(Author: Dgre)
“Look, lady,” Rocket said, “I’m not going to bite you, okay?” He had (reluctantly) agreed to be examined for any diseases and was now sitting on the edge of the exam table. For her part, Dr. Keller was intensely eager to study this strange creature that so resembled an Earth animal, and yet clearly was not. She was also understandably apprehensive, of which Rocket was uncomfortably aware.
“I’m not going to shoot you either, since they took my laser away. Which they broke, by the way.”
“I’m pleased to hear that,” Keller stammered. “Not that your laser got broken, of course, but that you’re not going to shoot me. Or bite me. Not that I thought you would anyway. You seem like … um … not a dangerous … um … person (this earned a quick nod from Rocket, approving of the “person”, not necessarily the “dangerous” part), “but you did fire your weapon through the Stargate unprovoked, so you understand we have to be cautious.”
“Yeah, okay,” Rocket grudgingly agreed. “I get that. Sometimes I might overreact a little bit, but I wouldn’t say I was ‘zackly unprovoked. Anyway, the galaxy is a dangerous place. I oughta know, cuz my team, we’re the Guardians. Of the whole galaxy, capisce?
Rodney McKay, who had remained silent in a corner under strict orders from Keller, finally had enough. “Yeah. The whole galaxy, huh?”
Rocket hissed at him. “That’s what I said, pal. Are you deaf, or just stupid?”
Rodney turned red. “now just a minute, you —“
“You — what?” Rocket stood up on the table, stretching to his full height, clearly ready to rumble.
“Okay!” Keller slammed her clipboard down on the table, making everybody in the room jump, especially the three tense Kais guarding the door.”Everybody just calm down!”
Rocket sat down and folded his arms. “I am calm,” he said coolly.
Meanwhile, in the calm and airy space by the sea, which the current residents of Atlantis had converted to a cafeteria/commissary, Lafe and Dgre conferred over drinks.
“I know you can’t give me details, but I hear you’re here on a secret mission” said Dgre. “I’m a little envious, you know. MyKai never takes me on adventures anymore. I had to nag him to come to Comic Con with me. He says he’s seen enough weird things.”
Lafe shrugged. “The boys don’t always confide in me if they think it might put me in danger. It’s very annoying, but I did get out of them that there’s a race of beings in this part of the galaxy who survive by sucking the life force out of other sentient species. Now that the Stargates have become common knowledge, there’s a fear that these life suckers might get loose.”
“So you here to make sure the Atlantean force is keeping a lid on things?”
“Maybe. I’ve heard these things are almost impossible to kill. I really think we might be here to figure out a way.”
*****
The Wraith had been hibernating for a long, long time in a remote, unexplored part of the city, left behind and forgotten after a long ago skirmish. His ever present internal alarm system, even in hibernation, was attuned to any signal that the latest Wraith quarry, Ronin Dex, had emerged. Unfortunately for him, the Atlanteans had helped Ronin by removing his tracker, and the city’s peculiar qualities had masked the presence of humans. What woke the Wraith now was an electro-magnetic laser pulse through the Stargate, and awake, the Wraith now knew humans were in the city.
He also detected the presence of beings who were unlike anything he had encountered before, individuals who were neither alive nor unalive.
But he was very, very hungry.
*****
MyKai had lost interest in the proceedings in the exam room, and decided it was time to collect his queen, and possibly persuade her it was time to go back to the Comic Con place, and from there, home. He fist-bumped his brothers Techno and Recon in farewell, and left.
As he strolled along the somewhat dimly lit corridors, absent-mindedly contemplating the pleasures of being alone at home with his queen, he gradually began to sense another presence somewhere up ahead. Something alien, cold, and deadly, making him put his hand on his wrist where his scorpion waited.
And then he saw it — the ghostly Wraith.
Simultaneously they each asked, “What are you?”
The Wraith began to try and extract MyKai’s life force, realizing at the same time that there was nothing he could latch onto. And MyKai fired his scorpion weapon into the Wraith’s chest, but there was no heart to destroy.
