Spirits of the Dead, a stargate: atlantis fanfic

Title: Spirits of the Dead
Written by: gater101 and CazzBlade
Summery: When McKay's technical skills are required on another planet he uncovers a conspiracy. The team are detained for questioning, but an unexpected blast from Ronon's past complicates matters further.
Rating: T
Authors notes: Sorry for the delay, my fault (Cazz), I had a family illness over Christmas that delayed the writing, otherwise we'd have been sorted as we'd written the detailed outline in June! :P

John leaned forward and edged his head around the side of the wall. He could hear footsteps but wasn't sure which one of the multitude of pristine white corridors they were coming from. His muscles were taught but his mind was calm and focused. They needed to get out of here and nothing could distract him from that purpose.

He saw the way was clear and motioned for Ronon to take point down the new path. John watched closely as Teyla followed behind the Satedan before taking up the rear once he had pushed Rodney in front of him.

Sheppard followed behind his team, jogging quietly down the short corridor. He saw Ronon pause when he reached the next turning, the big man looked at him.

"Two of them down the other end. There's a turn half way down, we can make it before they reach us." Ronon said, as low as he could muster.

"Any other options?" Sheppard asked back in a whisper, his heart dropping at Ronon's shake of head.

"Okay," Sheppard said, "As quickly and quietly as possible." He looked pointedly at McKay.

Sheppard saw the play of emotions across Rodney's face and when Rodney made to protest, Sheppard flashed him a fresh glare that quickly – and efficiently – shut him up.

………………

Teyla met Sheppard's eye and nodded to him before taking the lead. She kept light on her feet while sprinting for the opening, keeping one eye on the path before her and one eye on the two guards. Her breath caught in her mouth when one of the guards turned their way but he quickly turned back. Teyla reached the turning and swiftly edged around the wall. Remaining calm she strode ahead, glancing behind to see Ronon and Rodney already round the turning and Sheppard reach the new corridor. His eyes widened as he looked down towards the guards.

"Go!" Sheppard shouted, turned and pointed in her direction, his eyes piercing into hers, "They've made us."

Her legs pumped faster hearing the footsteps and shouts behind them.

"Down here," Ronon said and Teyla immediately turned back to her colleague, unquestionably trusting his judgement when they cut down a different corridor. "And here," he said, turning off again. Teyla could feel the blood pounding through her system, adrenaline urging it faster and faster. They were used to situations like this but she could never get rid of that fear for her friends' safety, the people who it would cause so much pain to lose.

…………….

Sheppard followed behind his teammates, keeping an eye on their surroundings, he spotted an empty room on his right, noticing the room had thick enough blinds to conceal them. "In here," he told his friends.

His teammates turned back from their position just ahead of him and entered the room. Once they were all inside he shut the door and pulled the blind down to cover the window.

They crouched below the small window ledge, keeping as still as possible. Sheppard held still for what felt like an age before cautiously raising up enough to see through the bottom of the blind. His heart thumped in his chest as two shadows flew around the corner. His body reflexed and jerked down. His teammates looked at him knowing what that meant and nodded in joint apprehension.

………………

They were all going to die. He knew it. He held his breath as footsteps jogged past the room. They waited for a few minutes making sure their pursuers were gone, giving Rodney time to calm his frantic breathing. His body never had gotten the hang of this physical exertion crap. His heart was beating loudly in his chest and he knew it wasn't entirely from their frantic run; after all these years his nerves were still not used to the near misses but every situation brought new perils that played on his anxieties.

Rodney let his breath out when Sheppard nodded that the way looked clear. He gave some instructions on what direction they should take, Rodney wasn't quite sure what the Colonel was meaning but figured he wouldn't be leading the way so it didn't really matter so he just nodded and moved when Sheppard pushed him forward. He crept to the door following behind Ronon, weapons raised. They jogged back down the corridor the way they'd come, taking a different route once they reached the end. Rodney's nerves were starting to calm, he couldn't hear anyone chasing them and from what he remembered of the base schematics they weren't far from the gate.

The team approached a downward flight out stairs; Rodney breathed a sigh of relief at the large expanse of bare white floor reflecting back at him from the bottom of the stairs, nobody to be seen.

Jogging down the stairs took their toll and laboured Rodney's breathing. He felt a comforting hand on his shoulder and Sheppard whispered, "Lets get out of here." A small smile creeping across both of their faces. Feeling the freedom of the gate ahead of them the team sped up.

"Hold it there!" A sharp cry shouted at them from behind. Rodney froze. He didn't want to turn around, turning around meant acknowledging that the person was real; it meant they really had been caught when they were so close to getting out of there. Rodney looked at the 'Gate wistfully and his shoulders slumped as more footsteps joined the fray behind them. Rodney closed his eyes and slowly pivoted on his heels.

"Ronon?" A female voice queried in surprise. Rodney's eyes snapped open as he recognised the voice wasn't Teyla's.

A woman stood at the front of a group of soldiers, gun trained on the team. She was taller than Teyla and slightly bulkier but looked like she could kick Ronon's ass two ways from Sunday. Rodney wouldn't stand a chance against her. Her dark hair was pulled back in a sharp ponytail, accenting her features. Her eyes were shadowed but piercing, and staring straight at the big man beside him.

"Myrina." Ronon said under his breath.

(36 hours earlier)

Sheppard watched as Lorne's team trudged tiredly through the 'Gate, their faces weary. They'd been gone for almost two whole days with one of the diplomatic teams to try and convince the fairly advanced planet of Adetas that they should join the Alliance. Last Sheppard had heard, they'd been doing fairly well.

"Major, report," he commanded as he trotted down the steps to the platform.

"Sir," Lorne acknowledged with a nod and indicated for his team to continue on without him. "The High Councillor's are interested... Dabeka managed to convince them that joining the Alliance would be a good thing for their planet."

Sheppard nodded.

"That's good right?" Lorne tilted his head and flicked his eyebrows up and down once before smirking at Sheppard. "It's not good?"

"They're trying to interface their own database with the Ancient database they have on their planet. I may have mentioned that McKay managed to interface ours and they were very interested..."

"You loaned us out, didn't you?" Lorne grinned. "Where's Dabeka?" Sheppard asked of the diplomatic unit on Lorne's team.

