"Where is he?" Koschei roared, rapidly looking around. "He promised to arrive as soon as possible!"
"Are you sure it's appropriate for you to ask such questions?" Kirik inquired, throwing a chain structure under the wraith's feet.
"We have an agreement with him!" the ancient wraith reminded.
"Yes, and according to it, you should be in chains, if you don't remember," the former fugitive pointed a stunner at the wraith. "Choose, either you put them on yourself, or I will, but on your insensible body."
"Or else," the wraith snarled, "I'll rush at you now and break your neck..."
With a loud bang, a puff of dirt erupted under the wraith's feet.
"I wouldn't advise it," Kirik said, nodding towards the emptiness of the surrounding forest. "You don't know where the camouflaged 'jumper' is. And there's a pilot with an Ancient pulse pistol, plus a couple of Atosians with assault rifles. Even though you've eaten now, you won't survive a burst of explosive rounds. Although, you know, try it," the fugitive put the wraith's pistol back in its holster and drew a firearm dangling from his belt behind him. "I loaded incendiary rounds here. I really want to test how they work on wraiths."
Koschei hissed, showing his irritation.
"You have no honor, humans!" he declared, but meanwhile, he bent down and picked up the chain. "You treat me improperly!"
"First, latch them onto your legs," Kirik reminded. "Then, without straightening up, onto your arms."
"Unlike you humans, I don't forget what I promised," the wraith declared, performing the procedure.
In the sunset light of Proculus, his bestial eyes with vertical pupils looked terrifying. And his hair, whipped up by a strong gust of wind, gave him a disheveled appearance.
The wraith easily determined the source of the wind and looked almost unerringly at the spot where, after a couple of seconds, the "jumper" that had just landed in the clearing appeared. Almost immediately, next to him, a second one emerged from under camouflage.
Stasis pods began to slide out of the cargo bays of each ship. Six of them, and each was accompanied by a person: Teyla, Alvar, and Mikhail came from the last arrived ship, and two more armed Atosians and one Ancient – from the first.
"Finally!" Koschei roared, seeing Mikhail approach Kirik with a stasis pod and head towards him. "I've been asking for a meeting for several days!"
"And you could have conveyed everything you were interested in to Kirik," Mikhail stated the obvious. "Or do you think I have nothing else to do but listen to your complaints about your living conditions?"
"What did I do to deserve such treatment on the battleship?" Koschei asked. "I helped you! And you knocked me out, kept me in a solitary cell, transported me to Atlantis..."
"And we also gave you the opportunity to stretch your arms and legs, hunt fifty people," Mikhail finished. "Your complexion has even gotten healthier. So, stop whining and go do your job while I talk to these two!"
"It will be better for everyone if I move from the cell to normal apartments," Koschei growled. "We are cooperating, I am no longer a prisoner here!"
Mikhail, approaching the pair of bodies lying in the center of the clearing, winced. Kirik smiled understandingly. It was for this reason that he sat on the edge of the clearing.
"Did they soil themselves?" he asked the wraith.
"You said to take them alive," the wraith exhaled, approaching the first stasis chamber. "I broke their spines. Naturally, all the muscles in their bodies below the cervical spine relaxed. They soiled themselves and urinated. But this way they would have lived until any time you deigned to appear. If I started feeding on them, I might not have stopped. Or taken too much. And then they would have died prematurely. You need to be more precise in your desires."
"You're quite the humanitarian," Mikhail chuckled.
"And next time, it's better to take their weapons away," the wraith added. "I was badly injured during the hunt. Or you can give me stunners. They won't hurt you anyway."
"Get to work, don't give advice," Mikhail said.
"That's what I'm getting at," the wraith retorted. "I was badly injured during the hunt! A lot of energy was spent healing the wounds! I won't be able to bring six back to life! I need more people!"
He glanced at those present, but they took a synchronized step back, readying their weapons.
"If even one of them doesn't regain their youth, I'll shoot you in the head," Mikhail promised, sitting down on a long-fallen tree next to the injured bodies. "Besides, you'll have two 'snacks' after I'm done with them."
"As you wish," the wraith replied, clearly without much joy, looking at the Ancient pilot. "Open the capsule, I'm ready to revive your comrade."
As soon as the transparent lid lifted, he plunged his hand into the chest of one of the crew members of the "Aurora" with an animalistic roar. A hoarse cry of pain and a satisfied roar of the wraith were heard.
