Chapter: 9

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The smell of the metal was the first penetrating sensation he became aware of as he rose up from his dark sleep. Nothing stirred around him except the compartment in which he was hidden. The walls were basic and only barely held out the night's air, which as he woke further, he could taste the light moisture of the rain falling outside. He opened his arms from around himself and pulled his mind into focus. The short sleeps were useful, but disorientating to enter into and out of so frequently.

He dropped the tattered blankets from around him as he moved from his protective corner towards a tiny hole in the metal box that was his transport. Outside he saw that the landscape was still passing by, but that the transport was slowing slightly. It did not concern him as it had done so several times on the route so far.

He watched as lights grew in number beyond the banks that outlined the transport's rails. The humans' advancements appeared to be accelerating faster than ever before. In only a few hundred sun cycles since he last woke they had almost entirely changed the face of their planet. It was a distasteful sight to see.

The compartment lurched abruptly as the braking mechanism activated and the transport began to slow rapidly. The banks rose up obscuring the dark landscape from him, but he had seen enough. He pulled back and returned to his corner, drawing the blankets up around him as a light form of camouflage if the humans were to open this compartment.

As the transport slowed, the massive coils of worked metal stored in the compartment with him groaned in their holdings. They were no doubt part of a human manufacturing process, on their way to a factory of some kind. He caught himself wondering what these sheets of metal would become; idle interests or weapons?

The compartment lurched one final time and the transport ground to a halt. He held still extending his senses to pick up the distant sound of human voices. Doors rattled on railings down the long line of the transport. He waited silently, listening to the conversations outside, of which he could not make out a single word, but he already could judge that this was only a pause on their route. New voices arrived and the old left. Doors rattled and slammed shut again and in a few minutes the transport began to roll forward again.

Certain he would be safe for another long stretch before the transport halted once again, he relaxed further into his corner, but the distaste of his situation would not allow him to rest just yet. That he was forced to hide like a herd animal was a lingering bitter taste to his senses. But, they would pay; he would make sure of that.

He drew his focus away from his brooding thoughts and onto the call which echoed through him, to feel its gentle seductive pull. Satisfied he was indeed still travelling towards her, he closed the connection, fearing to reveal her. He held still waiting and sensing for the hunter's mind invading his, but he could not feel her. Pleased that he had foiled the hunter so far, he turned his attention to slowing his body once again, preparing to enter his deep sleep once again.

As he began to sink into its welcome embrace he found himself drifting in memories of the last time he had seen his new Queen, of the dark sunken place which he had had to dig into to reach her. He knew she was safe, for now, but he had to wonder where he would find her now. Would the humans have built one of their new cities over her? Or would she still be hidden in swampy dark realms?

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The room went still, everyone reacting in the same way; shock and concern. Teyla had expected immediate questions from her friends and colleagues, but no one responded right away, not even Rodney. Perhaps it had been the events of the day having tired them all, or perhaps the news had been so worrying to silence them completely. Teyla wasn't sure, but she turned from their shocked expressions as Uosa spoke. The woman's intelligent dark eyes locked with Teyla's and there was a complex mixture of anger and concern in their depths.

"The Queen is dead; I killed her long ago. She could not have survived."

"There is another," Teyla replied.

"Wraith have only one Queen at a time," Uosa insisted, but Teyla didn't take any offence to the woman's questions.

"I was not able to see all the details, but I know that when they…arrived on Earth, that there was a young Queen with them, as well as the older Queen."

Uosa's expression shifted subtly then. "I would have sensed her," Uosa protested, but a shadow of realisation passed over her features.

"Not if she is in hibernation," Teyla confirmed as gently as she could.

"A Wraith can not remain indefinitely in a hibernating state, she would need to feed. I would have sensed her." There was a sense of hesitation behind the confidence now in the woman's protests, and Teyla knew Uosa had already surmised what had happened.

