The fugitive looked at me the same way a seasoned physicist would, if a schoolboy had retold the theory of relativity in his own words. With adjustments for his own understanding of the universe, nurtured on Japanese cartoons about tentacles.
"Kirik," he said after a few seconds of silence.
"Meaning?"
"My name is Kirik," the fugitive said. Ah… so my memory failed me a bit with his name. Well, it happens. Considering that he was only a hero of one episode in a five-year series in the events I knew, I think it's forgivable to make a mistake. I even got all the letters of his name in the correct order. So what if I added a couple… "What do you mean you know me? I have a good memory for people's appearances. We've never met."
Fugitive Kirik.
"Personally – never," I admitted. "But I know that the Wraiths made you a fugitive by taking you from your home planet."
"They often do that."
"And you also visited one world, which was then destroyed by the Wraiths."
"Such things happen all the time," Alvar chimed in. "I think all fugitives will experience this firsthand."
"Yes, but do all fugitives save a miraculously surviving child from such planets?" I asked.
The man standing before me tensed. Tangibly so. It was clear that he didn't like that some stranger knew more about him than he should. I wouldn't like it either in his place.
Kirik was silent, and I pondered whether I had made a mistake in my assumption.
To be honest, when I set out on this mission, I hoped that the fugitive would be the future Khal, the Satedan Ronon Dex, in the guise of actor Jason Momoa. But the universe was not so kind to my wishes.
Instead of the Satedan, we met another fugitive. The second and last one shown in the five seasons of the series about the adventures of dim-witted but brave Earthlings in the Pegasus galaxy. And, if I knew Dex like the back of my hand, so to speak, because a lot of time was devoted to developing his character, then this "fugitive father"…
One fact greatly disturbed me. At the moment of his debut in the series, this fugitive had a device of unknown origin with him, which allowed him to teleport short distances. When I realized that we hadn't found the "boy" we were looking for, I decided that at least the portable teleporter would be useful to us. Such a plot device could have been introduced…
But nothing of the sort was found on the fugitive's body, near him, or with him. Which made me doubt that the events in this reality corresponded to the ones I knew in detail. Who knows, maybe because the expedition didn't arrive, the actions didn't affect some order of things? And the fact that Kirik didn't acquire such a device is not the biggest problem, huh?
This should be figured out. If the story has already been cut, and it's most likely so, then we need to hurry and manage to get our hands on at least what is still waiting for its hour: ships, bases, Ancient outposts.
Chaya is working on my leads in Atlantis's databases in our absence, but there's no progress yet. We found the "Aurora," and if we had a ship, we'd get to it. But I know there are at least three more relatively combat-capable battleships of this type in the galaxy. Losing them would be a big mistake. Not to mention other Ancient heritage objects.
"We do not intend to harm you or your friend," Teyla, the master negotiator, intervened. "I am the leader of the Athosian people. You may have heard of us."
"I have," Kirik replied. "You are collectors, hunters, information traders, and you help others in the fields. You don't have such technologies," he pointed at the ship and me. However, I think he was more interested in my personal shield.
"That's right, these are technologies from other worlds," Alvar said. "The clothes, armor, and weapons are from my world."
"The ship, as well as the protective field that prevented you from breaking my jaw and damaging my torso twice – is from where I come from," I should also provide an explanation.
"And what is this place?" Kirik asked. "Where do people live who can easily kill Wraiths, but don't?"
Here we go again…
"My world was destroyed by the Wraiths," Alvar took the floor. "All that remains of my people is myself. The Wraiths made me a fugitive, just like you. And Misha," he nodded in my direction, "helped me get rid of this burden."
"So you work for them?" Kirik asked.
"He doesn't work for me," I corrected. "He, like Teyla, works with me. I hope you will too."
"And why should I?" the fugitive asked.
"How many places are there in the galaxy where you can hide and not fear that the Wraiths will come, find you, capture you, and make you a fugitive again?" I asked.
"There are no such places in the entire galaxy."
"You are mistaken," Teyla took the floor. "My people were recently attacked by Wraiths. Many died. But Mikhail and his… friend, helped us find a new world that the Wraiths don't know about."
"But they didn't help your compatriots, did they?" Kirik asked Alvar. The Ermen nodded in confirmation. "And what's the point then? Help in one case out of two?"