Kirik had seen crew members revived more than once, so he gestured to Alvar, indicating he wanted to talk to Mikhail, and left his post. The Ermen would keep an eye on the wraith no worse than he would.
"...don't pretend," he heard Mikhail's voice, leaning over a motionless man with gray hair. "The story about your devices would have played its part only if we didn't have samples of Jenai technology. And we do. As well as the fact that this one here," he nodded at a young, physically strong man with a frenzied gaze lying next to the gray-haired one, "is a Jenai agent. Want me to tell you how it all happened?"
"I'm not going to talk to an accomplice of the wraiths!" the gray-haired man, whom Mikhail called "Leikos," said proudly.
"We are similar in some ways, Chancellor," the leader of the Atlantis inhabitants chuckled. "For our people, we will go to any lengths. So, here's the story. I've even gained some experience in this lately... Pyro said that before our arrival on Taranis, you opened your gates several times and sent groups for reconnaissance. I think on one of the worlds you encountered Jenai agents. And, knowing your lack of foresight, your diplomats were probably telling everyone about the Ancient technologies at your outpost. As a result, the Jenai approached you, promising many benefits in exchange for studying the outpost's technologies. You agreed. They brought their scientists, brought their devices, and began to destroy what had been perfectly preserved for ten thousand years. And then we arrived. And you urgently hid the Jenai among your people, passing them off as your guards and scientists. I couldn't understand for a long time how your guards had weapons, while the rest of the population had no idea what a tractor was. And you have no factories, no workshops. You haven't even discovered gunpowder yet. And yet you have firearms... Well, when Pyro told me that after the gates closed, unknown people were breaking in, and you didn't do it yourself, but sent a person who supposedly came from a distant village, but knew best how to train your guard, everything became clear."
"If everything is clear to you, then just kill us," Leikos sniffled. "I would do it again. And again! Everything for my people!"
"You're a fool, former Chancellor," Mikhail sighed. "No one would have helped you with anything except us. The Jenai hardly understand what Ancient technologies are. And they don't handle them well. You were probably promised protection, help, and all that. But, I think, they would have just taken everything from you at a bargain price, and then installed a puppet in your place."
"You did the same thing!"
"Yes, only your people are truly developing," Mikhail said. "We create fertilizers for them, the Atosians teach them to plant various crops. Soon we will show you how to build stone buildings. In a little while, cities of concrete will appear on your planet, which will stand for thousands of years! Roads will appear! And what have the Jenai given you all this time? They haven't even shown you how to make a simple cart! They only took what they needed!"
"We were promised a place in the confederation!" the Chancellor exclaimed, his eyes glistening with tears.
"You're carrion," Mikhail kicked the young man lightly in the side. "Wouldn't you tell the former Chancellor that your confederation fell apart a thousand years ago? Or perhaps you told him how you stole data from an advanced civilization that was part of this very confederation in the past, and then set wraiths on them? Or perhaps you told him about your hundreds of agents on many worlds who steal technologies? About the atomic bombs you are creating? Why are you silent, spy? Did your tongue get bitten off?" Mikhail leaned over the young prisoner, forcefully pressed his thumb and forefinger on his teeth directly through his cheeks, and the man, albeit reluctantly, opened his mouth. "No, it wasn't bitten off. You want to live, carrion. Well, let's talk to you now."
"My name is..." the man began, but Mikhail slapped him lightly.
"I'm not interested in your name," he said. "First, I will ask the questions I am interested in. Then you will tell me the rest. And only in that order. Do you understand me?"
"Yes," the man, no longer formidable, nodded, hearing another wild roar from the wraith. "Only, please, don't give me to him..."
"It depends on what you tell me," Mikhail said. "If you hide anything, blame yourself. Understood?"
The prisoner nodded his head.
"So, what was wrong in my story to the former Chancellor?" Mikhail asked.
The wraith roared.
"It's all true," the man replied, swallowing a lump in his throat. "They came to Manaria. Our people are there. And the government is also cooperating with us. They have orders – to inform us of everything that is of interest. Of new technologies, of races seeking patrons..."
"And of those who can be conquered?" Mikhail clarified.
"Yes," he swallowed saliva in his throat again. "We were supposed to study the technology that was on Taranis and report the results to the outpost, which is used by spies for resupply and receiving orders."
