Notes: This is the sequel to Myths of Reality and takes place during and after the episode "The Hive" which – apart for some minor changes in dialogue – is unaffected by the events of Myths. Unlike Myths this won't be limited to be a missing episode which means I'm finally free to write anything I want . This time at the beginning of each chapter there will be an excerpt out of a book dealing with Ascension theory, information that will become important in the second half of the story.
Pairings: Shep/Weir and another one I can't reveal yet
Feedback is of course more than welcome and will tremendously increase my motivation –meaning that this is updated faster
Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate Atlantis and won't make profit with this story
Again, rated for good measure and langviolsex
Now, I'll shut up and proudly present
Twilight's Embrace
Chapter 1: Thirst for Revenge
Our research on Ascension began quite coincidental when one of our scouting parties discovered a planet populated by a life form made up entirely out of energy. Most of my colleagues didn't realize the potential in this discovery but I was intrigued by this species and my observations turned out to be the basic principle for Ascension.
––Bioengineer Mortanius, Ascension Theory
The Hive ship, dart bay
Aiden Ford was horrified as he watched Sheppard steering the dart out of the bay and into the vastness of space that waited outside, not bothering to wait for his former second-in-command. True, Aiden had volunteered to take care of the Wraith and had promised he would catch up later but that didn't mean he could escape a hive ship without help. He guessed that Sheppard didn't think of him as a friend anymore for otherwise he wouldn't have abandoned him and this realization pained him more than any physical wound could ever have.
Ford mentally kicked himself for doing something as stupid as leaving his former team and distracting the Wraith without a plan how to get out of the ship if the others couldn't – or were unwilling – to wait for him. At first everything had worked out perfectly, he had killed the four Wraiths that had been chasing them without taking a scratch and had made his way back to the bay – after extracting the enzyme, of course –, happy that he had found a way to make up for his bad behavior and the lack of judgment that had gotten them into this mess in the first place – an elation that had turned out to be extremely short-lived, after all nothing ruins your day more than betrayal.
The anger he felt changed to despair when the first explosions shook the ship, reminding him that he still had to find a way out of there. He guessed that the hive ships had started to fight each other and was almost certain that Sheppard was behind this, stopping the culling without wasting a single thought on his former second-in-command's safety. Pushing his emotions aside for a moment, Aiden scanned the room for any unmanned darts he could use to escape – provided that he would managed to fly them out of here without crashing into something – but to no avail.
His shoulders sagged when he realized that he wouldn't make it out of here and that he would either die when the ship exploded or – if this hive ship won the fight – have to capture a dart and get to the 'gate without being killed in the process, something that was close to impossible. His despair transformed back into anger and in a fit of almost childish defiance he decided that this was all Sheppard's fault, who did everything to see him fail and had methodically sabotaged this mission out of jealousy and spite.
"I'll kill you for this John Sheppard!" he shouted, "Hear me? I'll survive this and than I'll kill you!"
The only reply was the sound of the explosions getting louder and more frequent, telling Aiden that the ship would be destroyed soon and that the chances for him to survive this had just dropped from one in a million to one in a trillion. This thought reminded him of McKay who was still trapped in the cave and he had enough time to wonder what would happen to the scientist if he didn't come back before he felt a sudden, excruciating pain and everything went black.
- - - - -
Elsewhere
Negator Darius was bored, exhausted and drenched in sweat after waiting over three hours on this godforsaken planet. His two comrades looked similarly distressed and for about the hundredth times today Darius wondered what had made him accepting this task in the first place. True, he had been thrilled when he had been told that Evincar Veldrin himself he had a task for him, after all Darius' ambition was as bottomless as the sea and having the Lord of Shakuras as a patron had seemed like the perfect way to fulfill these wishes.
He had expected to be sent on an important mission against the Wraith, maybe scouting a planet or sabotaging a hive ship, something that was more exciting than the monotonous guard duty that waited for him back on Shakuras. When they had become independent from their hated masters, many Gith – including Darius – had expected a surprise attack on as many worlds as possible to overthrow the Wraith with one sweep. However, Veldrin had declared that this strategy would lead to nothing but unnecessary casualties and had taken matters in his own hands, keeping only the highest ranking members on the Legion in the loop.