"She and Stewart stayed behind to batter out a few final details. They'll come back once McKay gets there."

"I can't believe Lorne sold us out like that! I'm not a substitute teacher that can be sent in whenever there's a shortage somewhere!" McKay grumbled as they waited for the 'Gate to dial. "It's not like I don't have things to be getting on with down in the lab. Now I've had to hand off some of the diagnostic analysis to Zelenka and who knows what could go wrong with that..."

Sheppard leaned back and looked over to Teyla. She met his eye with an amused smile on her face and Sheppard rolled his eyes dramatically before leaning forward again. He checked his clip again and ignored the knowing smirk on Ronon's face that he could see out of the corner of his eye.

"Why do we need to go with him?" Ronon asked over the top of McKay's incessant ramblings and Sheppard met the Satedan's eyes and gave a slight huff.

"We're his team." Ronon levelled him with a stare. "And because you're the only one that can shoot him without causing permanent damage," he continued with a side-long glance at Lorne.

"Oh ha, ha," McKay retorted when he overheard the conversation. "You could just have told-"

"See you, Sheppard!" Lorne called as he walked into the gate room for his meeting with Woolsey, grinning.

"All right, let's go," Sheppard said as he stepped forward towards the event horizon. He braced himself, never having quite gotten used to the feeling of dematerialisation. On the other side he almost groaned out loud when he saw Stewart and Dabeka standing waiting for them before heading back to Atlantis. "Lieutenant, Dabeka," he acknowledged as he moved forward.

"Oh, great," McKay continued to grumble when he caught sight of the two other personnel. "Come to tell us we're not needed?"

Stewart and Sheppard smirked.

"Sorry, doc. They're all yours."

Dabeka quickly debriefed them and urged them to not undo all the hard work she had done. Sheppard feigned hurt and she simply glowered at him until he conceded to at least try not to.

"Thank you," she said, laying on the gratitude somewhat thickly and Sheppard sneered good-naturedly at her.

"Okay, let's move out."

"I can't believe they rented us out like this," McKay grumbled again as he tapped away at the tablet in his arms. He glanced every now and again at the data flashing across the ridiculously outdated computer monitors on the panel on the wall and sighed, watching the same warning flash up again.

"Actually," Sheppard replied as he fingered one of the other computers in the room inquisitively, "they rented you out. We're just the escorts – so we've got more reason to complain than you do." McKay made to protest but Sheppard cocked an eyebrow at him. "Just... work faster."

"Well if their computer system wasn't so outdated I wouldn't be having even two thirds of these problems. You know how quickly I got our database compatible with Ancient one back on Atl-"

"Rodney!" Sheppard motioned with his head to the tablet in Rodney's arms that was beeping loudly in tune with Rodney's annoying staccato. "Just... hurry up."

He felt Teyla fall into step beside him as he turned away from McKay and he turned to her slightly, acknowledging her appearance.

"Teyla," he greeted her with a small grin.

"How did you manage to talk Doctor Keller into taking your cast off so soon?" she asked as she looked pointedly at his cast-free arm. He just grinned over at her and she returned it. "How does it feel?"

John rolled his eyes and puffed out his chest.

"It feels fine," he retorted but softened his tone with a small smile.

It had not been her intention to bring up the small matter of his hairline fracture turned full on break but she could see the playfulness seeping off of him and she felt it melt into her a little too. He glared forlornly at her but she could see the amusement lingering behind his mask. "It was your own fault," she reminded him.

Teyla hobbled down the corridor on her crutches. She needed some fresh air so had decided to find John and Rodney on the pier, deciding to forego the turbo-lifts in lieu of some gentle exercise.

She heard a groan followed by a high-pitched yelp, and quickened her pace to the pier.

The fresh air swept through her hair as reached the open doorway. She almost toppled off her crutches as John and Rodney ran into her.

"Sorry Teyla." John apologised quickly. She almost scolded them but the pain lines in Sheppard's forehead prevented her. His elbow was clutched close to his chest and Rodney was averting his eyes in guilt. "Just going to the infirmary." John winced at the concern she was showing him.

"I will she you there shortly." Teyla called after them as they made their way down the corridor.

"You know how McKay can get when he's trying to prove himself right," John grumbled good-naturedly in an attempt to justify his actions.

"Was it worth it though? Worth injuring your not fully healed arm, just to prove a point to Rodney?"

If she didn't know John better she'd say there was a pout forming on his lips.

"Yes." John nodded; his pout now disappeared as he confirmed his decision. "There's no way Batman is the best hero."

"Oh..." Sheppard turned at Rodney's quiet exclamation.

"What?" He moved back to McKay's work desk and looked over his shoulder.

"I don't... this can't be right." He tapped a few buttons and Sheppard watched as he brought up a few folders and the electronic scanner highlighted certain passages.

"What is it Rodney?"

"If this is right... there was a massive population drop a couple of years back."

"Does it say why?" Teyla asked as she rounded the other side of Rodney.

"There's... it says here," he pointed to a passage on the screen, "that there was an illness." He tapped another few buttons and another file came up and he scanned through that one. "But this here... This is a military file; it was sealed but the program I had to run to get into the database opened it up..." He trailed off and Sheppard shot him an exasperated stare.

"What does it say, Rodney?"

"Oh..." he tapped another few buttons. "It says that they were... shipped off world." He dropped his arms and turned his wide eyes to Sheppard. "To be culled."

"Yes," one of the Administrator's commented as he frowned at the team. "A few years ago there was a great illness that swept across Adetas. Many died. To save our people from further exposure, the military set up a quarantine off world."

"And no one returned?" Teyla questioned.

"As Dronek said, it was a terrible illness. The people knew that if someone went to the quarantine camp they were not coming back."

"Then what about this other report?" McKay tapped a few buttons on the computer in front of him and pulled up the file and Sheppard watched as it appeared on the large screen in front of the table of administrators. "This one has the same details but with one slight difference..."

"That is a sealed file! How did you get it open?" One of the Administrator's demanded, admonished. "You have no permission to-"

"It says that you sent your people off to be culled."

The group of Administrator's paled and sat back in their seats.

"Excuse me?"

"That is preposterous!"

"Look," Sheppard said as he pointed to the screen. "Read it for yourselves."

"How did you get this file open?"

