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

"Kenny" he confirmed, running his fingers through his hair and making himself look presentable.

"I'm sure he'll keep such interruptions to a minimum once the queen is in hibernation. I get the feeling he wants me by her side at all times and doing little else." The queen didn't want him with her all the time anyway, she had to get to know the rest of the crew on her own.

"Want me to send Cody in awhile?" he asked.

Oh, Kenny. He was such a by-the-book guy, but from what Todd said he was a good second, and that's what really mattered. He needed a strong supportive crew, and so did the queen. That they were all a little unorthodox (save Kenny) might just guarantee their longevity.

Nodding, she said, "Yes, thank you. I won't keep him as long today, just a few rounds to make sure I remember what we covered yesterday. I don't want him to feel put out by having to help me."

Todd nodded and then gestured to the desk. "I answered your questions last night after moving you." he said and, after bidding her good day, left to see what crisis his second wanted him for.

Nothing dramatic as he thought, mostly the queen was hanging around the bridge a lot asking questions and Kenny thought he, the commander, was better suited to answer them.

After a little over an hour, he sent Cody to escort Rogue, while he and the queen headed for the hibernation chambers. They spoke for some time, just the two of them. A few repeated conversations, but he was patient about it. Eventually, when they'd run out of essential and immediate things to discuss, she stepped in, and allowed the hive to put her to sleep. He programmed the pod to open at their projected time of arrival to Atlantis, but he had still assured her that when she woke, he'd be there.

He went about his duties for the rest of the day after that, letting his crew know shortly after leaving the chambers that the queen was asleep.

Cody paused in his walk with Rogue. "The queen rests." he said

Rogue spent the time between Todd leaving and Cody arriving looking over the answers Todd had provided, reviewing them with what she'd read the night before and becoming a little pleased with herself for the progress she was making. There was still a long way to go, but it was a pretty good start.

As she'd promised, she didn't plan to keep Cody occupied for longer than she had to, figuring he'd probably rather be spending his free time in a number of other places than with her. Not that she thought he hated being around her or anything, but even with their question and answer sessions, she had to be pretty boring compared to time sparring in the arena or the like.

When he paused, Rogue looked at him expectantly, then nodded slightly at his explanation. "That's good," she commented quietly, her expression distant. "It's better for her, easier. I've heard about how difficult hunger can be for wraith." The young queen would have enough to deal with on Atlantis as it was.

"The commander said hunger burns like fire within you. I've been fortunate enough not to feel more than a couple weeks at most of starvation compared to most others on board." Cody answered.

Todd looked at his queen through the orange membrane of the pod for awhile. So much had been accomplished since they left Atlantis. But they still had such a long way to go. Over the next few days, while they traveled in hyperspace, he'd be addressing the crew, discussing what they hoped to do during the time they were on Atlantis. And addressing the possibility they could lose a queen to the serum in a worst case scenario.

They wouldn't like it, but it had to be done. The queen had no say in this matter, they had to make the serum work for the female wraith too if they wished to cut off all dependability on humans.

But then again, this gave him an idea...

Cody was walking Rogue back to the commander's quarters when he stopped again, listening to the commander broadcast his plan.

When Rogue looked to him, hoping for him to...translate, he did so.

"There's a chance the queen could be killed when given the serum. In return for this risk, he's going to propose to Atlantis that they give our hive some advantages to help in our war with the others."

Rogue was a little surprised for there to be another 'broadcast' so soon after the first, and the topic was... depressing. But practical. It made sense to make the most of the situation presented, to use whatever opportunity they could when she'd seen firsthand how reluctant Atlantis (particularly Woolsey) tended to be when assisting the wraith. It was very much Todd's style to keep a few cards up his sleeve, just in case.

"It's a good plan," she remarked with a small, grim smile. "I just hope it doesn't come to that. We need the queen just as much if not more than a few tricks to help with the war."

We. She might not have the same connection to the queen that the wraith did, but Rogue's loyalty was with her, and she'd been aware for quite some time just what having a queen meant to the hive as a whole. But beyond that, she liked this queen, and she seemed to like Rogue. While some part of her still worried about the future, she was slowly becoming more assured of the queen's opinion of her with every interaction.

When they reached Todd's quarters, she sent Cody off with her thanks for walking with her again, and once he'd gone on his way she went on hers, retracing the steps they'd just taken. A few laps of the now familiar path and then she'd return to her studies, the books and notes waiting for her review and translation.

Todd made his way back to his quarters, which was slow going as he was mostly caught up with communicating with his crew about all this.

Kenny thought it was a wonderful idea, but highly doubted Atlantis would accept it. Todd countered that they'd see reason when they realized that every time they left the city, the queen would have to feed. And not just her, but the rest of the queens in the alliance as well. Every two weeks or so that went by, another several humans lives died because there was no gene therapy for them. While the death of the queen on this hive would be another discouraging and heavy blow, at least they'd get something out of it.