However, rumors concerning details of Veldrin's strategy were circling freely in the City of Traitors and it was an open secret that Belbe was combing the galaxy on his orders, searching for information – perhaps even technology – that could help defeating the Wraith. Darius often wondered if this long-term strategy was the right one for the idea of overthrowing the Wraith with a massive sneak attack was tempting and sounded like a very good idea to him. Admittedly, the chance that the Evincar valued his opinion on this were slim indeed so he had decided to concentrate on his tasks and leave the planning to the more high ranked members of the Legion.
As it turned out, his mission was to transport supplies to one of their outposts which was by no means as exciting as he has hoped it would be. Apart from being boring, this errand was also annoying because no one had bothered to tell him what he was transporting, why he had to do so and where exactly he should bring it. The Unseen that he delivered Veldrin's orders had told him that the position of the outpost was secret and that all he had to do was to bring the supplies here were another agent would pick them up. Being kept in the dark by your superiors was not unusual on Shakuras but that they hadn't bothered to tell him when exactly this other Gith would drop by set his teeth on edge for this thrice-accursed backwater planet was stifling hot and incredibly dull.
Sighing in exasperation, he once again scanned his surroundings for the mysterious agent that would take care of the rest but as the last thirty times he found nothing but the dense vegetation that surrounded the 'gate.
"Looking for someone in particular?" an amused voice right behind him said, "You should pay more attention Darius, not all visitors are as friendly and sophisticated as I am."
The voice sounded horribly familiar and Darius didn't need to turn around to know that the speaker was one of the most bothersome persons he had ever had the misfortune to meet – this task had just become even more annoying than before.
"I should have known that you're behind this, Entreri," he said, not bothering to keep the irritation out of his voice, "Were you ordered to keep me waiting for three goddamned hours or did you decide this yourself as some kind of practical joke? Your humor is gross enough for this after all.
"Rude as always my friend, " Entreri answered smoothly, not at all affected by the Negator's outbreak, "I assure you that I came here as fast as possible and that keeping you waiting in the heat is way too crude to humor me."
"Working together once certainly doesn't make us to friends," Darius growled, "Now take the supplies and get lost! I have other things to do than waiting for you to do you duty!"
"Oh, what makes you believe that I'm the contact you're waiting for?" Entreri asked, breaking into a mischievous smile, "But don't worry, I'll take the crates anyway and you can enjoy the feeling that you're part of a cunning scheme of mine, a scheme that is far too complicated for you to understand – as soon as you have regained consciousness, that is!"
"What in the name of the Legion are you talking about?" Darius said before a Wraith stunner interrupted him and extinguished his consciousness.
- - - - -
Two weeks later, Atlantis
Dr. Weir sat at her desk, utterly absorbed from the translation she was working on. She wasn't sure what it was about yet but she had the feeling she had found a word that meant 'Ascension' several times and she guessed that the title was 'Ascension Theory', causing her to wonder if she had found a guide to Ascension which would probably be the most exciting discovery so far. The problem was that it was extremely complicatedly written; brimming with terminology she was unfamiliar with and only partly preserved as if someone had tried to delete the file but stopped halfway in the process.
This was perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the document for up to now there had been no signs of censorship in the database and the Ancients seemed to have valued the free exchange of information. Perhaps they had tried to keep this information secret from the Wraith but why leaving the rest of the database intact which was brimming with intelligence about their technology and why wasn't it deleted entirely? Before she could find an answer to this, John Sheppard stormed into her office, looking seriously angry about something. She wondered what could be eating the Colonel for up to now it had been a rather uneventful morning which was a nice change from her usual days which were filled with Wraith attacks, malfunctioning alien technology and other unpleasant things.
"Good morning John," she said, curious what this was about, "What can I do for you?"
"The hell of a good morning!" Sheppard snapped. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"What I think I'm doing?" the expedition leader echoed, "What's the matter with you?"
"I'll tell you what's the matter with me, Elizabeth!" John replied, his voice a dangerous hiss. "I wandered by Ford's former quarters this morning only to found out that you have gotten rid of his stuff and give the place to someone else! I scared the hell out of the girl who lives there now when I entered unannounced because I thought the room was still unused!"
"Wait, let me get this straight," Elizabeth said, more confused that ever, "You're angry at me for giving Ford's former quarters to someone else?"