"My world and my countrymen were exterminated by the Wraiths long before I met Misha," Alvar explained. "It is not his fault that the Ermen was destroyed."
"And whose fault is it?" Kirik became interested.
"I think the Jenai had a hand in it," Jensen expressed his opinion.
"If all this," Kirik gestured to our clothes, "is from your world, then I doubt a bunch of farmers could have caused you so much trouble."
"The Jenai are not what they seem to guests of their world," Teyla explained. "They are much more advanced and…"
"Enough," the fugitive interrupted. "I'm not interested in the Jenai. I have a responsibility."
"To the rescued girl," I understood.
"Her name is Selisa," Kirik clarified, looking at me. "And yes, you're right. I caused the death of everyone she knew. I took her with me because at least that way she had a chance to survive."
"And what are the chances for a little girl to survive in a galaxy full of Wraiths, when her only friend and protector is a fugitive whom the Wraiths want to kill?" I asked. "Your transmitter is disabled. It has fused with your spinal cord, partially replacing one of the vertebrae with its tissue. It definitely can't be removed in the field…"
"So you lied to me about getting rid of this thing?" Kirik's sword in his hands twitched towards my throat.
"The transmitter is a device," I explained. "Just as Wraith weapons are also biological. But different, differing from their other technologies just as you differ from me…"
"Don't talk to me like I'm a child," Kirik sharply interrupted me. "My world was developed enough to understand what you're talking about without further explanation."
"In that case, I'll simplify my story to facts," I exhaled. "With the help of this device," I said, pulling an Ancient scanner from my hip pocket and showing it to the former fugitive, "I found out where your transmitter is located. I figured out its power source and subspace antenna. Removing this thing would make you an invalid. But the Wraiths won't be able to track you anymore."
"What makes you think so?" Kirik asked.
"Alvar," I addressed my comrade. And a second later, he threw me a portable computer built into his wrist cuff. Very similar to Lantean technology, but having nothing to do with it.
I handed the device to our new acquaintance.
"Recognize the device?"
"Wraith tracking system," Kirik said. "Every hunter Wraith has one. They use it to track the location of fugitives on the planet. Judging by the fact that I'm not on the map, you really did disable the transmitter."
Wraith Tracking System.
Kirik only needed one glance to understand what was what. He finally lowered his weapon and placed the "cuff," as we called it, on the nearest chair in the cockpit.
"Now to the main thing," he announced. "Judging by your behavior, you're either well hidden or not afraid of Wraiths. They're swarming all around here."
"This ship has enough weapons, food, and medicine for a small war," I said. "And yes, you're right. The Wraiths are gone. An hour ago – immediately after we disabled your beacon, hovering over a cliff above a mountain river."
"Why?" the fugitive asked.
"We wanted them to think you were dead," Teyla explained. "Immediately after that, we went to the mountains, where we found you when we first arrived on the planet."
"And you watched the whole time but didn't intervene?" Kirik winced. He walked past me without unnecessary conversation, delicately bypassed Teyla, but froze when Alvar stood in his way.
For a second, the men stared at each other. Kirik intended to leave, Jensen wanted him to stay a little longer.
"We haven't finished talking, fugitive," the Ermen explained.
"It's easy to talk about things when a small, frightened girl isn't waiting for you in a cave for several hours," our new acquaintance said, hissing. "Move aside, big guy."
"Or what?" Jensen sized him up. By the way, he was half a head taller than Kirik. And, I think, five to ten kilograms heavier. But in terms of combat training, especially hand-to-hand combat in a confined space, I think we'll soon find out who's who.
Teyla gave me a warning glance.
Well, or not soon.
"Alvar, let him pass," I ordered. "Kirik is the big white button to the right of the rear bulkhead."
The fugitives exchanged glances again, after which the new acquaintance unceremoniously headed for the "jumper's" ramp. Grabbing what he called his outerwear and a Wraith pistol along the way, he hit the release button for the ramp.
With the familiar sound, the drives engaged, and the rear wall of the ship turned into a gentle ramp, down which the fugitive fled outside. Nodding to his comrades, I pointed them to the exit.
As expected, seeing the girl sleeping on a pile of their things, the fugitive looked at us with an angry gaze.
