fateandfortune | Just two vampires, traveling the galaxy... [For Todd the Wraith]

Eventually, Todd reappeared, the queen on his arm again.

"Rogue? Why are you-oh, right, sorry, I thought you knew your way back. Very well, the darts have returned, we're headed down to the holding cells to let her feed, from there I'll take you back to my chambers."

And the trio headed off again, the queen seemingly weaker than before. She'd come out of hibernation shortly before they picked her up, and usually right after a wraith emerges they fed. Such was not the case here, the queen on board the hive that answered the call wouldn't allow her to take from her store of humans. And between her ordeal, the excitement of gaining a new commander and hive and learning of Rogue all in the span of a couple hours, it was a wonder she was on her feet at all.

The wraith who'd picked up the Genii had just tossed their unconscious forms into the cell when they arrived.

"Four?" Todd said, a little disappointed in their haul.

"Sorry, they must have detected us before we arrived." said one of the pilots.

"Four will be enough to sustain me, and perhaps even get my sight back" the queen said, letting go of her commander's arm and approaching the unconscious body.

Todd, not wanting Rogue to witness this, touched her elbow and led her away.

When they were out of earshot of the holding cells, she glanced at Todd apologetically. "I'm sorry, I would have tried getting back on my own, but I wasn't sure I could make it without getting lost, and I'm sure that would have made a great impression," she told him, the last coming out a little on the bitter side. She felt useless when it came to things like this, like another silly human.

She ran a hand through her hair, the side without the braid he'd given her, and sighed. "Maybe I'll see if Cody will walk with me through nearby parts of the ship when he isn't on duty," she commented, mulling over the idea. "If you don't mind, of course. I need to be able to get around on my own if necessary, since you're going to be busier now. And he kind of owes me after what happened in the arena."

"If you're okay with him leading you about where you don't know where to go, I can arrange that." he nodded, able to faintly hear the cries of the Genii being fed upon, which was quite a wonderful sound.

As they continued to walk he said, "What's your impression of the queen?" he asked. it was likely she'd have nothing to add that he didn't already know, but he wanted to hear it aloud anyway from her.

She had to put that sort of trust in someone, since as she'd pointed out she couldn't wait around for Todd to escort her everywhere now. Cody was one of the wraith she was closest to on the hive, and that hadn't changed after the accident.

The sounds from the holding cells were just barely within range of Rogue's hearing, and while Todd enjoyed it, she was forced to deal with memories of trying and often failing to liberate people from the prison camps on her world.

"I'm not really sure what to think of her," she answered honestly. "She's the first queen I've met, after all. But with everything she's been through... I worry about the toll it might have taken on her, mentally more than physically."

Perhaps they ought to lay out some string along the floor to lead her where she needed to go, which were primarily the sparring arena and the kitchen. Or paint some arrows on the walls.

"She was with the Genii for a month, I was with them for nearly fifty years. If anyone's mental stability should be in question, its mine" he chuckled. "No, I've seen what a wraith is like when he loses his head. She might be injured, stressed, and worn to the bone, but her mental state is fine." he answered

If he laid down string for her or did anything else of the sort, she'd kick his ass in more than the arena. She didn't need the crew thinking she was a dumb human who couldn't find her way around, and she sure as hell didn't need the new queen getting that sort of impression of her either.

She wasn't as certain of things as Todd was, but it wasn't her place to push the matter when he was likely entirely correct. It wasn't that Rogue was necessarily worried about the queen's mental stability, though - more the impact that her experiences might have on her decision making. But that really wasn't her place to comment on, so she would keep her mouth shut for once.

"That's good, then," she replied, forcing a small smile. "I'm so glad that things are working out for you. You have a queen now, and it didn't take years to find one." It was a good thing, for him and for his hive.

Something about her said she was still worried, but he said nothing of it, deciding that if she had something to say, she'd say it.

"Indeed" he said, swelling with pride a little. Hard not to, he'd not had a queen in decades, and Teyla's short reign didn't count in the slightest, though her actions did set things in motion for this alliance.

"It'll be some time before we start to replenish our numbers, but you can't have it all at once." he chuffed. "For now, we're headed back to Atlantis, and there we'll remain for awhile."

The queen would have to be monitored for side-effects of the drug, and while there he'd also simultaneously work on the serum for the drones too.

