The Distant Journey
Summary: Prequel to Common Ground. Todd finds his neat, orderly life as a powerful Wraith Commander turned upside down when he decides to take a human woman as his slave. No wonder he's never mated.
Chapter Index
Author's Notes: Well, here it is, the last chapter. Thank you so much to everyone for sticking with me, despite having to take some time off for personal issues. I appreciate all the lovely comments and kind words. Thank you so much to my lovely beta, alauralen. Despite being sick, she managed to get the beta of this chapter finished.
Disclaimer: SGA does not belong to me.
The Distant Journey
Chapter Eight
Todd fell to the ground, blood gushing from his wounds as Nia was pulled up. Jerking from the man’s grasp, she rushed to Todd’s side. He was unconscious and holes riddled his body.
“What have you done to him?” She pulled his body into her lap, holding him closely. “Please, don’t die,” she whispered, rocking gently. The surprised looks on the soldiers’ faces were soon replaced by disgust. Nia avoided looking directly at them, choosing to focus her attention on her beloved.
Todd’s breathing was shallow, but at least he was still alive. The shock of the situation wore off, and a soldier grasped Nia’s arms roughly, yanking her away from Todd. His head dropped roughly to the ground, and Nia cried out in concern. “Let go of me!”
Before he could reply, another voice called, “We found another!”
Nia’s head jerked in the direction of the voice to see Amyrra emerging from the forest. Tears streamed down her face, and she rushed to the officer obviously in charge. “Thank you so much for rescuing me! It was all so horrible. I didn’t think I would ever get away.”
Nia struggled to keep from retching. The tears were so fake. Surely the men wouldn’t believe her story.
Amyrra went on, saying, “That woman was so vile, allowing those things to use her body for pleasure. I never allowed them to touch me.” She clasped her hands against her chest in false distress, allowing tears to drip from her cheeks without trying to wipe them away.
“It wasn’t as if you didn’t want to bed him,” Nia heard herself saying as she pointed to Todd. “He just didn’t want your filth near him.” It was a shock to hear the words spilling from her mouth. She always picked the most inopportune times to allow her temper to get the better of her and take control.
The officer in charge put his arm around the weeping Amyrra. “You are safe now.” He glared at Nia, revulsion reflecting in his eyes. “Put her and that thing in the wagon for transport.”
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Pain lanced through Todd’s body, making it hard to think. He had never been so miserable before. Voices. He registered the sound slowly. Nia. Her face filled his mind. Solid warmth pressed against his cheek, and his eyes flickered open. Nia looked down at him, shaking her head almost imperceptibly. Her hand caressed his forehead gently.
“Filthy Wraith worshipper.”
A snort sounded as a second voice piped up. “Look at the way she rubs its face. She’s a Wraith whore.”
If not for the ache inside, he might have been tempted to rip the humans’ throats out. He wanted nothing more than to make them suffer for speaking about Nia in such a manner. However, he had the element of surprise in his favor. He needed the humans alive if he were to survive. He could feel his life ebbing slowly from his body-his wounds deep and painful.
Nia didn’t seem to even register the insults, making Todd wonder how long she’d endured their taunts. She continued to stroke his forehead, fear-tinged relief reflecting in her eyes. She lurched forward as the wagon transporting them suddenly stopped. Todd forced himself to keep his arms down, allowing her to steady herself and keep his consciousness secret. He closed his eyes as one of the humans stood and opened the back of the wagon.
“Get up, whore,” a harsh voice demanded. Todd felt Nia shift, refusing to rise to the baited name-calling. She pulled her legs out from under Todd’s head, letting it down gently. He wanted to seethe his anger audibly as the man continued to taunt Nia. A small cry and a thud left Todd struggling to remain still. Nia had fallen from the wagon, and he suspected the foul-mouthed man had a lot to do with that.
