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

[continued from here]

It was a pleasant surprise to glance over and see Todd asleep on the bed, relaxed and peaceful. He can't have gotten much quality rest the night before propped up in the chair as he had been, certainly not when he'd been woken by her nightmare. She hoped that didn't happen again tonight, he had important things to take care of tomorrow; she didn't know all of the details, but with a civil war going on between his people, he needed his wits about him.

To that end, Rogue forced herself to stay awake for hours into the night, eating the dinner he'd brought for her and looking through one of the books from the collection he'd shown her before their sparring session. She didn't recognize anything on the pages, but it gave her a topic for conversation with the voices in her head, providing ample entertainment to pass the time. Eventually she fell asleep herself, the book held carefully to her chest as she curled up in the armchair, her boots set on the floor beside it. It was a fairly deep sleep, and she didn't dream for one of the first times in many weeks, something she was eternally grateful for when she awoke.

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Sheppard knew that Beckett and Keller had been hoping for an older queen to test the gene therapy on as the farther a wraith was from their previous diet the better chances of finding out if there was anything that could go wrong. But they had little choice, they were lucky to get one at all.

But he supposed Todd would have wanted a young queen anyway if given the choice. The wraith liked things his way and an older queen set in her ways would only complicate whatever plans the commander had.

Judging from Rogue's description, the new queen was less likely to cause trouble than a older one. Perhaps better all around, though time would tell.

At the naming bit, Sheppard's spoon of jell-o paused halfway to his mouth. "Really? She wants a name?" he smiled, then took in the spoonful, thinking over the name Rogue had come up with. "Good pick. Victoria or Vicky it is"

McKay audibly groaned and Teyla hid her smile behind her glass as she drank.

Rogue wasn't entirely sure how the queen would react to the suggestion of 'Vicky', but anything was possible. The female wraith had certainly been full of surprises in the short time Rogue had known her, and she wasn't about to put anything past her.

"You should definitely bring it up next time you meet with her," she advised Sheppard, her smile brightening. "I think it'll help build a good rapport between the two of you, especially since her commander thinks so highly of you."

And really, the team could use all the help they could get in ensuring things went well with the queen. They were used to dealing with Todd alone, but now their plans and negotiations would all have to involve the queen in some way because of wraith social hierarchy. She was the top of their food chain, and what she said would go. They were really quite lucky that this particular queen was willing to consider other ideas than her own. Things could have gone very differently had it been the mother who survived on the missing hive and not the daughter.

Sheppard shrugged and returned to his lunch, thinking over Rogue's suggestion.

By the time Rogue returned to the queen's quarters, she'd already begun to read one of the books the other had left, pausing only occasionally to translate a word, but otherwise picking up on the language extraordinarily fast. Thanks to their telepathy, languages were little barrier for Wraith, and during her time with her commander, the queen had already learned a bit here and there.

She set the book down, wanting to learn chess next.

It wasn't at all surprising that the queen was a quick study, but then Rogue had nothing to compare it to. She hadn't been around when Todd had taught himself to read English, but she had seen how quickly the crew had taken to learning things in the kitchen. At this rate, she'd have to find a stack of books to help keep the queen occupied when Rogue had to do things like eat or sleep.

Chess, though - that would be an excellent way to pass the time. The Erik and Charles in her mind thrilled at the prospect, and their influence over her love for the game was as inescapable as it had been for the past decade. She started by explaining the goals of the game before moving onto the physical construction with the board setup and the various pieces. Considering who she was teaching, Rogue had to admit to finding some humor in explaining that the queen was the most powerful piece on the board.

After explaining each of the pieces and the types of movements allowed, she shifted to outlining the endgame and various popular strategies. It was a lot of information to throw at someone, but she wasn't going to underestimate the queen's capabilities, and it wasn't long before Rogue suggested playing a game to cement the other female's understanding, while still encouraging her to ask any questions she might have.

The queen agreed to try a game and see how things went. Little surprise, Rogue beat her the first round, though she did put up quite a fight.

They played again and again until it was time for Rogue to go to dinner and check up with Beckett. Before she left however, the queen asked, "What does Colonel Sheppard think of the name you suggested for me?"

Seeing the queen's skill with the game grow with each round was actually quite gratifying. Rogue had never had to 'learn' how to play chess - she'd never played it before having Erik in her head, and then the knowledge had just been there, along with strategic ability with it. She hadn't had much opportunity for practice in the last few years, so it was exciting to see the way the queen was growing into a formidable opponent. Watching the queen play against her commander when he returned would be a real treat.

"He actually liked it," she told the other female with a smile. "He seemed a little surprised that you would be interested in having a name, but I think he was pleased, too. He approved of Victoria, and also suggested Vicky, which is a popular shortened version of Victoria - but whether you choose to answer to it is completely up to you, of course."

"I will consider both" she answered before dismissing her and returning to the book she'd been working through.

The week passed in a series of flurries and extreme boredom all around. The queen took some time to talk with Sheppard and the others again about what was to happen. Surprisingly, they'd agreed to some of the upgrades they'd asked for as the risk the queen was taking was a big one and a ship that could outrun their enemies but not themselves would be useful on the front lines.

McKay, looking for something to do with his team grounded for the time being, took a crew over to the hive and consulted with a few of the engineers and scientists about what they could accomplish.

Teyla gladly took up sparring with Rogue again. With Torren on New Athos, her time on Atlantis was fairly free and could be devoted to such, along with meditation and even talking with the new queen on one occasion.

Ronon was torn between disliking staying in one place all the time and wanting to be on hand in the event the wraith double-crossed them. Eventually he joined Teyla and Rogue in their sparring matches and even a bit of meditation.

The queen took to chess wonderfully and by the end of the week had all but mastered the English language. Though, like Todd for awhile, did not understand why humans made up stories like The Count of Monte Cristo when they had such culture and history already. Tomorrow, Todd would come out of his pod, and they'd begin the gene therapy that afternoon. For now however, the queen set up the board again for one more round before Rogue had to sleep.

[Finally started a new thread over here.]

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

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