He deserved to be proud, it was a really big deal for his hive to have received this queen when there were so many others in the alliance that were still without. And Rogue held to the belief that this queen would have chosen Todd and his hive even if the circumstances hadn't been quite so dire.

"I guess that'll give me the chance to train with Teyla," she said with a smirk. "If I can learn to be even half as good at fighting as she is, our sparring matches will take a very different turn." She might have learned how to mostly hold her own with him, but she was under no illusion about how she would fare with other wraith who didn't hold back - Cody had made that outcome very clear to her.

A chuckle at that, "I'm sure she'll teach you everything she can about knocking me off my feet." He grinned, "Though I advise not to fight with Ronon if you're not going to set some boundaries," he said, recalling her cracked ribs. All too soon they arrived at his quarters. "I'll send Cody by to bring you to dinner." he said.

He still wasn't sure where he'd be sleeping tonight. Would the queen want him in her bed after being alone for so long? Or would she prefer to remain on her own? He'd find out soon enough.

After dropping Rogue off, he returned to the queen's side just as the bodies of the Genii were being dragged away to be shot out into space. She was infinitely better looking, all visible wounds healed, and seemed to be looking herself over now that her sight was back, eyes once all black, now deep yellow again.

They walked to her new quarters, now not needing to be led by his arm, but still walked beside him. Searching through the wall panels, they found some clothes for her. The rags she had on, she discarded, and they took a long hot bath together. He combed out any knots and snags from her hair and by the time they showed up at the kitchen, she had practically transformed into a different wraith entirely.

While she didn't eat real food yet, she still wished to see the crew in action. They paused what they were doing briefly before resuming their work with Rogue, who'd been brought by Cody as asked.

While she waited for dinner to roll around, Rogue's thoughts drifted along the same line as Todd's. It wouldn't surprise her if the queen wanted him with her that night, or any of the others in the near future, since she'd been so long without companionship. At the same time, she could understand if the queen preferred to remain alone, as she might have grown used to being that way. Trying to guess which one it would be would just drive Rogue crazy though, so she passed the time by perusing one of the many books stored in the hidden shelves - it was good to practice her Wraith reading skills.

She should have expected that the queen would want to see the crew in the kitchen, but it took Rogue by surprise to look up from the island counter and see the transformed woman standing there with Todd. The change was nothing short of breathtaking, and it took Rogue a moment to snap out of it enough to incline her head in respect as she'd seen the others do.

A bubbling behind her had Rogue turning quickly and reaching around the wraith at the stove to move the deep pan full of oil to a different burner. "You have to watch the temperature closely when dealing with oil," she advised the crew member as she adjusted the temperature. "If it overheats, it'll bubble like it was starting to and can overflow and catch fire. It also changes the taste of the oil, and since we're frying things, that would kind of ruin dinner."

The other wraith at the island who had been chopping and breading vegetables and chicken paused in their work to listen to Rogue's instruction before again resuming their tasks.

The queen quietly asked her commander questions about what was going on as they watched. Why not eat the vegetables as they were? What did frying the food do? Why must so many herbs and spices be used?

He answered to the best of his ability, which, being one of the first to be taught all this, was quite good. Still, in between Rogue's work, he sometimes repeated a question to her as she was able to elaborate where he couldn't.

The crew seem to be rather...obedient around her

The kitchen is a dangerous place at times my queen he answered, figuring she might wish to speak to him without Rogue knowing. Sharp knives, hot pans and ingredients, and when you're serving a group, there's a lot of it and thus more hands and a leader is needed Everyone must work in unison lest someone get hurt. When you get your chance to learn, I'm sure you'll appreciate how smoothly things run when there's someone in charge in the kitchen.

Me? Learn how to cook?

Of course. You see, humans come to us pre-made in every form. Taste, build, looks, and so on. With food, the array of choices is as wide as our pantry is. And if you don't like how something tastes, you can change it. Believe me, once you've begun on the new diet, you'll want to try new things all the time, and even create your own. Working in the kitchen and getting a hands-on feel of it all helps one enjoy the meal more than just a meal.

She cocked her head at him and then nodded once before turning her gaze and mind back on the work of their underlings.

It was a little intimidating being watched by the queen while they worked, but Rogue did her best to get past it. Of course the queen would want to see her crew in action, and from the sorts of questions that were passed on by Todd, she didn't imagine a whole lot of this made sense to the other woman, just as it hadn't for any of the others when they'd first started. And doubtless there were a number of other questions that weren't being asked aloud.

