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

After he was dressed he went off to do his rounds. They dropped out of hyperspace ahead of schedule but scanned the planet, looking for a dense population of life in the mountain foothills, where the iratus bug liked to hang out in caves.

When they found a site that looked promising, Todd had a team assembled. They'd go get an iratus bug queen while he and Rogue were dropped off at the portal to talk to Atlantis. When everyone was clear on what to do-and most importantly how to safely handle the insects-he returned to his chambers and waited for Rogue.

Rogue had to spend a while stretching before she could start out with even a simple jog, all too aware of what muscles could be pulled if she didn't prepare properly. Once she finally got on her way, though - it was amazing, being able to propel herself through the ship, rushing down the halls and around the turns she knew better than the back of her own hand now. One lap, two, three. On and on she ran, a sweet burn beginning in her lungs and legs, and it was only when it became truly hard to breathe that she slowed, walking the last half lap back to Todd's quarters.

She must have been running for longer than she'd thought; she hadn't expected to see him waiting there. "Sorry, I didn't realize how long I'd been gone."

"Not a problem" he said, getting up from the desk. "Need a moment or are you okay to leave now?" He asked

He didn't like the hive sitting out here, this system was bordering another that was enemy territory. If they were in the neighborhood, they could be in trouble. So far their scans had not detected anything but they were limited. Another thing on the list of needs Atlantis would hopefully provide for the hive.

"Two minutes," she answered, holding up as many fingers as she moved quickly to grab a change of clothes: jeans and one of her long shirts. He hadn't said much about the planet they were going to, but she could almost sense an uneasiness around him, just enough of an edge of it to keep her rushing a little as she went into the bathroom to wash her face and toss the sweaty clothes into the closet for cleaning. She emerged in just under the requested time, hopping a bit on one foot as she struggled to tie the laces on her boots.

"I'm ready," she said with a final hop and stumble, righting herself with a slightly triumphant look. "Let's go."

He nodded with a grunt and led the way to the ship's bay.

They boarded the scout ship, joined by half a dozen others. They were taking no chances with the iratus bugs. The flight was only a few minutes long, but the ship, too big to land in the woods surrounding the gate, landed in a nearby field, dropping the pair off.

"Shouldn't take more than an hour" assured one of the team

"Don't rush it, the iratus insect guards their queen and eggs almost as well as we do." Todd warned them before he and Rogue got off and watched the ship disappear over the tree line.

It was a little strange being the only two in the area, but it was also kind of nice. Even with that hint of tension curled around them, Rogue smiled as she breathed in the fresh air and bent down to pluck a blade of tall grass to twirl between her fingers.

"I'll admit it, I do miss this sometimes," she told Todd. "Being on solid ground, outside, having that sense of freedom. Not that I don't adore your ship, but it's really very different from everything I've known until now."

"It is a different experience." he said, watching the scout ship disappear over the trees before leading the way to the gate. "I'm sure you'll get your fill of it when we're on Atlantis. If possible, we'll be landing the hive on the mainland, there you can enjoy solid ground until you're sick of it." he chuckled.

He doubted she'd want to spend all her time in the city. He'll be busy with the queen for the first week at least and with her dislike of the marines, being on the mainland will keep her away from them.

She grinned at him brightly. "I think what you meant to say was I can enjoy having a place to get away from Rodney," she corrected playfully.

Atlantis was a beautiful city and somewhere she'd love to explore more fully, but the marines kept her on edge, as well as the fact that she just wasn't all that comfortable around humans anymore. There were exceptions, of course, and she did have a small number of friends in the city, but there was nothing like the sense of security that she felt while on the hive ship.

"That too." he agreed. The scientist was very taxing on one's patience. McKay undoubtedly had written up a long list by now of questions to ask Rogue without incurring her wrath.

Todd spotted the gate through the treeline and started making his way through the dense growth only to pause and look down at something in the brush. It was a big animal, about the size of a bear, though lizard-like, dead, caught in a vicious looking snare.

"Oh that's not good." Todd sighed. The animal must have died recently, the blood around its mouth was still glistening wet. It was possible there was a trapping party from the human settlement around. Also, a snare that size could easily grab one as big as him, perhaps even designed to catch Wraith coming through the gate on foot. Who knew how booby-trapped the woods were.

"Keep close, walk where I walk" he warned. Todd looked around and picked up a large stick and began probing the growth as he stepped along.

Rogue laughed quietly when Todd agreed with her. Though he did have a knack for going a little too far with his questions, she really couldn't fault McKay for his curiosity with her. She just wished he'd learn a little tact, is all, preferably before she had to teach him that lesson herself.

Though that might not actually be such a bad thing...

The dead animal caused all amusement to disappear from her instantly. Not for the animal's sake, though she did feel a little sorry for it to have died in such a way, but mostly because she was drawing the same conclusions as Todd. It was clearly a trap designed by humans, which meant they were nearby and likely wouldn't appreciate a wandering wraith in their midst.

