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She shook her head sadly. “Perhaps you will remember in time how you came to escape. I do not know. But trust that I will avenge you upon the Lanteans, that did this to you!”

“That is kind, My Queen,” he said.

“Do you remember aught of your captivity, of Atlantis?”

“No,” Quicksilver began, but it seemed to him that he did, a brief impression of a chamber with soaring walls, an Eye set in the middle of a floor of unbearably bright stone. And then it was gone. “Not really,” he said.

Her eyes sharpened, and he knew her power as well as her grace, a fluid shift of feature beneath tranquility that reminded him of some other he knew, though her face escaped him. “Do you recall something?”

“Nothing of consequence, My Queen,” Quicksilver said. “A brief impression of a room. Nothing of note.”

She nodded once. “You should write down that which you remember, or tell Dust if writing tires you. Anything you can remember may be of use to us in the future, either to recover another if they are also unfortunate, or to defeat Atlantis in the end.” She looked away, her gaze ranging over the blades assembled in their beauty and honor. “My far-mother tried and failed to take the City of the Lanteans, and she died when her ship crashed in the sea. But her blood is stronger for the centuries that separate us, and I am her true heir! I will not fail! We stand in the age of silver, and our best days are before us!”

Quicksilver felt rather than heard the ripple run around the room, the assent and desire that flowed to her. Who could not desire to serve such, beauty and glory and strength in one?

“I shall give you all you can hope for, My Queen,” Quicksilver said, and bent his knees to her in homage.

Chapter Four: Reluctant Allies

John slid into a chair at the briefing table nursing a cup of coffee. He’d slept badly, but enough coffee would take care of that. Teyla and Ronon were already there, and Carson and Keller came in together. He wondered if they’d actually been invited to the briefing or were just hanging around to find out what the plan was. It wasn’t really a situation where they needed medical advice.

Keller took her seat looking like she hadn’t slept much either, and Carson rested a hand on her shoulder for a moment before he sat down. John thought he probably ought to say something, but he couldn’t figure out what.

“Let me get you some coffee,” Teyla said.

Keller looked up at her gratefully. “Thanks. I can get it, though…”

Teyla was already handing her a steaming cup. “I would offer you tea, but I expect you prefer coffee. It is the least I can do.”

Carson smiled faintly. He had a cup of tea already, cupped in his hands as if to warm them. “My mum always makes a cup of tea whenever something terrible’s happened. I suppose the idea is that if you can still make tea, things can’t be that bad.”

“Things aren’t that bad,” John said, more sharply than he meant to. “We just have a problem here we have to figure out what to do about. Where’s Woolsey?”

“Not here yet,” Ronon said, as if that were helpful. Probably about as helpful as the question. John took a drink of coffee and hoped the caffeine would kick in soon.

Woolsey came in last, his tablet tucked neatly under his arm. John suspected he’d learned in some management book that making people wait for him was better than waiting for them. Maybe it worked. At least, everyone gave Woolsey their attention instead of making small talk about the weather. Maybe they’d run out of things to say about it. It was still cold, and likely to stay that way for a while.

“I’ll start with the good news,” Woolsey said, with a tight smile that didn’t promise too much. “I have heard both from Radim and from… Todd.”

“We can call him something else if you’d rather,” John said. Teyla gave him a sharp look, as if unsure that he was taking this briefing sufficiently seriously.

Woolsey chose to ignore the remark instead. “Both of them are willing to talk. Radim believes his intelligence network may be able to determine whether Wraith worshippers visited New Athos, and possibly even find out which hive they were working for.”

Ronon was leaning back in his chair in what might have looked like a casual pose if you didn’t know him. “Do we like the idea that Radim’s got people working with Wraith worshippers?”

Teyla turned the look on him. “Would we like the idea that he did not? We must get our information from somewhere.”

“What does Todd have to say for himself?” John asked.

Woolsey looked like that hadn’t been a pleasant chat. “He is also apparently willing to talk.”

That seemed too convenient. “Why?”

“I pointed out to him that having Dr. McKay in the hands of a rival Wraith could have serious consequences for him as well as for us.”

“I’m not sure it’s a good idea to play that up,” John said. “We don’t want him to get the idea that it’s a good idea to grab Rodney himself.”

“At least then we might be able to bargain,” Teyla said.

“With a Wraith,” Ronon said, looking skeptical.

“With a Wraith who has depended on our assistance in the past.”

“He is at least willing to talk to us. At the moment, that’s an improvement on our current intelligence. I think we may be able to persuade him that Dr. McKay could provide an unwanted advantage to whichever one of his rivals is holding him.”

“Assuming it’s not Todd,” John pointed out.

“Assuming that,” Woolsey granted him. “But at least with a meeting we may have some chance of finding out if that is the case.”

“So what’s the catch?” John said. “You said this was the good news.”

“Both Radim and Todd insist on a meeting in person.”

“Fine,” John said. “They’re welcome to come to Atlantis. Alone.”

“Yes, I think we’d all prefer that,” Woolsey said. “Unfortunately, we’re in no position to demand ground of our choosing. Radim has requested that we send representatives to the Genii homeworld, and under the circumstances, that does seem reasonable.”

It didn’t seem very reasonable to John. “Because holding Dr. Beckett at gunpoint and stealing our medical supplies was just a friendly gesture.”

“A misunderstanding,” Woolsey said. “Which has been resolved.”

“You can’t blame Radim for what Sora did,” Carson said. “She’s a loose cannon, and always has been.” He looked less troubled by the whole incident than John felt.

“Todd has proposed a site he claims to be neutral ground. PX5-422. According to the Ancient database, it’s uninhabited.”

“I want it checked out in advance,” John said.

“Yes, of course. We’ll send a team, but I want you to leave at once for the Genii homeworld. I’ve been trying to convey a sense of urgency about this to Radim, and it won’t help to keep him waiting.”

“Back up,” John said. “I should go deal with Todd. Teyla and Ronon can go talk to the Genii.”

“I want you to deal with Radim on this,” Woolsey said. “Given what we know about the Genii, I think they’ll prefer to deal with our military commander. I’d like you to take Teyla and Dr. Beckett with you. Ronon, Dr. Keller, I’d like you to handle the meeting with Todd, once our advance team reports back that the site is safe.”

“All right,” Keller said. She sounded a little skeptical. John was more than a little skeptical himself. “We can do that.” She looked over at Ronon, who shrugged a little uncomfortably.

“You don’t want Teyla to come with us?”

Woolsey looked at John. He looked tempted to say something for a moment, and then reconsidered whatever it had been. “I think it’s best if Teyla accompanies Colonel Sheppard and Dr. Beckett,” he said. “Our relationship with the Genii is a delicate one, and I have every confidence in your negotiating skills.”