(Untold Told) The Good Shepards Part 4

The familiar swirl of the Stargate disengaging echoes in Colonel Shepard's mind like eternal crashing waves breaking against a rock sea wall.  No way back.  Were he able to return to the surface and secure the gate there remains the problem of when it would matter to dial, if it would ever matter.
He has no guarantee that any such flare as the one that sent him here could mean the road home.

In the absence of his shimmering lifeline to speak more with friends, Shepard's head swims and he sits back right there on the deck.  He covers his eyes with his hands and in that moment another's eyes open and share in taking a deep breath.

The queen looks upon her subjects who have woken her.
Her advisor leans in to speak quietly.

WRAITH:  I have hidden what you have 

done from the rest of the hive.

We are all that know.

She returns his clandestine fidelity and reaches a hand into his chest.  She revels at the betrayal in his eyes.  Such expectation for a dignified eternity and so little that could be taken.  That alone was part of the treachery.  The advisor felt himself slip away far quicker than the oldest human he had ever encountered.  The queen discovered, long ago now, that to feed on Wraith filled nothing, but added to the emptiness that became a new hunger such as no other Wraith had ever known.

She finished with the advisor.

QUEEN:  I may feed on Wraith.

Obey me or perish.

The half dozen drones or so stand around in confusion and for their hesitation the queen rushes one who allows itself to be pushed to the ground and she begins to feed on him as well.  As if dumb children, the other drones look on, incapable of expression, and without understanding for the unthinkable.  She is the queen.  They can neither resist nor obey.

She leaves the chamber and closes it behind her.  There the queen seals away her victims as she finds other Wraith to march out of the hive.  There is a Stargate to find.

JOHN:  Well... at least everyone got off the hive alive.

COMMANDER:  You're not the only one who's stranded.

What will be their next move?

JOHN:  Without leadership it's a little hard to say.

But you are the nearest FTL capable ship.

If they can't make good on the Stargate

then they might come for the Normandy.

COMMANDER:  Break orbit.

The colonel rises to his feet.

JOHN:  Commander.  I respect you want to protect
your ship.  But I would like to impose on you
for one more trip down to the surface.
You can leave me there.

COMMANDER:  That's suicide, colonel.
You're welcome to come along with us.

JOHN:  What's suicide is letting things stand
as they are.  Earth was already building a
fleet in my time.  And it looks like that's
been forgotten.  I want to know why.

EDI:  I have no record of Stargates or human
exploration other than what proceeded
shortly before the war of first contact.

JOHN:  We beat the Goa'ulds, found our way
to Atlantis and discovered the Wraith.
I'm responsible for unleashing them.

COMMANDER:  Weren't these operations secret?

JOHN:  Yeah, they were.

GARRUS:  Then it appears you lost, colonel.
No one left to tell the tale.

EDI:  I'm sorry to say, but he may be right.

GRUNT:  If they fell it was honorably.

JOHN:  But humans were all over the Milk Way.
Someone has to remember.

COMMANDER:  We encountered the Reapers.
They aren't invulnerable, but dangerous.
We nearly lost to them because of their
ability to undermine our defenses.
We're out here looking for survivors.

JOHN:  What could they have to do with this?

COMMANDER:  Maybe nothing.  But they're in the
forefront of everybody's mind as the biggest
threat the galaxy has ever seen.  If anyone
could topple the Stargates it was them.

GARRUS:  Personally, I don't like the idea of there
being some other worse bad guy out there.

JOKER:  Commander, we got some new
activity on the surface.

Joker brings up an image on the monitors.

JOHN:  It's the DHD.  If they can power 

it up they'll try to dial out.

JOKER:  Well they're hooking up cables

to it from that hive thing.

COMMANDER:  Ready weapons.

JOKER:  Strike craft incoming.

JOHN:  If you destroy that Stargate we'll

all lose our only chance to save Pegasus.

The war can still be won or lost here.

COMMANDER:  What do you suggest?

JOHN:  I'm up to fighting them for it.

That gate is the key.  

JOKER:  Those darts are going to be

a real problem for us.

GARRUS:  And we can't wait around for

your window of opportunity.

EDI:  Then we make one.

COMMANDER:  How?

EDI:  We could attempt to simulate the requisite 

solar flare with our mass effect drive.

JOKER:  We already released our static charge

into the magnetic field of the planet.

EDI:  Then we will have to go to FTL, again,

and come back after we build up a charge.

GRUNT:  The Wraith won't wait.

COMMANDER:  Do you really think you can warn 

everyone about the Reapers?  Stop the invasion of Earth?

JOHN:  I'm staking my life on it.

COMMANDER:  I'm taking a team to the surface 

to secure the gate.  Take Normandy out.

Have EDI calculate a match for the 

previous readings on the Stargate.

GARRUS:  Try to get some of those darts to follow you.

JOKER:  Sure thing.  You want a side of you can 

walk home if we all get eaten?

COMMANDER:  Cover us on our way in.

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