"Yes, because that shows that you have given up on him!" John responded, "You have absolutely no proof that he's dead but still you're cleaning out his stuff and throw it away!"
"I didn't throw it away but will have it sent back to earth!" she replied angrily, feeling more than unfairly treated by him, "Why are you making such a fuss about this damn room? If Ford came back we would find a new quarter for him!"
"'If he came back'?" he quoted; now almost yelling at her, "I was right! You have already put him on your died-honorable-in-defense-of-Atlantis list and that means you won't lift a finger to search for him anymore. I know that he has caused a lot of trouble lately but Ford doesn't deserve this! I promised his cousin to get him back and now I'm supposed to tell her that we consider him dead because we don't want to search for him anymore?"
"Do you think I don't feel bad about what has happened to him?" she snapped back at him, "I grief for him more than for anyone else who died on this mission but unlike you I don't escape into wishful thinking to make me feel better! The chances for him to survive this are close to zero, John, and the sooner you accept that he's gone the better!"
"He isn't gone!" Sheppard said with almost childish defiance, "I know that he's somewhere out there Elizabeth and I'll find him, no matter the cost! But I can't do this alone, I need your help! Imagine you would be in his place and you would die because the people you thought your friends weren't there to help you. Are the resources we might waste while searching for him more valuable than his life?"
Elizabeth felt oddly touched by John's speech and for a moment she considered giving him what he wanted. Perhaps Ford had managed to escape the hive ship, perhaps the Lieutenant was hiding on one of the worlds they had visited and perhaps Beckett could wean him off the enzyme once they had found him –he had been successful with Rodney, after all. She suddenly realized how foolish these thoughts were – considering the extreme amount of 'perhaps' they included – and that she was close to fell for the same illusion that clouded the Colonel's senses: hope, the hope to right a mistake.
"I'm sorry John but I can't continue the search without any evidence that Ford is still alive!" she said, finding it difficult to get the words out, "I want you to take his stuff with you on your next trip to earth and give it to his family. They deserve to know that he's most likely dead."
She averted her eyes but she didn't have to see John's face to recognize the pained look on it and was glad that he left without another word. She leaned back in her chair and prayed that she would never have to order him to loose hope again.
- - - - -
Meanwhile, another planet (M3X575)
"A swamp planet!" Entreri said, "Why by all means does this planet have to be a swamp planet? I'll never get the mud and the stink out of my clothes!"
"Is everything prepared?" Acastus Kolya asked, ignoring the other man's complains.
"Of course it is," Entreri answered, "It was much easier than I had expected! Either the Atlanteans are by no means as resourceful as I thought or my talents are really quite extraordinary!"
Kolya gritted his teeth and made a mental note to stifle his ally before his already enormous ego swelled any further. Dalamar Entreri was in his opinion the most annoying person in the whole galaxy – maybe apart from John Sheppard. Like his Lantean equivalent, Dalamar had the maddening ability of not only being extremely irritating but also quite capable, making him a man you love to hate but who is either too cunning or too important to be killed. That he was a member of the Genii intelligence – the so-called Hidden Ones – made his attitude even harder to bear for like most of the agents Kolya had met; Entreri looked at any 'ordinary' Genii with contempt and didn't bother to explain himself or his actions to them.
Like many times before – usually whenever his unloved ally made opened his mouth to speak – he wondered what had made him accepting the other Genii's offer in the first place. The circumstances of their first meeting had been a clue what he had to expect when working with someone as arrogant and self-centered as Entreri. Kolya had just finished his training and had been quite surprised to find someone waiting for him in his office. That this someone had been busy with sipping his favorite brandy had turned his surprise into anger in less than five seconds. However, before he had had the chance to do anything rash, Entreri had introduced himself and had said a few words that immediately got Kolya's attention: 'Lanteans' and 'revenge'. He had restrained his anger, snatched his brandy and told Dalamar to tell him more for the chance to finally pay Sheppard back for humiliating twice was just too tempting to be ignored.