The little girl (about ten years old) with a round face and slightly bulging eyes lay on top of a couple of large bags. When we found her in the cave after Alvar fried the fugitive comrade's transmitter, the girl didn't want to talk much. She huddled against the cave walls, trying to threaten with a rather scary-looking doll or a makeshift penknife.
But Teyla, our group's renowned diplomat, managed to find common ground with the girl. And while we moved with the unconscious fugitive (yes, I need to tell Chaya to adjust the settings of the electro-discharger after all) to the clearing, the "girls" managed to become friends. As much as possible, given the circumstances.
Selisa.
"You left the child alone under the open sky?" he asked furiously. "She's only wearing light clothes! She could get sick!"
"And she could die from three or four diseases that we discovered in her by scanning," I parried. "And yes, don't thank me. She was given an injection, and now she's sleeping. Sleeping and guarding your belongings, because she told us that you would definitely tell us to leave when you woke up. You can keep both blankets, new clothes, a small supply of medicine and food that we put in the bags just in case. Consider it compensation for the fact that we, such barbarians, saved your life, took the girl from a damp cave, didn't let her develop pneumonia, and so on. And you can consider yourself Father of the Year. Because to put a girl in a dark, damp cave full of microorganisms and bacteria for several days, you really had to try not to use your head. Spoiler – you succeeded, Kirik. But yes, you're right. We are the villains here."
But it became clear from the former fugitive's face that he had indeed realized his mistake.
"Why didn't you leave her on your ship or at least keep the hatch open?" Kirik still looked at us suspiciously.
"First, learn not to yell in delirium," Alvar grumbled, waving his hand and heading for the cockpit. "It's useless, Misha. Let them go their own way."
"Not only Selisa was sick," Teyla said, approaching Kirik. "The scanner showed that you have a fever and your health is not good."
"I haven't been feeling well since the last attempt to cut out the transmitter," the fugitive admitted. "I thought it was just a common cold."
"Well, if sepsis is called that here, then yes," I agreed. "Whoever that quack was that you went to, don't do it again. Of course, unless you want to die before the girl learns to braid her own pigtails. And yes, I almost forgot. Along with the medicines, there is an instruction on what, in what doses, and for how long to inject you and her to recover. I don't advise you to break the treatment regimen – otherwise the diseases will return."
We spoke, albeit expressively, but still in a low voice. It felt awkward to argue near the girl. A brave girl for her age, by the way. If it weren't for Kirik's thunderous delirium during and after the operation, as well as the course of medication, including field drainage of a couple of abscesses on his back, we wouldn't have even thought of isolating ourselves from the girl.
Yes, it looks bad. There are wild animals in the forest and all that. But even the Wraiths would have taken time to break through the energy shield stretched across the entire clearing. No, not camouflage – a normal shield against all types of attacks, both kinetic and energy.
Of course, I admit, it's not the best decision, but until his condition was stabilized, someone from us was constantly with him. She's not having an easy time either. The life of fugitives is not sweet. And for children who have barely tasted life to the fullest – even more so.
Therefore, so as not to scare the girl with her protector thrashing in delirium, yelling at the top of his lungs, and crying, lamenting how many people died due to his mistake, it was decided to do as we did. In this situation, the last thing I wanted was to frighten a child with something like that. And to keep her, for example, in the "jumper," in another compartment, would be even more foolish: we would have to close the bulkheads for sound insulation and continue to keep the ship on "idle." One careless move by the accidentally awakened girl, and the ship could have thrown out some surprise.
In short, however clumsily, I bet that the girl's comfort, health, and opinion would be a priority for our guest. Let's see if the investment pays off.
"Thank you," Kirik adjusted the blanket on the girl, touching her forehead with his lips for a moment. "Her fever has almost passed."
"Antibiotics," I explained. "It's impossible to defeat all the infection in her at once, a full course is needed… You have a supply, so if you want to go – go ahead, we're not holding anyone back."
"But it would be safer with us," Teyla assured him. "The place we came from is protected from Wraiths. There's a place to hide, something to eat, to get yourself in order. Selis and you will receive all the necessary help there."
"A safe haven where you can hide?" Kirik asked.
"A new home where you don't have to think every day about how to save yourself and not let a child die," I clarified. "Full board, plus the opportunity to study sciences. For Selis, it will be better to learn about how this world is structured than this life."