"Nice," Mikhail assessed. "What awaited the Taranianans in case of an alliance with you?"
"Men would be mobilized into the army and sent on the most brutal campaigns so that the weak would die, and the strong... The Jenai only need strong men. Women work in the fields and bear children."
"Jenai children?"
"Yes. That's why other races are needed in the Confederation – to help the Jenai become stronger."
"And how often does this happen?"
"Always," the former Chancellor, the gray-haired man, shrieked next to the prisoner.
"What did you manage to tell about Taranis?" Mikhail asked.
"Only general information. They wanted to get the generator and dismantle the shields, but the Chancellor started to suspect something. Therefore, we planned to first take the scientists away from Taranis, and then replace him and put our puppet in charge. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to dismantle the devices."
"Why do you need dismantling?" Kirik asked. "Why not just study and make your own analogues? You have an army, so you must have resources."
The wraith roared triumphantly again.
Kirik looked in its direction. Judging by the fact that people in white uniforms were visible in the twilight, everything was happening as planned.
But, the question is, why is Koschei roaring as if he has found prey? He doesn't feed on them, but rather gives his energy to revive the Ancients. What triumph can come from this?
Strange people. Most likely, they will never understand wraiths. And is it necessary to do anything with them other than exterminate them?
"I don't know," the frightened prisoner whispered. "They don't inform me of such details. I was told to do exactly that."
"Who gave the order?"
"Commander Cowan. He is the head of the Jenai."
"The activation of the gates that occurred, was that your soldiers?"
"Yes, when we didn't return and didn't make contact, Commander Koli's soldiers went after us. A special forces battalion of Cowan's guard. He intervenes when special operations need to be carried out."
Kirik noticed Mikhail wince.
"Do you know him?" he asked the Lantian.
"In a way," the latter replied. "A ruthless and extremely intelligent commander. He will go to any lengths for his goals."
"Y-yes, that's him," the prisoner confirmed. "He is quite popular among our people. They say he will be the next ruler after Cowan dies. Cowan knows this too, but he's afraid of Koli."
"It's strange that he's still alive then," Kirik said. "Why keep a potential enemy alive?"
"You have no idea how I regret that Chaya put a redirection defense instead of a shield to scatter them against it," Mikhail said. "Koli... He's such a snake."
"I asked the Jenai," Kirik explained. Mikhail, realizing this, waved his hand. It seemed he was thinking about something of his own.
"Koli has many supporters who will rebel if he disappears on a mission assigned to him by Cowan," the Jenai said. "Koli is too cunning and intelligent to die on a mission. Therefore, everyone knows who will be blamed for his death if it happens."
"And what will happen then?" Mikhail asked. "An uprising?"
"Most likely, but not immediately. Koli's supporters are numerous, but they are also Jenai. And they understand that a split within our society only benefits the enemies of the nation," the spy revealed. "So they won't start a civil war. But they will be dissatisfied, of course..."
"Rather weak concerns for Cowan," Kirik chuckled.
"Koli's supporters can leave through the gates," the prisoner said. "And take with them military detachments that are unconditionally loyal to them. No one knows how many soldiers and officers loyal to Koli are in command. And the assumption that they won't attack is just an assumption... The reality could be different."
"Do you know about the Ermen?" Mikhail asked.
"Traitors who envy us," he said. "When the wraiths destroyed them, Cowan announced that they got what they deserved for betraying the Jenai Confederation. Squads were sent to evacuate as much equipment as possible that could be preserved. But after some time, no one returned from there."
"Were squads sent there?"
"Yes, but they all ended up on other planets. Then I returned to Taranis – just before you arrived, and I don't know what happened later."
"Will more squads try to get to Taranis?"
"After two weeks of attempts, they will likely stop," he said after thinking. "They told me about many operations at the outpost. The special forces battalion is needed in many places..."
"Where else are operations taking place?"
"I don't know," the prisoner coughed. "My mission was Taranis. But I heard that on some planets they have started cultivating our crops. They are poor, they thought they could deceive us..."
"And what will the Jenai do?" Mikhail became interested.
"First, they will intimidate. If that doesn't work, they will send Koli's battalion to deal with them."
"And if they can't get to the planet immediately, like it was with Taranis?" the Lantian asked.
"They will try for some time, then that's it," the prisoner answered somewhat uncertainly. "Please, heal me... My head hurts."
