Oh Faithful Servant by purple_cube (Masks challenge)
Title: Oh Faithful Servant
Category: Gen
Characters: OMC, Teyla, Michael, rest of team
Rating: PG
Summary: “What a thing was this, too, which that mighty man wrought and endured in the carven horse, wherein all we chiefs of the Argives were sitting, bearing to the Trojans death and fate!” - The Odyssey, Homer.
Notes: Contains spoilers for Season 3's Misbegotten and Vengeance, and also vaguely for Return I and II and First Strike.
Oh Faithful Servant
They find him alone on a decimated planet, ground still warm and air still misty from the fires that burned long after the Wraith had left. He tells them that his name is Cale and that through sheer luck he is the lone survivor of a devastating culling. Surprisingly it is Ronon who warms to him, wrapping his thick coat around the lean, heavily bruised body as both sets of eyes turn to John.
“Fine. You can come with us for now.”
Teyla understands the reluctance in his voice but says nothing. She ignores the shiver that courses through her as Cale walks past, eyes unrelenting as he holds her gaze before turning his attention to the opening wormhole.
*
His reluctance to join the Athosians doesn't escape Teyla's attention, but she attributes it to a desire to stay in the home of the Ancestors rather than a slight against her people. From their brief conversations, she has concluded that he reveres the Ancients just as much as she once did. She stays with him on New Athos for several days, watching his interactions with her friends before she is completely satisfied with the arrangement. He makes her promise that she will one day take him back to Atlantis before he lets her leave.
*
The defeat of the Asurans is bitter-sweet, and they lose many personnel, some permanently but most temporarily as they return to Earth to recuperate. Several of the Athosians who had accompanied the expedition's teams when they first entered the galaxy return to the city to help ease the burden on those remaining. She isn't surprised to see Cale among the contingent from New Athos.
She assigns him to Sergeant Stackhouse's team, but not before asking the Sergeant to keep a discreet eye on him. Stackhouse seems surprised, but agrees. They do not speak of him again.
*
They return from their latest mission to find that the new recruits from Earth have arrived. Teyla is surprised to find Cale in the Gate room, preparing for a mission with his team. She smiles politely as she makes her way to the control room. She slows down as she reaches the top of the stairs, turning to the floor below her once more as her sense of unease increases.
Elizabeth joins her at the balcony and follows her gaze.
“He's requested to join one of our teams permanently. He says that he has a lot to offer and provides a different perspective on the galaxy to you and Ronon. I'm inclined to agree.”
“I do not doubt that.”
Elizabeth turns to her. “But?”
“But there is something about him that -”
“Dr. Weir!”
They both turn their attention to the control room. After one last glance at Cale, Teyla follows Elizabeth as the rest of her team join them.
“A Wraith Cruiser just came out of hyperspace above the planet.”
“What's it doing?”
“Nothing. It's in geosynchronous orbit above a part of the mainland.”
“How the hell did it get past our sensors?” Rodney mutters as he checks the screens for himself. “What the...” He looks up at them, confused. “They've been switched off.”
“What?”
Teyla winces at John's accusative tone.
Rodney holds his hand up and replies angrily, “Nothing to do with me.”
Elizabeth and John exchange alarmed glances.
“Well, who is it to do with? And why are we only finding out about this now?”
“I don't -”
“They're transmitting an audio signal.” Both men turn to the Sergeant in surprise.
Elizabeth nods briefly. “Put them through.”
“...I know that you are there -”
“Michael?” Elizabeth asks; her tone half-curious, half-fearful.
His sigh is audible. “I wish to speak to Teyla. Only to Teyla.”
“Michael, I -”
“It is a simple request, Dr. Weir.”
Elizabeth looks at her, and she nods slowly. “Very well. Put the signal through to the meeting room.”
The Sergeant does so, pointing silently to the screen behind Elizabeth as Teyla starts to walks away. She knows that they will be listening and watching with her. His face is on the screen by the time she reaches the meeting room, the doors closing silently behind her as she meets his gaze.
“Michael.”
“Teyla. It has been some time.”
“Yes.”
“I see that the cloak is still functioning. I can only assume that the city's shield is also at full power.”
“Yes.” She pauses, still unsure of his intentions. “If you attempt an attack, you will be unsuccessful. And we will not grant you sanctuary.” Not again, she adds silently.
His laugh sounds harsh to her ears. “That is not why I am here. I have no need to enter to Atlantis to destroy it. Not this time.”
The way that he looks at her reminds her of their first encounter with Cale. His eyes are just as unrelenting, just as cold, though not as human. The word escapes from her lips before she can stop it. “Cale.”