"The program I used to transfer the files automatically opens sealed files-"

"What were you doing reading our files?" Another asked, outraged.

"The database brought it up by itself," McKay countered and Sheppard glared at him out of the corner of his eye. Even he knew how ridiculous that sounded. "The Ancient database brings up files it thinks pose or have posed a threat to the people – it thought that this was one of them," he continued matter of fact-ly, glaring at Sheppard.

"No," another Administrator commented. "We would know about this."

"In a way, you kind of did," Sheppard commented, though not unkindly but the Administrators still pierced him with fierce looks. "Look, we just thought you should know. And we're going to have to bring it up the Coalition when it comes to your joining meeting, especially considering that most of the people involved are still in high ranking positions here."

"Ah-ha!" the one called Dronek exclaimed. "I see what is going on here."

"You do?" Ronon asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You do not wish us to join the Alliance so you have fabricated a story to keep us out!"

"Don't be ridiculous," Sheppard dismissed with a shake of his head.

"What other reason is there?" A different one asked, a look of anger spreading over his face. "How did you get this file in our database? Why would you do this?"

"The file was on your database already! I just found it!" McKay exclaimed.

"Coincidentally, I am sure," Dronek commented and shared an amused/knowing look with one of the others. "It seems highly unlikely that we would not know of this."

"You already admitted yourself that people went off world and didn't come back," Teyla remarked and Sheppard recognised her diplomatic voice, though he could hear the strain behind it. "Is it such a stretch to believe that those were culled to keep your planet safe? It is not the first time this has occurred-"

"The Adetans are a proud people; none amongst us would allow for this. We have been fortunate that the Wraith have not found us yet; and here you are telling us our good fortune is a product of... what? An extermination of our very own people?" Dronek argued. "No, that is not the case." He made a motion and a door on the far side of the room opened and a group of guards stepped in.

"Now hang on a minute-" Sheppard began, holding his hands up.

"Take them to a holding cell until we get to the bottom of this."

"it's kind of funny that you're the one to protest to this so much considering it was your name alongside Chief Guy Thé that signed off on the whole thing!" Sheppard continued and Dronek slapped his open palm onto the table in front of him.

"Now!"

"That went well," Sheppard said as he fell onto the small bench at the back of the room.

Ronon grunted in confirmation and moved to lean against the opposite wall.

"I do not think Dabeka will be entirely pleased with how this day has gone," Teyla remarked as she slid onto the bench beside Sheppard who rolled his eyes at her comment.

"We need a plan to get out of here," Sheppard said some moments later and Ronon nodded in the corner.

"I can't believe... This is what we get for trying to help them out? Remind me to thank Major Lorne when we get back," McKay grumbled and Sheppard snorted, imagining how McKay could rig some of the city's systems to play havoc on the Major's quarters. He knew from personal experience how devious McKay could be when he put his mind to it.

"Perhaps we should try and find a diplomatic solution so as not to push them further away from joining the coalition?" Teyla asked and Sheppard shot her a glance from the corner of his eye. She smiled tightly. "Although it did seem that they would not be open to further discussion."

Sheppard nodded and closed his eyes for a second.

"Okay, so, what's the plan?"

Teyla stood beside the door that locked them into their cell. She listened to the silence from outside.

"There are no guards posted outside." She pointed out to her teammates.

"Really?" Rodney asked, his tone brightening at the news. He took a step towards the door to listen for himself, but the look from Teyla told him she did not appreciate his lack of trust in her.

Sheppard gestured to the door, "All yours Ronon."

Ronon smiled as he retracted two small knives from his hair. He placed the knives in the door lock and manoeuvred them until he felt something give. He slowly pulled down on the handle and prized the door open a crack. He peered out to see the corridor was free and nodded to Sheppard that their way was clear.

Sheppard led the team out of their cell and quietly down the corridor.

"Which way to the Stargate Rodney?" Sheppard asked.

"Um, East."

"Okay." Sheppard muttered in reply.

They reached the end and the corridor and Ronon watched as Sheppard peered around the edge, his team leader then indicated for Ronon to take point.

The new corridor was short and Ronon paused when they met the next turning. Ronon assessed the situation before him and ticked over their next move. "Two of them down the other end. There's a turn half way down, we can make it before they reach us."

"Any other options?" Sheppard asked him.

Ronon shook his head. He knew that wasn't the answer Sheppard wanted, but it was the only possible course of action.

"Okay," Sheppard said, "As quickly and quietly as possible."

Teyla edged around Ronon to take the lead from him. He jogged behind her. Ronon's large frame may be bulky but he had the skill and grace to keep light on his feet.

Ronon followed Teyla around the corner.

"Go!" Sheppard shouted from behind him, "They've made us."

Ronon stepped up his pace but kept aware of their surroundings. He noticed a small entryway down another corridor. "Down here," He said, leading Teyla away from her course. Another corridor caught his eye, "And here."

The new corridor was wider and rooms spread along each side. "In here." Sheppard quietly instructed them from behind.

Ronon entered the room and crouched down next to Teyla under the window ledge. He watched as Sheppard peered below the blinds. He kept his muscles tense and ready to move on a moment's notice.

Sheppard jerked down from his position. Ronon's back stiffened, he knew that meant Sheppard had seen something. He altered his grip on the knife in his hand and brought the weapon to his chest, they were getting out of here even if he had to fight their way out with just the knife.

Ronon lead them out of the room and back down the corridor, taking the opposite route at the end.

They reached a flight of stairs; Ronon took two at a time and reached the open expanse at the bottom. He didn't look back to check on the time, he knew it would only waste his time; Sheppard was at the back and would marshal them through.

"Hold it there!" A sharp cry shouted at them from behind.

Ronon stopped, not because of the order, but because of the voice. He knew that voice.

Ronon stared at the woman before him in silent shock. There was no way that was-

"I thought you died on Sateda?" It was her all right. He let out a long, quiet breath and let his eyes flick up and down her body before he shook his head once.

"Nope."

From the corner of his eye, Ronon could see Sheppard glance between them, his face a mixture of confusion and almost-relief.

"You know each other?" He asked as he took a step closer to Ronon's side. From experience, John knew that it was best to err on the side of caution when it came to people Ronon used to know. There was a long pause, where Ronon and the woman continued to measure one another up in silence.