"They wake her as little as possible and only when they knew you were…asleep. The Wraith took turns in waking her and only one at a time would tend to her, bringing her enough humans to feed her quickly before returning her into hibernation," Teyla told her. Uosa's mind brushed against Teyla's and she allowed the contact, allowing her to see the flashing memories from the Wraith; to see his knowledge of his hidden secret Queen. Uosa's mind was a gentle, yet forceful, touch and one that Teyla found herself curious to linger in and learn from. The contact was familiar now, and its intimacy no longer worried Teyla; for surely Uosa had had access to Teyla's mind fully during her healing. Uosa touched heavily into the Wraith memories and Teyla let her look deeper, to seek out the truth to their source. After only a moment, Teyla felt Uosa's acceptance and her mind pulled away.

"They were more cunning than I gave them credit," Uosa muttered quietly.

"Exactly how many Wraith were there on Earth?" Rodney demanded abruptly.

Teyla watched Uosa turn to him, her expression closing up once again. "They are all gone now, Doctor McKay. Save this last one," Uosa looked back at Teyla, "and now this younger Queen."

"What if there are more of them hiding in hibernation?" Rodney asked, his tone edging on panic.

Teyla was shaking her head even as Uosa replied. "I would have sensed them."

"You didn't 'sense' this new Queen!" Rodney argued, "what if there's a third Queen somewhere?!"

"There is only this one, Rodney," Teyla told him calmly. "They took great pains to protect and hide her."

"Why?" John asked from down the end of the table. Teyla turned to meet his eyes, seeing the tiredness around them.

"They were…afraid," Teyla struggled with this concept. The sensation she had sensed from the creature's mind was clearly that of fear. She also remembered the deep pain and alarm that was driving it. She turned her attention back to Uosa sat at the other end of the table to John. "The Wraith fears you, as children fear the dark."

Teyla wasn't sure if it was surprise or pleasure that briefly crossed Uosa's expression.

"What good does keeping one Queen on ice do them?" Walker asked.

"She can breed more Wraith," Carson suggested.

"But, Xena here would have sensed that and killed them all as well," Rodney replied as he gestured down the table to Uosa. Teyla tried not to wince at his rudeness, but Uosa did not seem to take offence. "In fact," he turned to Uosa fully now, "why didn't you know they were keeping this extra Queen alive anyway? Surely some of them would have been thinking about her, planning when to visit her."

It was a question that had occurred to Teyla and she had her own theory, but she waited for Uosa to answer, hoping that the hunter would be forthcoming.

Uosa had her chin resting in her fingers, the picture of thoughtfulness as her dark eyes moved to meet Teyla's. "I sensed nothing that suggested that they were keeping anything from me, that is until this last Wraith. He has been able to hide his plan and destination from me. I had wondered why that was, and suspected he had grown more skilled at blocking me at a distance. Though, now I realise that it would take a much stronger mind than a simple Wraith warrior to block me in not just one Wraith mind but all of their number. It would take a Queen."

Teyla put the pieces together and nodded at Uosa, following the line of thought. "The original older Queen – she could have hidden the knowledge within the others' minds from you."

"Perhaps she even limited the number who knew of the younger Queen's location." Uosa lifted her chin from her hand and frown deeply now. "And I admit I would not have gone looking for something in their minds which I did not know existed. A Queen's mind is very powerful and it is possible that she was able to completely hide this knowledge from me." There was a definite tone of anger and self recrimination to Uosa's words and expression.

"You could not have know, Uosa," Teyla assured her.

Uosa looked to her again. "I should have known. However, one Wraith Queen is easily destroyed." Teyla couldn't hold back her wince at the arrogance in the woman's words, but she also knew it was a tone borne of experience. The dark deep hatred and fear the Wraith felt for this woman had been shocking for Teyla to discover. Looking at her now, it was hard to understand how the Wraith could fear her so, but then Uosa had killed all of their kind on this world.

"Why wake this younger Queen now?" John asked. His question was directed towards Teyla and she turned to him, full of regret at what she would have to tell him.

"I do now know any more than that, only that he plans to wake the Queen and enact an ancient plan," she told him.

"Do you where she is?" He asked.

"No, only that he still has some distance to travel," she told. "I am sorry, John."

He looked surprised for a moment and then gave her a half smile. "Don't be sorry, you found out more than anyone else has." The words he did not say hung in the air and Teyla could feel the others thinking the same as John; that she had almost paid a very high price to learn this. She knew John thought it too high a price, but Teyla knew that it was not.