"That's because it's starting to think," Mikhail said, nodding towards the Chancellor lying nearby. "Take an example from Leikos. He just lost consciousness when he realized what a fool he was. And what awaited his people."
"You promised me my life," the Jenai said, swallowing, his lips trembling. "I told you everything I know!"
"No, not everything," Mikhail chuckled. "So far, you've only answered questions. And even then – not all of them. For example, you're not telling me why you need Ancient technologies. They are very different from yours. You can't understand or integrate them into your own. So why?"
"I don't know," the spy stammered. "They don't tell me such things."
"And you don't ask questions?"
"No, of course not. I'm a soldier!"
"A good soldier," Kirik winced. And not even from the smell. The very sight of this man disgusted him.
"Do you know Ladon Radim?" Mikhail asked.
"Yes, I know," the prisoner said, clearly surprised. "He is one of the leading Jenai scientists."
"How loyal is he to Cowan?"
"Absolutely!" the surprised Jenai seemed not to suspect that there could be a completely different answer. "Scientists are selflessly devoted to the ideas of the Jenai people! To the last! They are ready to sacrifice themselves for us to achieve our goals!"
And again, Koschei is rampaging...
Should I shoot him in the leg?
"And what do you want, people of the Jenai?" Mikhail asked insinuatingly. "Peace throughout the galaxy?"
"To rule," the prisoner licked his lips. "Cowan says that we are destined to rule the entire galaxy. And the peoples who inhabit it."
"And why does he think so?"
"Because we are the most developed race living."
"It's bad to be a fuhrer with an uncontrollable sense of self-importance," Mikhail sighed. "Don't you want to tell me anything else?"
"I would like to, but I don't know anything else," the Jenai admitted. "Please, save me..."
"Certainly," Mikhail assured him. "And you don't want to share the address of the planet where the Jenai outpost is located?"
"Y-yes, of course," the Jenai said. "Only... I can't draw the symbols."
"Don't worry so much," Mikhail asked him, taking his handheld device out of his pocket. "Everything is provided for. Or do you think the address substitution on Taranis was done so that you would die here just like that? So, what's the first symbol?"
He turned the device's monitor to the Jenai.
"The third in the top row," he said. "Now the sixth in the second. The first in the third. The first in the fourth. The fifth in the fifth. The second in the sixth."
"Well done," Mikhail praised, saving the address in the device's memory. "Let's continue. What other addresses do you know?"
"Not that many..."
Even Kirik understood that the Jenai was starting to play coy.
"It's not good to deceive," Mikhail threatened with his finger. "I can save your life."
"And you'll let me go?" the Jenai chuckled bitterly. "I can hear what you're doing. Your wraith hunted us. Took our life force. For what? Tell me, I'm a corpse anyway..."
"And you're a smart guy," Mikhail praised. "You see, my friend. I have almost two and a half hundred Ancients who spent ten thousand years in stasis. And their bodies are very old... And they want to live. Wraiths can not only suck life but also transfer it to others. Which we use to revive our people."
"Oh, Ancestors," the prisoner breathed heavily. "So... the Ancients have returned?"
"You could say that," Mikhail smiled. "And you, you fool, didn't believe me when I said I came from Atlantis?"
"I believed you," he admitted. "But... you could have found the city of the Ancestors. Or deceived us to get the outpost on Taranis..."
"So you didn't believe me," Mikhail concluded. "And you didn't believe me because you yourself lie left and right. I think you even pretend to be heirs of the Ancients sometimes. Oh, I see your eyes darting away. So it's true, you pretend. So, shall we continue our conversation?"
"I've told you what I know," the Jenai turned his head with great difficulty.
"But I haven't finished the interrogation yet," Mikhail reminded. "So, let's find out something more interesting," he got distracted by his scanner again and showed the screen to the man. "Have you ever seen this?"
"No," he replied. Too quickly, in Kirik's opinion.
"That's the wrong answer," Mikhail concluded. "You have a ZPM in storage. Most likely discharged, if I recall correctly. But, who knows, right? Let's continue. Do you know of a planet with a derelict Wraith facility? You were supposed to send a team there that never returned. Or if they did, they told many terrible things. About how they saw the most terrifying things. Wraiths all around, scenes from the past..."
Kirik frowned. What was this question even about?
"I don't know anything like that."