So she kept close to Todd as he instructed, walking carefully and keeping an eye on their surroundings, both for any new arrivals and for additional traps that might be waiting for them.

The going was slow and tense, but eventually they made it out of the growth and into the clearing surrounding the gate. There was a MALP as expected sitting off to the side, but before he dialed Atlantis, he poked around the clearing. There were no obvious paths, not even a game trail. The settlement must purposely ensure as little trace of them as possible was left in the woods. And as the forest was too thick for darts to fly out of the gate, all culling had to be on foot or darts deployed from a hive in orbit. Quite clever of them actually, ensured their casualties were minimal or at least far between.

"We will have to be careful and walk back along the trail we made" he said, sitting his stick down against the DHD.

Edited 2016-02-19 04:29 (UTC)

It was a relief when they reached the clearing and Rogue didn't have to be quite so aware of each and every step she took. The way Todd took extra time to look around though - that had her worried too. Something did seem off about this whole place, and as excited as she'd been to have some time off the ship, she was looking forward to getting back up there once they'd finished all their business on the planet.

"That's easy enough to do," she commented quietly, stepping up beside him next to the DHD. She'd seen the panel Atlantis used, but it wasn't quite the same as this. Different layout, same symbols.

After a moment of quiet, checking around and opening his senses to ensure they were alone, he dialed Atlantis. With a great KAWOOSH, the gate was opened and as its waters calmed, he went over to the MALP. He dropped to a knee to look into the camera, beckoning Rogue over. "Atlantis, this is Todd, please respond." he said. Silence and then a familiar voice replied through the intercom on the device.

"Do we have to come rescue your ass again?" Sheppard said, though there was humor in his tone.

"Not at all Sheppard." Todd replied

"Hey, is that Rogue?" he asked.

"Indeed it is." Todd said, glancing to her but cutting the colonel off before any further banter could be exchanged. "We're on our way back to Atlantis a little sooner than we originally planned."

A moment, perhaps checking some data. "Oh, so that is your hive, we've been tracking it for a few days now. You're on P32-229? Dangerous woods, careful of the bear lizards"

"Among other things, indeed. The short of it is, we have a queen now. She's in hibernation to stall starvation, but the sooner we get to Atlantis the sooner we can start her on the gene therapy."

"Wow, got the girl at last." Todd looked to Rogue but said nothing, just grinned. "Okay so prep for arrival of her majesty. Anything else? I doubt you risked your necks just to say hello and tell us you're on your way."

"Yes, as it's likely going to take time for the therapy to work, and we dare not leave her alone in your...care, we're hoping to land the hive on the mainland in order to effectively cloak it from detection by enemy wraith."

Another pause. "You sure about that? Last time you landed a hive-"

"Your team and I survived. Cease bringing up my piloting skills, it's proving tiresome." Todd grunted.

Sheppard chuckled. "Well I suppose that will be okay, it will reduce risk of discovery so I'll bring it up with Woolsey."

"Surprised we haven't heard his droning voice." the wraith chuffed.

"Yearly review by the IOA. He'll be back before you get here."

Rogue was extremely pleased to hear Sheppard's voice come over the intercom, and gave the camera a grin when he asked about her. She had no idea about the quality of the image transmitted to Atlantis, but hopefully he was able to make it out. Another grin was shared with Todd at Sheppard's comment about 'getting the girl' - he had no idea just how well Todd had fared in that particular area.

When mention of the illustrious Mr. Woolsey came up, she rolled her eyes and sighed. It really would have been nice if they timing could have fortuitous enough to arrive during the review and not after it. She would definitely be spending quite a bit of time on the mainland to avoid both him and Rodney.

"Oh, goodie. Just what we wanted to hear," Rogue muttered loudly enough for both of them to hear her. At least she was content in the knowledge that there was no love lost between any of them and Woolsey.

She was about to say something else when a sound behind them caught her attention. Reaching over to set a hand on Todd's arm, she turned slowly to look in the direction she thought it had come from, but didn't see anything. Perhaps a small hint of movement in the distance that could have been the wind. Or something else.

"I'll be sure to tell him that you wished him the best" Sheppard said

Todd looked to Rogue then around at the spot she'd been staring at.

"Something wrong?" Sheppard asked, obviously able to see that something had gotten their attention.

"I think we've overstayed our welcome." Todd said, turning to look at the MALP. "We'll be back inside of a week, if there's anyone on the mainland, I'd suggest an evacuation to give us the maximum amount of room possible when we land the hive."

"Will do, Sheppard out"

Todd stood up and drew his knife, turning the gate off by touching the correct button on the DHD. "What did you see?" he asked Rogue, picking up and handing her the stick he'd used before. Some sort of weapon was better than nothing.

The stick was actually a rather good weapon for Rogue, considering how much time she'd spent training with Remy and his bo staff. She could be a force to be reckoned with that stick if it came to it.