"He has a plan and I know he is pleased about it." It was that fact over the others that had driven more fear into Teyla when she had seen the horrors in his mind. "He is filled with fury over the destruction of the Hive ship and he hates that humans are so prevalent on this world. He is full of anger and the need for revenge. He is very dangerous, John, and we must find him before he finds this other Queen."

"It is most likely the original Queen's plan," Uosa cut in thoughtfully. "Perhaps she even wished to hide the younger Queen to prevent her from threatening her own reign."

Teyla inclined her head. "Possibly, I saw only what this Wraith knew and felt." Images from the creature's thoughts flashed through Teyla's mind as she studied what she could of them. "His memories of feeding, fighting and hunting all mixed together. His pain at the loss of his original Queen and his hatred of you, Uosa."

It had been night when the original Queen had been killed. The skies had been dark with thunder and lightening had lit up the land, highlighting the flashing sharpness of Uosa's blades. She had fought with skill, speed and a wealth of powers unseen. The Queen had fought her viciously in turn; her few protectors already killed except him. He had tried to kill Uosa, but she had been a fury of power and hatred herself. His wounds had been deep as he had lain on the wet grass, his Queen above him and everything had gone still. The Queen's mind had locked into Uosa's and the war had turned internal. He had struggled upright to take advantage of the stillness of his quarry. But, the lightening had lit up the sky once again and his Queen had dropped to her knees, blood flowing from her nose. He had rushed at Uosa, palms extended towards her, ready to tear her life from her with a savage joy, for she had killed so many of his kind and had forced them to hide away in cellars and crypts like vermin. He and his Queen had been forced to travel from continent to continent of this planet just to stay ahead of this hunter and her kind. So, he had thrown himself at her with great fury, but she had simply turned and a powerful force had thrust him away from her.

His memories became vague and confused after he had hit the ground, his body filled with pain and his sight blinded by concussion for long moments. Then the sky had screamed, lightening flashing downwards, and he had been able to focus enough to watch it hit his Queen. Her scream had been lost in the burning and flash of light. He had felt her mind die, but he had already been running away from the sight when the air became dark again. Something powerful and demanding had opened in his head and he had simply run. He hated himself for leaving his Queen, for not having been strong enough to protect her, but he had a new duty now; a duty that was a sudden and very real force through his body and mind.

He had not stopped his fast pace away from that hilltop, only detouring occasionally when he had spied a passing human. Their life force had healed up enough of his wounds for him to run on. He had been able to sense that the hunter had been wounded, and that she was weakened enough from her fight with the Queen not to be able to pursue him straight away. So, he took advantage of the space he had and ran on, until light began to crest the horizon and he found a place deep and dark enough in which he could sleep and hide from her for a time.

Teyla realised she had been recounting the story out loud and that everyone had been silent as they listened. She blinked her eyes, drawing herself back into the present. Rodney sat still opposite her and she watched his pale complexion turn from her, his eyes fixing on Uosa at the end of the table. Teyla turned to look at the woman, the sight of her reclined in a chair superimposed with her standing over fallen Wraith as rain fell upon her shoulders and lightening lit the sky behind her.

"Uosa," John's voice was a welcome arrival through the uncomfortable atmosphere. "I think it's time you shared with us where exactly these Wraith came from, and who exactly you are."

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Uosa regarded them, all eyes focused on her; their emotions vibrating with distrust and fear through the air. Even the tall strong male whom she had healed up had a touch of concern in his eyes, though there was more respect and amusement at the story than from the others.

It had been a new experience to hear of that final battle with the last Queen told through another. For that other to be the memories of the Wraith, made it even stranger still. She remembered that night herself, for she would never forget it. Now, she saw that these humans, though nowhere near sympathisers for Wraith, had altered their perception of her upon hearing the story. They did not understand, but then very few did.

She met Sheppard's eyes from the other end of the table and saw determination there. He required answers and perhaps now was finally the time to give them.

Uosa took a breath and turned her gaze towards the one window in the room. Outside the night was still thick with darkness, the trees beyond the base tall dark watchers over the secrets held within. Uosa had never felt the need to explain herself, though she had to wonder now if her reluctance to talk had just as much to do with her own pain than it did with keeping secrets.