"Moreover, you didn't have a choice before," Teyla picked up. "But now, when the transmitter is not working…"
"Enough," Kirik interrupted us. "I've heard enough."
"It's your decision," well, I did what I could. It seems that fortune turned its back on us twice – both when we found him and when we tried to win his trust with good deeds.
Taking out my handheld device, I turned off the force field around the clearing through it.
"Camp defense is removed," the explanation to the puzzled fugitive coincided with the awakened girl rushing to hug him. "You can leave whenever and wherever you want."
However, the fugitive was no longer listening to me.
"Kirik! You're alive!"
"Yes," paternal warmth appeared in the voice of the stern fugitive. "I'm fine. How are you?"
"Everything is fine!" the girl's eyes shone with joy. "I was sick, it turns out. And they," she looked warmly at Teyla, "gave me a few completely painless injections! I slept, and now I feel better. True, are the Wraiths not chasing you now?"
Kirik looked at me one more time.
"Yes, it's true," he stroked the girl's head. "Could you pack our things?"
"We're leaving?" Selisa looked him in the eyes.
"Exactly. The sooner, the better," Kirik said.
"We're leaving too," I said. Too bad it didn't work. "If you wish, we can give you a ride to the stargate."
"Gate?" Kirik repeated.
"Ring of the Ancients," Teyla explained.
"Ah, yes," the former fugitive nodded, matching the terms. "I have another proposal…"
"Enemy hive activity in our sector of the galaxy does not exceed the usual for the Keepers," the first assistant reported. "From which I conclude that, apart from ours, no other hive ship or object was attacked with nuclear weapons."
"And that already leads to certain thoughts," Styx said. "Why were we the target of sabotage with a nuclear bomb?"
"I assume that competing hives are behind the attack," the first assistant offered a version. "Our ship is potentially more powerful and dangerous than any other hive ship in the galaxy."
"Yes, but without a Lantean power source, all these changes and improvements, which are over ten thousand years old, are worthless," Styx objected. "I don't need to remind you of this."
"Probably the Keepers fear that we have something that can power long-dormant systems and weapons," the first assistant suggested. "If so, they might consider us a threat to other hives."
"In that case, the Keepers would have awakened the queens and informed them of this information," Styx objected. "My hive ship has remained the only one of its size and improved equipment in the galaxy for hundreds of years. If they wanted to destroy it, they would have done so during its active period, not its dormancy."
"Perhaps their people didn't have nuclear weapons before. Analysis of the warhead shows that it is a homemade prototype."
"That's precisely what indicates the plan's imperfection," Styx declared. "Without the hive queen's decision, the Keepers wouldn't have attacked us. And no queen would risk using untested, one-of-a-kind weaponry. Something here doesn't add up."
"And yet, my commander, only one version explains the reason for the attempt to blow us up," the first mate insisted. "Someone from the hives tracked our location, sent their followers there to commit sabotage... Nothing but hive ships can track the position of other hive ships."
In reality, this was far from true.
But the first mate's version seemed logical.
At first glance.
Yes, the idea of using humans to destroy the most dangerous hive ship in the galaxy seemed attractive. This way, the queen of the hive that conceived it would remain beyond suspicion.
However, why now?
Over the past millennia, the Wraiths had destroyed hundreds, if not thousands, of civilizations possessing even more destructive weaponry. Followers could have been among them. And the plan could have been implemented much earlier.
But the move was made precisely now.
The logic of the plan, that some hive, possibly even the Cunning Blade, decided to get rid of them using others' hands, was based on only one assertion. Which, by its nature, could not be an axiom: the location of its hive had been revealed by other Wraiths.
Purely theoretically, the Keepers could have done this – those Wraiths from any hive who maintained the peace of the sleepers. But such actions require great courage from the Keepers. And without coordination with the hive queen, such actions are practically impossible. The adverse consequences are too great – terrorism by one hive against another, even one without a queen, can lead to civil war. More than once, other Wraiths have united against such initiators and completely destroyed them.
Simply to discourage others from acting in the same way. Now, while the hives are in hibernation, the Wraiths have enough food. The explosion of any hive or any other attack will only lead to the awakening of the other Wraiths. And they will be very angry to learn that the human herd is incapable of feeding them.
