Promises to Keep---2

SGASGASGASGASGA

Voices, incessant and aggravating finally broke through and Rodney McKay reluctantly opened his eyes. He licked at dry lips and swatted at the hand that touched his arm, groaning when the movement tore at damaged ribs.

"Let that be a lesson to you," Carson Beckett chastised his patient.

"Who's the drummer in my head?" McKay asked softly.

"Probably the same one who practiced on your chest," Beckett answered.

"I thought that was the big ape who sat on me," McKay told him, slowly moving his body and ignoring the pain until he could look around. There were two other beds, both occupied, but neither one held the one man he needed to see. The man who promised to follow them through the gate no matter what it took. "Where's Sheppard?"

"We were hoping one of you could answer that question," a new voice intruded on their conversation and McKay managed to turn his head just far enough to see Elizabeth Weir striding purposefully toward him. "How do you feel, Rodney?"

"Like Carson's been practicing his voodoo science on me," McKay snapped, eliciting an irritated grumble from Becket. "Sheppard didn't come through the Stargate?"

"You were the last one. Ronan and Teyla barely managed to stay on their feet waiting for you," Weir answered worriedly.

"Are they okay?"

"Teyla's leg is broken, but she should be fine…once she…Ronan has a severe head injury and has yet to wake up," Beckett answered. "You also sustained a head injury, several broken ribs, and numerous bruises."

"Elizabeth," McKay said, pointedly ignoring Beckett's reminder of his own injuries. "Have you sent anyone back to the planet?"

"We can't, Rodney, the gate was destroyed and everything we knew about PX713-29 has changed…"

"What do you mean changed?" McKay asked.

"I mean the air is no longer breathable and there are no life signs of any kind from there. For all intents and purposes PX713-29 is a dead planet," Weir answered.

"What… oh no, that can't be…Sheppard…he promised…he promised to follow…he promised," McKay's eyes glazed over and he felt himself losing touch with everything around him as darkness reached out to engulf him. He didn't see the worried look on Weir's face or hear the concern in her voice as Beckett checked his vitals.

"Carson, is he going to be all right?"

"I think so, Elizabeth…although I don't think I've ever seen him this distraught."

"Distraught is hardly a word I'd associate with Rodney McKay," Weir said, wondering how such a simple mission could go so wrong, so fast. This was to be a simple mission to check on the inhabitants on PX713-29 and see if they would be willing to trade, but something had happened once the team went through the gate. Less than an hour into their mission McKay had sent his IDC code and three of Sheppard's team had stumbled through the gate before collapsing unconscious. The gate had shut down before Sheppard had stepped through and any attempts at communication had been met with deadly silence.

SGASGASGASGASGA

Sheppard stood staring at the man who'd entered his cell. There was no mistaking the former Genii military leader standing in the doorway, but what shocked him was the man standing behind Commander Acastus Kolya was known to him only as Michael. That these two seemed to have some kind of truce meant hell had just opened its gates for John Sheppard.

"Ah, I see you recognize, Michael," Kolya said with a grin as two guards aimed their weapons at the prisoner. "He was more than willing to help me when I told him who the prize would be."

"You set your sights below animal level when you chose him," Sheppard said, his eyes fixed on Kolya.

"Michael is not an animal…"

"I wasn't talking about Michael…I was talking to him," Sheppard spat and saw a spark of anger in Kolya's eyes, while a hint of a smile formed on the wraith's face.

Kolya reacted to the insult by nodding to one of the guards, who stepped forward and drove his weapon into Sheppard's gut. The former Genii commander stepped forward and knelt in front of his captive, drawing on a foul smelling cigar before blowing the smoke into colonel's face. "You need some lessons in the proper way to speak to your captives, Colonel."

"Go….to hell," the SG officer snarled, refusing to look away in spite of the nauseating effect the smoke had on him.

"He is strong, Kolya."

"Yes, he is, Michael, but strong men have their breaking point and you and I will find Colonel Sheppard's before we are through," Kolya told him.

"What do you want, Kolya?" Sheppard asked, finally able to stand on his own two feet again.

"That should be obvious, Colonel," the former Genii Commander said with a slight grin as he moved back to stand beside the wraith. "Michael and I are in agreement that your people owe us for what you've taken…"

"We took nothing from you!" Sheppard spat.

