Ronan was the first one to catch up to her. “Going anywhere is better than staying put,” he explained.

            Tev’keta didn’t say anything and just kept walking at a brisk pace. In a way, she was glad Ronan had believed her. After the instances with Kalesh, she hadn’t expected so much. He may never like the Wraith, but at least he was learning tolerance. Anyway, it was a start.

            It was around mid-afternoon before Sheppard insisted on a break and some food. Tev’keta remained edgy the entire time, worrying about Kalesh and anxious to reach the Al’Terran outpost. She didn’t use any of her power, but it was there at the edge of her mind, calling to her. Memories resurfaced more often as the day wore on, as well. Sometimes they were large chunks spanning months, or as small as a few minutes. Occasionally, an earlier set of memories was linked to later ones by a piece, but that wasn’t often. The worst part of it was at night when her mind relaxed. It was even scarier than waking up from a forgotten nightmare.

            Early on the second day, Tev’keta went off by herself for a few minutes after another startling memory. After a couple minutes, she found herself in a small clearing bordered by tall rocks. For some reason it was more pleasant and bright here than back with the others. She shrugged off the difference, however, and fingered the designs on the nearest stone. The simple motion helped her to calm her mind and very slowly the dreams and images began to fade away.

            Obviously she had blocked decades of memories and knowledge for some reason and had a trigger set in place. She already knew that a Wraith fleet was that trigger, but why was she in stasis for 10,000 years? With the exception of last night, all of the flashes were answers to her simple questions, not the burning ones. It might be so she wouldn’t care herself but it still didn’t—

            The faintest crack of a twig caught Tev’keta’s attention and she whirled around. It couldn’t be Kalesh; he was too good and would never sneak up on her. Her heart pounded fearfully against her chest; even the birds had ceased singing, something they rarely did. Another minute sound—pebbles rubbing against a larger rock—yanked Tev’keta’s head to the right. Wraith. The word whispered poison into her mind.

            A screech and a dark shadow fell over Tev’keta and she instantly rolled out of the way. It wasn’t too soon for a clawed hand grasped her ankle. Kicking mainly out of reflex, Tev’keta screamed. Weather it was her foot or the sudden lout shriek the grasp on her foot vanished and she scrambled to her feet and ran.

            She had barely taken five steps when she was wrenched around savagely. Another scream erupted from Tev’keta’s lips, this one of pain as her shoulder popped loud enough for even her ears to hear. Fear and adrenaline weren’t enough to make her try and break free and she stared wide-eyed at the leering face just inches from her own. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t look away from the Wraith’s eyes. Kalesh, where are you? She wondered desperately and winced as the Wraith’s hand drew back.

            A screech even more terrifying erupted above them, causing both to glance up. Another black-clad Wraith leaped from the top of the nearest rock and landed square on top of the first Wraith, breaking the latter’s hold…Kalesh.

            Gasping in pain, Tev’keta gripped her shoulder and trotted away from the two, though she longed to look back. In a way, she knew Kalesh was winning. He had caught the Wraith off guard; a fact that the Wraith wouldn’t be able to recover from in time. All she could do now was limp a safe distance away and wait.

            Colonel Sheppard’s group burst through the trees ahead of her. “Stop,” Tev’keta insisted, gritting her teeth. “Do not interfere. Kalesh needs to feed and can’t have you distracting him.”

            Glancing up at another unworldly shriek, Sheppard seemed to agree and stayed where he was. “What happened? Are you hurt?”

            As soon as Tev’keta nodded, Dr. Beckett shoved through the others in his way. Very gently he touched Tev’keta’s shoulder, the small movement making her whimper. “Well, it’s just a dislocated shoulder. This I can take care of in a jiffy.” His hands jerked upwards without warning.

            Caught off guard, all Tev’keta could do was gasp as she felt a sharp “pop”. Instantly, the pain went away and she smiled gratefully. “Thank you, Dr. Beckett…” Her voice trailed off in the absolute silence not because of the lack of noise but of a realization that struck her. “Well, we don’t have to walk any farther after all,” she announced and stood up to head back to the clearing.

            There was no sign of the dead Wraith, but Kalesh was there, glancing curiously at one of the stones. When Tev’keta approached, however, his head snapped up and the rock was instantly forgotten. “‘Keta, are you unharmed?” He inquired, taking her head in his hands.

