Trust Repaid

By Leesa Perrie

Sequel to Trust is Given

Chapter One – A Nice Easy Mission…

Rodney was late for the mission briefing, and as this would be their first mission since bonding, Sheppard found his lateness extremely irritating.

'McKay, where are you?' Sheppard sent telepathically. 'You're late for the briefing. Everyone's here waiting for you to get your sorry butt into gear and join us.'

His headset pinged, and the annoyed voice of one errant astrophysicist and pissed off sentinel came through loud and clear.

"Damn it, Colonel, a little warning before you start shouting in my mind, please! I hit my head on the console I was under, checking vitally important connections when you startled me."

'If you weren't late, I wouldn't have had to remind you.'

"Right, fine, so the fact you've probably given me concussion or even brain damage doesn't matter? I was busy, doing important work, forgive me if I lost track of time a little."

'Just tell me you're on your way, or do I have to come down there and drag you up here, kicking and screaming?'

"Alright, alright, I'm on my way. And what do you mean kicking and screaming? Why would I be doing that? Really! And this mental nagging is just so unfair!"

'I am not nagging. Believe me, this isn't me nagging. This is me getting ready to kick your ass…'

"Fine, fine, no need to get nasty. I'm nearly there."

'Good. Elizabeth is looking impatient, and you really don't want to piss her off as well, do you?'

"I told you, I'm coming! Oh, look, there's the Control Room! See, almost there."

John smiled at Rodney's exasperated response.

"Rodney will be here in a moment," he told Elizabeth, Teyla and Ronon, who were waiting with him in Elizabeth's office.

"Good," Elizabeth said, looking at her watch. "Better late than never, I guess."

McKay burst into the room just then, sitting down with a huff, and glaring at Sheppard.

"I'm here. So you can stop nagging at me…"

"I told you, I wasn't nagging."

"You so were…"

"Gentlemen," Elizabeth interrupted them. "Shall we get down to business?"

"Sorry," they both said simultaneously. Elizabeth had to smother a grin at the twin looks of contrition of their faces.

"M5L-328, or Casilano, has been trading with us for several months now; food in return for medicine. As you know, it has a small population, spread over three villages that are cut into a massive forest. The Casils don't need to venture more than a few miles into the forest, and refuse to go into an area they call 'the land of ghosts'."

"Yes, yes, we know all this. Some handed down folktale of ghosts haunting the forest, probably with little, if any, basis in fact," McKay interrupted impatiently.

"Yes, Rodney," Elizabeth said with forced patience, before continuing. "Dr Corrigan was talking to an elder in the main village, recording folktales and songs, when the tale about the forest ghosts was told. It talks of a star falling from the sky, many generations ago. The Casils know of Wraith ships, but whatever this was, it was like nothing they had seen before. The star landed in the forest, causing a fire that would have wiped the villages out if heavy rain hadn't put it out in time. A group of hunters went to investigate where the star had fallen, and returned with tales of ghostly sounds in the trees. No one has ever returned to that area of the forest since."

"And we're going to see if there is anything in the forest," Rodney said, looking displeased. "Even if it isn't just some stupid superstitious tale, and something did crash on the planet, there's probably nothing left after a fire like that. We haven't picked up any power signatures…it's probably a huge waste of time."

"And it could be something vitally important, McKay, we just don't know. That's why we're going," John stated firmly.

"Why can't one of the other teams go? If they find something of interest, we can check it out later…"

"We're going, Rodney, and that's final."

"I still say it'll be a waste of my valuable time…"

"Rodney," Elizabeth cut in on what could well be the start of a rant. "After everything that has happened recently, you should be glad it's going to be a fairly straight forward mission. Look at it as a chance for the team to work together and find out how a sentinel and guide manage off world in a safe environment."

Rodney scowled, but nodded reluctantly.

"Fine," he sounded far from fine about it, but was obviously not going to complain any further in front of Elizabeth. Though no doubt the team would receive more complaints before the mission was over.