"Do you know how the 'Ancients' came to be on this world?" She asked, seeking where she should start and how much she should tell them.

She looked back to Sheppard and saw that he was considering the same. She almost smiled. She could feel his mind was sharp and powerful; the mind of a warrior and after what had happened during the healing of Teyla she knew he was capable of even more. She wondered then if perhaps his heritage had been part of her Uncle's schemes. It would have been so like him to have side stepped the Council's restrictions in such a way. Perhaps then Sheppard was in some way distantly related to Uosa. The thought was surprisingly pleasing to her. She had had no children of her own, there had been no time, and she had felt no need to pass her burdens on to another. Yet, the possibility that there were descendants of her own family pleased her; for surely there must be, even if Sheppard were not among them. The thought occurred to her then that perhaps this convergence, this twist of destiny, did not just include her and Teyla, perhaps this man was just as important as well.

She watched him study her, judging her by some standard of his own, but she felt his natural trust of her, following her healing of Teyla, and she knew he would speak to her honestly. Though she could also feel the cleverness and subtly of his mind, and knew that there would be secrets of his own that he would keep. She would keep some of her own, but now was the time to share a story of old, one which she had never fully told to anyone before.

Sheppard's eyes moved from hers to meet those of his companions, and no doubt also his friends, before he finally looked back at her and she saw his compliance.

"We know that they left Earth originally because of a sickness that they couldn't cure. They went to the Pegasus galaxy where they began seeding new life on various planets, as they had done in this galaxy. Unfortunately this time there was a nasty side affect; the Wraith."

Uosa did not try to hide her surprise at the amount that they did know, but kept her silence still.

"The Wraith turned out to be more than the Ancients could handle, and after years of fighting the Wraith forced the Ancients to fall back to Atlantis." There was a flush of emotions from those around the table at his mention of the ancient city. Uosa could not deny that she felt the same, yet she knew why she had responded so. "The Ancients sunk the city, decided to escape the Pegasus galaxy entirely, and came back here to Earth." Sheppard fell silent, once eyebrow rose challengingly. "How'd we do?"

Uosa smiled at him, relieved more than she would have expected to learn how much they knew. But, she had also grasped enough stray emotions and looks between the group to intuit more. "You have been to Atlantis."

Sheppard's lips pressed tightly together before he finally relaxed a little and nodded. "Yes, we've been there." There was clearly more to the story than he was willing to say and normally Uosa would not have cared to learn it, but this was different. A deep need of her own pushed through and she could not contain her question.

"Does it still stand?" She asked. She knew that they would be able to hear the emotion in her voice, but she did not mind.

Sheppard nodded immediately. "Yes, it still stands."

Uosa was surprised by the wealth of emotion she felt upon hearing the news. She had not felt so much nostalgia and pleasure in a very long time. She took a breath and released it, allowing herself to relax her guard a little now. "That is very good to hear." She looked to the darkness outside the window again and knew that finally it was time to share with the people of this world what it was that she had been striving to accomplish all these long years.

"I was born on Atlantis," she began, her gaze still directed towards the window, but she was already drifting in memories as she spoke. She had rarely allowed herself to dwell in them before, but allowed herself to submerge herself into them now. "In the Pegasus galaxy." The distant memories of her early childhood in the great city glowed through her. She could still imagine that she could smell the salt air and feel the protection of its walls. But, her story started much earlier than that.

"My mother was human and had been rescued from a Wraith facility, liberated by the ones you know as the Ancients." Darker memories stirred, not her own though she knew, these were those that her mother had been unable to conceal. "It was a Wraith laboratory in which one Wraith in particular was experimenting on humans, splicing pieces of Wraith genetic code into them to study the affects. He had created the most disgusting abominations there, most of which died quickly or where killed before the mistakes could escape or worry other Wraith. I suppose some would consider my mother to have been among the fortunate, to be still human in appearance and to have been freed by the Ancients. But, her mind had been altered by the experiments."

Uosa turned from the window and looked towards Teyla, whose eyes were wide with sympathy and understanding.