---------------
(Author: Lafe)
On the flip side, MyKai's flabber was also gasted at the weird, leech-feeling suckers from his attacker's palm that was latched on to his chest! He instinctively grabbed its wrist and tried to pull it off, but the lithe, white-haired, yellow eyed freak was a lot stronger than he appeared! So they spun, struggled, and grunted while trying to get the advantage over the other!
----
Down the hall in sick bay, Rocket's superhuman hearing faintly picked up the sounds of struggling and growling in the distance. His ears perked up and his face scrunched as he strained to hear what was going on. Recon, Techno, and Ronin, keeping an eye on Rocket from a few steps away, saw him scrutinizing the doorway.
Dr. Keller noticed Rocket peering around her while she was making notes in a digital pad, so she glanced back at the doorway, saw nothing unusual, then turned back around and looked at him. "What?"
Rocket kept his eyes on the doorway, "Sounds like a fight. Yall harassin' more innocents?"
Keller wondered where he was going with this, since she heard nothing. "A fight?" She prompted, and glanced at Ronin.
Ronin glanced at the door then back to Rocket, "I don't hear anything." He wondered if Rocket was trying to distract everyone to make an escape, so he stopped leaning against the wall and moved his hand closer to his blaster.
As Kai clones, Techno and Recon have excellent hearing as well, so they perked up and started listening intently...then looked at each other. Recon asked his brother, "Do you hear that?"
Techno squinted, "Barely. Like he said, it sounds like a struggle. And someone...growling?" He looked at Recon quizzically.
Ronin tapped the commlink in his ear to make sure it was working since he heard no security alerts, "Gate room. Ronin. Comm check." An officer in the gate room replied, "Roger." Comms were working...
----
Back in the hallway: Even though the wraith wasn't extracting any life force from the pale man, he kept aggressively attacking him not only out of hunger, but anger that he had no life force to take! Normally, the wraith LOVED an aggressive prey, especially one as physically strong as this one, because that meant it had a lot of life to feed on. But this...THING?? Nothing!! Even the paralyzing venom from his feeding hand was having no effect!
But he was starting to get weaker, and oddly nauseous?? Something he hasn't experienced since he was a child!
Wraith are born able to gain nutrients from eating food, but after puberty, gaining nutrients that way fades, and they have to extract life force to survive.
But this humanoid thing is just making him sick!! Maybe the brace weapon lodged in his chest was poisoned! He briefly let go of MyKai with his left hand, keeping his life sucking palm where it was but also digging his fingernails deeper into his jacket and chest, then tried yanking the brace out...
MyKai continued to struggle valiantly, but it wasn't enough! And he was really starting to worry that he couldn't get his attacker's palm off his chest, because their struggling was ripping his flesh and causing his grayish protoblood to spill down his torso. He could already feel himself getting weaker! So he struggled harder, and angrily said through his own clenched teeth, "What the HELL are you doing??"
Techno and Recon heard just enough of their brother's question and said simultaneously, "MyKai!" And they dashed for the door!
Ronin followed them and yelled at Rodney, "Keep an eye on him!" and pointed at Rocket.
Rodney stood there and glanced at Keller with his trademark look of surprise and fear. But he was also glad there were a couple of Atlantis guards in the room who looked better prepared to keep an eye on someone.
Rocket shook his head and folded his arms, "You people are jumpy."
----
The wraith heard running boots approaching down the hallway as the pale man's knees buckled! Finally!! The humanoid's weakness was just enough for him to dislodge the brace from his chest and roughly shove MyKai to the ground. He then glanced in the direction of the bootsounds. He *could* feed on one of them - but then decided he was too weak to fight that many for food, so he clutched his stomach and injuredly dashed off in the opposite direction...
MyKai struggled to at least sit up, but his strength left him and he flopped over onto his back. His vision blurred as he turned his head in the direction of the bootsounds and saw a group of people running towards him. Then he passed out.
Techno and Recon quickly hunched over their fallen brother, both concerned at the amount of protoblood on his torso and the floor. Techno gently shook his shoulder, "MyKai!"
