Author: Dgre
Franks was livid. When Jones reported to Remmy qpwhat had gone down at that strange castle, Remmy wisely relayed the information by telephone so as not to be within striking distance of the boss’s wrath. And he was wrathful indeed.
“You’re telling me,” Franks screamed into the phone, “that a bunch of fancy freaks who live in a CASTLE with a bunch of women, for fuck’s sake, took my crack team hostage? That’s what you’re telling me?”
“Sorry, Boss,” Remmy said, wearing heavily. Would he ever dare walk into the office again? If he couldn’t make this right, he, Jones, and the whole team were dead men walking. Franks had no shortage of replacements. “I think we’re up against something here that we’ve never seen before.”
“Well, that just means I have to send in the BIG GUNS, which you are not, right?” He couldn’t see how white Remmy’s face had turned, but he wouldn’t have cared. His thoughts were on the alien he owned now.
****
Rodney put his head in his hands. Nobody knew exactly how he was able to track everyone and what they were doing at any one time, and he liked to keep it that way ( although he sometimes lost the connect and usually panicked when he did), but sometimes he wished he didn’t have this power. But Rodney studied the Stargates more than even the experts of the Space Force and he knew more than anyone about the capabilities of the gates. Except Col. Carter, of course, who wasn’t adverse to sharing information with him. They had speculated together that the aliens who had built the Stargate system had done a lot more than that.
“Hiya, Roger! Whacha doin’?”
Rodney felt a headache begin to form.
“Oh, it’s you.” He looked over at the raccoon thing, who was scratching his crotch and eating yet another raspberry pastry. “There’s something going on at the APEC castle, which is none of your business.”
“Really?” The raccoon leaped up onto the desk, scattering crumbs everywhere, and stared curiously at Rodney’s video connection with the Atlantis Stargate through which he was communicating with the Space Force on Earth. “I heard about this castle. Is the Wraith there?”
Rodney sighed. “Possibly. Or it could be a criminal gang we’ve been tracking, if you must know.” It was useless to try and keep anything from this nosey creature. “I don’t know how they could be connected, or why they’d go there.”
“Cool. Hey, Quill!” He shouted into his communicator. “Drax, Groot! You gotta see what’s goin’ down on Earth. Say, Roger, maybe Shepard would wanna get in on this action.”
Rodney’s headache bloomed. “It’s Rodney or Dr. McKay to you, and yes, I will inform Lt. Col. Shepard.”
Rocket shrugged. “Ooh, tetchy.”
Within the minute, Shepard and the team, still in San Francisco, looked at each other. “Thanks for the info, Rodney, we’ll look into it.” He grimaced. “The APEC castle, great. Does Rodney know how much I hate going there?
Ronin grinned. “I’ve never been, but I’d like to see the place.”
Teyla merely rolled her eyes.
*****
The Wraith, happy to be taken to the APEC by Franks and a driver in a big black SUV that they parked just inside the tree line outside the mysterious castle. Remmy and various thugs followed in another SUV and parked behind them. The Wraith sized up the stone walls of the mysterious structure and knew he would be able to climb them easily.
“Remember,” Franks said, “you get to the gate and let us in, and we’ll do the rest. I’ll give you whatever you want.” He exchanged a glance with his driver, who understood that he had no intention of honoring that promise. Franks’ mind was on the riches that must lie inside that huge place. The Wraith was his to command as long as he could provide untainted humans for food, and maybe he could even force the clones to do his bidding. He’d heard they were devoted to their ladies. Take one or two of them, and …
“Yes,” the Wraith said in his raspy voice. “You promised me unlimited access to the Stargate if I do this for you.”
“Sure, sure, we’ll get you home in no time. Remmy!” He spoke into the walkie. “Get ready, we’re about to go in.”
“But first,” said the Wraith, who had no intention to stand by his “deal”, and reached for Franks, “ I need to fortify myself.”
*****
Afterwards, having feasted on Franks and his driver, and ignoring the other SUV that was speeding away as fast as it could go, he walked toward the castle. He climbed the stone wall with ease and he was inside the castle.
****
Ronin marched straight up to the heavy, carved gate of the castle and pounded on it, sending thunder rolling through the outer keep and into the main hall. Something on the wall next to the gate crackled.
“There’s a speaker you can use to announce yourself, bub,” said a very dry voice.
Shepard sighed, and leaned over to the speaker. He was not happy for his team to have been joined by the raccoon creature, who was snickering into his .. . hand … paw? Now he feared he was about to be confronted by some self-important butler. “Lt. Col. John Shepard, of the Space Force, Atlantis. There’s a hostile alien loose in the area, and we got word of a disturbance in your, uh …” Shepard looked up at the ramparts, “castle.”
“We were attacked by criminals,”. Said the voice. “We’re handling it.”
“Good,” Shepard said, looking at his motley team. “Good.” Nobody had a suggestion about what to do next.
Except Ronin.
“I say we go in anyway,” he growled, clutching his weapon tighter,
Teyla put her hand on Ronin’s arm to calm him (because she was the only one who could get away with that). “Sir,” she said into the speaker,”do you mind if we come in anyway? We’re wanting to liaison with local people, especially in these troubled times.”
The speaker crackled again. “Is that guy who looks like Jason Momoa with you?”
Ronin gritted his teeth and growled again. “I really want to meet this guy.”
“Uh,” Shepard looked uncomfortable. “Yes. Yes, he is.”
“You can come in,” the speaker voice said, and it seemed there was a note of disgruntlement. “Our ladies want to talk to him.”
The gate swung open.
****
The Wraith prowled silently. He had eluded the notice of the clones on the battlements, and now he was scoping out the many empty corridors of the castle. Perhaps he could find a place to hide away and take as many humans as possible without being detected by the clones, before he escaped. The rest of them were down in the main hall, or in another part of the castle interrogating the captured spies. The women the Wraith sought were either locked away in their quarters, or they were in the main hall, gathered around the Space Force team, the Wraith was as yet unaware of. He was formulating a plan to free Franks’ men, not because he was concerned for them, but because he was interested in the equipment Franks had told him they brought with them. If it was useful in hunting humans, he wanted it, and he’d need one or two of the criminals to show him how it all worked.
He could sense that there were living humans behind some of the doors, but those doors were thick and securely locked. Besides, he couldn’t track the strange lifeless yet alive beings that guarded them, whether any were in the rooms or not, and he had no desire to encounter them. But he resolved to find out more about them once he was back among his own species. Solving their mystery might give the Wraith the means to defeat Atlantis.
****
Dgre, like the other castle ladies, was fascinated by Ronin and his close resemblance to an Earthside action star. He was visibly discomforted by the women gathered around him, bombarding him with questions he couldn’t really answer, not being who they thought he was. Shepard, Teyla, and the
Guardians hid their grins and conferred with the more security-minded clones. This place and its inhabitants were equally fascinating to them, even as they tried to stay on the topic of the criminal invasion.
Dgre, deciding she’d never get close enough to Ronin to ask questions, decided to go back to the apartment she shared with MyKai. She had things to do, and she could pump MyKai for information later. He was deep in conversation with the Lieutenant Colonel anyway, so she left the hall and went up the stairs.
Where she met the Wraith.
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