"She, and those few strong enough to survive, had developed the ability to join the Wraith collective mind. However, it was not so easy to withdraw from it. Most of those affected like her lost their minds, but she remained in Atlantis and did the best she could to study the Ancients' mental skills to help her control most of what she experienced. My father was one of the Ancients who helped her with blocking the Wraith thoughts and they fell in love with one another. I was born two years later."

Images of her lost father now warmed the chilled memories of her poor mother's life. "Through my infancy I knew that the war with the Wraith began to take its toil upon my father's people. They withdrew their borders constantly and they lost many in the battles. Their advanced technology was all that saved them from complete destruction. I was perhaps ten cycles, years, old when the Wraith numbers grew so abruptly that they overwhelmed all the defences and finally only Atlantis was the final safe location for any of my father's people. The city was packed full in those last days there and the decision was made to evacuate and return to the old home of Earth."

Uosa looked past the curious eyes back towards the window. She remembered standing by the massive windows of Atlantis and watching small sea creatures swim past. It had been fascinating as a child to see the environment outside her home change so dramatically when the city had been sunk to the bottom of the ocean. There had been so many to leave the city that they had been formed into waves and her family had been one of the last. Her father, an expert in technology as was his brother, had worked to strengthen all aspects of the city. The hope had been that the city would survive as long as possible, and Uosa was glad to finally learn that their efforts had been so successful.

"Once on Earth, my family lived for a time in the area you refer to as Asia, then settled in Egypt. I had moved well into adulthood when the Wraith arrived on Earth. Not, that anyone knew…no one except my mother. Living away from the threat of the Wraith for so many years, her blocks and mental protection had waned and the Wraith's abrupt arrival had been most violent for her. My father had taught me all the mental skills I would need to protect my own thoughts and with his inherited mental abilities I was mentally stronger than my mother, but I still felt them arrive. At first it was a gradual growth of coldness deep inside that had me wondering that I had been growing ill. Then abruptly one day the cold became a pain inside and my mother had been instantly flooded by the Wraith's thoughts."

Uosa reflected on those days, when her father had struggled to help his love, using his own mind to strengthen hers. But, Uosa had been able to feel his own pain, his own fear. It had been terrifying for a young woman to know that evil had arrived, literally invading her happy home.

"My father did all he could for my mother, and gradually she was able to block them out enough to function. We travelled to the home of my father's brother; set upon the isle you now call Britain. There the Council converged to hear my mother's testimony that Wraith had arrived on Earth, but they would not readily believe her. My father's people had never been able to sense Wraith minds and had never feared of mental attacks, as long as they were well trained in their own mental skills. They mistook my mother's story as symptoms that finally her mind had broken and she was reliving past traumas."

Uosa could hear the old anger in her voice, and she worked to bring it back under her control. Even after all these years she still wished that things had been different somehow.

"They had become complacent living a relatively easy life on Earth. Most were striving towards gaining ascension and were shying away from anything that distracted them from that pursuit. So my mother and father decided to find proof for themselves. They asked me to remain with my Uncle and they headed out to hunt down what haunted my mother. Only my mother returned and she had been near death when she reached us. From her mind I learnt all I needed and once she was gone I and my Uncle approached the Council."

Uosa brushed over as much as she could the feelings accompanying the memories of holding her dying mother in her arms. From across the planet she had already felt her father's ascension following his fatal injury at the hands of the Wraith, and to then experience her mother's pain in real time had been difficult to bear. The only comfort Uosa took from that day was the unexpected moment when her mother, in her last moments, had ascended. If Uosa's father had helped his love to gain such a status, Uosa would never know. As far as Uosa knew her mother had been the first non Ancient to ascend. Perhaps that had been another sticking point for the Council. And that Uosa had no body to show to the Council to prove that it had been Wraith, and not a human, who had killed her mother had not helped. The Council had distrusted Uosa, perhaps thinking her contaminated both with her human half and Wraith genetic codes.

"Some of the Council believed me, but most were frightened; though they would never admit it. They hid behind their aspirations for ascension and their growing number of restrictions on how they should influence life on Earth. We argued that a force had to be drawn together to seek out these Wraith and kill them or they would breed and take over Earth. There was enough support and we set out to find the Wraith."

