Summary:- Who knew Kolya had a brother? Certainly not John Sheppard and that was just the start of his problems as Kolya Jr wanted a bit of pay back. Shep whump and team angst…Hope you enjoy the ride!

Warnings: - Torture and violence with a little bad language, so this story may not be suitable for younger readers.

Disclaimer: - Not mine. Pleassse…what makes you think I would take JS off my screen?!

A special thanks to Neptune60 who gave me the idea, which lead to this story.

RETRIBUTION

Sitting by a table at the local tavern, the solitary stranger took a long drink of his ale and looked out into the bustling town square. Holding tightly onto the picture in his hand he watched, hidden in plain sight, as his quarry walked into the council chambers. It had taken a long time…too long, but soon revenge would be his.

A smile crossed his lips when he saw two young boys, obviously brothers fighting across the street. Oblivious to everyone, they traded blow for blow biting and kicking, until their mother ran out from a nearby cottage and pulled them apart. Anger, humiliation and worry all showed on her face as the harassed woman grabbed the pair by the scruff of their necks, shouting and balling as she pulled them away, back to their home and the punishment which would surely await.

He grimaced as he remembered many similar scenes from his own childhood, except after his punishment there had been no forgiveness, no love. For the illegitimate son unwanted by his new family, life had been hard.

Even from that early age Nessan knew he wasn't wanted. With his mother dead, to his father he was the dirty little secret forced into the open, and to his new mother, a constant reminder of her husband's infidelity. As for his elder half brother…well he became his slave, doing every disgusting, backbreaking chore on the farm which should have been his, and getting beaten to a pulp when they weren't done well enough, or in time.

However regardless of the abuse, Nessan loved his brother dearly and knew despite Acastus harsh treatment, he cared for him too. As the years went by and both men eventually left home to follow their own paths, they soon lost touch. But when he received news of Acastus death, he felt the pain sorely and regretted the distance which had grown between them. Nessan wanted, needed revenge and was determined it would eventually be his. It had taken a long time, cost a great deal of money for information, but the moment was finally here at last. As the time grew near to finally snaring his brother's killer, Nessan Kolya could feel his heart beat faster with the thrill of anticipation. So rising from the table, he put down his ale, walked out the town to make his way towards his men who were hidden in the forest, ready to put his plan into action.

Who knew Koyla had a brother?

After his version of the gunfight at the OK Corral, John thought he would never have to deal with Koyla again. Okay…so there was the hallucination caused by the probe, but that didn't really count despite how real it felt at the time. No, this time it was an unknown sibling, a good for nothing SOB brother who had stunned him as he was taking care of some personal business. One minute he was admiring the lush green forest of PX9114 and the next thing John woke up, lying tied hand and foot in a dirty windowless hut, his head bursting from the effect of a stunner blast with a piercing pain in his left arm where his transmitter used to be.

When Nessan Kolya walked into the room Sheppard knew he was a dead man. The resemblance was uncanny; dark beady eyes, rugged complexion and raven black hair. As far as he could tell the only difference was junior was slightly shorter and leaner than his sibling, but what he lacked in height he make up for in mean. The man only spoke to him once. 'My name is, Nessan Kolya...I believe you knew my brother.' Stunning him into silence before smiling with a bunch of teeth, messing up his mind, before walking out the room.

Sheppard remembered the sadistic Genii commander only too well. Acastus Kolya had been an arrogant man whose leadership skills comprised of intimidation and fear, preferring to use brawn over brain to achieve his objectives. As a military commander himself, John recognised it had been a combination of poor preparation plus insufficient Intel which ultimately led to the Genii's failed attempt to invade Atlantis. However, instead of blaming himself for the failure of the mission and his subsequent loss of grace, in Kolya's warped brain he held him, Lt Colonel John Sheppard, responsible.

Since that day, John knew Kolya had carried a grudge against him, which only died when he did a few years ago. But now lying with his face in the dirt, aching from head to toe, it was clear he wasn't rid of the Kolya's yet, as his younger brother Nessan was aiming to continue where his older brother had left off. As far as he could tell, there was only one silver lining in this situation…at least he was here alone, and his team were safe.

He didn't have long to wait for the abuse to begin however, as shortly after 'junior' arrived back in his cell, John was hauled to his feet and chained by his wrists to a hook hanging from the ceiling. Normally when he was subjected to this type of torture (what did that say about his life?) it was for interrogation purposes. But there were no questions this time, just pain, as the only thing Nessan was interested in was payback for the death of his brother. As blow after blow assulted his body, John groaned as he remembered the the old saying."The apple didn't fall far from the tree." because just like his brother before him...the man who had watched as the Wraith's hand tore deep into his chest, Kolya junior too preferred to watch, as his goons methodically and painfully beat him into oblivion.

Sheppard was in agony.

John didn't know how long he had hung there, but he knew several of his ribs were cracked and his shoulders, strained to their limits, felt as if they would dislocate at any minute. So out of it with pain, he was only vaguely aware of being removed from the hook, before being dumped onto the hard dirt floor below. He tried, but couldn't suppress a groan as bloody abraded wrists, once numb through supporting his dead weight, suddenly sprang into a rush of agonising pins and needles as blood flowed into his limbs once more.