Todd’s foot was grasped, and he was jerked from the wagon, hitting the ground. His breath was nearly knocked out completely. He allowed his eyes to open to small slits, taking in the scene around him. The driver joined the two men from the back of the wagon. Nia protested Todd’s treatment loudly, grabbing the arm of the man nearest her.
The man jerked his arm from her grasp as though burned, and backhanded her violently. With a growl, Todd leapt up, catching the closest men by surprise. He threw them through the air, smiling nastily as they crunched against the rock building before them. Moving forward quickly, he incapacitated two more guards who had run from the front of the wagon before reaching the man who’d hit Nia.
“I will enjoy feeling your life seep from your body,” Todd said in a low, dangerous voice.
Fear radiated from the man as Todd moved predatorily toward him. Nevertheless, he opened his mouth, yelling, “Guards!” before Todd was able to silence him. He drained the life from the man before the first responders exited the building. A shot caught him in the back as reinforcements emerged. He whirled around, holding the body of the drained man in front of him like a shield. It blocked the distant shots, but as he got closer, they began running completely through the ruined body and into his.
Todd threw the useless body aside with a growl and attacked. Grabbing the throat of one man, he slammed his hand into another’s chest, feeding on him as he crushed the first guard’s throat. A sudden, sharp pain radiated through his entire body, dropping him to his knees before he could turn. He registered an electrical prod of some sort before his vision blurred as he lost consciousness.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Nia’s head rocked back, and she fell to the ground, cheek burning. Her head pounded with the force of the blow. Hearing a fierce, angry growl, she rolled to a sitting position. Todd dispatched of several men with barely any effort until guards began emerging from the building. She watched in horror as Todd was shot dozens of times before finally being subdued with an electric prod.
Rising to her feet, she ran toward his prone figure. Before she could reach him, she was grabbed roughly. Shrieking in anger, she turned around, hands raised in attack. “Let go of me,” she screamed.
The man holding her laughed loudly. “I think not,” he replied, waving an electric prod before her eyes.
A burning sensation spread through her body as he jammed the prod into her stomach, and she sank to the ground. The last thing she saw before losing consciousness was Todd being harshly hauled up, head snapping back.
Nia regained consciousness with a jerk. An unpleasant, tingling sensation crawled throughout her body, knotting her stomach. Nausea rolled through her when she tried to sit up. She groaned slightly and lay flat, wishing she hadn’t awakened. Todd’s face came to mind, and tears welled in her eyes. She felt completely helpless.
Turning her head to the side, she looked around the room, eyes burning with the effort. She was lying on a concrete floor. A closed, and obviously locked, door with a small, barred window was the only thing breaking the monotony of the room. With a concentrated effort, Nia rolled to her side, grimacing as her stomach lurched.
She tried to stand without much luck, so she crawled forward unsteadily. When she finally reached the door, she knocked, calling out, “Hello?”
A short time and several knocks later, the latch was thrown back and the door opened. The officer who had hit her with the electric prod walked in. “You’ve regained consciousness,” he said.
“What was your first clue?” Nia asked, anger stamping out nausea.
The man smiled. “Never speak to your betters in such a manner.” Without warning, his fist slammed into her face.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Todd woke later, unsure how much time had passed. His feet were shackled, and a metal glove was locked around his feeding hand with another shackle binding his free hand to the glove. He struggled with the chains, but despite their rusty appearance, they proved to be too strong to break.
For what seemed like hours, he yelled, demanding to see Nia. His throat grew hoarse, so he began kicking the bars of his cell as hard as he could. Days passed as Todd repeated the two actions. He yelled until his throat grew hoarse and kicked the bars of his cell until his strength was gone. Since he was underground, he had no idea of the actual passage of time.
Instinct told him it had been around a week since his imprisonment when a light appeared down a long hall. Having relied on his ability to see in the dark for so long, the dim light blinded him, rendering him unable to watch his captor’s approach.