"You are a liar, Colonel. You see if it was not for your people I would still be in command of the Genii military units on my world and Michael…well you took Michael and tried to change who he was. You gave him no choice and simply experimented on him…"

"The Wraith feed off us…they feed off your people, Kolya, and what we were trying to do would have stopped that if given the chance. Rodney and Carson…"

"Ah, yes, Dr. McKay, it is too bad he had to die, but I believe it was something Michael found highly entertaining…"

John staggered back, his eyes filled with anger as his body shook with a mixture of rage and sorrow. Rodney McKay could not be dead. There were promises made…promises to keep and no matter what Kolya said, John Sheppard would not believe that McKay was dead. He fought back the urge to ask about Teyla and Ronan, but Kolya seemed to be reading his emotions easily.

"Mourn your friends, Colonel, but you should realize they are the lucky ones…unless you are willing to tell us what we need to know," Kolya told him.

"Colonel Sheppard, I know you have felt the power of a wraith feeding on you…and I he reversed the effects, but I could easily take it from you and believe me when I say it is twice as painful the second time," Michael said and stepped forward, his hand outstretched as he showed Sheppard the razor sharp access used for feeding.

John remembered the excruciating pain in his chest when the wraith fed on him, but refused to show any sign of fear. He knew that was exactly what he was feeling and understood it was a normal reaction to his last experience. "Kolya is using you, Michael…don't…"

"Don't what, Sheppard? Don't trust him? I find that strange coming from your mouth after what your people did to me and others of my kind," Michael snapped.

"We did what we thought was necessary," Sheppard told him.

"You were wrong…both times," the wraith said and turned to the Genii male. He wanted more than anything to feed on John Sheppard, but things had changed since Carson Beckett had injected him with the retrovirus. He could no longer feed on the humans, but he refused to let anyone know that and had taken to feeding off other races including several Genii prisoners in the lower levels. He'd given Kolya several reasons for not feeding, even a small amount on Sheppard, and for now he hoped Kolya was convinced. If not, Kolya would find out the hard way not to press matters that should not concern him. "We need to get started."

"Bring him!" Kolya ordered and turned his back on Sheppard.

John struggled as the two guards grabbed his arms and pulled them behind his back. The movement pulled at the wound in his side and he felt blood soak through the bandage. A blow to the base of his neck sent him to his knees, but he would not give in easily and renewed his efforts to get free. He fought with a rage born of anger at the loss of his friends and delivered several staggering blows before something struck his lower back and he fell to the rough floor. A knee was pressed against his lower back and his arms were pulled behind his back and secured with wire.

"Now, Colonel, you must enjoy pain, but please refrain from fighting until you're odds are better," Kolya advised once his men had Sheppard on his feet. "Now that we have your attention shall we get on with this?"

Sheppard pulled away from the arms holding him and followed Kolya and Michael out of his cell. He glanced left and right, shocked to see the small humanoids from PX713-29 working in several areas of the compound. Were they still on the planet, or were they captives of Kolya and Michael? If they were could he trust them to help him if and when he found the means to escape? Was there a gate nearby?

"Are you thinking about escape, Colonel?"

Sheppard remained silent, and knew it was irritating the former Genii commander. It was something he'd experienced with Rodney McKay and had often left the scientist babbling about silent treatment. The thought of his friend, and the very real possibility that he was dead made the anger resurface and Sheppard vowed Kolya and Michael would pay for what they'd cost him. 'Kolya will pay, McKay, that's a promise I intend to keep,' the SGA officer vowed.

"Colonel, as a prisoner of the Genii military…"

"Your own people kicked you out, Kolya; you're a man without a home!"

"That's true, Colonel, and again it is you that cost me my life. I should have been where Ladon Radim is, but because of your interference I have no home. That's something you are going to help me with, Colonel" Kolya vowed and motioned for the guards to bring Sheppard forward. "When we are finished you will gladly reveal everything you know about Radim's plans…"

"I don't know anything!" Sheppard lied.

