Pay No Attention To…

A/N: It's my first outing in the SG:A universe, and I'm doing it mainly because I needed to jumpstart the creative juices for my other stuff. I'm an unabashed McKeller fan, so those of you who favor Ronon probably won't enjoy this much, but give it a shot. It's more of a teamfic, anyway, though it features Keller prominently. This grew out of my frustration with Keller always ending up as the damsel in distress (even though those episodes are pretty fun, except for Missing, which was some of the worst Teyla and Keller writing ever (Teyla's not a bitch, and Keller's nowhere near that pathetic, for god's sake)). So here's my shot at giving Jennifer a different role to play. It is also designed to fill what I feel are gaps between The Shrine and Brain Storm, where we simply don't see enough of Keller getting fuzzy feelings for Rodney. This is set sometime soon after Tracker.

Summary: A routine mission becomes...a routine mission with Jennifer Keller when the team runs into trouble off-world while helping a group of humans suffering from an unusual disease. Rated T, for one naughty word at the very end.


"Okay," Jennifer Keller said to herself, standing over her currently-empty medkit. "If I'm going to find this in one more trip, I need to be sure I have everything. I'll need samples of everything—soil, water, air, fungi, pollen—wherever I go. So what do I need?"

"I helped Dr. Voight put together a portable environmental scan kit about a month ago," Marie said from behind her. "Would you like me to do another one for you? I kept the list."

Jennifer turned around, smiling. "Yes, please," she said gratefully. "Honestly, Marie, what would I do-?"

"Dr. Keller, would you please come to my office?" Dr. Woolsey's voice came over the communicator.

Jennifer winced. So much for making it back to Velantea today, she thought. She'd hoped he'd just rubber-stamp another trip, but she knew that was far too much to hope for given how paranoid he was about off-world travel. "Certainly, Dr. Woolsey. I'll be right up." She glanced over at Marie. "Go ahead and put a kit together for me," she said. "Hopefully, I'll have a use for it today."

"Of course," Marie said, giving her a sympathetic glance. "Good luck."

Jennifer smiled wryly and headed for the door.

"Whatcha doin'?" Rodney said, almost running into her at the door.

"Heading to the principal's office," Jennifer muttered as she walked past him towards the gateroom.

"Uh oh," he said, falling in step next to her. "What did you do this time?"

"Nothing," she said, frowning at him. "I just asked to make another trip back to M3Z-441."

This time he frowned. "Still no luck figuring out what's making them sick?"

"No, I'm pretty sure the problem's environmental," she said, "but Woolsey won't approve re-relocating the Denethans until I prove it conclusively. Which is why I need to go back. Which of course means Woolsey's going to make me jump through every single bureaucratic hoop he has before he lets me."

"Maybe I could tell him I found some interesting Ancient ruins," Rodney said.

Jennifer smiled at him. "Thanks, but I think I can handle it. If worse comes to worst, I'll tell him our people may have been exposed to whatever it is."

Rodney looked nervous. "You've been there four times," he said. "More than anybody. Are you sure it's safe to go back?"

"Rodney, I'm fine," Jennifer said, pausing at the stairs up to Woolsey's office. "The Denethans didn't start showing symptoms until they'd been living there for almost two weeks. And it's only the three families, not all of them, which means it has to be fairly localized. And if we keep talking about it," she added, dropping her voice, "Woolsey will hear, and I'll never get back there. So shoo." She waved her hands at him.

"Okay, okay. Just let me know when you're going. I'll come along."

Jennifer smiled at him, surprised. "Even knowing there might be something bad for you there?" she said quietly.

"Well, we won't be there long, right? And you said it's safe for you. You weren't lying, were you?" he said, his eyes narrowing.

"No, of course not," Jennifer said.

"Then I'll come along. Keep you company," he said, smiling and blushing slightly, and then trotted off.

Jennifer watched him go, blushing a little herself. I should tell him, she thought for the thousandth time since he'd confessed his love for her while suffering from the Second Childhood. He deserves to know that I know. But somehow she couldn't bring herself to do it, not when she was still so uncertain of her own feelings.