"We found them settled into an area of what is now Mexico. The Queen had been breeding warriors in the short months it had taken us to reach them. We destroyed as much as we could, but we lost many. The remaining Wraith turned and ran, but with my skills we could track them easily. We focused our main force on finding and killing the Queen. We caught up with them several times, each time destroying the hive like centre they created and each time the Queen escaped. We managed to cut down their number to no more than two hundred by our estimate at that time, however the Wraith began to change their tactics. They broke up into smaller groups, forcing us to spread our resources across the planet. They had also realised that we sought all opportunities to hide our battles from the growing number of humans. So, they began to linger closer to human settlements, striking out at them more quietly than ever before, knowing that loud open attacks on humans would draw our forces straight to them. They began to feed on humans at night and became more akin to spirits and demons lingering in the forests."

"Vampires," someone whispered.

"It took us many years to find each group of Wraith and I could only work directly with one group at a time. I tried to direct other groups from a distance, but we were limited by both the Wraith's use of dropping into hibernation when we grew close and in their superior physical strength over us. Once again it was our technology that saved us, at least at that point."

"However," Uosa could not hide the distaste and frustration from her tone now. "There had been one occasion in which a new stronger human community had witnessed not only a battle with a group of Wraith, but had scavenged lost technology from fallen warriors. I, and other leaders of the fighting force, was recalled back to the Council. By that point huge numbers of my father's people had ascended and their footprint on the planet was waning. They feared contaminating the human life on this world and forbid us to use anymore technology in our fight against the Wraith. All Ancient technology was dismantled, leaving no trace for humans to come across by themselves. The Council believed that we had damaged the Wraith greatly and that since they were spread thinly they were not the threat they once were. We disagreed, but we were ignored. Ancient technology was forbidden from use, except in very specific allotted circumstances."

"They expected you fight the Wraith with what? Knifes and axes?" Sheppard asked, his own disapproval clear.

Uosa nodded. "Yes. Their attention was now focused on containment of our own contamination of Earth. With their numbers decreasing rapidly due to ascension, they enforced their restrictions even more forcefully. So, we altered our tactics. Those still focused on preventing the Wraith from spreading turned our attention to learning new skills. We developed our bodies even further to learn how to fight hand to hand, and our mental abilities, formally focused on development, ascension or technological advancement, turned to how to use our natural skills as weapons. Those already skilled in working the natural elements and those most developed in healing taught us their skills. It took time, but we became a strong fighting force, strengthening our skills in battle when we could find a Wraith group. However, our numbers were depleting and, since we had made sure never to include humans in our battle, we had none to add to our ranks."

"The Wraith only needed patience to see their victory arrive. So, we turned our attention back to technology. With most of the Council ascended we turned to my Uncle to help us advance our own hibernation technology to help us live as long as possible to see the end of the Wraith. He worked with us to aid us in our endeavour, treading carefully around the others' restrictions without blatantly breaking them. Yet, most of his own attention had been focused on developing means to combat another more ancient enemy, whom he feared would one day terrorise humanity."

"The remaining Council called me to account on our actions and we argued forcefully. I had a unique position among the warriors in that I felt able to argue with the Council. I declared that since I was half human, their restrictions could not be applied to me. I was part of the human population they did not wish to contaminate and by restricting my attempts to protect humanity they were going against their own words. They left me alone after that, but the others with me were not always as free to act. Only my Uncle somehow managed to hide his secret works, but I still suspect that he had in fact ascended before and had chosen to return to human form. He would disappear for long stretches of years, and then return with new ideas and advances to the technology he developed for me and for his own future plans. As he was my direct relative I believe they left him alone, but also there was clear support for him from some of those ascended."

Usoa smiled at the memories of her Uncle and she realised that she missed him deeply, though it was most likely that he had ascended.

"Who was your Uncle exactly?" Doctor McKay asked and she turned to him to see suspicion in his eyes.

She smiled to be able to name her relative. "His name was Myrddin."

There were a few surprised looks. "You know of him?"