MyKai's eyes were open but they saw nothing.
Techno looked at Recon, "Let's get him to sick bay."
Ronin scrunched his face and paced slightly. He really wanted to pursue the attacker, but he also wanted to find out what the gray stuff was first in case it was a bio weapon. "What's that stuff all over him?"
"Protoblood." Recon said while lifting MyKai's shoulders.
Techno lifted MyKai's feet and figured Ronin didn't know what that meant, so he added, "You have red blood. We have nanite-infused protoblood. It's what keeps us...alive." He motioned his head towards MyKai as they started to walk, "Basically, MyKai's bleeding out and needs more protoblood."
Ronin nodded. He glanced down the hall, but saw nothing. He tapped his commlink, "Someone just attacked MyKai. He's unconscious and being transported to sick bay. We're searching for the attacker now." He looked at the two security guards, "You're with me." He pulled his blaster and the three of them tactically glide-stepped down the hall, weapons drawn, in the direction the wraith ran...
----
Techno and Recon briskly hauled the limp MyKai through the sick bay doors. Techno looked at Keller as they hurried in, "Where do we put him?" Keller pointed to an empty bed, "There!" as she donned new medical gloves.
They gently placed him on the bed so as to not squish out any more protoblood. Then Techno tugged MyKai's ripped jacket apart to reveal the wound as Keller stepped in. She started dabbing some of the protoblood mess from his chest and leaned in for a closer look, "Torn lacerations 2-3 inches long, puncture wounds in a radius..." she said out loud. She dabbed more protoblood, "It's similar to a Wraith wound...but there's a lot more damage."
Rodney moved closer to the bed, "A *wraith* attacked him!?!"
Keller glanced at him, "I said it looks *similar* to a Wraith wound." She looked back at MyKai's chest and pointed, "The length and orientation is consistent, and there *are* hints of surrounding punctures on the chest where a Wraith's fingernails would be. But there's a LOT more tearing damage where the tendrils and suckers would be. We should know more after I run some tests."
Recon looked at Techno, "I'll get Dgre." Techno nodded. They knew Dgre has always carries spare protoblood on her as well as having the recipe to make more.
Rodney urgently tapped his comlink, "This is McKay! It's possible a *Wraith* was the attacker!"
Rocket thought about escaping in all the hullabaloo, but saw the two security guys staring at him, actually doing their jobs, instead of being easily distracted meat sacks. "So. What's a wraith?"
----
Ronin tensed up after hearing McKay mention the Wraith. He knew from his extensive background fighting them that it would be tough to find it and kill it before it kills someone on the base.
----
In the gate room, Col. Carter and Shephard shared a concerned glance at McKay's message. Shephard tapped his comlink, "This is Shepard. Intruder alert. Lockdown protocol." He looked at comm officer, "Get Teyla back here."
"Yes sir." The comm officer punched in a command to broadcast an alert to Teyla's comm badge. They all knew that Teyla's DNA allows her to sense the presence of the Wraith, so she'll be invaluable in helping them track one if there is one.
Doors across Atlantis began to slide shut as Shepard grabbed his P90 machine gun and jogged out the door with 4 security guards. As they left, another team of soldiers arrived to protect the command center. Col. Carter spoke to the comm officer, "Get me Stargate Command." "Yes Colonel." Carter was not looking forward to telling them a wraith might be loose on the base.
----
The wraith had been silently jogging down the halls of Atlantis, hoping to run into a wayward human to feed on, but none were to be found. He was still rattled by the pale man he attacked. Why couldn't he feed on his life force?? Are ALL humans like that now?? And that sick feeling in his stomach was getting worse - and now pain was spreading from his feeding hand up his arm and into his shoulder! His breathing grew rapid as his eyes darted around, looking for any prey!
But suddenly, the hallway doors a few meters in front of him slid shut. He stopped. Then he whirled around at the sound of the doors several meters behind him sliding shut. The only way out was a hallway to the left! He darted forward and took it, but instead of simply jogging down the hall like before, he started waving his hand over the door locks, hoping to find one that would open. He tried several. No luck! The humans must be aware of his attack and initiating security protocols. He needed to find someone to feed on to regenerate! He dashed down another hall...