It turned out that Entreri had a scheme that – if everything worked out – would not only satisfy Kolya's thirst for vengeance but would also help them to win the war against the Wraith. Acastus would be in charge of the operation and provide the required manpower while his ally would be his second-in-command and supply them with the necessary information and equipment. Convinced that this sounded too good to be true, he had asked the Hidden One where the catch in this plan was. After a moment of hesitation, Dalamar admitted that he hadn't informed Cowen of the plan because he thought it unlikely that he would agree to an operation that would break the truce they currently had with the Lanteans, especially with the Wraith swarming all over the galaxy. Acastus had waved his concerns aside and had accepted the offer, getting quite used to leave Cowen – whom he considered to be far too forgiving with the Lanteans anyway – in the dark. What he hadn't considered was the Hidden One's many antics that made being his superior almost unbearable.
Though Entreri hadn't given him all the details – a habit he would have to beat out of the agent as soon as the opportunity arose – what he had told him sounded very well thought out and quite satisfying. The first part of the scheme involved capturing one of the Atlanteans' off-world teams, Kolya's personal highlight for he was already looking forward to blackmail Sheppard with their lives on stake – only that this time the Colonel wouldn't find a way to wiggle out of this.
One of Dalamar's informants had told them that some of the Lanteans had visited the planet Rath recently which had little to offer expect a vast area of swamps and unusually fertile land – if you managed to find a spot that's actually dry enough for agriculture. Acastus guessed that they wanted to trade with the natives for food like they had wanted to do with the Genii in the first place and was sure that they would come back to make the deal perfect.
He had voiced these thoughts to Entreri what had resulted in one of the smuggest grins he had ever seen and had set objects completely in motion for the spy's contact had told him that the Lanteans would be back around midday the next day – and both Kolya and his bothersome ally were determined to meet them.
Now, the Commander and Dalamar were sitting on a hillock overlooking the Stargate, completely hidden by the thick foliage but still able to see everything that happened around the 'gate. Two bored looking guards flanked the device not because Rath was a particularly dangerous world but because the natives were quite xenophobic and allowed not more than two foreigners at the same time in their village. The rest of the team waited for their comrades at the only remarkable location in this vast area of swamps and decay, completely unaware of their impending capture.
Entreri had told him that they would strike as soon as the team dialed back to Atlantis and had transmitted the signal that would lower the shield so he could sent message of their capture on the 'most dignified way possible'. Personally, Kolya would kill two of them and leave a note on their cooling bodies but his ally had dismissed this method as far too gross and not at all sophisticated enough. Once during their silent vigil Entreri had stopped complaining about whatever had annoyed him at this moment – like the heat, the mud, the smell, Kolya's prosaic attitude, the horrific design of the Lantean's uniforms and various other nuisances Acastus hadn't bothered to memorize – and had slipped into the swamp to finish the preparations for the ambush – without telling his ally what exactly he had in mind because he was unwilling to 'spoil the surprise'.
Originally, they had intended to do this before the Atlanteans would arrive here but having to keep Cowen in the dark had delayed their departure and this original idea hadn't took the natives paranoia into account that would force their targets to leave some of them behind. When Kolya spotted movement on the path that led to the native's village he hoped for Entreri's sake that everything would work out for otherwise he would kill the spy for wasting his time and being a pain in the ass. A small smile found its way to the spy's features while watching the Lanteans through a spyglass and Acastus watched him pulling a small, completely unfamiliar device out of his clothes which look remarkable like a fuse to him.
Just as the Commander was busy with wondering what Entreri wanted to detonate with it, his ally triggered it and a bluish explosion surrounded the 'gate as well as the Lanteans. Without waiting for him or bothering to explain what had happened right now, Dalamar got up and dashed to the still open wormhole, throwing what looked like a crumbled piece of paper inside as soon as he was within throwing range. When the Stargate slammed shut he began dialing another planet and ordered Kolya to tie up their prisoners. In a generous mood – this was the first step to make Sheppard pay for humiliating him after all – he let this insolence pass and asked the agent what exactly had happened right now instead.
"I knocked them out with a Wraith stunner grenade," the other Genii explained, "it works exactly like an ordinary Wraith stunner but it affects not only one target but the whole area and can be triggered from a distance. I buried one right next to the 'gate because this seemed the best way to capture them. It was simple, effective and elegant like every plan that origins from this extraordinary brain of mine! A minor drawback is that they remain consciousness and will be able to move again pretty soon but then they'll be tied up, disarmed and on another planet!"
"Where did you get this grenade?" Kolya asked, "And how did you deposit it without them knowing?"