You are not uncertain, a rebellious part of her said. You know exactly how you feel. You'd never have risked brain surgery with a freaking electric drill on anyone else. Not even Ronon, no matter how pretty he is. You just couldn't stand the thought of-

Shut up, she told herself. Now is not the time to rehash all of that. She sighed, turning to climb the stairs, steeling herself to do battle with Woolsey.

It was every bit as bad as she'd feared. "I'm still not convinced this is necessary," Woolsey said after nearly an hour of debate.

"Well, I am," Jennifer said, her patience fraying to the breaking point. "We sent those people there, sir. If we put them in harm's way, it's our duty to make it right. Otherwise we risk every bit of credibility we've earned in the Pegasus galaxy."

He looked like he was getting a colonoscopy done right in front of her. Bam, she thought triumphantly. That did it. And I didn't even have to bring out the "we've all been exposed" argument.

"Very well," Woolsey said finally. "You have my permission to return to M3Z-441. I'll discuss the security arrangements with Colonel Sheppard."

"Security isn't necessary," Jennifer protested. "We've been there four times, and nothing has happened. That's why we picked that world to begin with."

Woolsey gave her a look. "So now you're a military expert as well, Doctor?"

Jennifer swallowed. Don't push your luck, she told herself. "No, sir," she said contritely.

Woolsey nodded. "Good luck, then. I'll expect a full report on your return this evening."

"Tonight?" Jennifer said. "But that's hardly enough time to—"

"Tonight. You leave in two hours, and I expect you back by 1800 hours. That's Atlantis time, to avoid any possible confusion. Understood?"

Jennifer bit her tongue. "Understood," she ground out.

Two hours later, to the minute, Jennifer trudged into the gateroom, struggling under the weight of the kit Marie had put together in record time, rubbing gingerly at her temple with one hand.

"Hey," Rodney said, slinging on his pack. "What's wrong? Headache? Is it bad? Maybe you shouldn't go—"

"Rodney, I'm fine," Jennifer said. "It's just the normal post-Woolsey headache."

"Oh," he said, glancing nervously up at the office. "Still, if you—"

"Hey, Doc," Sheppard said, coming up with Teyla and Ronon right behind him.

Jennifer frowned. "What are all of you doing here? Whatever Woolsey said—"

"Blame him," Sheppard said, nodding at Rodney. "He said he was coming along, and there's no way I'm letting the two of you go off-world alone. That's a recipe for disaster with a side order of catastrophe."

Jennifer stiffened. "It's perfectly safe," she said. "I—"

"That's what you thought about New Athos," Ronon growled.

Teyla looked almost as annoyed as Jennifer felt, but she nodded. "He is correct, Jennifer. I would rather be too cautious than not cautious enough."

Jennifer closed her mouth, pursing her lips. "Fine," she said finally. "The more the merrier. Just don't blame me if you're bored out of your skulls. And don't even think about trying to get me to leave before I'm good and ready. I'm not coming back until I know exactly what's going on, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," Sheppard said. "I'd rather not have to make this trip twice." He waved to Chuck for the dialing sequence to start, and turned back to Jennifer. "So what's the plan?"

"I go in, get the samples I need and get out. Hopefully," she said. "It all depends on what I find."

"What are you looking for?" Teyla asked curiously.

"Honestly, in this galaxy, I'm not sure," Jennifer admitted. "Given the limited number of people showing symptoms, and the fact that they're all localized to houses on the east side of the village, I suspect there's something in the ground. I'd be willing to bet every one of those houses has a cellar or something-probably something the previous inhabitants dug to hide from culling."

"Like radon," Rodney offered as the gate sequence completed and the wormhole formed.

Jennifer nodded. "Only the symptoms are completely different from that. And I have no idea what compounds in the environment could cause the symptoms I'm seeing." She grimaced. "It really worries me. I'm starting to wonder if the village wasn't culled. Maybe the people abandoned it because of this." She sighed. "Sometimes I really hate this galaxy."

