Again, I will try to get the next chapter up tomorrow, at worst it will be Sunday. Please keep reading and reviewing!

That night, while Sheppard did his best to sleep on the cold, damp floor of his underground prison, Sarayah kept watch through the hatch. The moonlight illuminated him where he lay, highlighting his face as he stirred in his restless slumbers. She watched, drinking him in, feeling an odd mixture of emotions toward the stranger that she struggled to understand.

Much as she found his resistance to their ways repugnant, it had also piqued an odd fascination she couldn't quell. This one wasn't going to take his imprisonment quietly, and for some reason, that thought gave her a thrill of excitement – something she'd not felt in her work for a long time. She enjoyed punishing the men, reducing them to cowering submission gave her a tremendous sense of satisfaction, but most of them now acquiesced without question, so the occasions to discipline them were few and far between. As such, the thought of teaching this one their rules was pleasing her more than she had expected, and she was impatient for his training to begin.

Sheppard shifted in his sleep, groaning as pain registered at some level in his unconscious mind. The sound set Sarayah's stomach fluttering like a dozen caged birds – a feeling she was unused to. She wondered what it was about this man that fascinated her so. He was young, but not as young as some of the others she was in charge of. He was strong, but again, no stronger than some of the others. His skin had a healthy glow she could see even now in the pallid light of the moon, a hue and texture that made her want to reach out and touch him...but she couldn't tonight, not here in the village where others might question her motives. And his eyes...his eyes held a determination and intelligence she didn't see in any of the others. They looked on her with dull, lifeless eyes, as if their imprisonment had leeched the light out of them. This one still had spirit – a quality she hadn't tasted for years, not since the last man they'd snatched when he blundered into their village. But that man hadn't been as striking as this one and she'd soon lost interest. Sheppard was tall and lean, by no means powerful in stature, but he had presence...vitality...everything the other men lacked. His physical attributes and strength of character made him...captivating. There was no other way she could describe him. She hadn't been able to get the thought of him out of her head all afternoon since she'd dealt out his punishment.

Rolling onto his other side, Sheppard sucked in a sharp breath, and she pulled back in case he woke. He didn't, just settled back into his troubled sleep. The thought of his discomfort pleased her; it made him more vulnerable than he'd seemed earlier when she'd punished him. Then, he'd made almost no sound, which had left her wondering if these strangers were somehow physically stronger than them. She had no idea where he was from, so it was possibly he could be different in some ways. Now, she could see she'd hurt him, a fact that would make controlling him easier than she'd feared it might be. She would have him begging for leniency before the week was out, just as she did with each new prisoner who found themselves under her command.

Moving to the other side of the hatchway gave her a better view of his face again. She smiled as a grimace flickered across his features, sending another thrill rushing through her with the increased beating of her heart. The morning was still hours away, but she found herself longing for it to come so she could take him back to the encampment and away from Allanae's prying eyes. The elder was growing weak willed in her old age, and often reined her in when she saw her disciplining the prisoners. Away from the elder's restrictive rule she would begin Sheppard's indoctrination, gradually breaking down his defences until he bowed to her instruction, unlike the way he had refused to take orders from Dr Weir. Refusal to comply was not an option for men on Medulsa, and he was going to learn that the hard way if he continued to question them the way he had so far.

As she lay down beside the hatch to watch him for a while longer, she recalled the woman's parting demand. She would take care of this man, although she doubted they shared the same opinions of how best to do that. But what she did know was she would happily give this male her undivided attention for as long as it took.

oooOOOooo

When the sun rose and filtered into the hatch of the cell the next morning it hit Sheppard square in the eyes, waking him to the painful reality of his surroundings. The skin on his back had tightened over night, making his first movements utter agony as he cautiously pulled his shirt free from the patches of congealed blood trapping it against him. His head thrummed with a dull, nauseous ache, probably as much down to his poor night of sleep as the crack on the base of his skull. He rubbed deep circles on his temples to alleviate the throbbing, but it did little to help. This headache was here for the duration.

Balfor was already awake, leaning back against the wall and watching Sheppard as he tried to get moving. 'The pain in your back will ease considerably after a few more days,' he said, though the words brought little comfort to his cellmate.

'Don't intend to be here that long,' the major assured him.

Sheppard's throat burned like he was trying to swallow hot sand. Neither he nor Balfor had been offered any food or drink the previous day, and now his gullet was almost completely bereft of moisture. 'So, what can I expect today?' he asked, forcing his voice out anyway.

'Today begins the rest of your life,' Balfor said, with just a hint too much melodrama for Sheppard's liking.

'Look, Balfor. I know things look pretty grim right now, but my people will come back to get me, and I guarantee that when they do, things will change for all the men of this village.'