"As I said, I have a considerable amount of extraordinary talents," Entreri stated, sounding more than a little pleased with himself, "Come, my partner in crime, let's meet with your old friends. I'm sure you'll like the next part of the plan!"
- - - - -
"Where are they?" Dr. Weir asked no one in particular, "They should be through by now!"
"Perhaps we should get the shield up," Bates suggested, "If they're under attack and unable to reach the 'gate, it would be more than reckless to leave us as vulnerable as we are now!"
John was convinced that Bates was overreacting once again, for up to now nothing serious had happened every time they had ignored the Marine's paranoia in a similar situation. True, there had been some minor damage in the 'gate room caused by a stray energy bolt which had been fired by a Wraith dart and crossed the event horizon but this strategy had saved the lives of more than one incoming team – including John's own – and had yet to harm anyone on Atlantis, so the Colonel couldn't understand why Bates got all jumpy when it took a team slightly longer than usual to come through the Stargate – after all it had been only a about two minutes since they had received Lorne's id-code.
"Let's give them some more time," Elizabeth said, sharing a meaningful glance with John who had just wanted to say the same thing – only in more drastic way. "After all several important members of this expedition would be dead by now, if I had raised the shield on similar situations!"
John couldn't help but smile at the disgruntled expression on Bates' face – which faded after a few seconds, giving way to the inscrutable expression the other soldier usually wore. He guessed the Sergeant was quite frustrated with his job, after all almost every suggestion he had made since their arrival in Pegasus had been more or less politely ignored – usually because John didn't like it and had the extraordinary ability to talk Elizabeth into almost everything.
However, Sheppard's amusement passed when the thought reminded him of limits of his talent and its most recent failure that was only about two hours old. He had pitted his willpower against Weir's and this time the expedition leader's had proved stronger. The thought frustrated, infuriated and depressed him at the same time for he was one hundred percent sure that Ford was alive and somewhere out there, probably in trouble, and just couldn't understand Weir's refusal to continue the search.
Sure, the chances for Ford survival this were quite slim but nevertheless John was absolutely certain that Elizabeth was vastly underestimating the kid's ability to get himself out of trouble. After all, he had managed to escape from a Wraith cruiser without a single scratch what should be proof enough that it took more than an exploding hive ship to take him down.
Not only that Elizabeth refused to see this, she also seemed convinced that he was in denial and unable to cope with the Lieutenant's death – a claim that touched and angered John at the same time for he had more than enough experience in dealing with losses. However, a tiny part of him wondered if she had actually analyzed him correctly, for the urge to find Ford had become stronger the more he had thought about his last encounter with the renegade marine. In the first days after the destruction of the hive ship he had managed not to think too much about his former second-in-command's fate – though he probably still thought about this much more frequently than anyone else on this base – partly because he had been quite busy at this time and because he had expected that Ford would contact him, even thought he had no idea what would happen at such an encounter.
His anxiousness had returned quite suddenly this morning when the sudden impulse of paying Aiden's former quarters a visit had revealed that Elizabeth had given up on him. He had realized that if Ford was death, it would make him his murderer. Not only that he had left the kid on a hive ship, he had also made sure that the very same hive ship had been destroyed, ignoring the rather obvious fact that his former second-in-command would likely be annihilated along with the ship.
What disturbed him most was this had seemed to be really good idea at the time, saving the lives of thousands of people and giving him the chance to escape with his team – which hadn't included Ford at the time. At first he had blamed the stress, the mental powers of the Queen or the fact that Aiden had wanted to stay behind but in the end it all came down to one thing – he had abandoned the Lieutenant when he had need him and probably signed his death warrant at the same time.
The turn of events reminded him unpleasantly of his very first mission in this galaxy during which he had shot Sumner only that it was even harder to bear this time for he knew Ford much better than Sumner and – unlike the Colonel – the Lieutenant hadn't asked him to end his life. John could only hope that they would find the kid alive because he wasn't sure he could live with the knowledge that he had been responsible for his death.