            Blushing at Kalesh’s very emotional reaction, Tev’keta put a hand on his arm in reassurance. “I am now, Kalesh. Dr. Beckett had helped me.” She remained that way with him for a few seconds before staring at the rock behind him. “What’s that?”

            While Kalesh described how he had found it, Tev’keta studied the suddenly protruding electrical device. There were six buttons in all, separated into two columns of three; with writing on them she thought she should understand. McKay got a chance to peek over and all but jumped out of his skin in happiness. “Don’t you realize what this is?” When no one responded, McKay rolled his eyes and began searching the ground nearby. Almost immediately his foot exposed metal and soon Sheppard began helping him. Before long, they had exposed a ring nearly eight feet in diameter.

            “Well I’ll be,” Sheppard whistled in amazement. “I never thought I’d see one of these things out here.”

            “The Ancients made the rings, so of course they’d be out here.” McKay reached over and tapped a series of buttons…nothing happened. “Oh, come on!”

            “Maybe the Goa’uld codes don’t work here, Rodney,” Sheppard jibed.

            Once again, Tev’keta found herself submerged in memory, but this time some information came with it. “Everybody stand in the Rings,” she suddenly exclaimed. “I know how to get us down.” It took only a few seconds for the group to get inside—Kalesh ironically ending up next to Ronan—and Tev’keta pushed different buttons entirely before joining them. Her world eclipsed into white…

            …Before fading into pitch black. Lights activated on top of Sheppard’s, Teyla’s, and Ronan’s weapons and the beams of light fell on a small room covered in dust. Tev’keta bit her lip and took a few hesitant steps forward until her feet touched the metal. Something was wrong about the place and she froze.

            A gentle hand rested on her shoulder. “Do not be afraid, ‘Keta.” Kalesh murmured, although his voice was altered a little as well. “It is only to keep others from entering. You were the first one to step across, if you walk past it, the effect will deactivate.”

“Are you sure?” Tev’keta whispered, fear eating at her stomach.

            “Yes.”

            Taking a deep breath and letting it out again in a sigh, Tev’keta made herself walk forward, convincing herself that she would not crumple under the fear. She felt as if she was moving in slow motion; as if the air had become semi-solid. Just when she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, the pressure vanished and lights came on in the outpost…she had only taken four steps.

            While Sheppard’s team recovered, Kalesh began glancing around, but refrained from touching. Tev’keta remembered that he had received a few nasty jolts when he had first touched items where he’d found her. Well, I don’t think it would mind if I touched anything. Tentatively, Tev’keta reached out towards one of the nearer consoles.

            McKay rushed over to stop her. “No, no, no, no! Don’t touch it—”

            “—It’s working,” Tev’keta interrupted as the console lit up. She backed up in astonishment as several screens appeared flashing different information in Al’Terran. It was both beautiful and frightening at the same time. They all watched the display silently for a moment.

            “John, Rodney, come in please. Teyla, Ronan?” The communicator on three of the four’s vests sliced through the silence. “Sheppard, do you copy?”

            “Yes, Elizabeth, we’re here,” Sheppard grumbled with a sigh after he recovered.

            “Are you all right?”

            “No, I’m not, thanks for asking,” McKay retorted. “We’re not even near the gate for starters.”

            Tev’keta went a ways away while Sheppard and the others explained what happened. She absently rubbed her shoulder where some soreness remained, glancing casually at the wall designs. It all seemed familiar and comforting to her and for once she felt at home. True, she missed her cozy room on the hiveship, but her reawakening mind found this quite enjoyable. Nothing new was forthcoming, so she guessed it would take a while before they got out of there.

            Her guess was proven correct when hour after hour stretched by without a solution from McKay. Tev’keta had given up on trying to help because nothing would make sense and McKay would demand a detailed explanation for everything she did. Sheppard, Ronan, and Teyla were really the only ones to go outside; they couldn’t have the Wraith getting too close, or so Sheppard said. On the fifth trip returning to the surface, Ronan stayed behind.

            Trying to get some sleep, Tev’keta felt Kalesh’s hand stroke her hair fondly for a while before he went some distance away. Another noise reached her ears and soon Ronan’s gruff voice spoke, “Why do you do it? Why take care of her when there’s better things for you to do?”