Long moments later, Ronon reluctantly replied; "My sister."

"Oh good!" McKay chirped cheerfully, clapping his hands together as he stepped away from the guard holding him. "We're sorted then. When can we get out of here?"

"McKay!" Sheppard chastised, watching as the guard followed McKay's step, his weapon pointed at the scientist's back.

"What?"

Sheppard glared at him and motioned between Ronon and his sister with his head. McKay, eternally oblivious simply glared back and Sheppard shook his head and rolled his eyes as he looked away.

"I didn't know you had a sister, Ronon," Teyla said curiously as she watched the woman before them. Looking at her, she could see the family resemblance – the same trio of tattoos below her eye, the dark skin and deep set eyes. There was no doubt of their relationship.

Ronon grunted and turned away from the woman as the team looked on curiously.

"I don't. Not anymore."

Sheppard turned back to McKay then, staring at him pointedly and McKay's hopeful expression fell. He looked between Ronon and his would-be-sister and groaned.

"Ah, crap."

Sheppard watched McKay pace the cell, while Ronon stood (sulking) in the corner completely oblivious to the curious atmosphere in the room. Teyla sat beside John on the hard bench, her eyes on Ronon's back and Sheppard could see the indecision in her eyes each time Ronon punched the wall. By now, his knuckles would no doubt be bloodied but the Satedan did not relent, nor did he show any sign of desisting his counter-productive attacks on the wall.

"I can't believe you didn't tell us you had a sister."

Sheppard glared at Rodney but the Canadian ignored his stare.

"You did not tell us you had a sister, Rodney, for a number of years."

McKay made a noise in the back of his throat that normally Sheppard would laugh at but, given the situation, he couldn't muster any amusement.

"That's different."

"How so?"

"It just is," McKay emphasised. "We've been labouring under the misapprehension that there is only one Dex out there and if what we just saw about the way she just about kicked our asses, I'd say the fighting gene is universal in Ronon's family."

"She's not my family," Ronon said gruffly, his tone indicating that he most certainly did not appreciate where this conversation was going. "As far as I'm concerned, I am the only Dex left."

The three of them frowned at that, watching as Ronon dragged his knuckles against the wall again. Sheppard could relate – he wasn't very good at doing nothing.

"What did she do?" Sheppard rolled his eyes at McKay's bluntness but he didn't reprimand him for the question; the answer was something he would quite like to know, too.

Ronon didn't say anything.

Sheppard turned as he felt Teyla shift beside him, and watched as she approached Ronon from behind. She stepped up beside him but didn't touch him. Ronon's shoulders relaxed somewhat and Sheppard stood too, moving to his other side.

"Surely it could not have been so bad, Ronon." Ronon replied with an inarticulate grunt and Sheppard met Teyla's eyes behind the Satedan's back. "How many people in our galaxy get a second chance?"

Ronon turned to her slightly and John watched as the skin around Teyla's eyes tighten – the closest thing to a wince he knew she would give in that moment.

"Look what happened last time I gave someone a second chance."

None of them knew what to say to that.

Sheppard flinched away from their cell door when he heard the lock click.

Myrina stepped into the room. "Ronon," she said.

Ronon followed her out of the room, neither making eye contact with anybody else.

Sheppard rolled his eyes; he could definitely see the family traits.

The team looked on through the window in the cell door as Ronon and Myrina made their way down the corridor and into another room.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Rodney asked.

"The weather?" Sheppard glared back.

"Oh ha, ha." Rodney deadpanned, "it's not like we're going to get the answers from Ronon. Not even Teyla can get him to open up."

Sheppard agreed reluctantly, Rodney had a point. Ronon wasn't exactly known for his forthcoming-ness.

Teyla sat down on the small bench in the room. "I do not know what happened between them, but for Ronon to not even acknowledge his sister's existence… it obviously affected them both deeply. We must respect that."

"Respect?" Rodney guffawed, "we're locked in a cell! These people are corrupt and have us locked in a cell, you want me to respect some stupid feud between Ronon and his sister that has Ronon acting typically like Ronon, all stoic and brooding."

"Look…" Sheppard stood tall and his lips pressed together in preparation to let rip. But his gait dropped, and his shoulders relaxed, "just… let it go. Like you said, we're not going to get answers from Ronon right now so there's no point pissing him even more." Sheppard crossed his arms and leant against the rule [?].

Teyla nodded in agreement.

The cell door opened, Myrina stepped inside again, but Ronon remained in the doorway flanked by two extra guards.

"Colonel Sheppard," Myrina addressed John, "you will accompany Ronon with these guards to sort out the paperwork for your court case."

John nodded that he understood. Myrina moved aside for him to leave.

Before exiting the cell John threw a glance at Teyla and nodded his head at Myrina. They may not be able to get Ronon to open up but Teyla could at least try Myrina.

Before Myrina could leave the cell Teyla attracted her attention.

"Myrina." She kept her voice warm but not overly so; she didn't want Myrina to think they were trying to manipulate her.

Myrina turned her gaze onto the small Athosian who gestured for her to sit beside her.

Myrina hesitated but joined her on the bench.

Teyla gave Myrina a moment to get comfortable with her surroundings and opened her mouth to speak…

"Look, why don't you just apologise for whatever you did so we can get out of here?" But Rodney, tactfully, jumped in before her.

Myrina's back visibly stiffened, "I have nothing to apologise for."

Teyla glared at Rodney to leave it her to her, but he either ignored it or misinterpreted the look and continued. "I'm sure whatever you did Ronon would forgive if you just apologise."

Anger flared in Myrina's eyes. "I shouldn't have to apologise for who I choose to marry."

Rodney frowned, obviously having difficulty comprehending what that meant for the situation.

He was just about to talk but Teyla put her hand out to prevent him before he made the situation worse.

"Ronon does not talk to you because of who you married?"

"My father did not approve, he refused me permission to marry a non-Satedan and thus Ronon did not approve."

Teyla could not understand why that would cause so much venom between the siblings, she had known Ronon for a long time now and it surprised her that he would let this ruin his relationship with his sister.

"You married someone from here?" Teyla enquired, putting together the dots.

"Yes, he's... Guy…"

Rodney couldn't hide the intake in breath, but thankfully Myrina didn't notice their exchange of worried glances.

