Indeed, passing the time became almost too easy even without Rogue needing to teach the crew in the kitchen every day. Between sparring, reading, and sex, the halfway mark came as though only a few minutes had passed instead of a couple days. A moment to rest the ship and then they were on their way again.
Todd had come up with some compelling reasons to keep his favorite human-mutant on board but in the end, Rogue's ability was what the queen would be hung up on and call into question whether she was safe or not. So there was nothing more he could do until he met her.
All too soon it seemed, they were dropping out of hyperspace again, though still about half an hour's distance from the actual coordinates. This would allow them to communicate with whomever was here without instantly getting caught up in an ambush. The commander let Rogue on the bridge, as leaving her in his chambers and relaying information back to her would be too much of a bother, and too stressful on her waiting there the whole time. A few tense moments passed as they waited for the other two hives sitting out there to respond. Finally, one did, the one who'd arrived first to inspect the signal. The hive's commander answered the call.
"What's the story with the missing ship?" Todd asked, getting right down to it.
"One survivor. The queen's daughter." the other commander grunted. "She's in poor shape but we've already told her of your plight and she's agreed to accept the position of queen on your ship should you still be without one. Our own queen wants her gone so if you should reject her then you must carry her to another hive in need."
"We're without one, and we'll receive her. We'll be within pick-up distance in a little while." Todd replied, a sort of nervous excitement rippled through those wraith on the bridge.
The other commander grunted again and terminated communications. Todd turned to the helmsman and had him steer them on towards the hives. The commander then sent a mental message throughout his crew for all non-essential personal to head for the throne room while he, Rogue, and two other wraith headed for the ship's bay. By the time they reached the bay, they'd arrived at the coordinates and Todd approved the order to let the scout ship inside. Once the chamber had re-pressurized, the four of them entered and went to greet the queen's ship on the catwalk.
The ramp lowered and they their first look at their new queen. Surprise was quickly forced down. She felt her way down the ramp, holding her tattered skirts up to avoid tripping on the shreds of them and when she looked at the group, she wasn't seeing them. Her eyes were entirely black, giving her the first impression that she had none. Her clothes were worn, blood-stained, and rather shabby and there was an ugly scar across her throat.
Still, despite her impoverished look, she held herself with dignity, her long red hair fell to her elbows, curling at the ends, held partially back from her face by what looked like a strip from her dress. While wraith's physical age mostly stopped after maturity, like Cody, it was fairly easy to see she was as young a Rogue was, perhaps a little younger still.
"I'm the commander. Welcome to my ship." Todd said, inclining his head, the other wraith doing the same.
She turned to look towards him, though her gaze was about a foot over his shoulder. "I understand you are without a queen. Therefore I'll lay claim to your hive as mine." her voice was hoarse, as though she'd not spoken in some time, or perhaps still on the mend from the wound across her neck.
"We accept." Todd said then strode forward and held out his arm to her. "And your story is one we'd all like to hear, my Queen."
She hesitated taking her hand from the ramp railing, turning her blind eyes to Rogue. "You have a human on board? Is she for me?"
In the fuss over trying to think about reasons to keep Rogue on board, Todd had all but forgotten the fact that the queens were still feeding on humans, as they had yet to test the gene therapy upon one. Fear began to flood him. Perhaps she would insist upon feeding on Rogue. "No my queen, she's here by remarkable circumstances, and a partial ambassador to Atlantis." Todd answered, skirting the razor's edge of truth.
"Then I'll need to go into hibernation as soon as possible until a human to feed me is acquired." she said. "I have not fed in some time..." she trailed off, quite frail indeed as she took Todd's arm without further delay. "But yes, let me address the crew."
no subject
Todd had come up with some compelling reasons to keep his favorite human-mutant on board but in the end, Rogue's ability was what the queen would be hung up on and call into question whether she was safe or not. So there was nothing more he could do until he met her.
All too soon it seemed, they were dropping out of hyperspace again, though still about half an hour's distance from the actual coordinates. This would allow them to communicate with whomever was here without instantly getting caught up in an ambush. The commander let Rogue on the bridge, as leaving her in his chambers and relaying information back to her would be too much of a bother, and too stressful on her waiting there the whole time. A few tense moments passed as they waited for the other two hives sitting out there to respond. Finally, one did, the one who'd arrived first to inspect the signal. The hive's commander answered the call.
"What's the story with the missing ship?" Todd asked, getting right down to it.
"One survivor. The queen's daughter." the other commander grunted. "She's in poor shape but we've already told her of your plight and she's agreed to accept the position of queen on your ship should you still be without one. Our own queen wants her gone so if you should reject her then you must carry her to another hive in need."
"We're without one, and we'll receive her. We'll be within pick-up distance in a little while." Todd replied, a sort of nervous excitement rippled through those wraith on the bridge.
The other commander grunted again and terminated communications. Todd turned to the helmsman and had him steer them on towards the hives. The commander then sent a mental message throughout his crew for all non-essential personal to head for the throne room while he, Rogue, and two other wraith headed for the ship's bay. By the time they reached the bay, they'd arrived at the coordinates and Todd approved the order to let the scout ship inside. Once the chamber had re-pressurized, the four of them entered and went to greet the queen's ship on the catwalk.
The ramp lowered and they their first look at their new queen. Surprise was quickly forced down. She felt her way down the ramp, holding her tattered skirts up to avoid tripping on the shreds of them and when she looked at the group, she wasn't seeing them. Her eyes were entirely black, giving her the first impression that she had none. Her clothes were worn, blood-stained, and rather shabby and there was an ugly scar across her throat.
Still, despite her impoverished look, she held herself with dignity, her long red hair fell to her elbows, curling at the ends, held partially back from her face by what looked like a strip from her dress. While wraith's physical age mostly stopped after maturity, like Cody, it was fairly easy to see she was as young a Rogue was, perhaps a little younger still.
"I'm the commander. Welcome to my ship." Todd said, inclining his head, the other wraith doing the same.
She turned to look towards him, though her gaze was about a foot over his shoulder. "I understand you are without a queen. Therefore I'll lay claim to your hive as mine." her voice was hoarse, as though she'd not spoken in some time, or perhaps still on the mend from the wound across her neck.
"We accept." Todd said then strode forward and held out his arm to her. "And your story is one we'd all like to hear, my Queen."
She hesitated taking her hand from the ramp railing, turning her blind eyes to Rogue. "You have a human on board? Is she for me?"
In the fuss over trying to think about reasons to keep Rogue on board, Todd had all but forgotten the fact that the queens were still feeding on humans, as they had yet to test the gene therapy upon one. Fear began to flood him. Perhaps she would insist upon feeding on Rogue. "No my queen, she's here by remarkable circumstances, and a partial ambassador to Atlantis." Todd answered, skirting the razor's edge of truth.
"Then I'll need to go into hibernation as soon as possible until a human to feed me is acquired." she said. "I have not fed in some time..." she trailed off, quite frail indeed as she took Todd's arm without further delay. "But yes, let me address the crew."