"Don't lie to me, Colonel, your truce with my people is strong and they will do anything to keep on your good side, but…"

"I think you're putting too much value on our truce, Kolya…"

"We shall see, Colonel," Kolya warned. "I know Radim is planning something big. The Genii along with your people in Atlantis have been working on something that could wipe out the wraith threat. Michael is going to help me defeat Radim and once he is defeated we will attack Atlantis and Michael will have his revenge against your people. Again, hat's where you come in, Colonel, you know the Atlantis security code and their weaknesses and once we have those it is a simple matter of mounting a full frontal attack."

"What makes you think I'd give you the codes?" Sheppard asked when they stopped before a covered structure.

"Oh I doubt you'd give them intentionally, but there are ways to get the information from you…but I don't think you'll enjoy it. Now I know you're strong, Colonel, but I should warn you that I will take great pleasure in taking away that very strength and make sure you know it's happening and that you can't do a thing about it. McKay and the rest of your team are dead and I'm sure Dr. Weir and the others are aware of how they died and your part in it. They think you betrayed your team, Colonel, and that you are solely responsible for their deaths."

"If they think I betrayed the team then they'll change the codes and mine will be no good to you anyway," Sheppard told him, swallowing several times as the structure before him was finally revealed. He had no idea what the different ropes and pulleys were for, but he understood what it meant for him.

"Release him, but be ready for anything," Kolya warned.

Sheppard felt the wires come loose and pulled his arms around front, rubbing the circulation back into them even as a guard shoved him forward. The minute he was within reach of Kolya, he acted and grabbed the Genii around the neck as he grabbed the weapon from Kolya's belt. It all happened so quickly that no one else reacted until he pointed the gun at Kolya's head. "Tell them to back off, Michael, or I'll kill him!"

"What would that matter to me, Sheppard?" Michael asked, smiling at the look on the captives face. He may have been forced to go into a partnership with Acastus Kolya, but that didn't mean he wouldn't turn his back on him if the opportunity presented itself. It was a simple matter of survival of the fittest and Kolya would do the same thing if the roles were reversed. They were allies born of desperation, but they were still enemies by choice.

Sheppard tightened his grip around Kolya's neck and pressed the weapon into his temple even as the former Genii commander began to laugh. He saw the smile on Michael's face and understood the wraith really didn't give a damn what happened to Kolya. He shifted slightly; unwittingly giving Kolya the leeway he needed and cried out when the bigger man's elbow found the wound in his side. He didn't relinquish his hold and pressed down on the trigger, but there was no sound from the uncharged weapon. The gun was taken from his hand as Kolya quickly turned and lashed out with a fist to Sheppard's unprotected abdomen.

"Did you really think it would be so easy, Colonel?"

"A man can always ho…hope," Sheppard spat. The blood from his wound dripped onto the ground even as the guard grabbed him and pulled him into the structure. His wrists and ankles were quickly wrapped in a thin strip of metal about an inch wide, while another strip was quickly wrapped around his chest. He had no idea what Kolya and Michael had in mind and refused to ask as Kolya reached for a console and began pressing the buttons on the keyboard.

"This is an interesting device, Sheppard, and was normally used for pleasure by the Corredian race, but with a slight modification it can also be turned into something that causes a great deal of pain. Now I'm sure you would prefer to experience the pleasurable aspect, but that won't happen until you give me what I want!"

"Go to hell!" Sheppard said, screaming as small spikes embedded in his skin wherever a metal band was present. An electrical current ran through the spikes and his body shook with the force of the shock. He lost track of time as again and again he was subjected to the painful device until he slumped forward as the darkness reached out for him. He didn't hear Kolya order the guards to return him to his cell, nor did he see the hint of respect he'd gained with the smaller race that he'd first seen on PX713-29.

"I told you he would be stubborn," the newcomer stepped out from behind the structure and stood beside Kolya.

"Yes, you did, Lieutenant, but I still don't understand why you have turned your back on him," Kolya said.

"They made me what I am, yet they do not accept me because they are afraid of me," Aiden Ford answered and looked at Michael with obvious distaste. "I know how he feels."

Kolya knew Michael and Ford could not stand to be near each other, but right now he needed both men if he was to succeed. Once he had what he wanted it would be interesting to put the two wraith like creatures in a cage and see who came out on top. For now, Acastus Kolya was content to make Colonel John Sheppard suffer until he had what was needed to take the Pegasus Galaxy by storm.

TBC