"So what has this got to do with Ronon?"

Myrina smirked as she stood up. "For Ronon, family is everything."

That Teyla knew to be true.

"I appreciate your attempt to understand but regardless of my situation with Ronon I still would not have the power to release you." Myrina informed them as she left the cell, locking the door behind her.

Ronon and Sheppard were locked back into the cell with their teammates, the guards remaining outside.

"How did it go?" Rodney asked.

Sheppard shook his head, "Well the hearings still going ahead." He replied faux-cheerfully and Rodney rolled his eyes. "What about you?"

"I do not believe it would be wise to tell Myrina what we found," Teyla advised.

"Why not?" Ronon asked, crossing his arms across his puffed out chest.

Teyla hesitated, unsure how to put it, she needed to be careful not to stir more bad feelings between Ronon and his sister. "She is married to Guy."

Ronon's eyebrows twitched, but that was a much as a reaction he visibly showed, Teyla could not fathom what was going through his mind.

"She must have been in on it," Rodney stated flatly.

Teyla held her breath waiting for Ronon to respond. At first she wasn't sure if he had heard but he let out a breathy "No."

"She must…" Rodney began to counter, but Ronon had looked up, his icy glare gripping Rodney within his sight.

"She's still a Satedan," he stated simply.

Rodney jutted out his jaw in defiance and Sheppard winced in preparation for what was to come. "So was Tyre."

Ronon sneered and closed the gap between him and the scientist but Sheppard jumped between them. "Ok, that's enough!" He glared pointedly at McKay.

Teyla half wished that Ronon had made the distance, Rodney's comment was low even for his 'foot in mouth' tendencies. The last thing they needed was for Ronon to distance himself from the rest of his team.

Ronon huffed and backed away.

A group of guards led the team out into a small room spread with tables and chairs of various heights and sizes. It was the Adetan's version of a courtroom.

The team were led to a table in the centre, facing a panel of three people. One appeared to be a judge Sheppard thought, the other could be a lawyer of sorts. Unfortunately he recognised the final member as Guy. Guards lined the walls of the room.

"We didn't even get a phone call," Rodney muttered as the team took their seats. John tried to stifle a chuckle.

Guy looked up and narrowed his eyes. "Why do you not want Adetas to be part of the Coalition?"

"What?" Sheppard responded before he could think about composing himself.

"I assure you that is not the case." Teyla responded calmly, intercepting the question.

Guy turned his steely gaze onto Sheppard and Sheppard got the impression the Adetan was excluding Teyla on purpose. "Why else would you fabricate such slanderous lies?"

John rolled his eyes, 'Exactly', he thought. "You just made our point for us. We have no reason to make this up, hence, we didn't."

John saw the flash of anger in Guy's eyes and the puff of air from his nose, but the commander composed himself.

"How did you come about the information then?"

The team looked at Rodney, who was giving his impression of a scared poodle.

Rodney coughed to clear his through, but his voice still came out in a squeak, "It was in your database."

"Why were you reading the files when all you should have been doing was transferring them to the Ancient system?" John smirked at the rise in volume of Guy's voice; the Commander was letting this get to him.

Rodney raised his eyebrows, the poodle look gone and replaced by a goldfish.

"I… um," Rodney began.

"Why are you asking these questions?" Sheppard interjected, "Isn't that his job?" John pointed to the man he had dubbed the lawyer.

"I thought you might appreciate being questioned, military man to military man," Guy countered with a smirk.

John felt his frustration rising, he looked at the lawyer, "How often do you let him control you? Because it seems to me that's what got us into this mess in the first place."

"That is enough!" The Judge shouted, glaring daggers at Sheppard. "Regardless of how this information was discovered, it is now in our database. Until its origins are determined, court is adjourned."

The guards gestured for the team to stand up, but John wasn't done yet.

"Is he going to be leading the investigation?" John asked, pointing at Guy.

Guy contemplated and let the corner of his mouth twitch up. "Very well, the investigation will be lead by Chieftan Myrina Thé."

Myrina stepped out from the guards and stared straight ahead.

Rodney let out a puff of air and Sheppard shook his head, that had not been what he was hoping for.

They were only alone for two or three minutes before the doors burst open again and one of the burly guards stepped into the room.

"You," he said and pointed to McKay. "Come with us."

McKay swivelled his head between the guard and Sheppard but Sheppard simply shrugged and Rodney's eyes widened as the guard stepped up to him and dragged him up by his shoulder.

"Why is it always me?"

McKay sat in the 'interview room' trying not to let his mind wander onto the many series of Law and Order. He didn't particularly like the show, he could always see the plot twists coming, but then they weren't aimed at people of such high intelligence were they? But the image of the show, the gritty talk of the cops and their interviews had come to be the stereotypical image for McKay. He pictured hands slamming on tables and faces shoved in too close to his personal space and...

No, he thought with a shake of his head, he wasn't going to think about it.

Myrina entered the room without a word. She held McKay's tablet in her hand and dropped it on the table in front of him.

"What have you done to it?" Rodney demanded as he stared at the black screen, his mind encompassed by thoughts of brutality against his precious tablet. "Do you realise how important the information on that is? Not even Zelenka gets to touch it let alone some back-water planet technician that couldn't even figure out how to transfer their own database." Myrina sat and stared at him, her expression neutral. Which just served to freak Rodney out. His annoyance slowly dissipated and he shifted, unsure what he was supposed to do now. His fingers met each other and fidgeted. "What, is silence a gene that runs in the family?" That got a reaction and he smirked slightly. Myrina slowly lifted her eyebrows. "At least you pluck yours," Rodney remarked derisively before he realised what he said. Myrina frowned, her expression one of confusion. Rodney coughed. "Well this has been interesting but if you're not going to ask me anything you could at least put me back in the cell."

Myrina pushed the tablet closer to Rodney. "Bring up the file," she instructed, her voice devoid of any emotion.

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Obviously slow-wittedness is a Dex trait too. Why would the file be on my tablet?" His cheeks flushed with an air of smugness; he was well aware that they hadn't been able to extrapolate any data from his file, let alone manage to plant anything on it. He scoffed internally; as if they could.

Again, Myrina remained silent. Her eyes calmly locked onto his. For once his arrogance wasn't intimidating.