"You have a go then," Elizabeth said. "You leave in two hours. You'll need to take a puddle jumper as the 'land of the ghosts' is several miles from the gate. The locals say there is a forest glade nearby that you can set down in."

John smiled broadly at the mention of a jumper; the mission had just gotten better as far as he was concerned.

The jumper exited the wormhole and headed towards the 'land of ghosts'.

"See, no power readings," McKay said, looking at the sensors, and muttering. "Probably nothing left but wreckage, burnt beyond salvage at that, or just ?? the remains of a meteor. A total waste of time."

The team merely rolled their eyes, having heard variations on this theme prior to leaving Atlantis. Sheppard had a feeling McKay would complain about any mission they went on right now, to cover his nervousness at being in the field with his newfound abilities. McKay wasn't the only one nervous, not that John was going to admit to it to anyone.

'Relax, Rodney, we'll be fine,' he sent telepathically.

"Oh, will you quit it with the telepathic nagging," Rodney snapped back.

"I was trying to be reassuring, actually."

"Whatever."

Teyla hid a smile at the familiar antics of her team-mates, whilst Ronon shook his head and chose to ignore them.

As they headed over the mainly deciduous forest, the fall colours were spectacular.

"That's quite a sight," John said after a few moments.

"It is impressive," Teyla agreed.

Rodney tore his eyes from the sensor displays, and had to admit to himself that the forest was stunning with the yellow, red and gold leaves spreading as far as the eye could see, but he was in no mood for admitting to it.

"Seen better in Canada," he muttered darkly, returning to the sensors.

"Right," Sheppard said, his tone indicating that he didn't believe McKay one bit. And, McKay thought sourly, no doubt with good reason. Damned empathy.

Several moments passed before they were over the general area and started looking for the clearing the locals had told them about. It was not hard to locate, and they were soon settled on the grassy ground of a small forest glade.

"Okay, any power readings?" Sheppard asked.

"Oh, right, like I wouldn't have mentioned if I was picking anything up," Rodney replied in exasperation. "No, no power readings."

"Well, everyone grab your gear, and let's take a walk and see what's out there."

"There's nothing out there but the local wildlife and maybe some burnt out, useless wreck, or a hunk of equally useless meteorite rock…"

Sheppard, Teyla and Ronon tuned out McKay's moaning, and headed outside with him following reluctantly behind them. The Colonel cloaked the jumper, and gave his usual 'don't forget where we parked' line, before getting his bearings.

"According to the story, the 'star', or whatever it was, landed downhill of this glade," John pointed to where the land started to move downwards, the way steep enough to notice but not so steep as to be difficult to walk down.

"Typical. That means it's uphill all the way back," Rodney muttered disgustedly. "I don't like running uphill…"

"Why would we be running? You said there's nothing here," Sheppard pointed out a grin.

"Knowing our luck, there'll be something nasty out there we end up running from. I hate uphill," McKay scowled.

"I'm sure Ronon would carry you if need be," Sheppard said.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Ronon replied, casting Sheppard an unhappy look, that was spoiled by the edges of his mouth curling upwards slightly.

"Humph," Rodney replied. "I'll remember that, big guy, next time you need my help." But the tone wasn't serious, just somewhat peevish.

"I would offer to carry you, but I fear you would need to lose some weight first," Teyla offered with a wry grin.

"Oh, not you as well, Teyla? What is this? 'Let's all pick on the genius' day?"

"No, it's 'try to shut up the moaning, complaining, pain in the ass, genius' day," Sheppard said, slapping him on the shoulder with exaggerated cheer, and heading down the slope.

"Right, fine, just don't blame me when this turns out to be a monumental waste of our time…"

"Yeah, yeah, we get the picture, McKay," the Colonel said, rolling his eyes, and adding telepathically, 'Give it a rest, will ya? And try and relax, for all our sakes.'

McKay narrowed his eyes at this, especially the last bit, but otherwise didn't reply. Instead, he busied himself checking for power readings.