"Okay, then I think we'll just leave you to it," Sheppard said as they started for the gate horizon. "We'll do a quick patrol of the village perimeter to make sure there aren't any nasties hanging around, and then we'll find some way to entertain ourselves." He stopped right before he went through the gate and turned to look at Jennifer, who had to pull up short to avoid bumping into him. "Promise me you won't go wandering off, okay?"

"I wouldn't just—" Jennifer began indignantly, then stopped at the look Sheppard gave her. "Fine. I promise. Just those three houses, I swear."

Sheppard grunted. "I've heard that before," she heard him mutter as he headed into the gate.

"1800 hours," Woolsey called after them as they stepped through. "Not a minute—"


Fifteen minutes later, as they approached the village, Jennifer was really wishing she'd given in and let Rodney or Ronon carry her pack for her. She was breathing hard by the time they got to the village, and the others had barely broken a sweat. I really need to find time to work out more, she thought ruefully. Even Rodney's doing better than I am.

"Okay," she said, starting off at a trot towards the east side of the village. "I don't have a lot of time, so you all do whatever you're going to do. I'll be in one of the houses on the east side if you need me. Just ask one of the other villagers, they'll be able to tell you where."

"So can I help? I mean, I could help," Rodney said, his voice changing from puppydog to manly confidence in a second. "I could scan for unusual compounds."

Jennifer nodded, fighting back an indulgent smile. "I can handle the stuff on the interior of the houses, but it'd be good to have a better idea of what's around the village. It's just possible that I missed something on the medical histories I took, and there's something outside the village these families have in common. Maybe while the Colonel does his perimeter check, you could scan the area?"

"Yes, absolutely!" Rodney said. "Happy to help. And I can check for Ancient power sources, too, while I'm at it. Never hurt to have an excuse to come back here, right?"

"Thank you, Rodney," she said. "So…when we get back, um…" She hesitated, trying to catch her breath and her courage at the same time.

"Yeah?" Rodney said.

"I'll buy you a beer," she said all at once, then blushed. "I mean…as a thank you."

"Really?" Rodney said, and his voice was comically high. "Are you sure? I mean, the last time we had beer together, I was kind of—"

"I'm sure, Rodney," Jennifer said gently. "The only reason we haven't done it—I mean, had another beer," she added, blushing slightly, "—since then is because you didn't ask me."

"I was supposed to ask?" Rodney said. "Honestly, who makes up these rules?"

Jennifer gave him a look. "There's a committee at the U.N."

Rodney glared at her. "Seriously, I obviously don't know what I'm doing, so if you're expecting me—"

"I'm not expecting much," Jennifer said, smiling a little to take the sting out of her words. "I think I've seen you at your worst."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Rodney said, looking miserable. "Just ask Katie."

"Rodney," Jennifer said patiently. "Just say yes, okay?"

Rodney looked at her for a moment, then smiled as he realized she really wanted him to say it. "Well, it's your funeral. Yes, sure, great, absolutely!"

"Good," she said.

Neither of them noticed the happy grin Sheppard shot at Teyla. Or the faintly disappointed look on Ronon's face.


"So you really think it's this place causing my illness?" Mereth, the first Denethan Jennifer had treated, asked. She was exactly where Jennifer had left her two days earlier, in her bed, too dizzy to get up.

"I'm almost certain," Jennifer said. "When you got here, did you find a cellar, or maybe a tunnel, to escape the culling?"

"Both," Mereth said. "There's a wall covered by shelving in the cellar. It swings open, and there's a tunnel. It leads out to the edge of town, almost to the forest. I explored it that first week we got here, and I've been cleaning out decayed food from the cellar since then." She coughed. "So will we have to leave here?"

Jennifer sighed. "It depends on what I find down there. But yes, I think you will. I'm sorry, Mereth. We really thought this place was safe."

"Don't be," Mereth said, and coughed slightly. "We are all grateful to be alive. If we have to start over again somewhere else, we'll manage."