The commander stopped by the bridge, needing them to change course a bit to a planet with a Stargate. They really weren't expected for another couple months, but the arrival of the queen had accelerated their next visit. So it was better to let them know they were coming otherwise they might get blown from the sky. Also he could find out what the status of the drones were, and general news from the Ancient City.

He, the queen, and Rogue could technically just find a gate and go through and let the hive meet them there, but the extra week or so would be a nice calm down time after the excitement that the queen had brought. And he could go over with his heads of staff about what benefits the hive should get in return for testing the gene therapy on her.

In the end, Todd didn't see Rogue until dinner time.

Rogue didn't get much work done when she did finally return to Todd's quarters. Her mind was elsewhere, thinking over that dark possibility that the queen wouldn't survive the gene therapy and how that would change things, not only for Todd but for the entire crew. What a blow it would be to gain a queen and lose her in such a short period. And they couldn't hope for the opportunity to find another queen for quite some time, since the other prospective female had gotten herself killed.

Worries about what would happen on Atlantis plagued her as well. Now that she had a decent amount of control over her mutation, would their treatment of her change any? Would some of them, like Sheppard and his team, be more insistent that she consider the possibility of staying on Atlantis instead of continuing to live on and travel with Todd's hive ship? She wasn't sure how much more she could say about her reasons for preferring wraith over human company without outright offending anyone, and that wasn't what she wanted. But none of them had seen the world she'd come from, or knew what it was like to be hunted by your own species for being different. That was the sort of situation they read about in history books, but none of them had lived it.

By the time dinner rolled around, she was just tired and not much use at all in the kitchen. She sat at the table and listened to the group work in perfect synchronicity, the sounds of the kitchen comforting as she waited for them to have need of her or for the meal to be finished, whichever came first.

Dinner tonight was a vegetable stew to use up the wilting leeks and a few sprouting potatoes. Keeping vegetables and fruits long term on board was going to be a challenge. They'll have to learn to freeze and store for later in order to survive the weeks to months away from the cultivation planet. Another reason to have a slightly faster ship, less chance of supplies going bad.

Todd came in just as they were about to ladle out portions to everyone and they sat in quiet around the table. While the queen was certainly on board, her presence in a room was definitely a source of excitement for the wraith. Now the atmosphere was like a close friend was gravely sick.

The commander would not see his crew spread this doom and gloom attitude, so he started conversation with one of the engineers about the hive and slowly the others chimed in.

Rogue did her best to encourage the conversation when she was able, though she felt like much of it was, as usual, kept to the silent communication shared between everyone but her. It was in those moments that she felt most like an outsider, strangely enough. The rather vicious appearance of some of the crew didn't bother her, nor did their strange customs and ways of life seem quite as odd as they once had. The telepathic link wouldn't have even been so jarring if it hadn't been between everyone but her - she'd lived with telepaths before, after all, but never like this.

Still, she didn't let it bother her much, nor did she allow her own darker thoughts to infiltrate her mood while at the table with the others. They didn't need that right now. There was still time before they reached Atlantis and it was time in which they needed to relax and regroup after everything with the queen's arrival, and she wasn't going to be the one to mess with that.

It was likely they'd include her in conversation more often, but the telepathic link was so second nature to them that they pretty much forget that they're doing it, even Todd who'd been around humans more than any of them.

Eventually conversation turned vocal and they spoke of what trouble they'd try to get up to while on Atlantis. Only in theory of course. After all it was the city of their biggest enemy, even wraith dreamed of what havoc they'd cause within its walls if given the chance. From trying out the Puddlejumpers to modifying the Gate Room to become a new throne and counsel room for the queen. All they'd need were a few spray cans to write out "Wraith were here" or "For for a good time dial P3X-474" on the walls they'd be the perfect group of troublemakers.

When the dishes had been cleaned, Todd stepped up to Rogue. "Care for a late-night spar?" he asked with a grin. Now that the queen was asleep, he could spend a little more time with Rogue. And while, yes, she'd made it plain she didn't need to be catered to, he liked her company.

They sounded so much like the students she'd taught back at the mansion that it was hard remembering that they weren't just a bunch of rowdy teenagers. Most everyone in the room was ancient by Rogue's standards, and yet she could very easily see herself giving them all a stern telling off if they actually went through with any of their planned shenanigans. (Not that she would, but she'd jump at the chance if Todd let her.)

She returned Todd's grin, pleased by the invitation and a bit excited by it. "I'd love one," she agreed, looking forward to being able to spend a bit more time with him. It seemed like most of what they'd had together the past few days had been spent sleeping or among the rest of the crew. She liked his company as well, she just didn't ever want to be a burden to him in any way.

With that, they made their way down to the sparring arena. Tonight, everyone was on duty, taking their rest, or going to get something to eat, so they had the place to themselves for once.

He started out on the offensive, though as usual being careful that whenever he did land a hit it wouldn't be too damaging, but let her go all out as she liked.