"Lying again. Moving on. A planet with a monarchical system of government. There are three sisters, one of whom is very young. To confirm their right to rule, they go to ancient ruins where the spirits of their ancestors must confirm or reject them. Does that sound familiar?"
"No," even Kirik now understood that the Jenai was lying. But... why had he been so talkative at first, and now was refusing to answer?
"We continue. Tyrus didn't return. But you have a Wraith data accumulator, with which you think you can locate the hive ships in the galaxy," Mikhail was no longer asking questions. He was rattling off facts. "Who has this mechanism now?"
"No idea. One of the scientists, probably."
"Who is working with Tyrus?"
"His daughter, Sora."
"After they disappear, who will take over this project?"
"I don't know. Whoever is ordered to."
"What stage is your atomic bomb at?"
"We conducted tests, but there was no explosion..." the prisoner faltered, looking at Mikhail with frightened eyes.
"We already suspected that," the Lantian assured him. "The question is different – how many bombs of this class do you currently have under development?"
"I don't know."
"And Cowan never boasted about his arsenal?"
"I'm just a spy," the Jenai almost whimpered. "But if you heal me and let me return to my homeland, I'll find out everything you want to know!"
"What a tempting offer," Mikhail chuckled, getting up from the tree. "And I would even believe in your sincerity, Jenai, if not for one thing... Kirik, will you help search him?"
"Of course," despite the fact that the prisoner reeked of excrement, the former fugitive didn't think Mikhail was enjoying doing this just for fun.
The sought-after item was found quite quickly.
A small device, half the size of an Ancient scanner. Several buttons on the end and something resembling rotating sliders inside.
Mikhail, ignoring the Jenai's babbling, pressed several keys in turn. With a dry crackle, two of them emitted a buzzing sound. The third, with a dry click, played back part of their recent conversation.
"'What a tempting offer,'" Mikhail chuckled, hearing his own voice. Then he pressed the button again, and it all stopped. "Clever guy. If I didn't know you were on Ermen, I wouldn't have thought you were recording us. First, you showed that you were cooperating, then fear, you started bargaining for your life, dropped the idea of double espionage... Clever, clever, I must say. We would have revived you, sent you back to your people, where you would have told us everything you know. Then, a trap, capture, negotiations, and all that... You miscalculated by thinking I would believe a Jenai who would betray his own. I'm sure that even at the outpost, whose coordinates you gave us, there's either no one, or it's a trap for simpletons."
The Jenai remained silent. Judging by how his face contorted, Mikhail had clearly guessed everything he had planned.
"Well, now, let's get back to the interrogation," Mikhail smiled. "And the price of your life has just increased. I want to know everything..."
"And I won't say anything," the Jenai replied. "You can torture me as much as you want, but I won't reveal our secrets!"
"But you're mistaken about that," Mikhail assured him. "Koschei, how about breaking the will of one troublesome bastard?"
Kirik flinched, stepping aside and placing his hand on his pistol. As it turned out, the Wraith had silently approached them.
"I'm hungry, Mikhail," he growled. "Reviving your friends took all the strength I had left after healing my wounds."
"I sympathize with you, guy," a fake concern and worry for the Wraith's condition appeared on the Lantian's face. "Just imagine... Fifty people devoured, and still not enough... Here," he pointed at the unconscious former chancellor. "Feed on him. And then – revive this one," he pointed at the Jenai. "Just a little. So he feels euphoria. Then take almost everything. And revive him again. Keep doing it until he's sobbing and begging you to become your follower and do whatever you command."
"And why do you need this?" the Wraith asked suspiciously.
"You want to make him a Wraith's servant," Kirik understood. "And send him as a spy to the Jenai?"
"Do I look like an idiot?" Mikhail clarified. "Believe that a Jenai, even high on Wraith enzyme, would be a double agent? No, I'm sorry, I don't believe that. He'll be discovered immediately as soon as he returns. So, the best option is to find out everything he knows," the Lantian looked at the prisoner, "and then, kill the bastard."
"Your death will be terrible," the prisoner promised. "You will all be found and destroyed."
"I readily believe that," Mikhail stated. "But you definitely won't see it. Get started, Koschei. Dinner is served."
Announcing the surroundings with the monstrous roar of an animal that had cornered its prey, the Wraith began to feast, as was customary for his people.