            Kalesh was quiet for a while, as if he was wondering whether or not this was a trap. Apparently he decided it was an honest enough question. “My kind are long-lived; and as such have few if any children. Those few of our own are regarded almost as high a rank as the queens and are fiercely guarded.” Was that a note of tenderness in his voice? “You may have noticed that we take no human children when we cull. Any child we accidentally capture is released, for all Wraith have a weakness for them no matter what race.”

            “So when you found her—”

            “—I could not resist.” Now Tev’keta was sure his voice was softer. “In a way, ‘Keta has shown me how you humans see us. Years ago, I swore never to take another human’s life unless I had absolutely no other choice.”

            There was silence for a while and Tev’keta began to fall asleep. “Her name, does it mean anything?”

            “‘Tev’keta’…it means ‘Star-Child’.”

            Sleep claimed Tev’keta as she smiled, feeling like tomorrow would be changed to the better.

            Her sleep was anything but peaceful, though she never woke. Events churned restlessly through her mind, most terrifying her. It was as if the memories she’d had were merely a trickle and now the dam was broken. The flood of information threatened to overwhelm her…

            Experiment 532 sat up with a gasp, trying to remember where she was.

            Tev’keta shook her head fiercely: ‘Experiment 532’was her old self, not herself now. Even if she were back to normal, she would always think of herself as Tev’keta. Kalesh, being the first one who had treated her normally, had given her a real name; and she wasn’t about to forget it. But how do I take care of the Wraith? The answer that came to mind wasn’t the one she expected, but it didn’t surprise her now.

            Sheppard’s people and Kalesh were arguing when Tev’keta entered the monitoring room. “….care if she can’t control what she knows, but if we let her look, she may—”

            “NO! Kalesh barked, interrupting McKay and more furious than Tev’keta had ever seen him. “I will not allow you to push ‘Keta. She has found her situation difficult enough without you to make it worse.”

            “But what if she remembered something in her sleep?” Sheppard intervened, his hand straying to his weapon faced with an enraged Wraith.

            “I have, Sheppard,” Tev’keta replied, her cool voice causing all to jerk her way. “Actually, I remember everything now.” She knew her appearance had altered—not as much as look as posture—judging by the surprised stares they gave her.

            Kalesh took several uncertain steps towards her. “‘Keta?”

            “I’m still her, Kalesh,” she reassured, his anxious tone making her smile a little. “I didn’t have a name before and even if I did, I would still go by the name you gave me.”

            “Excuse me, but you didn’t have a name? How’s that possible?” Sheppard inquired previous anger forgotten.

            Tev’keta sighed and found a place to sit down. Once the others were comfortable, she bit her lip and began. “Well, not a name you would consider as such. Before Kalesh woke me, I was dubbed ‘Experiment 532’ by the Ancients. I am a weapon crated during the war with the Wraith.”

            Sheppard’s team’s various reactions were drowned out by McKay’s, “Wait a second: You were ‘created’? How’s that even possible?”

            “It was a technique recently discovered by Ancient scientists and I was their first success. On hindsight, I agree that it probably was immoral, but they were desperate for an advantage and they never thought I would become an individual.” Tev’keta paused to think of a simple way to continue. “To put it in terms you can understand, I’m like a mostly ascended Ancient and partly compromised of nanobites.”

            “That would certainly explain why that medication I looked at had millions of them,” Beckett responded thoughtfully.

            “Yes. Whenever I used a large part of my power, it killed a certain amount of the nanites that kept me alive. The scientist who first created me couldn’t find a way around that.

            “I am sure that you are all wondering why I didn’t remember before hand,” Tev’keta glanced up at Kalesh, who hadn’t said a word. At his encouraging nod, she continued. “Well, around two months before the end of the war, I was sent to destroy a crippled Wraith hiveship on a nearby planet. I saw no reason to object, and so I went. All I can say is that by the time most of the ship was destroyed, I realized that I was killing innocents as well. I broke off what I was doing and returned to Atlantis. That was when the Ancient Council ruled that I was qualified enough to be called a sentient being and suspended the experiments. I chose this fate compared to being deactivated, though I never expected to be woken at all.”

            “So you could take care of our Wraith problem?”

            Tev’keta bit her lip again. “Maybe, Sheppard. It would be a suicidal mission, though.” Even now, she knew that the power she would need would require too much energy to restore it; and she would have to be on the hiveship’s bridge when she did it. “There are no drones here either,” she added.