Balfor shook his head, smiling sadly. 'I'm sorry, my boy. Yesterday's meeting was the last you will see of your people. Today, you will be moved to the work encampment . There, they can hear everything that comes through the gate. They can hide you if necessary – at least for as long as it takes for your people to tire of looking for you.'

'I think you're underestimating my people,' Sheppard said smugly. 'They don't tire easy.'

'And I believe you are underestimating mine,' Balfor replied. 'The numbers of men serving the village have dropped recently due to a devastating illness. It swept through our camp, killing many and leaving several infected and too sick to work. They need to hold on to every fit young male they can find. They won't let a man like you go willingly.'

Sheppard's eyebrows knitted together in a mixture of confusion and concern. 'Got a lot of work for me to do, huh?'

'Amongst other things.'

Before he could ask for clarification of "other things", Sheppard heard the telltale sound of the hatch opening above them. He didn't bother looking up, knowing whoever was up there would bark their orders soon enough.

He recognised Sarayah's voice as soon as she did. 'I want both of you up here, now.'

The ladder descended, and Sheppard gestured for Balfor to climb it first, shielding his eyes against the bright sun as he steadied the ladder and watched him climb. Once the older man was safely up, Sheppard made short work of mounting it, though his back stung and his ankle felt sore from the sudden descent he'd taken the previous afternoon. Having practiced dropping and rolling more times than he could recall had helped to lessen the impact on his joints, but the surprise of being pushed down there in that way had left his responses a little slower than required.

Once at ground level, the woman prodded them over toward the cooking fire where the remnants of breakfast sat in baskets beside it. There wasn't much left, mostly bread and fruit, but considering how hungry he felt, he hoped they were planning to share it.

As Balfor landed on his knees in the dirt, Sarayah subjected Sheppard to the most thorough frisk he'd ever experienced. He couldn't help but feel she was taking a little longer over it than was entirely necessary or appropriate. He was prepared to put it down to his natural paranoia about physical contact , something that had been on full alert since first meeting Allanae yesterday, until he saw the expression on Balfor's face, which suggested he also thought it was a little too touchy-feely. A brief moment of panic crossed his mind when he wondered just how intimately she needed to check him, but thankfully a voice cut in and interrupted her.

'We searched him when he was unconscious yesterday, Sarayah. There's no need to do it again.'

He peered over his shoulder to find one of the heavy mob who'd some after him with the clubs striding over. He swore he'd never seen as much muscle on a woman. Even Schwarzenegger would have quaked in his boots at the sight of her.

Sarayah removed her hands from him, but didn't back away to give him his space. 'Doesn't hurt to be cautious,' she called to her comrade. 'Especially not with this one. He's already proved himself to be difficult.'

A kick to each of the backs of his knees sent him spilling into the dust, where he sat back on his heels next to Balfor. Sarayah snatched up a couple of small loaves and tossed them to the two men. 'Here, eat these. You'll need your strength for the walk to the encampment.'

'But I am to be executed!' Balfor protested, much to Sheppard's chagrin.

'Not any more. Your pretty friend here has made Allanae reconsider her decision.'

Balfor glared at him, and Sheppard quipped, 'You're welcome.' But the exchange did little to distract him from the fact Sarayah had called him "pretty". Beside the fact he found being addressed by what he considered a feminine term offensive, it also suggested a level of attraction that he didn't even want to contemplate. Now, he felt certain the frisk had been more for her personal enjoyment than for safety reasons. That thought made his stomach churn over, and suddenly the bread didn't seem all that appetising.

Another woman arrived with a pitcher of water and two wooden cups. Sarayah thanked her and took the cups, holding them as they were filled, then sent the woman away again. She handed one cup to Balfor, but held the other back.

Sheppard refused to look desperate, despite the fact his throat felt dry as kindling. She was playing him, that much was obvious, and he didn't want to feed her any potential reasons to add to his injuries when he already felt so rough.

'So, you're a military commander I understand,' she said, twisting the cup around in her hands. 'That's something we have in common. I command the warriors of our village.'

Sheppard raised his eyes to hers, staring into the hard, dark irises. 'You must be very proud,' he said, keeping his tone flat and unchallenging.

'Perhaps we could exchange experiences some time,' she suggested.

The fire dancing in her eyes told him she wasn't necessarily talking about leadership or tales of battle. Although he didn't want to take another pummelling right now, this was a turn in their prisoner/gaoler relationship he wanted to cut dead. 'I don't think so. My experiences are...classified,' he told her with a forced smile.

She gave a strange twitch of the head, eyeing him as if she weren't sure what that meant. She looked down at the cup in her hands and he could almost hear the cogs turning as she considered what to do with it. Sheppard had the sneaking suspicion that, for one reason or another, the water wasn't going to make it past his parched lips.

