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

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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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"And even if I were, you'd still have rung." he pointed out with a smirk and stepped aside.

The marine narrowed his eyes at the pair, frowned, then shrugged, going about his boring job for the evening.

Todd sat down on the couch, moving the book he'd been reading aside.

"Enjoy your cake?" He asked, glancing to her cup of pills.

Rogue smiled dreamily at the memory of the cake and sighed. "You have no idea," she said before starting the struggle of lowering herself onto the couch. The last few inches were taken in more of a tumble than anything and she groaned audibly.

"A lot more than that, that's for sure," she managed to squeeze out between clenched teeth. As soon as the spike of pain ebbed, she upended the pills into her mouth and swallowed them dry, because no way was she getting up again to get a drink of water. Grimacing as the taste of the pill's coating hit her tongue, she commented grimly, "Or that."

Todd watched her struggle, but didn't help. She was fine on her own, and if she needed help, she'd ask for it.

"You should have just gone to bed" he stated. She didn't have to get up early after all and it wasn't like she could spar even if she wanted to.

He didn't call for the marine to get her out though. If she wanted to stay, then so be it.

"Best avoid any relaxing areas where McKay can corner you or he'll question you to death." he advised with a chuckle.

Rogue was used to doing things on her own, and it meant a lot for Todd to let her do things on her own steam. A human man probably would have jumped in to try and help and just gotten on her nerves.

"Oh lord, I didn't even think of that," she said with a completely horrified look. "I should have waited to do this," she gestured to her side, "until we were ready to leave. We've got days left, there's no way I'll be able to avoid him the entire time." Even the thought of trying was exhausting.

Which brought to mind what he had said about going to bed. Lifting the now empty paper cup, she told him, "It's going to take a while for these to kick in, I won't be able to sleep until they do even if I try."

The commander laughed at that. McKay would undoubtedly do his best in the coming days to get her to answer more questions. He wouldn't be surprised if on the last day the man followed them to the pier for just one more answer.

He chuffed at her bed answer. Fair enough.

"How much of Atlantis did Sheppard show you?" he asked. The city was quite incredible. Every time he got to be on it, it was always a treat. After all, he and the rest of his kin had fought over a hundred years to defeat the Lanteans and gain control of it.

Rogue leaned her head back against the couch and smiled. "All the main tourist attractions, according to him," she answered, her eyes on the stars beyond the window. "We were out walking for at least an hour, I think, and then he showed me the Puddle Jumpers and it was all pilot talk from there."

She glanced over at Todd. "He said he'd take me out in one before we left if there was time." She hoped it happened. She missed flying desperately, and even if she wouldn't be able to pilot the ship herself, it would still be amazing to be out there in the air again.

"It's quite a place, even after being here for several years I don't believe they have uncovered all of its secrets."

Despite Woolsey's dislike of strange and "dangerous" things, Todd was glad the rest of Atlantis seemed to disagree and had accepted Rogue. Ronon even sparred with her, always a good sign.

"I'm sure there will be time, all gate travel is suspended until all the inoculations are dealt with. Probably to ensure no emergencies happen in the middle of all this. Just be sure Doctor McKay doesn't tag along" he chuckled

"If he tries, he'll find himself swimming back to the city," she announced with a dark look, completely serious. The scientist could use the exercise, it would be good for him. Better than her knocking him out, at least, which was an equally tempting solution.

Her expression lightening, she asked him, "Your crew are doing alright?" She realized that if something were wrong, he would be in the hospital with them, but she still wanted to ask and hear it from him. She genuinely cared about what happened to his crew, and she was looking forward to the gradual getting-to-know-you with these ones she hadn't yet properly met.

"The side effects faded out the same as last time, thus far, no surprises." he said "They'll be back on their feet tomorrow, which is when the real test is as that's when our youngest will get the therapy. You met him at our first spar."

So far, his crew were the "mid-level" age. Born after the Lantean war but before the Genii came to be the real pain they were at the height of their power. This one however was easily defeated in age by many here on Atlantis. Not the youngest in the alliance but this would prove whether age factored into the therapy, improving or worsening it.