Jennifer smiled. "Well, I need to go down there and take some samples to be sure what we're up against. Once I know what it is, I think I'll be able to come up with a treatment."

Mereth nodded. "The stairs are back there, in the kitchen."

Jennifer waited till she was on the stairs to pull out the respirator she'd brought along. If there is something in the cellar, better safe than sorry, she thought. She was regretting not having taken that precaution on her earlier trips, but there was nothing she could do about it now. Hopefully her exposure hadn't been enough to cause any problems. And if it was, well, I'll just have to find a treatment.


"So, you and Jennifer have a date," Sheppard said some time later as they were nearing the end of their circuit around the village.

"It would appear so," Rodney said smugly, then looked a little green. "Oh, god, what if I screw it up?"

"If?" Ronon rumbled.

"Relax, McKay," Sheppard said. "If Jennifer still likes you after having been around you as much as she has, I think you'll be fine if you just…be yourself. Just don't overdo it."

"What does that mean?" Rodney said. "How would I overdo it?"

"I don't know," Sheppard said, annoyed. "Just…don't try too hard, y'know?"

"But what if I overdo that?" Rodney said. "I mean, how much is too much, or not enough? I need metrics!"

"You are overthinking this, Rodney," Teyla said. "Just talk to her like you would to me. Only…perhaps…less patronizing," she added apologetically.

Rodney made an indignant noise. "When have I been patronizing to you?"

"Only when you're breathing," Sheppard said dryly.

Rodney looked annoyed, and made a show out of pulling out his scanner and starting to take readings from the area.

Sheppard waited till he'd wandered out of earshot and leaned toward Ronon. "So, you okay with this, Chewie?"

Ronon raised an eyebrow.

Sheppard looked abashed. "Yeah, well, is it going to be a problem?"

Ronon sighed. "Nah. If she really wants him…" He shrugged expressively.

"Women," Sheppard said, nodding in commiseration.

"Be careful, John," Teyla said quietly, "one of us might report you to the committee."

Ronon snorted.

"Uh…guys?" Rodney called, studying his scanner and looking nervous. He looked up at them, frowning. "I think the gate just opened."

Sheppard turned, looking back towards the gate. They were on the far side of the village from it, near the north end. "Okay, let's check it out." He set off at a trot, tapping his communicator as he went. "Hey, Doc, you there?"

No answer. Sheppard swore quietly. "Doctor Keller, please respond."

"Yes, I'm here," her voice came, though it was shrouded in static. "Sorry, I'm in a tunnel, and it must block the signal."

Teyla breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, listen, somebody just came through the gate, so we're going to check it out," Sheppard said. "Stay put. We'll be in touch."


Great, Jennifer thought, climbing the stairs out of the cellar. I should have known. Of course the fifth trip here, something would go wrong. Woolsey will never let me go off world again.

"Is something wrong?" Mereth said. She was propped up on one arm, but she was swaying.

"No," Jennifer said, tucking her respirator back into her med kit, along with the samples she'd taken. "Someone just came through the gate. I'm sure it's nothing."

"Did you find anything down in the cellar?"

"Lie back down," Jennifer said, pulling out her stethoscope. "I want to listen to your breathing again. I think I found some possible compounds, but I need to do some more analysis, and I don't have the equipment here to do it. I'll have to go back to Atlantis." She listened to Mereth's lung sounds, and they were even more congested than they'd been before. She sighed. "And I think I need to bring you back to Atlantis with us."

Mereth's eyes went wide. "Is it that bad?"

"No," Jennifer said, trying to sound reassuring. "It's not that it's bad. It's just…my supervisor isn't happy with me coming here so often. It'll be easier for me to treat you if I have you in my infirmary, that's all." She smiled. "As soon as my team gets back, we'll get you loaded onto a stretcher. It'll be fine." She hesitated, then stood up. "Listen, I'm going to go check on Nils next door, okay?"

"Of course," Mereth said.

