Set about 3 years after EatG

The inspiration for this came from a post by cimmer on SCI:FI. All credit goes to her. All blame goes to me.

"Get to the 'gate!"

Major Lorne fired his gun at their pursuers, but it made no difference. The bullets from Lorne and his team just ricocheted off the armour plating. Cursing, he saw Ronon's squad attempting to join them, only to be cut off by more armour-plated warriors.

"Ronon! Don't bother, just head for the 'gate. " Lorne shouted into his radio.

The Satedan didn't have time to disobey his order, before a familiar whine filled the sky. Lorne looked up to see the dart screech across the sky and the blue beam engulf Ronon's team. Smiling, Lorne tuned back to his attackers, who had turned their weapons on the retreating dart.

"See ya." He said, as he was enveloped in light.

***

On the bridge of his hive, the commander waited for the return of the second-in-command with the rematerialized cargo, something he was not looking forward to. As if on que, Lorne and Ronon arrived with the second-in-command following behind.

"You cut that pretty close." Lorne remarked.

"We were under attack from the Has'parian's vessel." replied the commander without turning, "Did you manage to retrieve the module?"

Lorne stood with his arms folded and was glaring at him. The commander snarled in response, which caused the Satedan to raise his gun, making all the other wraith on the bridge raise their stunners in response.

"Now, now, boys! There's no need for such behaviour."

As all the weapons were lowered, Lorne turned to the wraith seated on the throne. She often reminded Lorne of a favourite granny, with her dark-grey hair and wrinkled smile, though not many grannies could literally suck the life out of you. She cocked her head, her white eyes looking directly at Lorne.

"We managed to retrieve the Zee-PM, Prophetess. " Lorne responded, not looking at the growling commander, "There was some other artefacts too, but before we could examine them further, the Guardians showed up."

There was a hiss from the wraith; many had been lost to the Guardians, or to their masters. Lorne heard the commander growl something about grabbing the artefacts first and studying them later. Ronon was about to raise his gun again, when the Prophetess answered.

"The Ancients left many relics scattered across this galaxy, many of which were designed to harm our kind. Would you have preferred that the Major bring back a device that resulted in the destruction of this hive and all on board?"

"No, Prophetess." Grumbled the commander, head bowed in respect.

"Then do not question the Major's motives. They are in your best interest." The Prophetess, nodded towards the commander, who bowed in reply before turning back to bark orders at some unfortunate wraith. The Prophetess turned her attention to Lorne and Ronon.

"Casualties?"

"Already being seen to, Prophetess." Replied Lorne. Ronon simply stood and attempted to outstare the wraith's blank eyes. Despite working with them for the past three years, Ronon still refused to give up his hatred towards the wraith.

"Then I suggest that you visit your friend, Major Lorne. He and the young Queen have not seen you in some time." She nodded to them," A friendly face might do them good."

Lorne bowed to her as he left. Ronon merely left, which made the blind wraith chuckle.

***

"Tr'ken Mckay."

He saw Carson shielding his patients, Jennifer attempting to do the same.

"Tr'ken?"

He saw the armoured creature, so reminiscent of the suits worn by the renegade Asgard that kidnapped him and Daniel Jackson years before.

"Rodney?"

He saw the creature raise its arm, palm spread before it, towards Carson. And fire.

"Rodney!"

Carson, on fire. Burning. Screaming.

"Meredith!"

Dr Rodney Mckay snapped out of his nightmarish trip down memory lane. The young wraith Queen was staring at him with a concerned expression. She was holding a bunch of playing cards. Why was a wraith holding….? Of course, now he remembered. He had been teaching Molly (as she had been nicknamed by Lorne, apparently it was a military commander's privilege to name things) how to play poker, since wraith enjoyed mental games and exercise. At least teaching them card games had stopped them challenging the remaining members of the expedition to mental duels.

"What?" snapped Rodney. Where had Molly learnt Meredith from? Had she been poking around his head again? She had a tendency to do that when she got board.

"Your bet. I've bet seven power bars and a cookie." Molly looked back at her cards, "Two cookies." She added, before placing the new item on the pile between them.

Before Rodney had a chance to loose yet more snacks to his poker pupil, the lab door opened and Evan Lorne and Ronon Dex entered. As soon as the big Satedan entered, Molly immediately scurried over to one of the wraith terminals and attempted to look busy. Rodney shook his head at her odd behaviour. Every time she saw Ronon, she would go all mousey and shy. In fact she acted a lot like a… nah, she was a wraith. Well…mostly wraith.

"So, how'd your mission go?" asked Rodney, in a conversational tone, "Got any new and or exciting and deadly Ancient tech for me to study?"

"Not this time, Rodney." Sighed Evan as he sunk into one of the lab chairs, while Ronon leaned against a wall and stared at Molly. "Harpy ship showed up. Beamed down a bunch a Guardians before we had a chance."

Rodney sunk onto a bench. Has'parians. Harpies. They did indeed resemble the monsters of myth; part-human, part-bird. In the same way the wraith had evolved from the Iratus bug, it appeared that the Has'parians had evolved from some sort of bird. A large nasty predatory bird, thought Rodney, that had no concept of morals. How it had evolved into a humanoid, or even what the original species had been, was still unknown, but Rodney suspected that the Ancients' probably had their part to play.

"Anyone-" Rodney couldn't bring himself to say "dead". They had lost too many, had left too many friends behind.

"No fatalities. Should all pull through" Rodney was surprised to hear Ronon speak. Ronon had become more reclusive since the flight from Atlantis and the alliance with the wraith. He smile was strained, but it was the though that counts. Lorne was following Ronon's gaze and was staring at Molly. Her similarity with Michael still caused much unease amongst the expedition and the wraith, but while the 'Lantians tended to keep their distance from the young Queen, the wraith seemed to have this weird fear-respect thing going on. Not that any of them knew why. They may be in a tenuous alliance, but as another old would-ally would have said: there was much about wraith they did not know.

Rodney stiffened at the memories. Of Todd. Of the Has'parian attack. Of the loss of Atlantis.

Please R&R. If anything, just to let me know someone read this!