            All five of them began badgering her at once, demanding answers to questions she couldn’t hear. Glaring fiercely, she shoved past them and ringed herself to the surface. Once there, she simply walked to the center of the stone circle and tilted her head back to watch the stars. There was only one choice, really. The mind-blocker would only work for so long and once it failed, they would be found once again. She couldn’t go back either, for Sheppard and his team would only stop her. Kalesh couldn’t know, though she desperately needed his advice right now.

            With his usual uncanny timing, Kalesh appeared inside the rings and came beside her. “You intend to do it,” he said without preamble.

            “There isn’t a choice, Kalesh. If Sheppard and his team can’t return to Atlantis, then their efforts would have been in vain.”

            “I take it you need to be inside the main hiveship to destroy the fleet?” Kalesh sighed at Tev’keta’s silent “yes.” “You will never be able to reach the hiveship if you attempt to do so by yourself. I will go with you.”

            “No! No, absolutely not!” Tev’keta cried, whirling around to face him. “Kalesh, if you come, you will die as well! You may be the only Wraith in the galaxy who doesn’t think we humans are food. No, you can’t!”

            “I have made up my mind, ‘Keta. Ever since I made my vow, I have hoped to die in a way that would not be considered evil. This is my chance.”

            Tev’keta shook her head fiercely, still unwilling to put him in danger. “This is a task I can easily do by myself. Father, please don’t come with me.”

            A look of surprise mixed with love and a strong relief passed freely over Kalesh’s face. His hands rested on her shoulders. “I have waited a long time to hear you call me that,” his voice had grown incredibly soft and was barely audible. “Believe me, there is no greater honor or gift than you calling me Father.” Kalesh tilted Tev’keta’s head forward and rested his face in her hair. “I am coming whether you agree with me or not.”

            Fighting back tears, Tev’keta nodded and tore off a strip of her shirt to lay in the rings. As soon as the last ring had gone, Tev’keta took off at a run, following Kalesh towards the Stargate. She hated leaving the others like that, but it was clear that her plan was the only option. Goodbye Sheppard, Ronan, Teyla, Beckett, and McKay, she thought sadly as she stepped into the blackness underneath the trees. I hope you make it back to Atlantis.

            Hours later, Tev’keta found herself next to Kalesh’s stolen dart inside the Wraith hiveship. It hadn’t been easy finding one not in use, but Kalesh had thought that the Wraith he had fed on had to have come in one, seeing as they were such a long ways from the gate. He had been right and had told her to start running so when he returned her to her physical form, the other Wraith would think he had chased her and that she was his prisoner. It had worked so far and now Tev’keta forced herself to control her instincts. So many Wraith in close proximity tested her to the limit…she didn’t have a lot of time to make it to the bridge.

            Kalesh grabbed her arms roughly—though Tev’keta knew he hated acting this way towards her—and began leading her through a maze of hallways, not speaking to her like a normal Wraith would. Tev’keta complimented his charade by acting the terrified human, whimpering and protesting every step of the way until she almost believed herself. They both knew what needed to be done and didn’t have to talk about it.

            The hive’s queen turned around angrily when Kalesh entered the bridge. “Who is this human?” She hissed, her voice worse than anything Kalesh had ever uttered.

            “We found her ten miles from the Stargate,” Kalesh replied just as silkily, falling once again into his role as fierce Wraith. “She possesses the ability to resist our feeding. I thought you would like to speak to her.”  His hand shifted on her arm.

            Tev’keta felt the signal and readied herself. He had said that the first thing the Queen would do was to overpower her mind. That wasn’t a problem for her and resisting the Queen would cost her nothing, though the shock on the Queen’s face would be worth it…it was. Tev’keta scowled and ignored the command to kneel while sending the power the Queen had used rebounding across the link back into the Queen’s own mind; forcing her onto her knees. “You have overstepped your boundaries, Wraith,” Tev’keta said, taking her arms from Kalesh’s hold and keeping the other Wraith back. “Now I shall destroy you and your fleet like I was programmed to do, though I do it not for myself.” With those words, she sent her power streaming into the main systems of the ship and unleashed it in a blast of white light, the effects streaming down to the Wraith on the planet.

            Just before the white light consumed her, Tev’keta felt a proud hand on her shoulder. “Well done, Tev’keta: my Star-Child.”