Everything ached. His bruises had bruises and his cracked ribs throbbed in time to the beat of his heart, but John was given no time to recover as a burlap sack was flung over his head. Sheppard hissed through clenched teeth as rough hands untied him, only to pull his wrenched arms behind his back to bind them once more, this time with thick twine. It bit into his abraded wrists, tearing them apart and John could feel fresh blood ooze through his fingers. Only then was he was dragged to his feet, to begin a new game. "Hide the Sheppard."

John's heart sank, as he lost count of the number of times he heard the wormhole engage, and knew with certainty any chance of rescue was now unlikely or remote at best. He thought of his team with pride, knowing they would never give up, and would continue searching for him until the bitter end. However Sheppard also realised he was screwed, because with no transmitter and the planet left far behind, even Rodney with all his genius, would struggle and probably fail to find his location.

After what seemed like an eternity, John guessed he was now at his destination when his bruised and battered body hit a hard, smooth surface with a thump. Stifling a groan, he lay for a minute trying to gather his wits before struggling to sit up. Even through the sack, he choked as the pungent, acrid smell of toxic waste assaulted his lungs, and somewhere in the background he recognised the distinctive hum of industrial machinery. Any further opportunity to gauge his whereabouts were thwarted however, as the familiar sound of a car engine approached. As he was bundled inside, Sheppard reflected on how strange life was. Under normal circumstances he would have been happy to make the acquaintance of a race capable of this level of development; however in this situation John wasn't so sure if this was such a good thing…

It wasn't easy to measure the passage of time under the sack, but after what he reckoned to be about an hour the car stopped, signalling they had arrived at his destination. Once there, in short order the guards grabbed his shirt, pulled him from the vehicle, and through the familiar sound of automatic doors into the building.

The relatively short journey reawakened his aches and pains into glorious Technicolor and John, despite trying his damdest, just couldn't stand up straight. Dazzling light assaulted his eyes as the sack was pulled away and he squinted against the glare, as a cascade of fluorescent ceiling lights came into focus. Strong arms held him fast, but he still dared to crane his neck around to check out his surroundings.

Directly in front of him stood a tall, narrow, chrome reception desk manned by two men dressed in dark grey edge to edge tunics, but Looking from side to side from what he saw, John could tell this was a large building. Down to the left was a bank of elevators and on the opposite of the wide hall way, were a number of doors, probably offices. In a way this was quite surreal, as where ever this place was it reminded him more of the Sheppard Industries office block back home, rather than somewhere in the Pegasus galaxy. But none of it made any difference as the million dollar question remained; where the hell was he…and why?

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Nessan Kolya handing over a wad of cash to a short, stocky bald man and saw the two men shake hands before approaching him. Sheppard suppressed a sigh as he saw the smug, malicious expression on Kolya's face, and knew what ever was going to happen next, couldn't possible be good.

Nessan had waited a long time to get revenge upon the man who took the life of his beloved older brother, and had enjoyed watching, as his men reined blow upon gut wrenching blow upon Sheppard's battered body for hours at a time. If he was honest, part of him was still tempted to put a bullet in the soldier's brain, and watch as the light died in his eyes. However he knew there were worse things in life than death, which very soon John Sheppard was about to find out.

"This is where we say goodbye, Sheppard. Because here in this place, you will finally pay the price for killing my brother and denying the people of the Genii the best leader they could have ever had."

John glared at the man who resembled his old enemy in more ways than one. "You've got to be kidding me? The best leader for the Genii?! Your delusional SOB brother was nothing more then a bully, who got what was coming to him….and one day …so will you. Aghh!"

Sheppard saw stars, as a hard left hook landed him groaning on the ground. Tasting blood in his mouth, he looked up and saw Kolya shaking his hand as he stormed out the door, just as the two men from reception came around and hauled him to his feet, to look into the amused eyes of the bald man.

"Allow me to introduce myself...My name is Warden Endas, and you, John Sheppard have been sentenced to life imprisonment in the high security level of this prison for the murder of Acastus Kolya."

"Wha…Now wait just a minute. Did I miss something…like a trial! Look, Warden, I don't know what kind of deal is going down here, but where I come from… hell even in the planets around here, a man is innocent until proven guilty. You have no right to keep me here, so release me right now!"

Endas continued. "I'm afraid that won't be possible, Mr Sheppard. This is a private prison where victims and their families can get justice when the courts have failed to provide it." He smiled as he allowed the prisoner to glimpse the cash nestled in his hand. "Provided of course, they can provide the proof. And in your case, Mr Koyla has proved more than enough evidence to secure your conviction. Guards, take him away…but get the doctor to attend his wounds first…we don't want Mr Sheppard dying on us before his sentence has even begun."

John felt sick…but not from any concussion. He didn't deserve this. As a soldier he had killed many men in the line of duty, it was never pleasant but sometimes necessary to protect the innocent and preserve a lasting peace. But he didn't regret killing Kolya, not then and not now, and to spend the rest of his days, here…because of that bastard…was just plain wrong.

TBC

Please, please review!!! They really do mean a lot to me and give me the encouragement to keep writing!