The sound of something crossing the event horizon interrupted his dark musings and he looked up just in time to see a crumbled sheet of paper rematerialize landing right in front of him. The Stargate slammed shut after it had passed and when John bent down and unfolded the paper, he could feel the eyes of everyone in the room on him. It turned out to be a letter written in an unfamiliar, elaborate handwriting and addressed to Dr. Weir. After she had given him an encouraging nod, he started to read out aloud:
"Felicitations Dr. Weir,
we have never met before but after what my prosaic partner Arcastus Kolya told me you are the beautiful and brilliant leader of Atlantis – I'm reinterpreting his words a bit here, but at least this shows that he holds a grudging respect for you. It might interest you that we have taken one of your teams captive, an inconvenience I would have liked to avoid but there seemed to be no other way to get your attention. However, I assure you that you'll get them back unharmed if you agree to our conditions and don't try anything unnecessarily heroic. Sheppard and his team will meet us on a certain rather overgrown planet I haven't bothered to name yet, in exactly two hours from now. Delay is quite acceptable but will affect that condition of your men which might be missing a few limbs should you leave us waiting for too long. Once your underlings have arrived we can negotiate about the return of your men to Atlantis.
Yours sincerely,
Dalamar Entreri
A Stargate address was scribbled down at the bottom of the page, an address which looked disturbingly familiar. John's eyes went wide when he recognized it and he wondered why Entreri had chosen this meeting place.
"This is the address to P3M-736," he stated, his mind already spinning with possibilities. "When do we move out, Elizabeth?"
"Wait, wait, wait!" McKay interrupted. "Isn't this the planet with the incredible intense sunlight, the one Ford hid on for some time? Because if it is, it would be suicide to go there! We would have to face Kolya and whatever sick little scheme he has in mind for us without jumpers or life sign detectors while trying not to get toasted by the sunlight. Maybe I'm overreacting but in my opinion this is a bad plan! And I don't mean simple, run of the mill bad but extremely bad, the kind of bad plan that borders on suicide!"
"I understand your objections Rodney but we really don't have another option," Elizabeth said, putting the I-don't-care-and-now-get-moving much nicer that John would ever been able to. "Even if I were uncaring enough to leave Lorne there the fact that Kolya has managed to capture one of our teams so easily is disturbing. We have to find out how he has done this and if he could do it again so I know in how much danger we are and what we can do against it. Get ready, John, you're leaving in half an hour. Be as diplomatic as possible and at least try to negotiate with him but don't take any chances, Kolya is probably burning to pay you back for defeating him twice!"
"Don't worry I don't intent to let him win this time, even it would make a nice change." Sheppard said, giving her a reassuring smile.
He was sure that she didn't believe a word of this but she only nodded so he left the 'gate room to gather his team for a mission that sounded more like suicide the longer he thought about it.
- - - - -
Later, P3M-736
Less than half an hour later, John stepped through the event horizon on P3M-736 and was immediately blinded by the intense sunlight. It seemed far brighter than the last time he had been here and even with his sunglasses on it seemed to take an eternity for his eyes to adjust to the glare. His teammates seemed to have similar problems and judging from McKay's constant complains not all of them had brought something to shield his or her eyes' with.
When his vision finally cleared, he realized that they weren't alone in the clearing that housed the Stargate. Lorne, Perish and two soldiers John didn't know by name kneeled a few meters away, their faces strangely void of emotions and delirious. Motioning his teammates to follow him, he moved closer to the kneeling men while keeping an eye out for hidden guards. It certainly wasn't below Kolya to use humans as bait if it fitted into his plans but the Colonel guessed he would just have to fall for this rather obvious trap, relying once again on his ability to get himself out of trouble.
As he drew nearer, he noticed in what bad shape Lorne and his team were. They looked seriously dehydrated, their faces were badly sunburned and they still didn't seem to notice that he was there. He guessed that Kolya had forced them to remain right here where the blazing midday sun would surely kill them should no one come for them soon. Entreri's almost causal remark that delay would harm the captives came to his mind and new anger at Kolya as well as at his new lapdog flared in John. Just when he was about to pull Lorne back to his feet and get him out of the sun – as much as this was possible on this dammed planet – the trap that he had been waiting for sprung.
Almost a dozen Genii, including John's least favorite one, emerged from the jungle, weapons drawn and ready. However, they made no move to open fire so he signaled his team to play along – at least until he knew what they were up to. Nevertheless, he prepared himself for a fight and was determined to take at least Kolya with him should the things go out of hand.