"I thought I saw movement, over there by those trees," she told him, gesturing in that direction as she stuck close to him. "I couldn't make out any shapes, so it might just have been wind or an animal, but I can't be sure either way." She hoped it was nothing, just her imagination from being so tense on the way to the gate, but even Sheppard had warned them out the animal threat in the area. They couldn't just hope for the best and ignore what she'd noticed.

He remained still, but when nothing but the wind graced their presence, he relaxed and led the way down the path they took after picking up a new stick to poke the ground with, just in case.

They returned to the spot where the bear lizard...used to be.

"Well, either it wasn't actually dead or we're not alone out here." Todd said quietly. Either option was not one he wanted to face. Judging by the minimal disturbance in the brush however, someone had cleaned up after taking their prize, the creature-if alive-would have just stomped off without a care to the trail it left behind.

"This day just keeps getting better," she muttered, eyes on their surroundings as she tried to spot anything that might represent danger to them. But of course there wasn't anything in sight, just evidence that something had happened while they were over by the gate.

"How much longer do you think it'll be before the others are finished?" Rogue asked Todd quietly, adjusting her grip on the stick but not letting go of it.

"Another hour probably." he replied, beginning to pick his way back he way they'd come. "Judging from the amount of tension I can feel among my fellow wraith, they've just entered the cave. While we're distantly related to the iratus bug, we're no more immune to its attacks than a human is so its a delicate operation, one that shouldn't be rushed."

They soon emerged at the clearing they'd come from. But despite the deer grazing peacefully at the opposite end, Todd dare not sit out in the open and instead took a seat against a tree with a clear view of the meadow.

Rogue frowned at the estimation and his report of how things were likely faring. An hour was a long time when they very likely weren't alone out here. But maybe, if they just stayed quiet and out of sight, they'd get back to the hive without too much trouble.

Hopefully.

She took a seat beside Todd, not leaning against the tree but close enough to do so with a little adjusting. Pulling her legs up to her chest, she blinked up at the bright sky and commented, "At least it's not raining here."

He chuckled at that, remembering the last time they were in a field together.

"Indeed so." he replied. It was a bright dry day with a calm warm breeze rustling the grass and trees. The complete opposite of that dark, cold, rainy night.

The wraith looked over at her, lifting a hand from his lap he caressed her arm. "You're tense." he commented. "Worried about the humans here?"

That had been one hell of a first meeting. It was a bit crazy, thinking back to where they had started and comparing it to where they were now. That was a bit of a trend with relationships in her life, though - just look at how she'd met Logan and all they had lived through together, all because she'd hitched a ride in the back of his truck without exactly getting his permission first.

As usual, his touch had a soothing effect on her, and she leaned into it ever so slightly. "I am," she admitted with a small, sheepish smile. "They wouldn't exactly be thrilled to find a wraith in their backyard."

"Quite true" he replied, but dare not say aloud what they'd do to her. A human willingly in the presence of a Wraith meant you were a worshiper, and therefore her fate would be one of many slow, cruel ends, while he'd only be killed as quickly as possible.

Though, judging from how elusive the humans here seemed to be, alerting their presence to a wraith and worshiper would be stupid. It was likely they'd be left alone so long as they didn't go snooping around. And Todd had every intention of remaining put until the ship returned for them.

He watched the deer at the far end. A stag raised his head, ceased chewing and stared right at them for the longest time, perhaps trying to determine what they were, before resuming his grazing.

Todd turned his attention back to Rogue and continued to tease her skin, though more...flirty.

It was a good thing he didn't divulge just what the humans would do to her if they found her with him. If she knew the details, she might never venture to a planet populated with humans again. The last few years of her life had been spent avoiding a cruel end, but at least she'd been in her world, where she had tools and skills at her disposal. Here? She wouldn't stand much of a chance if an angry mob got hold of her.

Rogue's attention focused on the deer as well, marveling at the creature and its blatant display of life. The wildlife on her Earth had become scarce as the war went on, retreating to the areas that were completely removed from any trace of civilization. To see a deer here, now, seemed like a miracle, even if it really wasn't.

As his touch changed, a slow smile grew on her lips, and she finally glanced over at him. "You're getting awfully frisky there, Commander," she teased playfully.

He chuckled and withdrew his touch. "Just seeing how much you're ignoring me." he said. "Do they have deer on earth?" he asked, as her attention had been on the mammals for some time.

Many animals in the Pegasus Galaxy had been brought from earth by the ancients to help settlements prosper. And vice versa he supposed. Some, like deer, remained relatively unchanged and adapted well to wherever they were placed. Others, like the bear lizard...well, who knew. Perhaps it originated here or it evolved...or, like the Wraith themselves, were an accident.

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get to see deadpool yet?

not yet, bf has been dragging his heels on it. i'm about to go by myself

really fun movie, definitely should see it C:

fingers crossed for next weekend!

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