“Okay, maybe not,” Lorne said. “But you get used to it. He doesn’t talk much about the year he wasn’t here.”
“Yeah. I think if I’d been the prisoner of a crazy Wraith for a year, I wouldn’t talk about it much either.” She shrugged. “I guess… well, I hope he’s okay, whoever he is.”
“He’s okay, I think,” Lorne said. “Probably a little stressed out right now about what’s happened to Dr. McKay, given that ‘captured by the Wraith’ is probably an issue for him.”
“I was sorry to hear about McKay,” Cadman said. “He wasn’t so bad, really.”
“Don’t write him off yet,” Lorne said. “He’s surprisingly hard to kill, and I wouldn’t bet against Colonel Sheppard when it comes to rescuing a member of his team. Knowing Dr. McKay, he could be working on a way to escape right now.”
Quicksilver had been in the Queen’s audience room before, but still her nearness struck fear in his heart. And this was at his own request, not at her summons, an importunity even for a cleverman of his status. Ember seemed nervous as well, his mind closed like a fist even as he gave them both a last assessing glance.
*You’ll do,* he said, and Quicksilver bared teeth as the drones came to attention.
*Enter.*
Ember straightened his back, lifting his head to show his profile to best advantage, and the doors opened before them.
Death sat straight in her throne, its bone wings rising above her shoulders, off hand and feeding hand resting lightly on its arms. The lords of her zenana accompanied her, blades in leather and silver, and a coterie of masked drones lined the long walls. Ember dipped his head, his long hair falling forward, and Quicksilver copied him, aware again of his own shorn head. Of the many things the Lanteans had done to him, it was among the smallest, but it galled him unreasonably.
*So, clevermen,* Death said. *Quicksilver, I rejoice to see you so recovered. And, you, Ember. I commend you for your care of him.*
*Thank you, my queen,* Ember answered, his tone tightly controlled, but Quicksilver smiled in spite of himself. She was radiant, his queen, young and beautiful and strong, and he rejoiced at the gift he was bringing her.
Her smile widened, and she lifted her off hand, beckoning them forward. *And what is it that is so important, then?*
*I have two things for you, my queen,* Quicksilver said. He did not quite dare look at her directly, glanced up under his lashes to see her smiling.
*Say on.*
*My queen, the Lanteans have defeated us more than once because they have energy shields that can take far more damage than a hive ship’s hull.* Quicksilver glanced up again, aware that she and all the zenana were listening intently. *I have worked out a way to install such a shield on our own ships, so that we can stand as much damage, perhaps more, than the Lanteans’ ships can. And it will never be possible for the Lanteans to invade our hives as they have done in the past.*
*This has been proposed before,* the oldest blade said. *And always the power required was too great to make it practical.*
*I have solved that problem,* Quicksilver said. *It’s just a matter of adjusting some minor parameters — *
Death lifted her hand. *Skilldark. Is such a thing possible?*
The cleverman who stood to the back of the chamber bowed his head. *It has never been before. But Quicksilver may have found something.*
*Of course I have,* Quicksilver began, and Ember touched his hand in warning.
*My queen,* he said. * I also believe it will work.*
Death stared at them for a long moment, then, slowly, nodded. *See to it, then. Two things, you said, Quicksilver. What is the second?*
*I have found a way into Atlantis,* Quicksilver said.
Several of the lords lifted their heads at that, and Quicksilver felt their attention sharpen, thoughts focusing on him. He did not know them, and Ember offered him no clue, his mind closed tight, so he pushed them to the periphery of his thoughts, concentrating on his queen.
*Have you, now,* she murmured. *Tell me more, cleverman.*
*Their gate address is known,* Quicksilver said.
*Which avails us nothing.* That was the very young blade who stood to the queen’s left, the touch of his mind the vivid blue of a cloudless sky. *The gate is well shielded.*
*Of course it is,* Quicksilver said. *And I know how to lower that shield.*
A ripple of emotion crossed the chamber, shock, pleased surprise, and Death said, *How?*
*While I was a prisoner, I managed to find a code that will give me entrance to their computers,* Quicksilver said. *We dial the gate, and I will transmit the code — the shield won’t stop it.*
*How did you get this code?* That was the oldest of the blades, and Quicksilver shot him an annoyed look.
*I don’t actually remember, but it doesn’t matter. The point is, I can get in, and I can leverage that access to lower Atlantis’s shield.*
*I think it does matter,* Sky said. Death reached up without looking, laid her hand on his where it touched her throne, and he was silent.
*If it can be done,* another blade began, and shook his head. His mind was a planet’s surface seen from a great height. *It is a risk, my queen.*
*It’s hardly a risk,* Quicksilver said. *The worst that could happen is that we fail to breach the computers.* At his side, Ember hissed softly, a warning, and Quicksilver suppressed the rest of what he would have said.
*Farseer’s right,* another blade said. He hesitated, as though he were choosing his words with great care. *The risk…*
Ember lifted his head. *I believe that can be mitigated. There are precautions we can take that I believe will be sufficient.*
*Very well,* Death said. She looked again at Quicksilver, her head tipped to one side. *And you will lower Atlantis’s shield for me.*
*Yes,* Quicksilver said. *I will.* For you, he wanted to add, but that was a blade’s boldness, to court a queen, and he had just enough sense not to speak so before the lords of the zenana.
*Then we should attack,* Sky said, with a shrug of his shoulders. *My queen, we’ll never have a better chance.*
*It will need more men than we can spare — maybe more than we have — to take the city,* Farseer said. *The Lanteans will resist, and they are well armed.*
*It would be worth it if Atlantis is destroyed,* the Old One said.
*My queen.* Quicksilver spoke without thinking, blinked at the scowls turned in his direction. *I don’t think we have to capture the city. I know a way to cripple it, and at the same time gain an advantage that will make us unstoppable.*
Death looked at him, a long, level stare from golden eyes that made him want to duck his head in submission. Instead, he met her gaze, offering wordless service, and, slowly, she smiled.
*If this is true,* she said, and looked at the blades surrounding her. *If this is true, we will most certainly act. Speak, cleverman.*
Quicksilver took a breath. *My queen. There is a thing the Lanteans call a ZPM.*
Chapter Seven
Invasion
The food line had closed a couple of hours ago, and the mess hall was quiet, just a few of the cooks tidying away the last leftovers and refilling the giant coffee urns. Someone would be on duty all night to keep them filled, William knew, and to make more sandwiches if there was a rush, but otherwise the huge room was almost empty. A young airman was filling a cardboard carrier — six coffees and six of the giant cookies that had appeared with Daedalus — and a couple of scientists were playing chess at a corner table. He was finding it hard to settle into a routine when no one was quite sure what to do with their new archeologist yet, and he’d hoped for conversation as well as coffee, so it was with relief that he spotted Eva Robinson making her way toward the tray of cookies. He had known her at the SGC, at least slightly, and besides, it was her job to provide support for Atlantis’s crew.