----
Teyla was sitting at a table at Comic Con with 3 other Atlantis soldiers enjoying some french fries when they heard the security alert in their comlinks to return to Atlantis. Their relaxed smiles quickly faded as they shared a worried glance, then they swiftly stood and headed for the Stargate...
----
Carter finished up her briefing with Stargate Command, "...We have several teams searching for the attacker as we speak. We'll keep you posted." She tapped her commlink, "Dr. Keller, what the status of MyKai?"
"Still unconscious. I'm still waiting for the forensic test results and will let you know if we find Wraith DNA or not."
----
Lafe, even though she, Techno and Recon were on the base on special assignment, wasn't assigned a commlink, and neither were the two clones. So she didn't know what was going on when an armed female soldier approached her and Dgre in the cafe and said, "The base is on emergency lockdown. Please come with me." They worriedly got up and followed her to a nearby lockdown room where several other non-soldiers were being led. Both women scanned the room to see if their clones were in there. No luck.
Dgre wrung her hands, "Where's MyKai? Where are Techno and Recon??"
Lafe thoughtfully frowned. She hated being locked up not knowing what was going on. "I'm sure they're fine. I'm definitely going to ask for some kinda comlinks after this is over." She sighed irritatingly.
----
Teyla and the 3 Atlantis personnel she was with arrived at the ComicCon gate. She nodded to one of the soldiers who had the DHD on his wrist, "Send the confirmation code."
Stargate Command implemented a new protocol that in emergencies, away teams could send a confirmation code to verify if it was ok to dial the gate in the event opening the gate would cause a problem at the destination site.
----
Back in the Atlantis gate room, the gate officer spoke, "Teyla's team just sent the confirmation code."
Carter tapped the gate room mic, "Gate security, stand by." The 10 armed soldiers near the gate moved near the gate, making sure to stay out of it's burst radius.
Carter: "Send the reply code."
He did as he was told...
----
The soldier told Teyla, "Reply code received." Teyla nodded, "Dial the gate." He punched the coordinate in the DHD and the gate began dialing. Specialists Marcus and Davidson, eager to not mess up again after allowing Rocket through the gate earlier, stood nearby to ensure no other con goers entered the gate this time...
----
Back on Atlantis, Recon stopped a couple guards in the hall, "Where are non-military personnel being taken?"
"Just down the hall on the right. You'll see a couple of guards outside."
"Thanks." He jogged in that direction...
----
Shepard spoke softly through his commlink as they continued to quietly search the halls: "Teams. Status."
One by one, all teams reported "Clear." Still no signs of the attacker...
----
The wraith rounded a corner and smiled, he found a way out AND humans to feed on!!
He ran forward...
----
The Stargate whooshed open, and as soon as the gate's opening burst collapsed back into the shimmering ring, the gateroom soldiers jogged forward and created a semi-circular perimeter in front of the gate with their bodies, weapons drawn in case the attacker decided to make a run for the gate...
----
Teyla and her team jogged into the gate from their Comic Con...
----
The wraith, now at a full sprint, jumped.....and dove off a balcony into the ocean 11 stories down!
----
Teyla's team emerged into the Atlantis gate room behind the soldiers.
Carter ordered the gate officer, "Close the iris when they're through."
As soon as the last of Teyla's team emerged, the gate officer entered the sequence to engage the gate's interlocking panels, preventing anyone going through it in either direction.
Teyla looked up at Carter in the control room and nodded...
----
The Wraith surfaced from the deep dive and smiled. Even though he was in pain, it shouldn't take him long to swim to the large city that rose from the shoreline. He hadn't heard of a human city this developed, but he had no time or energy to wonder about that now. All he knew was a city THAT large would DEFINITELY have a human to feed on.
He ignored his pain and nausea and started swimming...
Behind him, the setting sun case a beautiful glow across the Golden Gate Bridge....
