Deeply preoccupied, Rodney said, "We have plenty of food in the jumper." He was standing near the center of the space and looking upward. John stepped up beside him and saw a shaft that ran straight up through the ship, with arching struts and supports that gave it the look of a gothic cathedral. Turning back to Trishen, Rodney continued, "And if we're compatible enough to tolerate the same oxygen mix, then we should be able to-" Rodney's voice climbed an octave and the sentence ended on a gasp.
That made John whip around, jerking the P-90 up, made Teyla turn automatically and lift her weapon.
Trishen was taking off her helmet, silver hair spilling out in a long braid as the back plate opened. Teyla gasped with astonishment and horror, and John saw what Rodney had seen, the dead-white paleness of Trishen's skin, glowing even in this bad light. He whispered incredulously, "Son of a bitch." In the next instant she had lifted off the helmet and he saw her face clearly, the gill-like slits to either side of her nose, the glimpse of malformed teeth past her pale lips. John snapped, "Don't move," and stepped in front of Rodney, backing them both up until he was even with Teyla, Rodney behind them.
Trishen stared blankly at the guns pointed at her. There was surprise in the yellow slit-pupilled eyes, and that just pissed John off all the more. She said, "I don't understand." Her voice was hushed, but without the distortion of the helmet's comm unit, it was obviously a Wraith's voice.
Behind John, Rodney choked out, "This can't-This can't-" He burst out, "Tell me we're not this stupid!"
"We are this stupid," John said through gritted teeth. "Look, Trish, sorry we can't stay, but unlock the hatch or I'll blow your damn head off." He didn't know why he hadn't already killed her. He told himself it was a bad idea to fire enough rounds to kill a Wraith in the small confines of this cabin. But he knew it was because she was small and female and unarmed, and staring at him with this look of fear and betrayal, and he just couldn't make himself pull the trigger.
Trishen whispered, "It isn't locked. Just touch the control pad beside it." She stood frozen, still holding the helmet. "I don't understand-"
John didn't want to hear it. He said, tightly, "Rodney."
Rodney unfroze and ducked back to the hatch, and a moment later John heard the airlock start to cycle. He felt the tightness in his chest ease a little; he had been certain she had done something to seal them in here. Now all they had to worry about was more Wraith dropping out of that shaft leading into the upper levels of the ship.
Sounding sick, Teyla said, "Colonel, this is not possible."
"I wish, Teyla, but it really is." Teyla should have been able to tell Trishen was a Wraith, and the fact that she hadn't was just one more kick in the ass. John heard the hatch open behind them and Teyla pivoted to cover it. "Rodney, can you fix it so she can't trap us in there?"
"On it," Rodney muttered, and John heard thumps and a weird tearing noise.
Trishen shook her head a little, still pretending incomprehension. "I wouldn't do that. Why would I-"
"Sorry, but you're just going to have to do without these provisions," John said with acid emphasis.
"Got it," Rodney said, his voice tight. "I can only override the outer door's safety for a few seconds, so hurry. On my mark…Go!"
John felt the rush of air pouring out as the outer hatch spiraled open. Still covering Trishen, he took two long steps back as Teyla and Rodney ducked out, then turned at the last second and leapt through the closing hatch.
Out on the Mirror platform, under the dim light of the gas giant, John backed rapidly away from the ship. He and Teyla kept their weapons aimed, but nothing lunged out after them. Breathing hard, Rodney flung up a hand in frustration, saying, "That ship, that was hybrid Wraith Ancient technology, I should have seen it!" There was rage and disappointment in his voice, both of which John got completely. Their cool alien contact had turned into just a frigging Wraith trap. Though at the moment John was still in the rage end of the spectrum. "That textured wall material is an organic, the same thing they use on the interiors of the hiveships and cruisers! I can't believe-hybrid Wraith and Ancient tech!" Rodney finished miserably, "We could be very, very dead, and by we I mean all of humanity."
"It's got to be new," John said. Past the adrenaline rush of rage, he was starting to realize just how bad this was. This ship could see through the jumper's cloak. Rodney right, we are so screwed. As they moved further away from the ship, John tapped his radio. "Zelenka, can you read me?"
The answer came readily, though so thick with static John could barely understand him. "Yes, yes, Colonel, what is wrong?"
"It was a trap, she's a goddamn Wraith," John told him. "Move the jumper, now, just get it out of there. Send a message to base camp when you can. I'll contact you when we're clear."
Zelenka sounded flabbergasted. "Yes, we'll move it. But-But how can this be?"
"When you figure it out, let us know!" Rodney snapped.
"But I did not sense Wraith, even when I was looking right at her," Teyla protested, almost anguished. "How is that possible?"
John shook his head. Teyla should have known Trishen was a Wraith the first time the shuttle appeared. Oh yeah, screwed. "She has to have something that blocks your Wraith-sensing thing, like the shielding on her ship."
"Hello, that doesn't make sense!" Rodney protested.
John wasn't in the mood for an argument about semantics. "Whatever, Rodney, you know what I mean!"
Rodney began, "But-" Then a tremor traveled through the pavement under their feet and John heard a low rumble, like distant thunder. Rodney snarled in frustration, "Oh fine, now the Mirror's discharging!"
"Run," John ordered and they bolted. They made it through the cargo door before the tremor started to escalate, but the open corridor didn't provide any protection.
Over the growing rumble, Rodney yelled, "Keep going, find the nearest side corridor!"
John had noted the last branching passage that wasn't sealed off. He found it just past the first angle in the main corridor, an empty doorway with a shattered blast door, leading into darkness. John flicked on the P-90's light to see it was filled with broken crystal and stone debris. They could get trapped down here if the end was blocked, but from Rodney's increasingly urgent gestures, there wasn't time for another choice. They managed to get about twenty yards down it when the rumble turned into a dull roar and the floor shook hard enough to knock Teyla off her feet. Rodney caught her, and John caught him, and they dropped into a huddle against the base of the wall. The shaking intensified, sending dust and chips of loosened stone down on their heads. John pushed them both down and huddled over them, covering his head with his arm, hoping the whole building didn't come down on top of them.
But the shaking died away, the sound fading into silence, except for the pounding echo in John's head. He pushed himself up off Rodney and Teyla, pulling the P-90 up to flash the light across the ceiling. There was a network of cracks, still leaking a fine haze of debris, but no sign of imminent collapse. "You guys okay?" he asked. The breath mask had mostly kept the dust out of his mouth and nose, but his eyes burned with it, and the violent shaking made him feel like he had been pummeled by something.
Rodney sat up and sneezed, shifting his mask awkwardly. "You kneed me in the back and Teyla's P-90 hit me in the eye," he reported, "But other than that-"
"We are fine," Teyla finished, wincing as she held a hand to her head. "I-"
She took a sharp breath, and John looked at her worriedly. "What is it?" He didn't think any of the dislodged stone had been big enough to cause a serious injury, but-