As they walked along, they spotted the occasional burnt and twisted piece of metal or other material, all of it overgrown and in fragments. Eventually, they found the impact site; a wide crater that was overgrown with vegetation, but no trees. Further investigation showed that the area was coated with the burnt remains of a ship, but none of it was intact.

"As I thought, there's nothing here," McKay said, somewhat smugly. "The force of the impact must have torn what was left of the ship apart."

"What was left of the ship?" Ronon asked.

"I'm assuming it started burning up in the atmosphere, so, yes, what was left of the ship when it crashed."

"If it was burning up, then that would explain the 'star' the villagers described," John nodded, eyeing the wreckage. "But what caused the 'ghostly noises'?"

"Who knows? Probably the wreckage made strange noises as it cooled and settled. Or maybe the wind blew across it in such a way as to make a noise, like a whistle effect. But whatever the case, there's nothing here worth salvaging," McKay said in disgust, idly kicking at a piece of burnt wreckage at his feet.

"Okay, so a wash out, then. Well, at least it was a nice, easy mission…"

No sooner had Sheppard uttered those words, than the 'nice, easy mission' went awry. From two different sides, men suddenly appeared over the rise of the crater, stunning Sheppard, Teyla and Ronon before they had a chance to react. McKay cursed, having been so intent on picking up energy readings, he had neglected to check for life signs, and it hadn't even occurred to him to use his senses to listen out for trouble. He lifted his hands in surrender; after all, he was outgunned.

"Who are you?" he demanded, trying but failing to hide his fear as he was grabbed by two of the men. A third man approached, searching and relieving him of weapons.

"I am Lanik," the man replied, turning cold eyes to him. McKay shivered at the look, recognising a cold hearted killer when he saw one. "We are Genii."

"Oh, right, well, I thought Ladon…"

"We were loyal to Cowen, not to that would be leader," the man spat out.

"Oh…okay, so…what do you want with us?"

Lanik smiled, and McKay went cold. That smile reminded him of Kolya, and he had a feeling this man was every bit as dangerous as that psychopath, maybe more.

"We only want you, and your ship," Lanik said. "Bring him."

McKay was manhandled out of the crater.

"Ow, ow, no need to be rough about this," he muttered. He was led a few feet from the crater's edge, and then halted.

"You will lead us back to your ship," Lanik ordered him.

"Um, no. No, I think not."

"You will," Lanik smiled again, sending another chill down McKay's spine. "Or my men will kill your friends. In fact," he turned to one of his men. "Bring the woman."

"No, no, you don't have to do that," McKay stuttered out.

"Take us to your ship, and fly it to our destination, and she will not be harmed. We will even let her go, as soon as we have what we want."

Two of Lanik's men returned, one with Teyla slung over his shoulder.

"Okay," McKay agreed, defeated. "This way."

It had taken about forty minutes from the jumper to the crater, it took nearer an hour on the return journey, partly due to it being uphill, but mainly due to McKay not taking a direct route back. He was hoping that Ronon and Sheppard might recover from being stunned and catch up with them. It wasn't like this Lanik and his men were rushing, so surely if he took his time his team-mates might be able to catch them up?

Teyla had recovered from the stun by now, and was walking between two men, most likely looking for an opportunity to take them out, and probably not too happy with him for taking Lanik to their jumper. It wasn't like he'd been allowed to talk to her, or vice versa, as they were being kept apart.

He'd counted eight men including Lanik, and he didn't think they stood much chance against them, even if Teyla could get free. The Athosian was good, certainly able to take out more than her share of these goons, but as for himself; he'd never really gotten a handle on this hand to hand combat stuff. Add in the fact that these people were armed, and they really needed Sheppard and Ronon to get their asses in gear and catch up. The fact that Sheppard hadn't contacted him telepathically yet was worrying, very worrying. He hoped this Lanik hadn't had them killed by more men he didn't know about.

They were at the glade now, and he could tell from Lanik's angry stare that the guy had figured out that Rodney had taken them on a less than straight route.