"Merlin? Yes, we do and we have a lot to thank him for. If there's time you should probably talk to Doctor Jackson about it."

"Then the Ori did try to take Earth?" Uosa asked.

Shadows crossed their faces and she felt flashes of dark memories, though it was the one named Walker who felt the most.

"Yes, they tried, but we stopped them." The man said with pride and pain. "But, it took its toll."

Uosa took a breath and released it with pride and satisfaction. "I am pleased to learn that my Uncle's work played a role. He never openly engaged in battle against the Wraith with us, it was not his way. But, he was a cornerstone in our successes." Uosa paused reflecting on those days when her father's people had left her fighting force alone at last. She guessed they had either given up on controlling them, now agreed with them or perhaps they had simply forgotten them.

"So, you hunted down all the Wraith over the years?" Someone asked.

"The Wraith somehow became aware that the Ancients were mostly gone from Earth and so they turned their attacks not just on the humans, but on those of us who remained. They began to hunt us as we hunted them. Violent times," Uosa whispered as the memories lingered. "Gradually both sides lost large numbers and eventually there were only five of us left to seek out and destroy over forty Wraith, including the Queen. I made it my personal focus to hunt her down, but with such small numbers we were forced to split up to keep battling the Wraith. I can not remember exactly when I became the last, but I knew that it had been the Queen who had killed the last of my father's people on Earth. The Queen had been crucially injured though and I set off after her."

Teyla's re-telling of the tale meant that she need not to tell them every cut and thrust of the tale, but there was more to the tale than the Wraith had shown Teyla.

"The Queen knew I was following her and laid a trap for me. She had formed a large group of human worshippers and used them to hold an entire village hostage. She promised to kill all the children first, then the strongest men if I did not reveal myself. I chose to walk into the village." The old deep wounds that had long ago healed still seemed to ache with the memories. "The battle was long and very violent. What was fortunate was that the Queen had only been protected by five or so Wraith. I took most of them down and finally reached the Queen." The lingering taste of blood, screams of terrified betrayed humans and the smoke of the burning village all returned to Uosa. "I prevailed," Uosa finished.

The atmosphere over the room was heavy with sympathy and disgust for Wraith, their former fear of her dimming back into respect. She did not require their respect, but she found herself holding it to her and it eased the dark memories.

"With the Queen dead the greatest threat had been neutralised. I had to enter a long cycle of hibernation after that to recover, but my mission had become clear and plain. I set out to track down each and every Wraith, for though they could not breed more without a Queen, Wraith males are still very dangerous. This remaining Wraith was always one of the strongest and he seemed to hold a particular hatred for me. Though, I now wonder if it was his secret plans for the hidden Queen that drove him to try to kill me with such vengeance. He feared no doubt that I would kill the young Queen as I had the old."

"The Wraith were reduced to hiding in forests and abandoned mines. They spread out independently across the planet and regularly entered hibernation to avoid me, but I used their weaknesses against them and then all but this last one remained." Uosa took a breath and turned to the alert faces all focused on her. "Or so I thought."

Her story was complete enough for these people and telling it had brought her in some form of circle, from what had been to what would be necessary now to finally complete her mission. The end was so close she could feel it in the air, but she knew that there was still much to be done.

"So, you're saying you're like ten thousand years old?!" Doctor McKay blurted out.

"I have not been awake for all that time, Doctor McKay," Uosa replied.

His face scrunched up in doubt and confusion. "But, hibernation is a slowing of vital body systems, you would still age."

"And I have, though my Uncle's alterations to hibernation technology and my own knowledge of healing skills has enabled me to last."

"But…you look like…thirty five or something," he still protested.

She inclined her head with amusement.

"But…" he added.

"Rodney," Sheppard warned gently.

"What? It's a valid point!" He replied to Sheppard before turning back to her. "And you're supposedly half human; wouldn't that mean you would age more like a human?"

"Rodney!" Teyla protested.

Uosa did not take offense and instead smiled at the scientist. "Yes." He frowned again. "And no I will not tell you where the hibernation technology is located," she told him with a smile, knowing his concealed need. A guilty look passed over his open face before he hid it behind studied indifference.