And then civil strife and a war of all against all will begin.
No one needs this.
It's illogical. While his ship was on the planet, healing from the wounds sustained in a collision with another hive, any fleet of Wraiths wishing to destroy Styx's faction could easily attack them from orbit. It would be simpler and more reliable for victory.
Nuclear weapons carried aboard... This is not the same scale of destruction. A bomb, though a dangerous creation, is still not perfect. If the Wraiths were behind such an attack, they would have advised their followers on how to strengthen it. And how to mine another hive more worthily.
Moreover, to blow up such a hive from the inside, as Styx had at his disposal, it would be better to use several bombs – for a guarantee.
His ship was modernized a little over ten thousand years ago with a battery – a source of zero-point energy from the Lantians. No one, except the members of his hive, knew how much the hull had been strengthened, the internal bulkheads reinforced, the structure, and much more, through the use of such a hybrid of technologies. Yes, they no longer have the battery, and a significant portion of the super-hive's systems have been shut down. And for a long time.
But, again, only the members of his team could confirm or deny this fact. And there were no traitors among them – otherwise, Styx would have discovered them in advance.
Therefore, there were no guarantees that a single prototype bomb could destroy Styx and his faction.
Or was the bet placed on the fact that due to the sabotage attempt, Styx would awaken the other Wraiths throughout the galaxy? A threat of this magnitude should not be ignored – that's the rule.
And, if it turned out that there was no real threat to all the hives, the awakened ones could start hunting him and his hive. Was this the plan?
Unlikely. If other Wraiths were behind the attack, they would understand that after the sabotage attempt, the attacked hive would first go to the planet that dealt the blow. And try to resolve the crisis on their own. In fact, they succeeded.
Only if the threat from the world that produced the atomic bomb was excessive could the attacked hive awaken the others without consequences for itself. But Styx handled it himself.
If Wraiths were involved, they would understand that the population of Ermen could not be perceived as a galactic-scale threat to all Wraiths. Even the idiots from the newer generations of Wraiths would know this.
The data doesn't fit together.
It's a shame the saboteurs couldn't be interrogated.
"I don't believe this was the action of other Wraiths," Styx summarized his conclusions. "There's another reason the saboteurs knew where and when to look for us. Find it."
"Yes, commander."
Although the first mate disagreed with his commander's decision, he was obliged to obey.
"Commander," the new second mate entered the room. "We have received information from the hunting parties regarding the last fugitive."
"Is he destroyed?" Styx clarified.
The commander didn't like what was happening around his hive. Therefore, he decided to do everything to prepare his soldiers for a possible war. And how best to do this, if not by hunting fugitives?
"The fugitive is dead," the second mate confirmed. "But it wasn't our hunters or soldiers who killed him."
"Explain!" Styx demanded.
"His beacon signal was interrupted over the gorge of a mountain river," the second mate reported. "The hunters assumed the fugitive died due to his own carelessness."
"Unlikely, but such cases have happened before," Styx said after thinking. "Do we have data on his actions?"
"Yes, commander," the second mate assured. "I studied them and came to the conclusion that the hunters were mistaken. I think the fugitive is alive, and he was helped to hide from us."
"What gives you the right to say that?" the first mate exclaimed indignantly.
"According to the hunting data, the fugitive covered the last segment of his path before his 'death' at a speed of thirty kilometers per hour."
"Has he ever shown a speed beyond human physiological limits before?" Styx asked with interest.
"Never, commander. I think he was on a ship that we couldn't detect," the second mate suggested.
Styx looked thoughtfully at his first mate.
"The situation is repeating itself," the latter remarked. "Our hunt, the fugitive, the appearance of a cloaked ship, the transmitters stop signaling. This cannot be a mere coincidence."
"Agreed," Styx nodded. "Someone is deliberately freeing our fugitives."
"Yes, but why?" the second mate wondered.
"Probably preparing an army against our hive," Styx surmised after thinking. He then cast a warning glance at the first mate. "We need to speed up the work on researching the recruitment device from Sudaria. And send a team to the planet where the last fugitive disappeared. I want to know who used the gates after we left there. I think we'll find something in common in this data..."
And, immediately after that, as soon as his ship's wounds healed, and the flow of information about the gate's address was sifted to a convenient selection, Styx would go after his enemies.