Jennifer grabbed the med kit and started for the door. Just as she was about to open it, though, Mereth began coughing, a rattling series of coughs that got deeper and more racking as they went on. Jennifer dropped the med kit, grabbed a hypo and headed back in. "Here," she said, injecting the medication. "This should help with the cough. And help—"

Jennifer broke off and her head jolted up as she heard the sound of gunfire. She reached up and tapped her communicator. "Um…are those…guns?" she said.

"Guns! Yes, guns! Lots of guns!" Rodney said, and he sounded like he was running. "Where are you?"

"I'm still with one of the Denethans," Jennifer said. "On the east side of town."

"Okay, stay there," Sheppard said, sounding almost as out of breath as Rodney had. There was another round of gunfire, both over the communicator and outside. "Ronon's on his way to get you. Just stay—oh, crap…"

"Colonel Sheppard?" Jennifer said.

"Listen, ah…you need to find a place to hide," Sheppard said. "We're not going to be able to get to you as soon as I'd like."

"Hide?" Jennifer said. She glanced over at Mereth, and then caught sight of movement out the window. There was a man in a uniform, carrying a gun. And he was coming her way. She dropped to the floor, breathing hard.

"The cellar," Mereth said weakly. "Hurry."

"But what about you?" Jennifer said, raising her head so she could see her. "I can't just—"

"I'm not going anywhere," Mereth said, "and I won't be the cause of your death. Go, quickly. I'm no threat to anyone. They'll probably just ignore me. Go into the passage. It leads to a shed on the edge of the town. From there, you might be able to make it into the forest."

Jennifer hesitated, but there was more gunfire, much closer this time, and the sound of footsteps outside. She reached out and squeezed Mereth's hand, then scrambled over to the door to the kitchen.

The med kit, she thought, kicking herself for almost forgetting it, but when she glanced back, she saw a shadow in the hallway by the door. She ducked through the door and darted down the stairs to the cellar, hoping whoever it was didn't come in.

It was dark in the cellar, but there was just enough light from the stairwell for her to see the shelving. She ran over to it and pulled it carefully away from the wall, grateful when it moved as smoothly and quietly as it had the first time.

She ducked into the narrow passage, pulling the shelving closed behind her, and was immediately furious with herself for having left the med kit, and her flashlight, behind. The darkness around her was oppressive. Don't think about it, she thought, and the moment she thought it, she was back in the isolation room, trapped in a pink cocoon, with the darkness closing in around her, and that awful voice... Stop it, she told herself. Focus. She tapped her communicator. "C-colonel, I'm hidden. If I have to, I might be able to get out of the town from here. What should I do?"

There was no response, not even static.

Jennifer held her breath. "Rodney?" she said. "Can you hear me?"

There's no way the signal's going to get through with the door shut, she thought. She debated going out into the cellar again, but she didn't dare risk it. If she was caught, they might hurt Mereth. Okay, she thought. Down the tunnel. I can get to the shed, contact the others, and decide what to do from there.

She felt her way along the walls with both hands, turned sideways because the passage was so narrow. Her shoulders brushed the walls as it was, and she tried very hard not to think about the dark.

Which meant it was all she could think about. "Stop it," she whispered aloud. "You can move. It's not the same at all. Just stop it." Think about the compounds you found, she told herself silently. What treatment—?

The respirator. She groaned inwardly. I left the respirator, too. Damn it! But there was nothing she could do about it now. She tried to take shallow breaths as she shuffled along the tunnel. She started counting her steps to keep her mind occupied, and had made it to eighty-three when she tripped on a step up and fell forward, catching herself on the stairs with her hands.

She crawled up them feeling above her with her hands to avoid banging her head, and touched a wood panel. She carefully pushed up on it, and even the dim light in the tiny shed was blinding. And just about the best thing she'd ever seen in her life.

She waited till her eyes adjusted and looked out through the thin crack to be sure she would be hidden. Once she was sure she was safe, she tapped her communicator again.

"Colonel, can you hear me?"

"Yeah," Sheppard said. "We're a little busy right now." More gunfire. "Hang on."

