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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"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.

Rogue stared at his hand for a long moment before finally nodding and tugging the glove off her right hand. She concentrated for a moment, trying to smooth over the frazzled edges of her mind from the tiring day, and then set her fingertips on his skin.

The connection was instant, but only a trickle of his energy was received by her power, with that familiar static electricity feeling arching up her arm. Lifting her hand from his, she asked him carefully, "Did you feel it this time?"

He kept calm, eyeing her as she pulled off her glove and then the brief contact. The tingle returned, then faded.

"Yes, much like the first time" he said, looking at his hand then her own. "Have you used your power often enough for it to become a strain?" He asked "Or rather were you ever physically weakened by using it often?" He knew the ability itself did not wane but perhaps she herself did.

He also wondered if he'd be pushing to try yet again.

"Physically, it's only ever a problem when I've borrowed other mutants' powers and used them," she answered. "That can be pretty exhausting. But the real strain was always mental, from having to deal with new psyches being in my head, or old ones being strengthened with a new touch."

But she didn't feel him in her head. Perhaps it was another side effect of their similar abilities. Whatever the reason, she was grateful for it. "Touching you doesn't bother me that way, though."

He had no powers to give her and therefore she'd never become exhausted from touching him. So the only thing that remained was the original idea that keeping her calm and exposing her often to him.

Todd held up his hand once more. "I think the only way we will make progress is by regular contact. Again." He said.

Thus far, the only time her ability had hurt had been in the arena. The question was would that happen in a casual situation like this or was it limited to when there was no holding back and the adrenaline was running high?

Rogue nodded and once again set her fingers against his hand, studying the way it felt when his energy began flowing into her at that slow, steady rate. A few seconds was all the tried before breaking the contact, rubbing her fingers together to chase away that lingering sensation.

It really did feel... malleable, almost. Like a floodgate that was partway lowered, if she turned the valve just the right way she could block off the tide entirely.

"I'm going to try manipulating it," she told him hesitantly. "Slowing it down even more, trying to stop it completely."

If she was going to put a damper on her power, it couldn't just be at the point of contact, or that would be all that could be controlled. No, she wanted full control of her ability, and that meant she had to focus on her own mind, on that tug she felt within her center whenever her power kicked in.

So as she once again allowed her skin to touch his, she concentrated fully on that pull of power, the thread between them and where it connected to her. She imagined turning that valve, putting her weight behind it to close the gate and stop the exchange. The seconds that passed seemed like an eternity before she finally felt... something. A flicker of change, the strength of the connection wavering, weakening until it was only a tiny trickle.

It was such a surprise that it actually worked that her focus broke and her power flared, that floodgate crashing open and pulling his energy into her with painful force. "Shit!" Rogue jerked her hand away with a grimace and clutched it to her chest. "Are you okay?"

So far, so good. She even wanted to try this on her own without his prompting, a sign that she was getting more confident.

Her fingers settled into his left palm and remained there. The tingle slowly began to decrease! Weakened until it was just barely noticeable. Well done, not bad for-

That sharp yank and pain ripped through his arm like before in the arena and he jerked away the same time she did, claws slicing her palm in the process. He snarled at the pain, gripping his arm, the bone-deep ache that followed flooded through him.

The door room his room opened and the marine stepped in, gun raised and pointed at Todd.

"Back away."

"Calm down" Todd hissed, still gripping his arm.

"Back. Away." he repeated, and Todd complied, knowing better than to test Sheppard's men. He moved as far to the opposite side of the couch he could, both hands raised. The marine noticed his red bloody fingers and looked to Rogue. "Where'd he hurt you ma'am?"

Rogue had forgotten about the marine stationed outside, and was confused for a moment as to what exactly was happening and what the guy waving the gun around was talking about. Then she noticed Todd's hand, the blood on his fingers. How...

A glance down at her own hand answered the question. Oh. Ow. Now that she recognized what had happened, her hand was stinging something fierce, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it should have been. The bleeding was already beginning to slow, and all she could figure was that she'd picked up a little of the Wraith's natural healing speed during the exchange.

"Stand down, Marine," she said in a firm, if annoyed voice. The one she'd used with students, with the teams she had led. "Everything's fine here. It's nothing I didn't ask for."

The marine looked confused by that, but did seem to take a small degree of assurance from her words. Still. "Ma'am, I don't think-"

"I'm not asking for your opinion," she interrupted sharply. It was hard to be intimidating while sitting down, but she seemed to be doing a damned fine job of it if his slightly shocked expressed was anything to go by. "I'm not a resident of Atlantis, and therefore this doesn't concern you or anyone else. It's between me and Todd, even though I know you'll have to report it to Colonel Sheppard."

She felt a little guilty for being so brusque with the man, he was just doing his job, but he seemed to take it in stride. "Yes, ma'am, I will."

"Then go do it," she ordered.

Edited 2015-12-04 19:01 (UTC)

The confused marine tapped his earpiece and returned to his post outside the door, speaking to the colonel as it closed behind him.

Todd relaxed and looked to her. "Closer that time." he grunted, getting up and going to the bathroom. He washed the blood off then returned with a damp towel and a first aid kit he'd found under the sink.

He sat back down, setting the kit between them and holding out the towel to her. "What happened?" he asked. He still ached something fierce all over and a wave of exhaustion was sinking in, but they'd both been quicker than in the arena, ironically enough, so it wasn't as bad.

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