Later, when they had another chance to speak without the crew around, Rogue decided that she would offer the queen private lessons in the things she'd already taught the crew. Things could move more quickly without a group, and the new queen wouldn't have to worry about keeping up appearances in front of her crew - if she understood things correctly, anyway. It was hard to say what the queen would be like in future interactions.

The final meal was a whole lot of fried things and a side of mashed potatoes to make sure there wasn't too much oil for anyone. They hadn't had much experience with wraith getting indigestion, and she wasn't even sure if it was possible, but in Rogue's mind it was better to prolong the not knowing than find out now.

One of the crew was moving to dispose of the pan of oil when Rogue quickly stopped him, explaining that the oil would need to cool before they could do anything with it, and pouring it down the sink would cause a great deal of damage. Since they wouldn't be part of the next day's cooking shift, she showed them the plastic jar she'd saved from the supplies provided by Atlantis, the perfect container for such a task, so they would know what to do if they encountered this situation on their own.

Because that was the whole point of this, wasn't it? To make the wraith self-sufficient when it came to their food supply, from growing it to cooking it. It would be a good thing when one day Rogue became completely unnecessary to the process - even if it hurt a little to think about such times.

As the others sat down to eat, Todd gave the queen the tour of the kitchen, which was already showing signs of great use despite efforts to keep things neat. He'd ask Woolsey about getting more equipment. Maybe it was time to expand the place a bit, especially since, once the serum was complete, the drones would also be eating and thus more than double their usage of the kitchen.

Hungry himself, Todd then sat down to eat with the others, the queen sitting at the island with the few cookbooks they had, silently browsing through them with curiosity.

Edited 2016-01-20 07:06 (UTC)

A larger kitchen operation would definitely be needed once the drones began to eat food, and eventually the size of their hive would increase as well. A little extra space and more equipment would do wonders for their productivity.

Rogue finished her meal quickly, not having much appetite after the stressful day, and returned to the kitchen to begin the last of the cleanup. With the queen there, though, she wasn't quite sure how to act. Everything with the arrival had happened so suddenly that she hadn't exactly had time for an etiquette lesson. Pausing partway into the space, Rogue hesitated before quietly saying, "Excuse me, my queen," and moving to the sink.

It felt and sounded strange, mostly because her instinct had been to say 'your majesty' and that certainly didn't seem right. "Is that how I should address you?" she asked the young woman in that same low tone, glancing back at the queen. "I'm not Wraith, so I don't want to make any assumptions that would offend you."

She really needed that etiquette lesson...

The queen was fairly engrossed in the books, but she acknowledged Rogue's presence with a glance before putting the books back where she found them. "Yes, that is the proper title. As for offending me, well so long as you don't outright insult me, however you address me is suitable." she said, then asked a question herself.

"As I understand it, we'll be returning to Atlantis soon. Eventually when we leave again, do you intend on staying with them, or with us?" she asked.

Well, that was a bit of a relief, at least. Rogue rarely insulted people unless they truly deserved it, and even if the queen ever did something warranting an insult, she'd never be stupid enough to say it out loud.

"I would like to stay here, if you'll continue to allow it," she answered carefully, glancing over toward where the others sat. "I am fond of the city itself, and I've made some good friends there, but... I don't feel safe in Atlantis the way I do here. Even if you decide not to allow me to stay here, I don't think I would remain on Atlantis."

She was surprised at that, like Todd did once, she probably thought she'd like nothing more than to stay with those on Atlantis for a variety of reasons.

Todd looked up from his meal to find Rogue looking over at them, but went back to it when his queen assured him he could remain where he was with a mental message.

"Call me curious but, where would you go if I'd declined you to stay here? If not Atlantis, where?" she asked, turning to attention back on the mysterious girl.

Putting her back to the group so she wasn't distracted, Rogue gave a small, resigned smile. "Somewhere without people," she answered truthfully. "I've spoken with the commander about it before, when he hadn't decided to let me stay, and when we first encountered the possibility of a queen claiming this hive. I can't go to their Earth, there aren't others like me there and it would be far too easy for someone to use that against me and stick me in a lab somewhere."