He guessed there were four people outside the cell. No one spoke until Todd uncovered his eyes. They slowly adjusted to the light. Finally, he was able to see the group before him. A low growl formed in his throat as he took in Nia. Her hands were bound behind her back, and she wheezed with each breath. Both eyes were black, and her lower lip was crusted with blood. Given the way she leaned on the guard beside her, she was unable to stand on her own.
Amyrra stood beside a uniformed officer who was obviously in charge. A smirk rose to her lips as she took in Todd’s anger. She clung to the officer’s arm. He patted her hand. “He will never harm anyone again, Amyrra.”
“Will you kill him now?” she asked, batting her eyes at the officer.
The man shook his head. “We have a more useful plan for him.”
Amyrra’s lips pursed as she pouted. “He’s dangerous. He should be killed immediately.” She took a step forward, glaring at Todd hatefully. “He’s a menace to all humans.”
Todd snarled at her, flexing his hands within their bonds. He imagined crushing her skull and feeling it break. Feeding on her wasn’t an option. Her taste would make him sick. Todd looked at Nia, longing to break free and take her away from the prison-but not before he killed every last human in the place.
Nia returned Todd’s gaze, giving him a small smile. The scab on her lip split, and fresh blood trickled over her chin. She coughed, wheezing slightly. With an effort, she said, “I love you. Don’t let them break you.”
The officer pulled a gun from his side, pointing it at Nia. “He will be broken.”
Todd attacked the bars of the cell, suddenly realizing what the officer meant to do-something Nia had obviously been expecting. “Kill her and you will never have my cooperation.”
“We don’t need your cooperation,” the man said, pulling the trigger.
Nia crumpled to the floor, as Todd beat the bars, howling in rage. Amyrra knelt down before Nia’s body, smiling as she spit on her.
When the group of officers and Amyrra left, they didn’t remove Nia’s body. They left it lying in front of Todd, just out of his limited reach. They also left the lights on. A pain so strong Todd didn’t know it could exist spread through him as he strained against his bonds, trying in vain to reach Nia. If he could just pull her to him. Maybe she wasn’t dead yet. Maybe he could still save her.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Nia’s body was taken away after he fell into an exhausted sleep. Losing her hadn’t set in until he woke to find her gone. Hatred filled his being. He would find a way out of the cell, hunting down Amyrra and the officer. They would die painful, slow deaths. Nia would be avenged.
Todd held onto his anger for weeks and then months. As time passed and he became hungrier and hungrier, his hate soon became buried beneath the desire to feed. Slowly but surely, he became less and less the Wraith he once was. His every waking moment filled him with the pain of starvation. When he thought he had reached the end, the hated officer appeared, ordering the door open.
Todd tried to rally the last of his strength to rip the man’s throat out, but his body failed him. He was hauled through the prison, barely able to walk. He was forced to rely on the guards on either side to remain upright. His pride ached, along with his heart and his starving body.
They stopped him in front of a man who was tied to a chair. “Dinner is served,” the officer said.
“No! Please, no! I’ll do anything!” The restrained man’s pleading turned to incoherent screams as Todd’s metal glove was removed. A feeding frenzy overtook Todd, and he slammed his hand into the man’s chest, moaning in pleasure as sustenance flowed into his body. Suddenly, a searing pain filled his body, bringing him to his knees. The electrical prod flickered before his eyes as the metal glove was put back on his feeding hand. He barely remembered the walk back to his cell, the strength from his short feeding completely leaving him just as the door was slammed shut and locked.
Weeks, months, years passed as Todd was subjected to the same feeding practices over and over again. He came to realize they were experimenting in order to make him a more effective means of torture for humans. The only reason he struggled through was because he knew Nia had wanted him to survive. But as yet more years passed, a new officer taking over when the hated one died, his hopes of survival and freedom dwindled to nothing. He became a mere shell of himself, no longer even struggling against the guards when they entered his cell. After a time, they even left the shackle off his left hand, only locking the metal glove around his feeding hand.
