Trust Once Broken | SGA John Sheppard

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The Wraith were everywhere. Her last count revealed six squadrons in just the immediate vicinity. They were not messing around anymore. Shots blasted from the other end of the long, dark corridor and she dropped down behind a half wall for cover, swearing colorfully under her breath. Sometimes it seemed as though they could see in the dark even better than she could. It was a serious disadvantage. She hated being at the disadvantage.

More shots came, and the short brick wall shuddered beneath her back. Kai Zian found herself contemplating the structural integrity of the masonry these people had constructed hundreds if not thousands of years before. All that remained of a once great civilization were the battle scarred ruins she had been using for shelter the last couple of days.

Kai knew better than to stay in one place for more than a few hours, but there had been extenuating circumstances. She had fallen ill and the prospect of shelter, if only within the ruins, was hard to pass up. A rough cough shook her body and she buried her face in her elbow, trying to contain the noise. Wraiths were predators however and their senses were even better than her own. She could almost guarantee they had heard her. Kai lifted the gun and checked the charge. She swore again. She only had a handful of shots left. If she wanted more supplies she would need to engage one of the squads instead of just running.

It would be dangerous. She wasn't one hundred percent and Wraiths were two if not three times stronger than her on a good day. Sometime over the last few weeks she had picked up this illness that she couldn't seem to shake. It frustrated her to know that after all she had been through, all she was capable of and all she had survived in her life it would be illness that would kill her. It would be an anti-climatic end to a life defined by violence and battle.

More shots hit the wall and bits of gravel and mortar rained down around her. She ducked her head beneath her arm to protect herself from the larger chunks. She fired a couple blind shots over the top of the wall to buy herself time to come up with a plan. It was in a strange, detached way that she noted her hands were trembling as she handled her weapons. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten, and even if she managed to steal supplies from the Wraith she knew she wouldn't find any food stores. She was the only thing on their menu.

The hallway lit up with more shots and she was surprised to note their weren't using their stunners anymore, but live ammunition. It hadn't been long ago when their standing orders were to capture her. She wondered at what point they had decided she was too much of a liability to be allowed to keep running.

An explosion shook the ground beneath her combat boots and their firing ceased. There was the sound of running feet and grunts of fighting. Kai peaked around the corner of her cover to see five people in black uniforms engaging the squad of Wraith.

They were hopelessly outnumbered. Even if they managed to kill this squad there were plenty more prowling through the ruins looking for Kai. She glanced back over her shoulder towards the only exit that wouldn't lead her straight into the path of a dart and her potential freedom. There was a chance these idiots could last long enough to buy her time to escape.

She turned to slip back into the shadows.

"There's too many of them Sir!" one of their people cried.

"I can't see!" another yelled desperately.

"Hold!" a strong male voice bellowed through the darkness.

Kai paused and glanced back over her shoulder. If she was smart, she would let these strangers distract the Wraith and slip away to possibly fight another day. Something made her hesitate however. Maybe it was the knowledge that another day wouldn't actually help her. Whatever the illness that was wracking her body was, she wouldn't last much longer on her own.