McKay scrambled for something to say, he had to say something, he didn't do well with the silent treatment. He never had. When they were kids, Jeannie used to ignore him for hours and hours and it always left him feeling out of sorts. He's always thought Jeannie was the queen of the silent treatment.

But now he knew she must have learned a few traits from Myrina Dex because she was almost religious in her zeal for the silent treatment.

"I didn't speak to my sister for years," he blurted out eventually, all in a rush.

Myrina brushed him off.

"Bring up the file."

Teyla sat across the table from Myrina; her hands flat and face relaxed in a way that her father had taught her to deal with hard bargainers.

"Why are you here?" Myrina asked. Teyla made to answer but Myrina modified her question. "Why is Sheppard here?"

Teyla tilted her head to the side and contemplated the question. "What do you mean?"

"We only needed Doctor McKay to interface the system, and yet he arrives with three of the best trained people from Atlantis? Were you acting as his bodyguards?" Teyla was half offended, half amused. Myrina didn't know how they worked as a team. Myrina continued, "Considering we're supposed to be allies, it seems a bit excessive."

"We are a team. It's what we do," Teyla stated simply.

"Three soldiers to protect one scientist..." Myrina half questioned, the query evident in her tone.

"You have met Dr. McKay, his importance is not only in his mind." Teyla paused wondering whether she should push Myrina's further or let it be. "I'm sure your brother would not appreciate you labelling him a mere bodyguard."

Myrina chuckled lightly and rolled her eyes.

"Why are you here?" Myrina tried again, this time with Sheppard.

Sheppard sat forward and grabbed her eyes with his. "Why are you here? Isn't that a conflict of interest? The man you're investigating is your husband!"

Myrina snorted in discontent, "Isn't having Teyla on your team a conflict of interest?" She looked up at him slowly, her eyebrows raised. "Does your judgement get clouded because of your feelings for her?" Myrina pressed further.

John crossed his arms, trying to hide his confusion at the line of questioning. "Teyla's not my wife."

"Perhaps not." Myrina smirked.

Ronon sat across from Myrina Dex, his arms crossed and his back relaxed. He stared into the eyes of his sister, her gait matching his own.

"So, you're a bodyguard now, Specialist?" Myrina asked, her body not moving but her eyes narrowing momentarily. Ronon huffed in response; he wasn't going to rise to her bait. "Your skills must have diminished if this is the only position you can get." Myrina pressed.

"Want to put that to the test?" Ronon retorted. Did she really think she could bully him?

Ronon smiled when Myrina brushed over his offer. "How did McKay get the file into the database?"

"Already there," Ronon replied blandly.

"Was it?"

"Yeah."

"Why are you so sure he didn't put it there?" Myrina asked, she seemed genuinely intrigued.

"You don't know McKay. His forethought doesn't go beyond lunch." Myrina failed to stifle a chuckle, attempting to hide it by inspecting the file in front of her. "What makes you sure it wasn't there in the first place?" Ronon asked, she wasn't the only one who had questions.

Myrina shrugged. "You don't know my husband. His honour would not allow him to entertain such a thought."

"You know nothing of honour," Ronon sneered.

"I am still Satedan," Myrina insisted, raising her eyes to meet his.

"You stopped being Satedan when you left your family and didn't look back." Ronon's blood pressure rose but he remained still.

"I had no choice. My choice of partner was not acceptable like yours, like Melina."

Ronon recoiled at the mention of her name, it had so long since he'd heard it spoken from someone that new her, it felt strange… wrong even, for his sister to mention her.

"Guy has been my family for 12 years, while you didn't even look to contact me," Myrina continued.

"You didn't look for me."

"I thought you had died on Sateda." For a moment Ronon thought he could see a tear in Myrina's eye, but the moment passed and Ronon did not think on it further.

"You would have known if you'd been there." He said, turning his head away, she didn't deserve his attention right now.

"There's not a day goes by that I do not wish I had been there but I was forced to leave the ties to my family and my planet behind." Myrina's voice remained steely, and hard to read, but Ronon still refused to look at her.

"Your family ties clearly mean as much to you as they did then."

Ronon palmed the file of papers onto her lap.

Myrina grabbed hold of his wrist and he turned to face her. They stared across the table at each other, as if speaking a language without words

"Our father-" Myrina began.

"My father," Ronon interrupted.

Myrina slammed Ronon's wrist down on the table with a force that could have shattered weaker bones.

He grabbed her shoulder and pulled her over the table. As she was sliding across she swiftly kicked her leg out and into Ronon's shoulder. He slammed into the wall, pain flaring across his shoulder blades.

He did not let the pain distract him, he threw out a punch, connecting hard with Myrina's cheekbone. He had not intended causing any harm to Myrina but the rage coursing through his blood had taken over.

Her reactions were quick and she seemed unfazed by his attack. Her fist connected with his torso and he let out a groan followed by another as she twirled to kick her foot into the same spot. Ronon grabbed the foot and threw it back over her head. She landed hard on the floor but swivelled her legs to push herself straight back up.

Ronon seized her moment of vulnerability as she rose and lashed out with his elbow into her back, the force of his blow pushing her back down to the floor.

She kicked out without seeing and landed a foot in Ronon's face. His felt like his brain had hit the back of his skull from the force and almost stumbled over backwards.

Ronon regained his composure and Myrina was already back on her feet, they exchanged punching blows. Ronon had almost forgotten what had started the fight, the adrenaline taking over and the need to win encompassing his mind.

Guards stormed the room and dragged the siblings apart. Ronon held her gaze; the anger from her eyes was gone, replaced by a sadness and the hint of tears. He turned away as she reached up to swipe them away.

"You all right there buddy?" Sheppard asked Ronon when he was flung unceremoniously back into the cell, his chin and eyebrow dripping with blood. Sheppard winced when he saw the bruises already forming around his eyes.

Ronon didn't respond to the question. Instead, he dragged himself over to his corner and sunk down against the wall, staring fixedly at the floor at his feet.

Sheppard met Teyla's eye and grimaced and she mirrored the move, adding a small shrug as she glanced back towards Ronon. They knew the Satedan well enough to leave him well alone; not only would his body be bruised but his ego would be too.