He was concerned for him, she could see that clearly. The underlying source of the concern was less apparent, whether of a Commander for his underling, one Wraith for another, or simply for what that might mean for the future of the gene therapy. The reason didn't matter much to Rogue.

"I remember him well," she acknowledged. "He has spunk. I'm sure he'll pull through all this just as well as the others."

An acknowledged grunt. "Unfortunately the serum for the drones will have to wait until our next visit as there hasn't been enough time to know if its working. Which probably means most of those on board will have to be put into hibernation once we leave here."

He'd been hoping for the therapy to be a success but it seems there was a significant difference between the males and the drones feeding mechanism. Which, there actually was, drones began life feeding on humans, not on "normal" food like males and females did.

And that was another problem in that of itself. As he had no queen, there was no female to try the gene therapy on, and none of the others would likely submit to be test subjects until it was proven to be safe and effective. Next rendezvous with the other commanders he'd have to ask them to change their minds about that, otherwise the queens would still be feeding on humans until his own assumed her throne...if she settled on him in the first place.

"Will that cause many problems?" she asked, tilting her head in curious concern. She'd had very little exposure to the drones during her weeks aboard the hive - she still didn't move about the ship on her own, and there hadn't been occasion for Todd to take her anywhere overly populated with them.

In actuality, there were plenty of elements to this whole thing of which she had absolutely no understanding, either because something had only been mentioned in passing or because it simply hadn't come up before. Rogue had kept her questions limited in number, and in hindsight she was glad of that, otherwise she might have ended up even more annoying than McKay.

"Not entirely, no, a hive ship can be flown by just one wraith." Or one human if you're like Teyla. "At least three in a full out battle are needed, and the drones handle none of that. However, in a battle, the drones are sent out first in the dart ships, and it takes a little time for even them to wake up and come out of hibernation. So if we were to encounter and enemy hive, it's likely we'd have to make a run for it in order to get our drones out of hibernation and into ships before turning around and launching an assault. Its risky, but possible."

Rogue nodded her understanding and turned back to the window, drinking in that beautiful foreign sky. "It's been so quiet since I've been on the ship, it hadn't really occurred to me that we could end up fighting another hive," she commented quietly. "It should have, you're in the middle of a civil war, but I don't know. Maybe I was too wrapped up in my own concerns, trying to figure out what I was going to do, that I just didn't think about it."

She chuckled quietly then, darkly. "Out of one war and into another. How... fitting."

Another grunt but he said, "The galaxy is a huge place, the odds of running into enemy ships get fewer and fewer as more join or are destroyed. We also know which territories are safe to cross and those that are best taking the extra few days around to avoid. I'm sure during your time on the hive we will have to fight"

There would be little she can do however in such a battle. Either the hives fight until one is destroyed or one gives up and flees if their engines were intact.

"Shortly before you arrived we were in a battle. Hence all the repairs."

"I must have good timing then," she decided, giving him an amused smirk. "Missed all the excitement."

She realized there would be nothing she could do to help in the inevitable fights they would encounter while she was aboard the hive. She was human, she didn't understand how their ships or most of their technology worked, so all she would be able to do was sit around waiting and hoping they would come out on the winning end of each skirmish. But at least the odds seemed to be tipping in their favor as to how many of those fights they would be involved in.

"If there ever is anything I can do," she started slowly, seriously, "to help you or the others, please let me know. Anything."

"Of course." he said "For now though, you're our cook." he grinned.

Which reminded him, he needed to make sure the Daedalus had brought enough to refill their pantry otherwise they'd be here a little longer than planned.

By now, the moons had both risen over the sea, though the stars weren't all that visible thanks to the cloud-cover tonight. He'd heard there was a storm headed their way soon.

A cook. A teacher, a fighter, a cook. Her life had turned out nothing like she'd grown up imagining it would be, but all in all it hadn't been that bad. She'd found a place to fit in, and friends, and someone who loved her. If you looked past how all of it had ended, it was a pretty good life.