'I see,' she said quietly, supping from the drink and swilling it around her mouth before spitting it back into the cup. 'Let me give you a word of advice, Sheppard. Saying no to me will only bring you more trouble than you can handle. You should practice saying "Yes" some more. That word is your friend, and if you learn to use it, I will be, too. It would be such a pity for anything bad happened to this pretty face. I would really prefer to keep it this way.'

She caught hold of his chin, but he snatched his head away, instantly breaking the contact. Her eyes narrowed as she visibly fought to hold her temper in check, slamming the cup into his hand and slopping most of its contents down his shirtfront as she stomped away, ordering Muscles to keep an eye on him.

Sheppard tipped the rest of the drink onto the ground in front of him. He wasn't that desperate for a drink yet. Muscles looked at him with an odd smirk, as if she was party to some joke he wasn't in on. When he glanced at Balfor, the man's expression was one of condolence.

'Those "other things" you mentioned...' Sheppard ventured.

But he didn't have to finish the question. Balfor dropped his head in shame. 'The village has to be populated.'

Sheppard closed his eyes and breathed, 'Oh, crap.' Why couldn't Balfor have let that slip before Elizabeth had shown up yesterday? If he'd known that...What? Would he have walked away and left these guys to suffer. No. That wasn't his style. But neither was augmenting populations. With his friends at his side, this might have almost seemed comical, but here, alone...well, he didn't like to think too much about how it made him feel, but some deep rooted fear was stirring inside him, triggered by his sense of futility.

He took a bite of his bread and chewed it angrily. If he'd had his head screwed on yesterday, he'd have seen this coming. How else would the village have been teeming with children? The kids had to be fathered by someone. But he never saw this kind of thing coming. He really had to wise up some time and stop giving everyone the benefit of the doubt. Until now, he'd made his way through life with the belief that not all people were bad; he wondered if it might be wiser to remember they weren't all good, either. He'd been burned often enough in the past, perhaps it was time to open his eyes to the truth.

With his bread all gone and his throat drier than ever, he was grateful when Balfor shoved his cup of water toward him. 'Here, I saved you some.'

Sheppard took it with an appreciative smile, polishing off the contents just as Sarayah reappeared with Allanae, and carrying a set of cuffs in her hands. She saw him lowering the cup and threw a furious glare in Balfor's direction. However, since she hadn't forbidden him from sharing his water with their new prisoner, she appeared reluctant to punish him. Instead, she rounded the major, catching his right wrist and snapping one of the cuffs shut around it, tugging his arm behind his back.

'Having discussed your supposed experience as a military commander, Allanae and I feel it might be better if you are restrained during transit from the village to the encampment,' she explained, leaning her mouth to his ear as she trapped his left wrist, too. 'Wouldn't want you trying to escape before we even get you there, would we?'

Her lips brushed his ear just slightly as she spoke, sending a shudder through him. Not that he wasn't used to dealing with unwanted female attentions, but usually he wasn't cuffed and on his knees when it happened. She slapped his back, eliciting a groan he really didn't want to let out, then pulled a gun. The design looked familiar to him, and for a moment he couldn't quite place it. Then, he recognised it as Genii. Were these women somehow allied with Atlantis' enemies?

'You should have left with your friends yesterday, boy. You have chosen to stay, and so shall be assimilated into our way of life,' Allanae informed him.

'Will he be assuming "full" duties?' Sarayah asked, her free hand resting on his chest as she pulled him back against her, pressing her gun to his temple.

Allanae gave the matter some thought. Sheppard pretty much guessed what, "full duties" meant, and hoped the village elder would see fit to cut him some slack. He tried not to sigh with relief when she said, 'No. Give him two weeks to settle into the work routine, then we will review the situation.'

Grunting her disapproval, Sarayah jerked his cuffs, forcing him to stand without the benefit of his arms for leverage or balance. It was awkward, but he managed it, although he was certain it would have been easier if he weren't suffering from the after-effects of a mild concussion and a flogging. 'Come, Alishia. Let's put these men to work,' she said to her muscle-bound colleague.

Sheppard couldn't help but wonder how the woman mountain could possibly be named anything so feminine. Still, he supposed she'd been a cute little girl once, hard as that was to believe now as she shoved him out in front of her and set both he and Balfor on their journey. If the encampment was near the 'gate it would only be a few clicks away, which was nothing to him, even with his sore ankle and back. He'd endured a lot worse in his time. Hopefully, he might be able to find someone there more willing to fight for their rights than Balfor was. If not, he had to hope Elizabeth didn't stay pissed with him for too long, since she remained his best hope of getting out of there, with or without winning these men their freedom.