Michael nods his head slowly, his lips curving into a sneering smile that makes her fists involuntarily clench.
“You planned this.”
“Actually, Cale was not part of the plan. We stumbled across you quite by accident while...hunting.” He pauses to snicker at the way her eyes close as she hears that word. “It was he who suggested that infiltrating Atlantis would be more satisfying than ending your lives then and there.”
“But he is human.” It comes out as a whisper, but he still hears.
“He may appear more human than I do, but he is like me. What you made me. He is just as much your creation as I am.”
He chuckles as her expression reveals her thoughts. “Yes, there are more. Many survived the attack. Some have reverted back to their original forms, some still appear human. Some are in between.”
Neither Wraith nor human, and abhorred by both. She searches his face in a desperate attempt to find something that she can appeal to, some sign of humanity. She finds none.
Somewhere behind her a siren begins to sound. This time his smile is wide, and she doesn't hold back the grimace that forms at the sight of his sharp Wraith-like teeth.
“I imagine that Dr. McKay is frantically trying to work out why the cloak and shield generators are overloading. It is most wise of Dr. Weir to order an evacuation, though if I were her, I would -”
She doesn't wait to hear any more, instead racing to the control room as the siren blares across the city. Blurred images of her surroundings invade her mind, swirling and knocking against each other before finally falling into place. Rodney is shouting into his radio as he jabs at the control panels that tell him that there are massive energy spikes at each of the city's Naquadah generators. Elizabeth is asking the security teams to report as soon as they reach the generator rooms. John is yelling into his radio while Ronon watches Michael's transmission disappear from the screen, leaving a solitary white dot on the close-range sensors. Bodies race through the shimmering horizon as the Gate flickers from the power fluctuations. And Cale watches silently from the Gate room, the corners of his mouth turned into a curious, almost child-like smile. At once, she sees and understands all.
Teyla makes it to the control room in time for the first explosion, and she grabs the railing as the screams begin to filter through on their radios as well as the hallways.
“Rodney, there's got to be something. You helped build the damn system,” John spits out. “Can't you disconnect the Naquadah generators? Switch to ZPM power alone?” His anger at the situation only dissipates when the panic and surprise in Rodney's expression give way to fear and anguish.
“There isn't enough time, or power.” Rodney's gaze drifts between each of them before finally falling on the single motionless dot on the screen. The second explosion is nearer this time, and Teyla barely hears him as she tumbles to the ground. “It's too late.”
Category: Gen
Characters: OMC, Teyla, Michael, rest of team
Rating: PG
Summary: “What a thing was this, too, which that mighty man wrought and endured in the carven horse, wherein all we chiefs of the Argives were sitting, bearing to the Trojans death and fate!” - The Odyssey, Homer.
Notes: Contains spoilers for Season 3's Misbegotten and Vengeance, and also vaguely for Return I and II and First Strike.
Oh Faithful Servant
They find him alone on a decimated planet, ground still warm and air still misty from the fires that burned long after the Wraith had left. He tells them that his name is Cale and that through sheer luck he is the lone survivor of a devastating culling. Surprisingly it is Ronon who warms to him, wrapping his thick coat around the lean, heavily bruised body as both sets of eyes turn to John.
“Fine. You can come with us for now.”
Teyla understands the reluctance in his voice but says nothing. She ignores the shiver that courses through her as Cale walks past, eyes unrelenting as he holds her gaze before turning his attention to the opening wormhole.
*
His reluctance to join the Athosians doesn't escape Teyla's attention, but she attributes it to a desire to stay in the home of the Ancestors rather than a slight against her people. From their brief conversations, she has concluded that he reveres the Ancients just as much as she once did. She stays with him on New Athos for several days, watching his interactions with her friends before she is completely satisfied with the arrangement. He makes her promise that she will one day take him back to Atlantis before he lets her leave.
*
The defeat of the Asurans is bitter-sweet, and they lose many personnel, some permanently but most temporarily as they return to Earth to recuperate. Several of the Athosians who had accompanied the expedition's teams when they first entered the galaxy return to the city to help ease the burden on those remaining. She isn't surprised to see Cale among the contingent from New Athos.
She assigns him to Sergeant Stackhouse's team, but not before asking the Sergeant to keep a discreet eye on him. Stackhouse seems surprised, but agrees. They do not speak of him again.
*
They return from their latest mission to find that the new recruits from Earth have arrived. Teyla is surprised to find Cale in the Gate room, preparing for a mission with his team. She smiles politely as she makes her way to the control room. She slows down as she reaches the top of the stairs, turning to the floor below her once more as her sense of unease increases.
Elizabeth joins her at the balcony and follows her gaze.