Then, one day, John Sheppard came into his life.
Chapter Index
Chapter Index
Author's Notes: Well, here it is, the last chapter. Thank you so much to everyone for sticking with me, despite having to take some time off for personal issues. I appreciate all the lovely comments and kind words. Thank you so much to my lovely beta, alauralen. Despite being sick, she managed to get the beta of this chapter finished.
Disclaimer: SGA does not belong to me.
The Distant Journey
Chapter Eight
Todd fell to the ground, blood gushing from his wounds as Nia was pulled up. Jerking from the man’s grasp, she rushed to Todd’s side. He was unconscious and holes riddled his body.
“What have you done to him?” She pulled his body into her lap, holding him closely. “Please, don’t die,” she whispered, rocking gently. The surprised looks on the soldiers’ faces were soon replaced by disgust. Nia avoided looking directly at them, choosing to focus her attention on her beloved.
Todd’s breathing was shallow, but at least he was still alive. The shock of the situation wore off, and a soldier grasped Nia’s arms roughly, yanking her away from Todd. His head dropped roughly to the ground, and Nia cried out in concern. “Let go of me!”
Before he could reply, another voice called, “We found another!”
Nia’s head jerked in the direction of the voice to see Amyrra emerging from the forest. Tears streamed down her face, and she rushed to the officer obviously in charge. “Thank you so much for rescuing me! It was all so horrible. I didn’t think I would ever get away.”
Nia struggled to keep from retching. The tears were so fake. Surely the men wouldn’t believe her story.
Amyrra went on, saying, “That woman was so vile, allowing those things to use her body for pleasure. I never allowed them to touch me.” She clasped her hands against her chest in false distress, allowing tears to drip from her cheeks without trying to wipe them away.
“It wasn’t as if you didn’t want to bed him,” Nia heard herself saying as she pointed to Todd. “He just didn’t want your filth near him.” It was a shock to hear the words spilling from her mouth. She always picked the most inopportune times to allow her temper to get the better of her and take control.
The officer in charge put his arm around the weeping Amyrra. “You are safe now.” He glared at Nia, revulsion reflecting in his eyes. “Put her and that thing in the wagon for transport.”
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Pain lanced through Todd’s body, making it hard to think. He had never been so miserable before. Voices. He registered the sound slowly. Nia. Her face filled his mind. Solid warmth pressed against his cheek, and his eyes flickered open. Nia looked down at him, shaking her head almost imperceptibly. Her hand caressed his forehead gently.
“Filthy Wraith worshipper.”
A snort sounded as a second voice piped up. “Look at the way she rubs its face. She’s a Wraith whore.”
If not for the ache inside, he might have been tempted to rip the humans’ throats out. He wanted nothing more than to make them suffer for speaking about Nia in such a manner. However, he had the element of surprise in his favor. He needed the humans alive if he were to survive. He could feel his life ebbing slowly from his body-his wounds deep and painful.
Nia didn’t seem to even register the insults, making Todd wonder how long she’d endured their taunts. She continued to stroke his forehead, fear-tinged relief reflecting in her eyes. She lurched forward as the wagon transporting them suddenly stopped. Todd forced himself to keep his arms down, allowing her to steady herself and keep his consciousness secret. He closed his eyes as one of the humans stood and opened the back of the wagon.
“Get up, whore,” a harsh voice demanded. Todd felt Nia shift, refusing to rise to the baited name-calling. She pulled her legs out from under Todd’s head, letting it down gently. He wanted to seethe his anger audibly as the man continued to taunt Nia. A small cry and a thud left Todd struggling to remain still. Nia had fallen from the wagon, and he suspected the foul-mouthed man had a lot to do with that.
Todd’s foot was grasped, and he was jerked from the wagon, hitting the ground. His breath was nearly knocked out completely. He allowed his eyes to open to small slits, taking in the scene around him. The driver joined the two men from the back of the wagon. Nia protested Todd’s treatment loudly, grabbing the arm of the man nearest her.
