Chapter 21

Wraith Hive Ship

Sitting in the throne room was a highly irritated Wraith Queen. Standing before her was her commander and the chief scientist among the hive. The conversation had begun moments before and already the Commander was wishing it was over.

"We have found the four hives that went missing my Queen." stated the Commander.

"If they joined the faction of the betrayer as you claim then it is my right as Queen to lay claim to these hives and all within." hissed the Queen.

"Telemetry was transmitted for a short time from the betrayer's vessels and it appears we have a problem. The betrayer is transforming all aboard into hybrids very similar to what the one known as Michael once attempted." said the Wraith scientist.

"He is adding the taint of human to my subjects. This will not be tolerated! All hybrids will be annihilated and the sh.i.p.s brought into my fleet. The research being used for the creation of these abominations will be destroyed once and for all. What is the status of our fleet?" demanded the Queen.

The Commander bowing slightly proceeded to inform her of the status of her fleet. "The fleet remains at ten hives and thirty cruisers my Queen."

"Once the current culling cycle is complete we will gather the fleet and destroy the betrayer once and for all." finished the Queen.

Atlantis

The Hammond had returned to the city, carrying with her ODA-328 and the valuable intelligence collected before the air strike. In a holding cell she also carried several new guests, who had remained unconscious the entire flight home. These new guests were transferred to stasis pods upon arrival. These guests were the individuals that had been standing in the command building seconds before the airstrike. A flash bang grenade had been beamed down to their location, and when beamed up they had been hit with Zat fire.

The alpha team and crew of the Hammond had quickly been debriefed while the video and audio intel was transferred to Atlantis. The mood was celebratory in the Ancient city following the actions of rhe expeditionary forces. In the briefing room sat the combined ship commanders, Mr. Woolsey, Lorne, and Colonel Frost.

"As can been seen the airstrike was a tactical success. The psychological warfare aspect of the operation is still in play with the transmitting of video of the attack being transmitted to the Genii home world. Due to the efforts of the Hammond we now have in our custody several command staff members from the camp. Over the next week our interrogators hope to pry more operational intelligence out of these men. One large piece of intel this mission turned up is the location of the Genii high command. While this information still requires verification it is a starting point we previously did not have. Should this information prove to be true the option may very well become available to us to decapitate the Genii leadership." said Col. Frost.

"We are all very pleased by the lack of friendly casualties during this operation Colonel. Have we stopped to consider potential fallout of public opinion against our efforts due to the violence of this attack?" asked Mr. Woolsey.

"I can field that question Mr. Woolsey. Information regarding the strike has not yet found its way to allied nations, and in the event of Genii dissemination of the video we don't foresee any hearts breaking for them." said Lt. Col. Lorne.

"From a psychological warfare aspect their release of the video to other worlds bodes well for us. The weapons systems and tactics employed are unlike anything the other worlds of this galaxy employ. A wrong was done, and we are prosecuting enemy targets with overwhelming firepower." rebutted Col. Frost.

"The Sun Tzu will be tasked to scan Jakod and locate the Genii command." added Col. Sheppard.

"Using a protocol developed during my time with SG-1 we are receiving real time updates via subspace link of each address dialed by gates returned to Genii worlds. Using these addresses we should gain a much better understanding of their traffic patterns and destination worlds. It's hoped that using this knowledge will lead us to all of the Genii sleeper cells in the galaxy that as of now are off the grid." said Col. Samantha Carter.

With the meeting breaking up small groups proceeded about their daily business. In the control center a subspace message was coming in for Col. Sheppard. Luckily he was still nearby and able to take the message. On the large display screen was the face of Todd.

"Hello John Sheppard." said the Wraith with his familiar booming voice.

Seeing the change in appearance of Todd made Sheppard raise an eyebrow. "Hello Todd, I can't say that I'm surprised you're calling. Been working on your tan?" asked the Colonel, referencing Todd's more human appearance.

"I've been putting to use the research of a friend of yours John Sheppard. With Michael's research I've managed to end the treated hives need to cull and feed. Sadly, the treatment left us looking far more like you than we would have preferred." answered Todd.

"What is it you want Todd?" asked Sheppard.

"I want what you want; an end to Wraith culling on the human worlds of this galaxy. Multiple hives have come over to my way of thought, seeing clearly the advantages of this. Unfortunately, not all see things with such clarity. That is why I request you allow me to come to Atlantis. I have a proposition for you." coyly said Todd