Jennifer left the channel open, hoping she wouldn't hear anything awful. They're fine, she told herself. Rodney and Teyla and Ronon and the Colonel know what they're doing. They're fine.

"Okay," Sheppard said finally, "where are you, Doc?"

"In a shed, on the east side of town, close to the forest," she said. "I came down a tunnel from-"

"How close to the forest?" Sheppard interrupted.

Jennifer lifted the trap door, crawled over to the door of the shed, and peeked through the crack of the door. "Maybe…fifty meters?" she said uncertainly.

Sheppard swore quietly. "Okay, for the moment, stay where you are. We're going to try to get to you."

"Sheppard," Ronon's voice cut in. "There's more of 'em. Coming in from the east side."

Jennifer heard movement outside the shed, and scrambled back down into the tunnel, closing the trap door above her.

"How many?" Teyla said.

"Too many," Ronon said. "I count at least fifteen, and I think there's more."

Sheppard swore again, and then there was a sound of a scuffle over the communicator, followed by an angry roar that could only have come from Ronon.

"Ronon!" Sheppard said. "Where are you, buddy?"

There was no answer.


"What do we do?" Rodney said, firing his gun over the cart he was hiding behind without looking.

"On my mark, you go for that alley," Sheppard said, tilting his head toward the narrow gap between houses just behind them. "I'll cover you. Teyla, you go with him."

Teyla nodded.

"Okay, now!" Sheppard said, and fired several short bursts at the uniformed men on the other side of the plaza.

"I have you covered, John," Teyla called a moment later. "Go!"

Sheppard scrambled to his feet and dashed into the alley, skidding to a stop just behind Teyla. Unfortunately, he could now see uniformed men running across the plaza to both sides. We don't have much time, he thought. "Down the alley," he said, patting Teyla's shoulder. She darted to the other side of the alley and began backing down it, keeping her eyes trained on the plaza. She fired a quick burst as she saw movement, and Sheppard saw muzzle flashes from the far side of the cart they'd just been using as cover.

"Keller!" Sheppard said, firing steadily as he backed down the alley. "If you can hear me, get the hell out of here!"

"What?!" Rodney shouted. "What are you talking about?"

"We're getting cut off," Sheppard said, keeping his voice just low enough Rodney could hear it over the gunfire. "Those guys shooting at us are just keeping us pinned down till the rest of 'em flank us."

"So we de-flank them!" Rodney yelled, his voice comically high. "She can't go out there on her own! You don't know what's outside the town!"

"I'm betting it's better than what's in it," Sheppard muttered. "Besides, I think they've already passed her position."

"John is correct," Teyla said, glancing back at Rodney as she backed down the other side of the alley. "Jennifer may be better off making a run for the gate."

"Yeah, right," Rodney said derisively. "This is Jennifer we're talking about. With her track record, she'll probably fall down a well, break her ankle, catch pneumonia, and then get captured by these guys."

Sheppard had to admit he had a point. But whatever Keller's luck had been, he was hoping this was the time for the law of averages to work in their favor.

There was a momentary lull in the gunfire coming from outside the alley. "Rodney, find us a spot to hole up. We're sitting ducks out here," Sheppard said.

Rodney turned, muttering something under his breath, and tried to open a door into one of the buildings. It wouldn't budge, even when he threw his shoulder into it. "Ow!" he yelped, rubbing his shoulder. He turned and looked down the alley. "Oh, crap," he breathed.

"Put down your weapons!" one of the men pointing a gun at him from the end of the alley said. He was wearing a Genii uniform, though he looked pretty scruffy.

Rodney raised his hands, dropping his gun as he did. Sheppard turned and looked like he'd eaten something disgusting. He nodded at Teyla, and they both raised their hands.

"Find the other one," the man snapped at the cluster of men behind him.

"What other one?" Rodney said, all innocence. "There isn't anybody else. Just us."

"What about the big fellow?" the man said dryly, coming up and grabbing Rodney's gun from the ground. "And whoever you were calling to just now."