"Your ship is here?" Lanik asked.

"Yes," McKay replied, nervously licking his lips. "It's cloaked."

"I know how far the crater is from this glade," Lanik glared at him. "It should not have taken this long," he turned to one of the men holding Teyla. "Pavan, cut her."

"No!" McKay cried out. "Please, don't."

But it was too late, and Pavan sliced into Teyla's left arm. Teyla hissed in pain, but did not cry out, glaring at Lanik with vengeance in her eyes.

"Oh crap," Rodney closed his eyes briefly, before turning angrily to Lanik. "You didn't need to do that, damn you!"

"On the contrary, you need to understand that stalling tactics will be punished," Lanik turned his attention back to Pavan. "Bind her wound, it would be a shame for her to die of blood loss."

As Pavan followed his orders, Lanik returned his attention to McKay again, assessing him coldly.

"Uncloak your ship."

McKay reached for the remote slowly, not wanting to spook the madman into thinking he was reaching for a weapon or something, and then brought it out, uncloaking the puddle jumper. His eyes darted to Teyla briefly, and then back to Lanik, as the guy took the remote from McKay's hand.

"Open it," he ordered.

McKay went to the rear hatch and opened it, and was then pushed into the jumper by Lanik, and into the forward section. He was aware of Lanik's men entering the jumper behind them. McKay slipped into the pilot's chair, knowing that if Lanik took them through the gate, which was most likely, then no one on Atlantis would be able to find them…unless Ladon was willing to help and had information on this Lanik person and his people.

He was desperately hoping for a last minute rescue from Sheppard and Ronon, but that seemed unlikely now. If Teyla was in the forward section, he could close the bulkhead doors and lock them, leaving them only two people to disarm…not good odds and if it failed…Teyla would be dead. Still, the alternative might not be any better. He somehow doubted this guy was going to let either of them go once he had whatever it was he wanted, which Rodney was pretty sure was more than just the jumper.

"I need Teyla up here, as co-pilot."

"I think not," Lanik replied.

"Look, I need a co-pilot, and I need someone who knows what they are doing," Rodney used his anger to fuel his bluff. "I'm not Sheppard! I have only the basic flying ability…crap, I can't even fly this thing in a straight line!" Which wasn't so true these days. He could fly in a straight line, most of the time, when he wasn't distracted by stray thoughts or theories popping into his head.

"It is true," Teyla's voice came from the rear of the jumper. "Dr McKay is not the best of pilots."

"See? Even my friend agrees. Listen, Teyla can deal with some of the lesser functions whilst I concentrate on the flying."

"She does not have the gene," Lanik stated.

"Oh, you know about that, then? Well, the co-pilot doesn't need the gene, just the pilot."

Lanik nodded to Pavan, who brought Teyla into the forward section. As soon as they entered, McKay closed the bulkhead doors, which distracted the two men briefly. Teyla, who had been waiting for such an opportunity as this, attacked the man holding her. McKay pushed against Lanik, hoping to and succeeding in pushing him off balance. Teyla had Pavan unconscious and disarmed within seconds and the gun pointed at Lanik's head before he could regain his balance and retaliate.

"Do not move," Teyla told him, anger clear in her eyes.

McKay stood up to disarm Lanik, but as he took the man's gun, he was grabbed and pulled up to be used as a shield, causing him to slip and curse. Teyla, however, moved equally as quickly, shooting Lanik in the head before he was able to succeed with his plan. He was dead before hitting the floor.

"Oh crap," Rodney said, shaking slightly and feeling decidedly sick.

"Are you okay?" Teyla asked him.

"Not really, but I guess I will be," he turned shocked eyes to her. "What about you? The knife wound…I'm sorry…"

"It is quite shallow," she reassured him. "You are not to blame."

The pounding on the bulkhead doors was increasing.

"Perhaps we should rid ourselves of our unwanted guests?"

