Jo Graham - The Furies

*Open the doors,* she said, her mind voice echoing in Guide’s own mind. *And tell these drones to stand aside.*

He resisted. Of course he did. But only a moment before he fell to his knees, his head bent, forehead almost touching the hem of her emerald coat, and a frisson ran through Guide. She was strong, almost too strong in her urgency. He should have known she was of Osprey. The mind touch, the flavor of it, was too familiar for it to be anything else. He should have known. This was brighter than Alabaster when he had last seen her, a child still, bright almost as Snow. Perhaps brighter, some traitor part of him said. She was stronger. Snow’s mind had been versatile, clever as a cleverman, her thoughts whirling about like snow on the wind, this way and that as they danced in the air. Steelflower was all discipline. Her will did not waver.

*She is not here.* Steelflower spoke in his thoughts, releasing Green as though opening her hand. *Death is not aboard this ship, and has not been these many sleeps. It is a trap.*

*So be it,* Guide said, and let his satisfaction show through. He had thought it was. He had told her it was a plot to kill Steelflower. Let her know his wisdom!

*We will take the ZPM,* she said. *That at least we can do. And then we will find our way off.*

*As soon as the shields drop, our men will have us out,* Guide said, ready with a means as a proper consort should be. *They will lock on to the transmitters we wear, and they will do their part. We have only to wait for the Lanteans to drop the shields.*

*That should present little difficulty,* Steelflower said coolly. *But I would not have them bring us away empty handed. Show me where the power room is.*

The Hammond twisted, turning almost end over end as it dodged through a cloud of Wraith Darts, shields flaring blue almost to opacity with the volume of fire taken.

“Forward shield at 70 %,” Major Franklin said, “Holding steady, ma’am.”

Sam Carter leaned forward in her seat, trying not to sway around with the weaving and bobbing targets outside. It was a side effect of the inertial dampeners — when you could feel nothing of your motion there was a true disconnect with the visual data. Past a certain point it was confusing. The body tried to compensate by moving in concert with the visual stimuli, even when it wasn’t necessary.

But that was a scientist’s impression, not a starship captain’s. “Any change in the other hive ship?” she asked. She absolutely didn’t flinch as the refuse of a breaking up Dart collided with the forward shield, shearing off harmlessly a few meters from the bridge viewport.

“Negative. They’re just sitting there, ma’am.”

Which was Todd in a nutshell, Sam thought. The Hammond and Queen Death’s ship could go at it while he stood back waiting for a winner. And the last thing she could do was give them a run to provoke them, not with her hands full with the other hive ship.

“Leave them be,” Sam said. “Concentrate on the Darts. Once their cover is gone we can open them up.”

Alarms screamed in the corridors of the hive ship, but John thought the resistance was actually lighter than it had been. Three teams on the loose were at least splitting the defenders, not to mention whatever havoc the Hammond was wreaking. Three of the big guys were guarding the power room, but a nice one-two play from him and Cadman put them down, enough bullets in them to sink them in deep water. Cadman wasn’t sparing with the ammo.

“Ok,” John said, making one more quick check around the room. “Cadman, we’ll cover. Radek, get that ZPM out.” He ducked around one of the festooned pillars that sheltered the consoles from the door, Cadman behind the one on the other side. They had overlapping fields of fire this way, but he could see further down the hall to the right.

Radek threw himself at the console, laying his P90 across the edge of it, his glasses sliding down his nose again. “I will be a moment,” he said, peering at the alien interface. There was no need to tell him to get on with it as fast as possible. Putting the pressure on Radek didn’t work the way it did with Rodney. All it would do would be fluster him and cause him to make a mistake.

For the moment there was no movement in the hall. John chinned his radio on. “Ronon?”

There was no reply. He’d like to take that as Ronon was busy. He would take it that way. For the moment.

“I cannot get it out,” Radek said. “ Co s tím? ” he said, his fingers flying over the board of the interface. “Sheppard, I have a problem.”

Footsteps in the hallway. Cadman sent a spray of bullets flying just at knee height, not really able to see what she was shooting at.

“Hold your fire!” It was Teyla’s voice shouting back. “John, it is us!”

Cadman looked at him questioningly. Prisoner or not? Up and up or at gunpoint?

“Hold on,” John said, and added for Cadman’s benefit, “she’d have said Colonel Sheppard if she were a prisoner.”

Cadman nodded. She was still learning the subtle things. “Ok.”

“Come on in,” John called.

Teyla hurried around the corner, Todd at her heels, a long bladed pike in his hands as he looked behind them.

“The power is fluctuating,” Radek said. “This ship is seriously damaged.”

“Good for Carter,” John said. “Now pull that ZPM.”

“I cannot! I told you.” John took a step toward him, and he could see what Radek meant immediately. Long, vinelike tendrils wrapped the ZPM, its glowing surface seamed with green pulsing cables. “I cannot get it out. It does not obey an extraction order.”

“What if you cut the cables?” John asked.

“Jen pøes moji mrtvolu,” Radek said fervently.

“You will blow up the ship momentarily,” Todd snapped, his coat flowing around him as he leaned over the screen. “You cannot pull it without turning it off unless you want to simply destroy us all.”

“Then turn it off,” John said. He looked around. “Teyla?” Surely a queen could tell it to disconnect.

“Let me see the interface,” she said, sliding in beside Radek. “Perhaps…” She closed her eyes, her fingers on the tactile pads.

Todd looked back toward the door. “We do not have long,” he said. “Sheppard, this was a trap for Steelflower as I thought. This is likely not the only ship of Queen Death’s. We must get off this ship before reinforcements arrive. She would have anticipated that our hive ship would fight if Steelflower were ambushed. It is only that your Carter attacked first.”

“Right,” John said. He keyed the radio again. “Ronon? What’s going on, buddy?”

“Almost there,” Ronon said quietly into his radio. “I need silence, Sheppard.”

“Ok. Check in when you’re done.” Sheppard’s voice was worried. And why not, Jennifer thought. This was all crazy. Crazy dangerous. The world pitched around her for a second and then steadied.

“It should be just up here,” Ronon said. He glanced at her, his brow furrowed. “You stay behind me. Once I’ve dropped Rodney, I need you to sedate him to keep him out. With this thing set on stun Wraith don’t stay out long.”

“I’m ready,” Jennifer said. Her hypodermic was loaded, capped tightly in an inner jacket pocket. Even a Wraith would be out for a couple of hours with what was essentially enough anesthetic for major surgery. Rodney wouldn’t be able to give them a fight while they were removing him from the hive ship and getting him safely aboard the Hammond .

The world steadied. Cold sweat still stood out on her face, and Jennifer shivered. She was getting a grip. Her heart wasn’t pounding quite so fast. At least Ronon hadn’t noticed.