"So, what was that?" Kirik asked when it was all over, several hours later. The revived Ancients were returned to Atlantis, their stasis pods too. Weapons and belongings of the people the Wraith fed on were collected and sent to the warehouses of the Ancient city. Even the Wraith was taken away. By the time the procedure, which chilled the blood of anyone with ears, was finished, only Kirik and Mikhail remained on Proculus.
Two days of endless torture. Infusion and extraction of life... Over and over again... Blissful babbling and soul-wrenching screams... It seemed one could go mad from it. Unable to bear it, Teyla flew away with a group of Athosians searching the corpses. Alvar departed early in the morning, also unable to bear it.
The Jenai only started talking by evening, when it seemed even the Wraith was tired.
Kirik even thought for a moment that the prisoner really knew nothing. But how wrong he was...
"We have descriptions of Jenai residents, addresses of some caches, safe houses," Mikhail listed, piloting the ship towards the gate. "And we also tested our trap for enemies."
"This valley is a trap?" Kirik clarified, examining the part of Proculus surrounded by cliffs. A little flat space – at most a couple of clearings, on one of which the gate was placed. Not a very dense forest, where you can't really hide, and the only game is a few birds. A small mountain river, ready to provide water and, possibly, fish.
But there was no way out.
"The Wraiths gathered the entire population here," Mikhail reminded him. "One of the scout drones was constantly in orbit. They haven't appeared here since. But setting up a camp here is quite dangerous. At least for now. But we have a dead-end valley where you can't hide. The satellite will always tell us if someone has passed through the gate here without our time. If so, we'll send Koschei here to feed."
"You want to set this place up as a transit point," Kirik realized. "Pass through Proculus so that enemies think this world is our base?"
"Exactly," Mikhail confirmed. "This deception will be enough for a while. We just need to think it through carefully. If everything is as our deceased informant said, then the Jenai are closely watching all minimally developed and known peoples. If so, sooner or later we will cross paths."
"You don't even want to try to make peace with them?" Kirik clarified. "In your universe, they were enemies of the Earthlings... But here... They have an army! Surely they could become our infantry."
"Did Teyla ask you to clarify?" Mikhail chuckled.
"Yes," Kirik did not hide it. "Because the Jenai haven't done us irreparable harm."
"Tell that to Alvar," the Lantian suggested. "And watch his reaction when you say it would be nice to cooperate with a race that exterminated his people. Wear armor, though. Although it's not certain it will save you."
"Teyla believes..."
"Teyla is an optimist," Mikhail interrupted. "I prefer to be a realist. Yes, I would like all people to unite at once and beat the Wraiths. But that won't happen. Certainly not with the Jenai. You heard it yourself – they want to rule the galaxy. Fine. I have no desire to argue with their ambitions. But I won't let them cross my path either."
"Do you think they're doing it consciously?"
"And you decided they're interested in Ancient technology just like that?" Mikhail answered a question with a question. "No... I sense they have something from Ancient technology. The spy definitely knew they had a ZPM. And I remember it too. As well as the fact that it's discharged. Such things don't lie around under trees. So they found something from serious Ancient technologies. And, probably, they are trying to restore it."
"Any guesses what it is? A ship, an outpost?"
"I won't even guess," Mikhail cut him off. "I won't start a war with them just because I remember how bad they are, and how they behave now. But I'm not going to seek an alliance with them either. At least for now. I'm sure they will reveal themselves soon. And aggressively. Remember what the spy said about the peoples who started cultivating their crops?"
"The Jenai sent punishers to them."
"Teyla said that on the trading planets, the Jenai are starting to make claims against the Athosians. This is too good an excuse to gather food for Koschei from the Jenai to revive our people."
"Harsh, but fair," Kirik agreed. "If they are Koli's punishers, then they have something to answer for."
"That's what I think too," Mikhail said, entering an address on the "jumper's" panel. "We need to discuss with Chaya how best to do this. Because, it seems to me, if the Jenai go after Teyla's people, it won't be just a couple of squads. Possibly, the entire Koli battalion will come. And one Koschei definitely won't defeat them. We could lose the 'resurrector' and not get rid of the Jenai."
"And have you thought about what you'll do with the Wraith when he's finished?"
Mikhail paused for a few seconds, then, before the ship flew through the gate, said:
"I hope positive reinforcement works. If not, we'll shoot him in the head for bad behavior. This guy knows too much."