She sighed and leaned against the island. "And I'm too much like a wraith for the humans of this galaxy to trust me," she continued. "If something happened with my powers, or if they found out I'd spent time on this hive... Things wouldn't end well. So the best option, the only option, is for me to find a deserted planet somewhere and live out my life alone."

Well, she could empathize with that, being under the Genii's needle and knife had been experience enough to know that that might just happen to Rogue if she even attempted going anywhere other than a lone planet.

The queen stood up, coming around to look at the human for really the first time. She looked her over unabashedly, taking in the details of her commander's mate. She gestured to the white streaks in her hair. "Did you do this yourself?" she asked, knowing some humans purposely changed their hair color. Male wraith had all white hair, the queens had a range of shades. The deep red like her own, white, black, and black and white mix.

Rogue accepted the scrutiny, wondering absently just how the queen would perceive her. She was a human, after all, and wraith and human standards for things like beauty were vastly different, as she'd learned over the last few months. While she couldn't say that the queen was beautiful in the traditional sense, that red of her hair was gorgeous, and the inner strength with which she held herself made up for the lack of other physical appeal. Rogue admired her, and appreciated the skill with which she seemed to be handling her new situation.

"No, I didn't," she answered the question about her hair, giving a slight shake of her head. "It was... the result of a traumatic experience, I guess you could say. Another mutant forced me to absorb his abilities and use the energy to power a machine - doing so nearly killed me." She paused, then corrected, "It did kill me, for a very short while, but a friend saved my life."

The queen listened attentively to the small story behind the other's strange hair. To others, like those on Atlantis, dying and then being resuscitated was a big deal, for Wraith, they could do it pretty much any time, so it wasn't as remarkable to her as it might have been.

"Your position on this Hive is a unique one." she said. The way she talked and moved was far different than Todd, different than most of the males on board really. She swayed a little as she spoke, hardly ever breaking eye-contact, and her speech was fluent and without slang. Also, this close, she radiated a power far greater than Todd or the others did. Respect wasn't earned around her, it was almost forced.

She may have agreed to go through with the gene therapy, but until then, she was still a serious predator. Whether it was intentional or not to humble Rogue or not was hard to say. Most likely, yes, to ensure there was only one alpha female on board.

Rogue could feel the difference between the queen and the others, like a specific type of energy that was wrapped around her. It made sense that there would be an almost pull to respect and obey her, and the sensation matched everything Todd had ever said about queens and the matriarchal nature of Wraith society. But despite that power, there in the kitchen Rogue didn't fear the queen for being a predator, but rather for the power she held to send Rogue away from the hive.

"I know it is," she replied, watching the queen cautiously. "I've been trying to learn as much as I can about Wraith culture and society, and while I've got a long way to go, I understand that the arrangement of my being here is far from normal. And I understand how things have changed now that you're here. I don't want to cause trouble for you, or undermine you in any way - all I want to do is continue helping in any way I can."

Edited 2016-01-23 02:56 (UTC)

After a moment, the queen nodded once, seemingly satisfied with Rogue's answer. She may have been her commander's mate, but she wasn't a threat.

"Good. I also understand that my commander, and a few others among the crew, have been given names. Is that your doing?"

The question wasn't accusatory, merely curiosity. Names, as Todd had elaborated to Rogue, were never given to Wraith thanks to their ability to communicate telepathically with one another. Because it was just how things were or perhaps they believed they were above named things like humans, who knew.

The nod was assurance that things were still going as well as could be expected, and Rogue gave a small sigh at it. It was difficult to judge how the other woman would react to things, so she was grateful that she hadn't messed things up yet.

"No, it was the crew on Atlantis," she explained to the queen. "Colonel Sheppard in particular. I think he enjoys giving names to the wraith he meets, the ones that stand out anyway, for one reason or another. It's a good thing, especially since this hive has had such close dealings with Atlantis."

She nodded once then asked, almost tentatively, "Do you think I will be given a name?"

Becoming queen of a hive, even one without one to start with, was difficult. Rogue had everything she did not prior to coming aboard. She had the crew and commander's trust and respect for starters, and a positive reputation with Atlantis.

And she still had yet to prove herself worthy of the throne. Normally this was done by defending a territory or culling, or best yet, getting rid of an enemy. But all three of those would be out of her reach until after she took the gene therapy.

So, perhaps she hoped to have some sort of recognition that she was special until that time came. And a name was rather special. Not all the crew had one, and certainly no one outside this hive did.

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