"Oh," Rodney said. "The big guy. Right. Forgot about him. But that's it. We weren't calling to anyone. I mean, we were, but he was who we were calling to. Just the big guy."

"Bring them," the man said, ignoring him. "And make sure the men at the gate keep their eyes open."

Sheppard groaned inwardly. He'd been hoping this was just a small team, but it sounded like practically a full-scale invasion. Just keep your head down, Jennifer, he thought, hoping somehow she'd get the message. Keep your head down and wait for the cavalry.


Jennifer skidded to a stop in a clearing, looking back over her shoulder, breathing hard. Waiting in the tunnel had been a nightmare. She could hear the others, and knew it was bad. And then Colonel Sheppard had yelled at her to run. She'd felt like a traitor leaving them behind, but she knew that if he thought she was better off making a run for it, they weren't going to make it out themselves.

Which meant that she was the only hope they had of getting backup. She had to get to the gate and call for help. So she'd made the dash to the treeline outside the town, praying as she sprinted that no one would see her. She'd been convinced she couldn't possibly make it, but somehow she had gotten lucky. She had kept running directly away from the town for another hundred meters before she finally felt like she could take a moment to catch her breath.

But now what? she thought, wheezing, her hands on her knees. She was on the far side of the town from the gate, so she had to circle around the town to get back to it. But which way?

She caught sight of movement in the trees behind her, and a faint sound of voices.

Damn it! she thought. I guess that decides it. I have to lose these guys before I can try for the gate. She turned and ran as fast as her legs could carry her directly away from the voices, hoping she could run faster than whoever was after her.


"So," the Genii officer said, standing in front of Sheppard and the others. They were on their knees, hands bound behind them, in the central plaza of the town. Except for Ronon, who was sprawled face-down, out cold. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Why have you attacked us?" Teyla said. "We have an understanding with the Genii. Your leader—"

"I have no leader," the Genii officer said. "Since the coup, my men and I have been acting as…free agents."

"Captain Venis," one of the other Genii said, coming up. "Raden just called in. He spotted someone running from the town to the east. They are pursuing."

"Veenis?" Rodney said, his voice incredulous even at a whisper. "Are you kidding me?"

Venis nodded curtly and turned back to look at Sheppard. "Obviously, our intelligence was accurate," he said. "There is something of value on this planet. Why else would Atlantis send you here?"

Sheppard frowned. "Value?" he said. "You got it all wrong, Venis. We're here to help these people. There's a disease—"

Venis waved his hand dismissively. "Of course there is," he said sarcastically. "And if you just happen to find an Ancient fortress while treating this 'disease,' so much the better, right?"

"Ancient fortress?" Sheppard said, wishing for once he was just playing stupid. "There's an—"

"Look," Rodney cut in. "Just let us go. You know we're from Atlantis, and your guys haven't exactly had good luck going up against us before. You let us go, you can have your fortress, and we'll just be on our way."

Venis ignored him. "I assume one or more of you can operate Ancient technology," he said. "Which of you is it?"

Sheppard clenched his jaw.

Venis sighed. "We have a problem," he said. "We haven't been able to get into the fortress. I'd like very much to fix that problem. And one of you is going to help me. The others will suffer a great deal of unnecessary pain. Now, since I don't know which of you has the ability I need, I'm going to have to be careful not to kill you. But luckily for all of us, I'm very good at extracting information."

"That won't be necessary," Rodney said, sounding resigned. "I can do it."

"McKay!" Sheppard growled.

"What?" Rodney said. "Look, you may be into playing the stoic hero role, but I'm not. So listen, uh, Captain…Penis was it?"

"Venis," he corrected, his voice icy, and Sheppard prayed Rodney could keep a straight face.

"Right, Captain Venis," Rodney said ingratiatingly. "You just point me to this fortress of yours, and I'll be happy to help you out."

Venis smiled. "Excellent," he said. "Bring them. If you are unable to do what you say," he added, leaning over Rodney, "I will not hesitate to punish you."

The Genii dragged them to their feet and started off to the east, two of them grabbing Ronon and dragging him along with them.