"What are we going to do now?" McKay questioned, his voice taking on the whiny tone that made Sheppard's nerves frazzle. He shot McKay a glare but the Canadian shrugged it off. "I think we can kind of figure out that Ronon's sister's not going to help us out."

Sheppard sighed and leaned against the wall, folding his arms across his chest. He turned his head towards the Satedan in the corner and watched him stare silently at nothing.

"You wouldn't happen to have anymore knives would you buddy?" Sheppard asked Ronon, pointing to his hair.

"There's guards outside the door now, what are we going do? Saw our way out?" Teyla glared at Rodney to tell him to shut up unless he had anything helpful to say.

"Now that you mention it..." Sheppard responded with a glint in his eye and McKay guffawed slightly before turning away and sulking down into the corner.

They sat on the floor, hunched over for well over an hour before Sheppard's back started aching and he twisted his body to lay on the floor. After a minute, he sat back up and shrugged out of his jacket, balling it up under his head to use as a pillow and then settled back down staring at the blank ceiling above his head.

He wasn't used to being so idle. He didn't like it. His eyes scanned the room, taking in the spider's webs in the corners, the slight discoloration from where dampness had seeped into the bland grey walls. He skimmed the door, the cornices and back down again three or four times before he noticed it. His eyes stilled on the tiny irregularity and he focussed in on it, wondering why he hadn't thought of that before.

"Hey," he murmured quietly and he felt Teyla jolt from beside him and he almost felt bad for rousing them. He stood awkwardly, stretching his back as he did so and made his way over to the opposite wall. He leaned beside the microphone and pointed to it, noting the three looks of comprehension descending on his team. "I've got an idea," he mouthed.

Three minutes later, Teyla and Rodney were bickering loudly right at the microphone while Sheppard and Ronon went over the details of the plan, making sure Teyla and Rodney got the information they needed, too.

"Fine then!" Rodney hissed when the plan was finally laid out and stalked off to the far corner and Sheppard nodded at him in thankful acknowledgement.

Myrina sighed and dug her knuckles into her eyes as she shoved the handheld computer away from her. She had been at it for hours and still hadn't found any evidence of the original file – if there was one – and she was growing tired. She leaned back in her chair and scraped her hand through her hair, and winced when she felt the bump there from her fight with her brother.

Her brother. She sighed at that. She had long since thought him dead and when she had seen him standing there in the corridor, she thought she was finally losing her mind. But for all that he was still the same man she had left behind on Sateda, he was definitely not the same person. Time and hardships had changed him – she only wished she knew what those hardships were. How had he survived the attack on Sateda? She had returned to her home planet days after the attack and the devastation had galled her. Even now she couldn't think about it without her stomach tying itself in knots.

She sighed again and twisted her neck, hearing the satisfying crack of bones before she settled back to the work at hand. She hadn't been authorised to read the file if she found it on the tablet, which she found curious. But she was a professional and she followed her orders.

Most of the time.

She stood up and moved to the other side of the room where the interfaced database was and typed in a few commands. She scanned the hard drive with what little information she had on the size and type of the file but nothing came up. She frowned. Even if the file was sealed it would still come up on the screen, with the flashing alert telling her it was sealed. She called a technician to the room and when he arrived she set him to work and returned to Doctor McKay's tablet and ponderings about her brother.

Some time later, the technician called her over and she went willingly, knowing that she would get nowhere with the tablet.

"The file you're looking for... It's not here."

"It must be there somewhere." The technician shook his head. "That file is the only thing we have in this case, it has to be there," she reiterated and the young man shrugged apologetically.

"I checked everything. It's definitely not here. And if it was, then whoever deleted it sure knew what they were doing."

Myrina ground her teeth together and took a breath.

"Check again."

Rodney positioned himself close to the microphone.

"Did you find any base schematics when you were in the database?" Sheppard asked him.

Rodney rolled his eyes overdramatically. "Oh yes, right in between transferring the files I had plenty of time to look for those."

The cell door burst open before Rodney had even finished speaking and the first guard rushed in. Bingo, Sheppard thought as he moved into position.

Teyla, who had been stood behind the door, tripped the guard from behind, she joined her fists and slammed them into the back of his neck to help him to the floor.

The second guard charged through and ran straight into Ronon's rock hard fist, knocking him out cold.

Sheppard bent down and collected the guns from the guards, handing one to Teyla and keeping the other for himself.

"Quickly," Sheppard hissed to McKay as he ran out of the room and down the corridor.

The team turned a corner and ran straight into more guards. The team, more accustomed to their situations, were the quicker to draw their weapons. John and Teyla fired as many covering shots as they could while they retracted behind the safety of the wall from the other corridor. Ronon had taken one guard down by hand.

"Three more," Ronon whispered to Sheppard as he peered swiftly around the corner.

Sheppard edged gingerly around the corner and started firing as soon as his gun could aim. His shots fired in tandem with Teyla's, the Athosian was kneeled at his feet, her arms extended and the gun firm in her grip.

A bullet whizzed past his arm, ripping a hole in his sleeve. He looked down to check there was no blood and when he looked up the final guard was down.

"Let's get moving," Sheppard instructed, leading the team down the corridor and over the bodies of the guards.

Another new corridor met another new problem. Striding towards them was Myrina, gun in hand and her face fixed in a scowl.

"Oh great," Rodney threw his arms in the air. "There goes my Oscar anyway."

Myrina had closed the gap between them and to Sheppard's surprise her weapon remained low at her side.

"I need your help," she said.

Sheppard slapped Rodney on the shoulder and grinned, "There's still hope."

Rodney smiled smugly to himself.

"The alert is out that you have escaped, we need to move - quickly," Myrina informed them.

They set off at a run behind Myrina.

"Where are we going?" John asked Myrina.

"The files were removed from the database. I need your McKay to recover them."

"I'm not some performing monkey you know!" Rodney whined as he trailed between Myrina and Ronon.

"Shut up McKay," Sheppard glared at him.

"This way," Myrina called as she turned down the last corridor. "Quickly!" She shouted as guards appeared at the other end.

John, Teyla and Myrina shot heavily at the guards to cover Rodney's safe entry to the room.