The man jerked his arm from her grasp as though burned, and backhanded her violently. With a growl, Todd leapt up, catching the closest men by surprise. He threw them through the air, smiling nastily as they crunched against the rock building before them. Moving forward quickly, he incapacitated two more guards who had run from the front of the wagon before reaching the man who’d hit Nia.
“I will enjoy feeling your life seep from your body,” Todd said in a low, dangerous voice.
Fear radiated from the man as Todd moved predatorily toward him. Nevertheless, he opened his mouth, yelling, “Guards!” before Todd was able to silence him. He drained the life from the man before the first responders exited the building. A shot caught him in the back as reinforcements emerged. He whirled around, holding the body of the drained man in front of him like a shield. It blocked the distant shots, but as he got closer, they began running completely through the ruined body and into his.
Todd threw the useless body aside with a growl and attacked. Grabbing the throat of one man, he slammed his hand into another’s chest, feeding on him as he crushed the first guard’s throat. A sudden, sharp pain radiated through his entire body, dropping him to his knees before he could turn. He registered an electrical prod of some sort before his vision blurred as he lost consciousness.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Nia’s head rocked back, and she fell to the ground, cheek burning. Her head pounded with the force of the blow. Hearing a fierce, angry growl, she rolled to a sitting position. Todd dispatched of several men with barely any effort until guards began emerging from the building. She watched in horror as Todd was shot dozens of times before finally being subdued with an electric prod.
Rising to her feet, she ran toward his prone figure. Before she could reach him, she was grabbed roughly. Shrieking in anger, she turned around, hands raised in attack. “Let go of me,” she screamed.
The man holding her laughed loudly. “I think not,” he replied, waving an electric prod before her eyes.
A burning sensation spread through her body as he jammed the prod into her stomach, and she sank to the ground. The last thing she saw before losing consciousness was Todd being harshly hauled up, head snapping back.
Nia regained consciousness with a jerk. An unpleasant, tingling sensation crawled throughout her body, knotting her stomach. Nausea rolled through her when she tried to sit up. She groaned slightly and lay flat, wishing she hadn’t awakened. Todd’s face came to mind, and tears welled in her eyes. She felt completely helpless.
Turning her head to the side, she looked around the room, eyes burning with the effort. She was lying on a concrete floor. A closed, and obviously locked, door with a small, barred window was the only thing breaking the monotony of the room. With a concentrated effort, Nia rolled to her side, grimacing as her stomach lurched.
She tried to stand without much luck, so she crawled forward unsteadily. When she finally reached the door, she knocked, calling out, “Hello?”
A short time and several knocks later, the latch was thrown back and the door opened. The officer who had hit her with the electric prod walked in. “You’ve regained consciousness,” he said.
“What was your first clue?” Nia asked, anger stamping out nausea.
The man smiled. “Never speak to your betters in such a manner.” Without warning, his fist slammed into her face.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Todd woke later, unsure how much time had passed. His feet were shackled, and a metal glove was locked around his feeding hand with another shackle binding his free hand to the glove. He struggled with the chains, but despite their rusty appearance, they proved to be too strong to break.
For what seemed like hours, he yelled, demanding to see Nia. His throat grew hoarse, so he began kicking the bars of his cell as hard as he could. Days passed as Todd repeated the two actions. He yelled until his throat grew hoarse and kicked the bars of his cell until his strength was gone. Since he was underground, he had no idea of the actual passage of time.
Instinct told him it had been around a week since his imprisonment when a light appeared down a long hall. Having relied on his ability to see in the dark for so long, the dim light blinded him, rendering him unable to watch his captor’s approach.