"Two moons," she said softly, her voice full of wonderment. "It's incredible."

She sighed gently and sank a little further into the couch. "You know, even though it's killing me that I'll never see my friends again, or be able to go home... I'm glad I ended up here." A glance Todd's way. "I'm glad I got to meet you."

"The last world Atlantis was on had five." he said, admiring the pair.

A smile then a chuff at that final bit, "Well, you'll live longer." She might even find someone here on Atlantis to be with. She and Sheppard seemed to get along well enough. But most importantly, she wouldn't be experimented upon or under constant alert for danger.

"Let's hope so," she joked with a wry smile. "I'm not off to the best start." At least the pills were starting to kick in, dulling the sharp pain to a dull, persistent ache.

If he asked, Rogue would tell him that she wasn't looking for someone to spend her life with, not in that way. John Sheppard deserved a wife, someone to be madly in love with him. Everyone she'd met at Atlantis deserved that. But Rogue didn't want that life anymore. She had loved someone with her whole heart and soul, and she'd lost him. Now all she wanted was a friend, a partner to have her back. A different kind of relationship.

"You'll heal." he assured her. Then thought of something. "Do you find your ability to be...weaker or stronger when you're injured?" he asked.

If weaker, perhaps this was the opportunity to try training her. If more powerful...

It was hard to say, her ability wasn't a parasite or like his ability to see in the dark, needed special circumstances to work. But it was worth asking about.

Rogue was quiet for a moment, thinking over his question. "It's usually always the same," she concluded. "It wasn't until I touched you that it was... not exactly weaker, but slower."

She ran a gloved hand through her hair. "When I was seventeen, shortly after my mutation manifested, I died. Logan tried to bring me back by touching me so I could absorb his healing ability. It did work, eventually, but it took a lot longer for my power kick in and borrow his. But beyond that, even when I've been unconscious, it's been the same."

So it was slower when she she badly injured, as his first guess confirmed. Eventually it did kick in but it took time.

But when it came to him, it was erratic.

Why?

She'd said before she'd touched aliens before. So what made the Wraith special that it fluctuated between ripping his arm out of his socket to nothing at all?

It had to be some combination of their natural healing ability and...was her ability somehow sensing his own ability to take the life force of others? No, it wasn't a separate entity...which probably would have made things easier to figure out if it were.

Charles had spent far more time with her than he did, so he had to take her word on his word that he believed the ability to control her gift was within her somewhere.

He silently contemplated all this, looking out across the ocean.

Rogue's own thoughts were moving along the same lines, only she had a few brilliant minds analyzing alongside her own. She let them go at it this time, they were being a bit less manic about it at least, and after a while she had a theory to propose.

"Charles thinks it might be different with you because of your ability being similar to mine," she said, her gaze on the window as well. "After the gene therapy, you might not need to feed on humans to survive, but you're still physically able to do it. Charles - and Erik," she added at someone's insistence, "believe that my power is inconsistent because of the interference of your ability, of that genetic base code that allows you to take the lifeforce of humans."

She looked up at the ceiling, absorbing the idea even as she expressed it aloud for him. "They think that interference might be enough for me to learn how to alternately dampen or enhance my powers, but they don't know that it would work the same way with humans. With other Wraith, yes, but I'd probably have to find another mechanism to gain control when touching humans."

But it was all just a theory.

He looked to her when she spoke.

It was still a little strange to think that she had two minds...no, two hundred minds kicking around in her own, but it wasn't like he didn't believe her about it.

"I thought of that as well. However, it's best to start somewhere." He pointed out. And despite how much Sheppard and his team liked her, she'd never be allowed to stay on Atlantis if she didn't gain some control over her ability, even if Woolsey left. And that was the end goal was it not? She couldn't live on the hive forever. She was welcome to until or if the queen rejected her, but he figured she'd be more comfortable here on Atlantis.

After a moment of thought, Todd held out his left hand. "Try again" only a brush of the fingers to test. Small steps.

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