“He's requested to join one of our teams permanently. He says that he has a lot to offer and provides a different perspective on the galaxy to you and Ronon. I'm inclined to agree.”
“I do not doubt that.”
Elizabeth turns to her. “But?”
“But there is something about him that -”
“Dr. Weir!”
They both turn their attention to the control room. After one last glance at Cale, Teyla follows Elizabeth as the rest of her team join them.
“A Wraith Cruiser just came out of hyperspace above the planet.”
“What's it doing?”
“Nothing. It's in geosynchronous orbit above a part of the mainland.”
“How the hell did it get past our sensors?” Rodney mutters as he checks the screens for himself. “What the...” He looks up at them, confused. “They've been switched off.”
“What?”
Teyla winces at John's accusative tone.
Rodney holds his hand up and replies angrily, “Nothing to do with me.”
Elizabeth and John exchange alarmed glances.
“Well, who is it to do with? And why are we only finding out about this now?”
“I don't -”
“They're transmitting an audio signal.” Both men turn to the Sergeant in surprise.
Elizabeth nods briefly. “Put them through.”
“...I know that you are there -”
“Michael?” Elizabeth asks; her tone half-curious, half-fearful.
His sigh is audible. “I wish to speak to Teyla. Only to Teyla.”
“Michael, I -”
“It is a simple request, Dr. Weir.”
Elizabeth looks at her, and she nods slowly. “Very well. Put the signal through to the meeting room.”
The Sergeant does so, pointing silently to the screen behind Elizabeth as Teyla starts to walks away. She knows that they will be listening and watching with her. His face is on the screen by the time she reaches the meeting room, the doors closing silently behind her as she meets his gaze.
“Michael.”
“Teyla. It has been some time.”
“Yes.”
“I see that the cloak is still functioning. I can only assume that the city's shield is also at full power.”
“Yes.” She pauses, still unsure of his intentions. “If you attempt an attack, you will be unsuccessful. And we will not grant you sanctuary.” Not again, she adds silently.
His laugh sounds harsh to her ears. “That is not why I am here. I have no need to enter to Atlantis to destroy it. Not this time.”
The way that he looks at her reminds her of their first encounter with Cale. His eyes are just as unrelenting, just as cold, though not as human. The word escapes from her lips before she can stop it. “Cale.”
Michael nods his head slowly, his lips curving into a sneering smile that makes her fists involuntarily clench.
“You planned this.”
“Actually, Cale was not part of the plan. We stumbled across you quite by accident while...hunting.” He pauses to snicker at the way her eyes close as she hears that word. “It was he who suggested that infiltrating Atlantis would be more satisfying than ending your lives then and there.”
“But he is human.” It comes out as a whisper, but he still hears.
“He may appear more human than I do, but he is like me. What you made me. He is just as much your creation as I am.”
He chuckles as her expression reveals her thoughts. “Yes, there are more. Many survived the attack. Some have reverted back to their original forms, some still appear human. Some are in between.”
Neither Wraith nor human, and abhorred by both. She searches his face in a desperate attempt to find something that she can appeal to, some sign of humanity. She finds none.
Somewhere behind her a siren begins to sound. This time his smile is wide, and she doesn't hold back the grimace that forms at the sight of his sharp Wraith-like teeth.
“I imagine that Dr. McKay is frantically trying to work out why the cloak and shield generators are overloading. It is most wise of Dr. Weir to order an evacuation, though if I were her, I would -”
She doesn't wait to hear any more, instead racing to the control room as the siren blares across the city. Blurred images of her surroundings invade her mind, swirling and knocking against each other before finally falling into place. Rodney is shouting into his radio as he jabs at the control panels that tell him that there are massive energy spikes at each of the city's Naquadah generators. Elizabeth is asking the security teams to report as soon as they reach the generator rooms. John is yelling into his radio while Ronon watches Michael's transmission disappear from the screen, leaving a solitary white dot on the close-range sensors. Bodies race through the shimmering horizon as the Gate flickers from the power fluctuations. And Cale watches silently from the Gate room, the corners of his mouth turned into a curious, almost child-like smile. At once, she sees and understands all.
Teyla makes it to the control room in time for the first explosion, and she grabs the railing as the screams begin to filter through on their radios as well as the hallways.
“Rodney, there's got to be something. You helped build the damn system,” John spits out. “Can't you disconnect the Naquadah generators? Switch to ZPM power alone?” His anger at the situation only dissipates when the panic and surprise in Rodney's expression give way to fear and anguish.
“There isn't enough time, or power.” Rodney's gaze drifts between each of them before finally falling on the single motionless dot on the screen. The second explosion is nearer this time, and Teyla barely hears him as she tumbles to the ground. “It's too late.”