He guessed there were four people outside the cell. No one spoke until Todd uncovered his eyes. They slowly adjusted to the light. Finally, he was able to see the group before him. A low growl formed in his throat as he took in Nia. Her hands were bound behind her back, and she wheezed with each breath. Both eyes were black, and her lower lip was crusted with blood. Given the way she leaned on the guard beside her, she was unable to stand on her own.
Amyrra stood beside a uniformed officer who was obviously in charge. A smirk rose to her lips as she took in Todd’s anger. She clung to the officer’s arm. He patted her hand. “He will never harm anyone again, Amyrra.”
“Will you kill him now?” she asked, batting her eyes at the officer.
The man shook his head. “We have a more useful plan for him.”
Amyrra’s lips pursed as she pouted. “He’s dangerous. He should be killed immediately.” She took a step forward, glaring at Todd hatefully. “He’s a menace to all humans.”
Todd snarled at her, flexing his hands within their bonds. He imagined crushing her skull and feeling it break. Feeding on her wasn’t an option. Her taste would make him sick. Todd looked at Nia, longing to break free and take her away from the prison-but not before he killed every last human in the place.
Nia returned Todd’s gaze, giving him a small smile. The scab on her lip split, and fresh blood trickled over her chin. She coughed, wheezing slightly. With an effort, she said, “I love you. Don’t let them break you.”
The officer pulled a gun from his side, pointing it at Nia. “He will be broken.”
Todd attacked the bars of the cell, suddenly realizing what the officer meant to do-something Nia had obviously been expecting. “Kill her and you will never have my cooperation.”
“We don’t need your cooperation,” the man said, pulling the trigger.
Nia crumpled to the floor, as Todd beat the bars, howling in rage. Amyrra knelt down before Nia’s body, smiling as she spit on her.
When the group of officers and Amyrra left, they didn’t remove Nia’s body. They left it lying in front of Todd, just out of his limited reach. They also left the lights on. A pain so strong Todd didn’t know it could exist spread through him as he strained against his bonds, trying in vain to reach Nia. If he could just pull her to him. Maybe she wasn’t dead yet. Maybe he could still save her.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Nia’s body was taken away after he fell into an exhausted sleep. Losing her hadn’t set in until he woke to find her gone. Hatred filled his being. He would find a way out of the cell, hunting down Amyrra and the officer. They would die painful, slow deaths. Nia would be avenged.
Todd held onto his anger for weeks and then months. As time passed and he became hungrier and hungrier, his hate soon became buried beneath the desire to feed. Slowly but surely, he became less and less the Wraith he once was. His every waking moment filled him with the pain of starvation. When he thought he had reached the end, the hated officer appeared, ordering the door open.
Todd tried to rally the last of his strength to rip the man’s throat out, but his body failed him. He was hauled through the prison, barely able to walk. He was forced to rely on the guards on either side to remain upright. His pride ached, along with his heart and his starving body.
They stopped him in front of a man who was tied to a chair. “Dinner is served,” the officer said.
“No! Please, no! I’ll do anything!” The restrained man’s pleading turned to incoherent screams as Todd’s metal glove was removed. A feeding frenzy overtook Todd, and he slammed his hand into the man’s chest, moaning in pleasure as sustenance flowed into his body. Suddenly, a searing pain filled his body, bringing him to his knees. The electrical prod flickered before his eyes as the metal glove was put back on his feeding hand. He barely remembered the walk back to his cell, the strength from his short feeding completely leaving him just as the door was slammed shut and locked.
Weeks, months, years passed as Todd was subjected to the same feeding practices over and over again. He came to realize they were experimenting in order to make him a more effective means of torture for humans. The only reason he struggled through was because he knew Nia had wanted him to survive. But as yet more years passed, a new officer taking over when the hated one died, his hopes of survival and freedom dwindled to nothing. He became a mere shell of himself, no longer even struggling against the guards when they entered his cell. After a time, they even left the shackle off his left hand, only locking the metal glove around his feeding hand.
Then, one day, John Sheppard came into his life.
Chapter Index