FIC: Q is for Queen 4/4 (SGA)
“It was still breathing,” John said, walking over and lowering the - now his - new disruptor. “Now it’s not. What do you need?”
Rodney looked at the now clearly very dead second lieutenant and shuddered. Then he keyed his radio. “Ronon? Teyla? Find an operational dart!” Then he nodded at John. “Now we blow it up. All of it.”
John spared him a wicked grin before stepping up to stand back to back with Rodney, who raised his hands to shoulder height. At John’s signal, both opened fire. Disruptor bolts and razor-sharp crystal shards smashed into every station on the Hive’s Bridge, with each man slowly turning until every station was sparking slag.
Rodney then created a pair of crystal shields and passed one to John as they raced for the Dart Bay.
The drones were in such confusion and chaos without a queen or a lieutenant that the Lanteans made it to the Dart Bay unchallenged. They found Ronon and Teyla there with forty survivors - and Todd, who was being covered by Ronon.
“I thought you were leaving!” John gasped.
Ronon nodded at Todd. “This is the one?”
“This is the one,” Rodney confirmed.
Ronon sheathed his blaster and Todd ran to a dart. As he climbed up, he called, “Sheppard!” and threw something at John.
John caught it, studied it, and nodded. He climbed into the cockpit of a dart and called, “I’m going to have to beam you! No room!”
Seconds later, John was alone. He glided the dart out of the shaking Hive, following Todd’s dart. Once free, the two darts separated - one heading toward deep space and the other gliding toward the planet.
Moments later, the Hive exploded in a spectacular blast that was utterly soundless in the vacuum of space.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The sight of a Wraith dart sparked fear among the Norenti. Fear turned to confusion as a culling beam deposited forty Norenti and three Lanteans. Confusion turned to joy as the light from the exploding Hive reached the planet.
Joy turned to elation as the dart landed and Colonel Sheppard stepped out with his trademark cocky grin.
The Norenti were safe for now. They showed their gratitude with a huge feast that lasted long into the night.
AR-1 was back on Atlantis before Rodney thought to ask, “What did Todd toss you back there? And why did you name him Todd, of all things?”
John grinned. “Knew a guy in college - real tall, thin, and pasty. His name was Todd. It seemed to fit.”
“Huh.” Rodney frowned slightly. “Yeah, I can see that.”
“As for this….” John bounced it in his hand. “I ran it through the dart’s systems while I was flying to Norent. It’s data. Intel on the Hives, their last known positions - and feeding alternatives.”
Rodney’s jaw dropped.
“I copied it onto your padd,” John finished. “Figured Carson could make sense of the genetics involved.”
Rodney breathed out, visibly stunned. “Guess he was telling the truth about being on our side.”
John nodded. “I’m going to get the tactical intel to Lorne. We’ve got a long haul ahead of us, Rodney.”
“But now, we’ve got some tools to handle it!” Rodney laughed. “The Wraith will be seriously underestimating our knowledge!”
John chuckled. “Rodney McKay, Optimist. Who would’a thought?”
“Shut up,” Rodney snarked back. “Let’s let Carson do his beads and rattles routine, so we can get to digesting this data.”
“Digesting?” Caron asked as he walked in. “Are you hungry, Rodney?”
“I’m always hungry,” Rodney shot. “Hurry up - we’ve got something you need to see!”
AND SO IT GOES….