"What do you think of the queen?" he asked "Your honest opinion" he added, dodging a blow to the kneecap.

It was a bit strange to be the only ones in the arena, but as they got into things she didn't even notice the lack of an audience.

"My honest opinion?" she repeated, ducking to the right to avoid a blow to her side. "I like her." It was the truth. The more time she'd spent with the queen, the more Rogue's opinion of her had grown. "I think she'll be good for this hive, and for the alliance. She seems willing to try things and accept change, where older queens might not. You need that right now."

"Definitely true, most queens I feel-" he ducked as she took a swipe at his face "-Would not wish to go into hibernation just to stave off-" another dodge "-Hunger until we reached our destination. Preferring to feed when necessary even though we're trying to move away from it."

Todd took a blow to the ribs and struck out, missing her. "I'm glad you and she have become as friendly as you have. At this rate-" he grinned "She might kick me out and appoint you commander instead"

Rogue couldn't help but laugh at that. "I did the being in charge thing for a while," she said as she feinted back to avoid another strike. "I kinda like not having the pressure. She'll just have to keep you around."

She misjudged a bit of distance in trying to avoid his next move and ended up flat on her back, the breath knocked clean out of her. As she gasped to pull air into her lungs, she managed to sputter out a joking, "For now."

"Is that a threat?" Todd purred, leaning down to look at her "Should I sleep with a knife from now on?"

He did anyway, when he slept in his coat. Years of betrayal by his shipmates had taught him you could never be too careful.

Being commander was a very stressful job. While Queens had the final say, you ran everything. It was like being mayor of a city and you had to double check everyone's work from the plumbers to the power station. Todd was only as good as he was at it thanks to doing it for so long. Most commanders didn't have half the rank time he'd logged.

"Only if you want to give me nightmares about the bed popping," she grumbled with a hint of a smirk, rolling onto her side so she could start the process of getting on her feet again. It was a bit more difficult than usual when her lungs were burning.

Rogue was the one person Todd would never have to worry about being betrayed by. Her loyalty, once earned, would only be lost if he did something beyond horrible to herself or those she cared about, and that just wasn't Todd's style. His actions were purposeful, and he considered all angles before making decisions. She appreciated the effort and skill behind his position.

"Popping?" he cocked his head, then chuckled, "It's not filled with anything." he stated. "It's more like..." he tried to think of a good way to describe it. "Like a bowl of that blue gelatin we had on Atlantis...Jell-O. Though far more dense and unable to be sliced by a knife...and I imagine far less delicious." he elaborated.

He allowed her to catch her breath, the bruises she'd managed to inflict on him were already healing.

A Jell-O bed. That wasn't an association she would have made before. And now she couldn't get the image of sleeping on a pile of Jell-O out of her head.

"On Earth, we have waterbeds that are literally filled with water," she told him, explaining where her comment had come from. "They were really popular a few decades before the time I come from. They're also notorious for sprouting leaks. I knew your bed wasn't filled with water, but I never asked what was inside it."

Getting her feet under her and straightening up fully, she winced and put a hand to her head, the other reaching out to grab his arm as she swayed slightly. "Sorry," she murmured. "Just got a little dizzy."

Wraith often compared things to their food, before it was humans now...Jell-O.

Obviously humans needed to come up with a new material to hold the water within the bed if they wished to continue making them. Otherwise it seemed like a waste.

Todd caught her without a problem. "Did you hit your head?" he asked, wondering if he'd struck her down a little too hard that last time.

Rogue was quiet for a moment, thinking, and then shook her head slightly without thinking - it wasn't a good idea. "No, I don't think so," she answered, her expression tight around the edged. "I do have a bit of a headache, but I thought it was just from being tired."

Perhaps that was the dizziness as well. She'd been keeping odd schedules for sleeping lately, maybe not getting all the rest she should for her human body. It was hard to remember to take proper care of herself when she was surrounded by wraith who had very different needs for things like sleep and food consumption.

"Very well" he nodded, deciding to call it a night. "Perhaps its best you rest." he suggested, leading her out of the arena.

He didn't want to give her the enzyme to fix this. It was painful and inconvenient but wasn't life-threatening like before when Cody had struck her. He'd make sure Keller or Beckett gave them a supply of pain meds.

"Sorry to cut things short," she apologized on the way back to his quarters. "Sometimes my humanness can be really inconvenient." They'd been having fun, getting to spend some quality time together, and she felt like she'd messed that up.

She wouldn't have agreed to using the enzyme even if he had offered it. The risks were too great to just use it whenever she felt a little off her game, and it wouldn't be good for her to become dependent on it.

Another chuff, he was fine with it, and they had nearly a week to themselves. Not so bad.

He closed the door behind them, telling the helmsman to notify him when they reached the planet with a Stargate on it. He worked his clothes off, able to relax a bit more now that he knew there'd be no rush to get up at a moment's notice.

"We'll be sure to tell the doctors to provide us with pain killers for moments like this." he said, setting his boots aside.

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