"Yes, yes, that sounds like a good idea," McKay agreed, climbing to his feet unsteadily, and stepping over Lanik's body to get to the pilot seat. "Um, take them to the other side of the planet and, oh, I don't know, turn the jumper on its end? Gravity should then deal with our pest problem."

"Yes," Teyla agreed. "I will attempt to contact the Colonel and Ronon."

Receiving no response from either of their missing team-mates, Teyla and Rodney exchanged worried glances.

"Nothing we can do until I get rid of them," McKay nodded towards the back section of the jumper. "It will take about ten or so minutes to ensure they are far enough away not to trouble us…"

"Then the sooner we go, the sooner we can return."

"Yes, of course."

Silence fell as Rodney concentrated on flying. He soon found a spot far enough away that it would take the Genii a couple of days, at least, to get back to the glade, let alone the stargate. Tilting the ship and disengaging artificial gravity whilst hovering a few feet off the ground was not the easiest of manoeuvres he'd ever had to do, and the jumper wobbled dangerously more than once, but he was successful. The Genii slipped down the ramp and to the forest floor, a few feet below them.

Once the rear compartment was empty, he levelled the jumper and helped Teyla to pull the still unconscious Pavan and the very dead Lanik into the compartment, and then he repeated the manoeuvre. He was sweating profusely by the time they had ditched all of the Genii.

As they returned to the glade, he confided in Teyla his concern that Sheppard had not used his telepathy to let either of them know what his situation was. A brief discussion as to whether to return to the gate and dial Atlantis for back up before returning to the glade ended with the decision that Sheppard and Ronon might not have time for them to do get more help, and so they continued on to the glade first.

McKay checked the life signs detector as he hovered the cloaked jumper over the glade, picking up two dots approaching the tree line. Carefully, he set the jumper down so that the view screen was facing the dots and he could use his enhanced eyesight to hopefully see who was out there.

With Teyla's hand on his arm grounding him, he extended his sight outwards. Although the trees hid much of the people approaching, as they walked towards the glade he was able to make out an Atlantis uniform and Ronon's leather coat and he relaxed.

"It's okay," he told Teyla. "Looks like Sheppard and Ronon are heading this way."

They grinned at each other and went to meet them. It only took a few moments to be reunited as a team and to head back aboard the jumper. Explanations took a little longer, though. Sheppard and Ronon had woken up without their radios, and were unable to locate Rodney and Teyla. After checking around the crater, they had headed back to the glade, hoping that the jumper would still be there.

Teyla and Rodney explained about Lanik and his men, and how they had dealt with them. Sheppard was impressed with the flying manoeuvres Rodney had used, but he wasn't about to feed the ego by admitting that out loud; McKay picking it up from their bond would be bad enough.

"Why didn't you tell me Ronon and yourself were okay?" Rodney asked, trying to hide his concern behind accusation.

"I tried, but the telepathy doesn't seem to be working. Nor does the empathy, well, not properly. The bond is still there, I can feel that, and we're still sharing some feelings, but I can't pick up on anyone else's feelings," John explained, keeping the concern out of his voice. "I'm going to assume it's a side effect of the Wraith stunner and that it will return. If not, well, I'm sure we'll learn to cope without it."

As he said, the bond was still there and despite his attempts to appear nonchalant about the whole thing, he knew he wasn't fooling Rodney. He may not have had the empathy and telepathy for very long, but it felt like something had been torn from him, and it was both disturbing and worrying.

"Well, the stunners do scramble the brain, so there's a good chance it is just a temporary glitch," Rodney said. "Of course, the way your brain is scrambled to start with…"

"Thanks, McKay," Sheppard cut in with a mock growl, moving past him to slip into the pilot's chair. "So, what say we head for the gate and leave this miserable world behind? And not return, as it would seem the locals aren't as friendly as they seemed."

"Which shouldn't be such a surprise these days," McKay grumbled, sliding into his normal chair behind Sheppard. Teyla and Ronon also sat as Sheppard powered up the jumper and lifted off, starting for the gate and placing the jumper in stealth mode.