€
“You do make a point. At least we aren’t taking the entirety of your original group.â€
“The Athosian would try and attack us when she believes we wouldn’t suspect. Before I would likely vaporize her.†the woman said.
“Yeah, she’s like that. How’d you know about her?â€
The ship is rocked again.
“We need to go now!â€
“Grab that one.†One of the men grab Neera and the rest group together.
The leader raised his visor, showing his face much clearer.
“You’re going to get what’s coming to you. The end of days, is it? Yes.â€
As the leader joined the group, along with Ford and Neera, the man amongst the two Wraith worshippers on the ground tried to rush at the leader and get his weapon again.
The leader spun around fast and had his arm weapon aimed right at his head.
“You don’t stop. You never do. You sure are loyal to your deities.â€
The leader knocked the man off his feet and he fell back to the ground, aside the Wraith and the other Wraith worshippers.
“Don’t want to come along? Too bad.†He then fires his weapon, killing him.
He turns to Neera and the other woman.
“That’s what will happen to the rest of you.â€
The ship shakes once more.
“Transport ready.â€
The team, Ford, and the two remaining Wraith worshippers disappear.
Seconds later, the Wraith ships are destroyed.
The team reappears in a security-type area, surrounded by eight more people, two of them wearing combat visors.
“Take these two to holding. Have this one sent to Medical.â€
“What the hell’s going on?†Ford asked as Neera and the other Wraith worshipper are walked out of the room by six men.
“We would like to ask you a few questions about your operation.â€
Ford immediately remembered his friends back on the planet.
“I’ve still got my people back on the planet where we had the dart. Can we pick them up?â€
“Possibly. Do you have the location?†The leader said.
“I’ve got a gate address.â€
“That should narrow down the location. Our closest ship could investigate.â€
“What do you mean?â€
“We don’t really use the Stargates. We abandoned our use of them millennia ago.â€
“How do you get around?†Ford asked.
“Take a good look around here. You’re on a ship. We’ll discuss this more when you are tended to in Medical.â€
“What about the rest of my men?â€
“We’ll send a message to the nearest ship to acquire them, if they can be of value.â€
“So we’re not going to Atlantis?â€
“No. We’ve chosen not to reveal ourselves to outsiders to have them tell of us. The ones from Atlantis are not effective in fighting the Wraith on a mass scale. Neither are we, yet.â€
“I can’t say they’re the best at what they do.â€
“Stopping to take humans out of cocoons while attempting to run from the Wraith is one of the most foolish decisions that can be made with your level of technology.â€
“You sure are trusting me with a lot. How do you know I won’t try and run first chance?â€
Another man entered the room.
“We’ve got a location where your men are.†He said. “Another ship will retrieve them.â€
“If you trust me, then I’ll trust you. Make sure you get all the equipment and supplies and take care of the live Wraith in the caves.â€
“Live Wraith?†the woman asked.
“For the enzyme. We’d get more of it that way, having them chained up.â€
“The ship should have them in under two days.â€
“Two days?†Ford was a bit unnerved.
“Our ships are rather slower compared to that ship your people use.â€
“I’ve got a better idea. We use the Stargates. Or more specifically, I use the gate. You drop me on the nearest planet with a gate, I go through. I get my men, we kill the Wraith, we clear out, you pick us up.â€
“The planet does have a Stargate, yes. We traced a fighter/culler heading back down to the surface.â€
“That’s Sheppard. Obviously not the same dart, but he does know where my operation house is, and the Wraith might know, too. I got to get down there and gate there before they show up.â€
“You aren’t going alone. I’ll have a strike team go with you. You’d certainly need more numbers to clear out quickly enough, if what you say is true.â€
--
Ford continued to tell his story to Janus.
“I volunteered to lead them back to my safehouse, and help us clear out before the Wraith would show up. It’s also how I got to know Vina.â€
Read this after reading the first part:
Spoiler:
Now you know how Ford escaped.
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