"If you wanted to prove your story then seeing this technology would…"

Sheppard leant forward and interrupted Doctor McKay's mutterings. "I think Uosa has proven her side quite clearly, Rodney," he said shutting down the scientists complaints.

"I just think it's worth asking these questions…"

"We can discuss all the questions after we get this Wraith and his new Queen," Sheppard replied and turned his attention back to Uosa. "So, you can track him?"

"I can follow him, but now there is such a great distance between us it will be difficult to reach him in time. He has clearly slipped through your net from earlier, but he is dropping in and out of hibernation, which makes it difficult for me to track him. He will be guarding his thoughts and what he sees very closely, knowing I will be able to see where he is through his own eyes. That there are now humans who are a real threat to him will only add to his caution. Normally I am able to catch up to the Wraith eventually, but time is now of the essence."

Sheppard turned back to Teyla. "You don't have any idea where this Wraith is headed? Where the Queen is?"

Uosa watched Teyla turn her focus inwards, felt her mind stirring. "His memories are old and clouded. I saw a dark damp place, but nothing more helpful."

"If he hasn't been to the location for many hundreds of years, then the location could be quite different," Uosa added. "Humanity has advanced a great deal since I last woke."

"Maybe the Queen is dead?" Ronon suggested.

"No, she lives," Teyla replied instantly. "He is following an instinct that draws him to her, even when she is asleep. If she were dead he would not feel that pull."

Uosa looked to Teyla and saw that she was annoyed at herself for having no more information to supply the group, to supply Sheppard. Uosa looked to the man now, watching him mull over his options.

"Then we need a Queen detector of our own," he said thoughtfully.

"You really think that's wise?" Doctor McKay asked Sheppard, clearly already understanding his friend's thought process.

"He's helped us before and the SGC has already authorised me to use a few walks along the pier each week as a bargaining tool with him."

"Are you referring to the Wraith you hold captive?" Uosa asked worriedly.

"Yes," he replied with a clear edge of defensiveness.

"He is a Wraith," Uosa protested.

"Actually he's helped us out quite a few times and as long as there's something in it for him, he usually comes through for us."

"He may have bargained with you before, but this would be to assist us in hunting down and killing a Queen. It is not in a Wraith's nature to do such a thing."

"He has already killed at least one Wraith Queen that we know of, Uosa," Teyla said with a calming tone.

Uosa turned to the woman and felt the edge of her mind reaching gently towards her, displaying the knowledge that Teyla had actually witnessed that event.

"I know that Wraith kill Wraith, but in these circumstances to involve him might provide him an opportunity to reach a Queen. If he ingratiated himself with her then she would include him into her plan. It is too dangerous to utilise him. His nature would be to serve a Queen, to always have a Queen to serve."

Uosa felt the doubt around the table. Clearly this Wraith they held captive had influenced their opinions greatly in the past.

"Surely it would be more worthwhile for me to simply enter his mind and pull out the information he has on the Queen," Uosa suggested.

Sheppard nodded at that. "Sure it would, but with this Wraith I suspect he hasn't learnt all he can from the other Wraith or the Queen. He will wait till we ask him for help before he picks a side."

Uosa frowned at that.

"Perhaps," Teyla said, "we could ask him to reach the other Wraith's mind and during which Uosa could observe the contact."

"I could perhaps then breach the blocks around the last Wraith's thoughts and plans," Uosa suggested.

"Piggyback your way in," said the quiet doctor seated beside Sheppard. Uosa enjoyed the man's accent for it reminded her of her experiences with those from his home lands. They had been a forceful and powerfully strong people when she had last encountered them.

"Exactly," she replied.

"And if you were to see into Todd's mind at the same time that would simply be an accidental side effect," Sheppard added with a sly smile.

Uosa smiled now seeing his plan. "Yes, unfortunate for him, but useful for us."

The room fell into silence again as all eyes moved between her and Sheppard.

"I'll need to clear this with my superiors and they will need to okay you accompanying us to our home base," Sheppard said carefully.

His mind was purposefully tightly closed and she wondered what it was about his home base that he wished to conceal from her. She allowed him his secrets though, for she required his and his people's cooperation at present. She nodded her agreement.

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TBC