One guard had gotten through the barrage of bullets and launched at Ronon. Ronon landed hard on the ground and rolled away as a bullet hit the floor space he'd just vacated. The guard re-aimed his gun but fell back from the impact of a bullet to his chest.

Myrina jumped over Ronon and grabbed the gun from the fallen guard, handing it to Ronon as he got up.

"All clear, for now." Sheppard called.

"There will be more along soon." Myrina warned as they joined Rodney further in the room.

"Why are you helping us?" Sheppard asked Myrina.

Myrina focused on McKay's computer screen. "He betrayed our people."

Rodney heaved an exasperated sigh, "Now she believes us!"

"Shut up McKay. Are you done yet?" Sheppard asked as he scanned the room. He'd had enough of this room for a lifetime.

"We've only just got here!" Rodney shot back.

"We have company," Teyla informed them as boots thumped down the corridor.

The four of them regained their positions at the entryway.

Teyla ducked low, below Sheppard's firing gun. She pushed him back as a bullet whizzed passed his face. He reached down and squeezed her shoulder in thanks.

Myrina jumped back as a bullet hit the floor at her feet. Hearing her yelp Ronon looked around in concern.

"Get down!" Myrina shouted at him and pushed his head towards the floor, in time to get out of the way from a flying bullet. The bullet grazed her arm after missing Ronon, but she made no comment as though it had never happened.

"Thanks," Ronon grunted with a reluctant nod.

"Someone has to get you home to Melina," she reasoned with a sidelong sly glance at him.

Ronon looked away. "She's dead."

Myrina froze and barely reacted when a bullet knocked the gun from her hand.

Ronon growled and shot down the guards who had almost hit her.

"Thanks." Myrina murmured.

"McKay!" Sheppard shouted in warning as he signalled Myrina for another round, quickly clipping it into the gun as he got it.

"Almost done!"

"Hurry up!"

"I said I was almost done what more do you want?"

"Shut up and work!" Myrina yelled over her shoulder and Ronon snorted as he fired.

"You couldn't get us our weapons?" Ronon queried with an amused look to his sister and she glared at him from the corner of her eye as she took down another guard.

"Just..."

"Got it!"

"Administrator Dronek and Gabe, this is Chieftan Thé. I have the prisoners with me in the database room and information that I believe you will find very interesting," Myrina said into a radio device on her wrist. "Call off the guards and come to the database room immediately."

"Chieftan Thé, what do you think you are doing?" Dronek responded immediately. "You are aiding and abetting prisoners of Adetas. Relinquish your weapons or you will be shot down."

"We have the tactical advantage," she commented and Sheppard shot her an abashed look but she simply looked away from him. "We have the database. You would not like for something to happen to it I am sure. I have information for you and a recording from the database room that you must see."

"Pertaining to what, Chieftan?" Gabe asked, his raspy voice quiet over the radio.

"Chief Thé and his involvement in the massacre of some of our population and Administrator Dronek's knowledgeable participation."

"That's new," Sheppard commented, meeting Teyla's eye and she nodded too, her features mirroring Sheppard's astonishment.

There was silence in the room as the Administrator's obviously thought about what they would do. Sheppard glanced across to Ronon who surreptitiously glanced at his sister with a curious expression. He turned and met Teyla's eye again and she nodded slightly before glancing back to the door.

"We will be down momentarily, Chieftan Thé," Gabe rasped a few moments later.

Guy Thé stood over a younger military technician as he typed a few commands into the system.

"You must ensure there is no evidence of this file," another voice said from off screen, easily recognised as the rough baritone of Administrator Dronek.

"We also need to ensure that there is evidence of this file on the handheld computer of Dr McKay's," another voice said and the speaker was identified as the lawyer Sheppard had disgraced earlier in the courtroom.

"We've still not figured out how it-"

"You will," Guy commented and his hand tightened on the young technician's shoulder. "You have to."

The video cut off but Gabe had already seen enough and had ordered some guard's to arrest Guy and the other's involved.

"They will be tried in a court of their peers and a necessary judgement will be decided upon," Gabe murmured to seemingly no one before he shook his head slightly and turned to Sheppard and his team. "On behalf of the people of Adetas, I must first apologise for our behaviour and also offer my gratitude for discovering such..." he shook his head and trailed off. "I sincerely hope this will not impede on the negotiations?"

Sheppard smiled tightly and nodded.

"We'll send Dabeka back," he responded and Gabe smiled, turning slightly to look over to the two Dex's.

"I trust we will have a frequent visitor." Sheppard shrugged and from the corner of his eye he saw Teyla and Rodney smile to one another. "I will take my leave for now," he said with a nod to each of the team and left.

Sheppard approached Ronon and Myrina cautiously, glancing between the two wondering if he should intrude on their quiet conversation. He watched as Myrina reached out and grasped Ronon's tattooed arm, her eyes wide and shocked. Ronon nodded slightly then turned his head in Sheppard's direction.

"You all right buddy?" Sheppard asked and Ronon nodded. Sheppard smiled and glanced between the two siblings again. "Want some time?" Ronon's eyes narrowed slightly and he glanced back to Myrina slightly before turning back to Sheppard. "I think Rodney said something about cleaning the database up, anyway-"

"I did no-"

"Rodney," Teyla cut in quietly and Sheppard and Ronon shared a small smile.

Sheppard nodded and pointed over his shoulder. "We'll be over there."

Ronon nodded and Sheppard thought he saw the hint of a smile at the corner of his lips.

"Thanks," he murmured and Sheppard smiled before turning to Myrina.

"You know, you're more than welcome to join us in Atlantis..." Myrina smiled indulgently but shook her head. He shrugged and turned back to Ronon. "Knew I wouldn't get two Dex's on my team, anyway."

Ronon smirked and Sheppard turned away, grinning over to Teyla as he sauntered over to a grumbling McKay.

"That went well," Teyla opined, smirking slightly and Sheppard nodded.

"Yep."

"Oh..." Rodney murmured and Sheppard looked up quickly to the red flashings on the screen. "I... uh..."

"Rodney..." He queried and McKay turned to him with wide eyes.

"Oh, nothing... I just..." He tapped a few buttons and the flashing went away and Sheppard watched as McKay's shoulder visibly relaxed. "Nothing. We're good."

He met Teyla's eyes and rolled his own in amusement.

"Take your time, Rodney. Take your time."