"I must admit I didn't thought you would come," the Genii Commander said. "You must be even more foolish than I had thought. What makes you believe that I won't kill you, now I have the chance?"
"If you only wanted to kill me, you would have ambushed my team and not Lorne's," John replied. "I guess you need us for something because otherwise this whole affair wouldn't make much sense."
Instead of his would-be killer, a younger soldier who stood to Kolya's right commented on his bold words.
"He's clever," he chuckled, "I guess he already sees right through our little scheme. Perhaps this is why he has managed to thwart your plans two times in a row, Kolya!"
"Major Sheppard, may I introduce you to my second-in-command Dalamar Entreri," the older Genii replied, stressing the word 'second'. "I guess you should get along quite well, after all he is almost as annoying as you are!"
Entreri was a lean man of average height whose age was all but impossible to tell. His plain face was still young and unlined, though his hair, which was a deep ash blonde that bordered on grey and neatly tied into a ponytail, made him look much older than he probably was. His most striking features were his steel grey eyes that help a sparkle of intelligence, mischief and something John couldn't identify right now but he was almost certain that he wouldn't like it. He wondered if it had been Entreri's idea to leave Lorne and the others shackled in the sun or if this sadistic idea had come from Kolya's twisted mind – most likely the latter, considering the Genii hatred for him.
"Sir? Are you really here?" Lorne asked in a raspy voice, apparently having realized that he was there.
"Either that or you're hallucinating about your CO which would be a good reason to pay Dr. Heightmeyer's couch a visit," the Colonel replied, before growing serious again. "Don't worry, Lorne, I'll get you out of here – one way or the other."
"You're as overconfident as always, Sheppard!" Kolya stated his voice dripping with contempt. "We have outnumbered and outgunned you, you can use neither Puddle Jumper nor Lifesign detectors on this planet, so even you should know that starting a fight would be the last thing you'd ever do. If you want your men back, you'll have to do something for me."
"Oh great, here it comes," McKay said, "Let's see what the great Kolya wants us to do. Delivering him a dozen ZPMs? Freeing the galaxy from the Wraith or maybe just giving him Atlantis on a silver platter?"
"None of this but I doubt that you'll like it anyway," the Commander said with a humorless smile, "All you need to know at the moment is that it will involve fighting the Wraith and that we'll need one of your ships. As a token of trust you may take three of the hostages back to Atlantis but Major Lorne will remain here – together with our special guest. You'll get them back unharmed as soon as you have finished my task!"
"What do you mean with i special guest /i ?" John asked, already knowing that he wouldn't like the answer.
Instead of answering, the Genii exchanged a glance with Entreri who tossed Sheppard an envelope with a definitely dangerous glimmer in his eyes. After trading a few nervous glances with his comrades; he started to break the seal, bracing himself for the worst – whatever this might be.
- - - - -
Entreri smiled inwardly while watching Sheppard opening the envelope with shaking fingers. Unlike Kolya, he held no grudge for the Colonel and the thought of making him as miserable as possible didn't appeal to Entreri at all – at least not at the moment. The source of his amusement was that until now everything had gone exactly as planned. He was sure that the Lanteans would help them, after all they were typical do-gooders and like all do-gooders predictable to the extreme. To Dalamar, this mission was like a game of chess where only one figure counted – the one representing his own life – and where had just gotten all the figures where he needed them . All he had to do was to make the right moves at the right time and to make sure that his stubborn and vastly independent figures didn't kill each other.
- - - - -
While everybody else was entirely focused on John opening the envelope, Teyla – and Ronon probably too – kept an eye on the Genii around them, especially on Kolya who was watching the whole scene with dark triumph written on his face. She was just wondering whatever pleased him so, when a soft metallic sound got her attention. Apparently, Colonel Sheppard had finally unwrapped Kolya's mysterious message and was currently staring at something on his open palm. From her position, she couldn't make out what the Colonel was looking at but whatever it was it seemed to have deeply shaken him.
"Are you alright, Colonel?" she asked softly, more than a little worried about that.
Instead of answering, Sheppard turned around and showed her what had been in the envelope. She recognized that it was one of the metallic amulets they called 'dog tags' – which was in her opinion a rather strange name for a trinket – and almost gasped aloud when she saw what was written on this particular chain.
'Lieutenant Aiden Ford, United States Marine Corp.'