Silence. That's all there was. The commander before me was pathetic. He had allied with the humans. I wasn't even sure how some queens had allowed their hives to have human followers. Humans were food, not pets, but so of my kind had forgotten that. It was disgracing to my kind.

"Majesty," the commander spoke and I just turned my head, "John Sheppard is one of the better humans."

"John Sheppard," I snapped, "is almost as well known among our kind as Teyla Emmagan. He had killed many of our kind."

"Yet here I stand. Unharmed and only slightly hungry."

How was I supposed to respond to that? The commander before me was right. He was unscathed and seemed to almost enjoy himself. How could he? This was our food. Not our friends, "I will die before I tell them anything."

He nodded, "I thought so," with that the commander fell silent again. Periodically, I felt him brush against my mind, but the time had let me regain a little strength. There was no way he was getting in and getting any information from me, either.

…More time had passed. I was still standing in the cell with the commander just watching me when the door opened again and the small man known as Richard Woolsey stepped up to the cell, "Sheppard tells me that you are quiet. I come to propose a trade. You answer a few questions and we will allow you to return to the Pegasus galaxy."

How stupid did this man think I was? I could feel the deceit. They weren't going to let me return to my galaxy. Not with the coordinates to Earth. I wasn't sure where they would let me go, but I knew it wasn't anywhere I would want to go.

The man nodded as silence filled the room, "I thought so," he turned towards the commander, "Todd, has she said anything to you?"

"No," the commander stated shortly. Obviously he wasn't fond of the man either, "She is stronger than any I've come across before."

"Really…" those beady eyes returned to me and I knew his interest was sparked, "That's fascinating."

"Very," I hissed.

The commander chuckled and I shot him a sharp look before I returned my attention to the human before me, "So you do speak…"

It was obvious that the human was just fishing for more, but I wasn't going to speak. The man wasn't going to get anything from me. Death first.

"All the hives and cruisers have been destroyed over Earth. You have no one to come to you."

If he only knew how much I didn't care. I was on Earth and in Atlantis. It was only a matter of time before they slipped up and I made my way out. I knew the layout of this city better than any queen and I knew how to operate nearly every single thing in the city. It could be mine and no one would be able to stop me once I was allowed to feed, just once.

The human sighed before he nodded, "You are a difficult one," he turned to the commander, "Why can't all you're kind be like you?"

With that the commander chuckled and Woolsey left the room. Again, I was alone with the traitor. And I knew that this time it was going to be so much longer before someone came back. They were going to wait and hope that the hunger would drive me to speak. If only they knew the will of a true queen!

…Days passed. The commander was removed from the cell and I was left completely alone again. I hadn't realized how comforting the presence another of my kind had been. The commander had been a horrible specimen, but he was still familiar. His absence nearly hurt. Then again, the absence of all of my kind hurt. My commanders were dead. My drones were lost. My scientists gone. I was completely alone in a foreign galaxy. The mere thought was enough to break me, but I wasn't going to bend.

"Death first," the words were light and I wondered how I managed to gather the strength to even utter them…

…My strength was fading. It had been nearly two months. I had lost the strength to stand by this point, but the humans hadn't even bothered to check up on me. I was alone and I needed to feed. I was near death and I was ready. It was time for it all to end. No longer could the humans torture me.

That's when I heard it. The light swooshing of the door as it opened to admit someone. I didn't even bother to open my eyes to see who was there. I could sense that it was a human female, Teyla by the feel, and two human males. I thought that one of them felt like Sheppard, but the other was new. Weak, and new.

"Acatha," Sheppard spoke, "I'd like you to meet Carl here. He's offered to help us get information from you," there was a short pause, "See here, he's dying from…"

"Lymphatic cancer."

"Cancer," Sheppard continued, "He's offered himself to you only if you speak. So, what do you say?"

Finally, I opened my eyes and looked at him to see the older man that was standing there. That was the sustenance that they were offering? It just wasn't enough to satisfy me. Not worth my time.