"Great going, Rodney," Sheppard said under his breath once they'd made it out of the town. The path they were following was narrow enough that they had to go single-file, and the men in front and behind them might not be able to hear them. He hoped.

"I know what I'm doing," Rodney said quietly.

"I sure hope so," Sheppard said. "What do you think this fortress is?"

"Beats me. But if it is Ancient tech," Rodney said under his breath, "I'm hoping there's a Zed P.M. in it. At least this way, we have a shot at finding out."

"Shut up and walk," one of the Genii said menacingly.

Two hours till we're due to check in, Sheppard thought as they trudged along. Hopefully, Woolsey will be pissed enough at Keller to send somebody after us right away. So a minimum of two hours. Unless Keller actually managed to get to the gate. In which case—

"Raden, report," Captain Venis said in his radio.

"We're following the Lantean's trail," Raden said, his voice barely audible to Sheppard. "We're getting close to the cliff. The Lantean has nowhere to run. We'll have him soon."

"Good," Venis said. "Bring him to the fortress once you have him."

"Yes, sir," Raden said.

Idiot, Sheppard said to himself. You know better than to tempt fate with wishful thinking. He glanced back at Rodney and tried to smile reassuringly.

Rodney looked like he'd been kicked in the stomach.


Jennifer tripped over a root and went sprawling, the breath knocked out of her for an instant. She struggled back to her feet, looking back over her shoulder. She thought she'd managed to gain a little ground on her pursuers, but she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep it up. Her legs were getting rubbery.

She started off again, her pace barely more than a fast walk, but it was the best she could manage. As it turned out, that was a good thing. If she'd been moving any faster, she might have run right off the cliff she suddenly found in front of her. As it was, she skidded to a stop, her arms wheeling to keep herself from tipping over the edge.

End of the line, she thought, looking frantically to her left and then her right. The cliff ran for what looked like miles, and she couldn't see any way down what looked like a drop of a hundred miles, though she knew it was probably only a hundred meters or so. And there's no way I can get away from them running along the edge, she thought. They'll be here any second. She groaned. Why did it have to be a cliff? Why not a river, or even a face-hugging alien, or, god, anything but a cliff?

She leaned over the edge of the cliff, her heart pounding as she fought off the horrible feeling of vertigo, and felt an even worse sinking feeling when she realized she might actually be able to climb down it, at least to a point. It looked like there was a ledge a few meters down just to her left, and there were footholds almost to the point of steps.

Jesus, she thought. This is the worst trip ever. I'm going to have to face every single phobia I have. She swallowed hard. God, please, not sharks…

She looked back over her shoulder, but still couldn't see anything. Okay, she told herself. Okay, you can do this. Just don't look down. She got down on her hands and knees and tried to back over the edge, but she froze, one foot in space. Come on, she told herself, you have to do this. You have to get away, or Rodney and the others don't have a chance. Come on!

Jennifer managed to reach her foot down to the first foothold. Keep going. It's just a few steps. Get down to the ledge, and you can hide there. She took another step down, her hands still on the cliff top, and thought her heart was going to leap out of her chest. Don't hyperventilate, she told herself, and tried to use one of the calming techniques Teyla had taught her. It helped enough for her to get down another couple of steps, though she was clinging to the side of the cliff so tightly she felt like her hands were never going to straighten out again.

One step, Jennifer told herself. Just take one more step. It became a litany, a mantra she repeated over and over, trying to keep calm and failing utterly.

"Atlantis officer!" a man's voice called from above, and Jennifer froze, looking up, but she couldn't see him, and his voice sounded like it was coming from farther away than just the top of the cliff. "You can't escape. Give yourself up, and you will not be harmed!"

Jennifer had to fight the urge to call out for help. Keep going, she told herself harshly. You're almost there! And then suddenly, amazingly, she had one foot on the edge of the ledge she'd seen. She shifted her weight, trying not to look at the sickening drop below her, and her foot slipped.

She shrieked, feeling herself sliding off into nothing.