"And you believe they might be willing to share some of this mineral?" Elizabeth asked into her radio.

"Well, they seem open to it," John replied easily, "They don't get many trading opportunities coming through the gate."

"Sounds promising," Elizabeth smiled.

"There is, however," John continued, "the minor moral hiccup of their form of capital punishment."

"I'm sorry?" Elizabeth wondered curiously.

"They have an island," Rodney explained, "It's their own version of Alcatraz, where they send their worst criminals."

"And the gate is on the island, so…" John trailed off.

"So the Wraith feed on the prisoners," Elizabeth concluded.

"Yep," John agreed.

"Talk about cruel and unusual punishment," Elizabeth shook her head.

"I prefer lethal injection," Rodney snarked, "although I do have a certain fondness for the electric chair. Call me a romantic."

"The Wraith get what they want and the Olesians get left alone," Ronon added, "I'm surprised it works."

"He did, however," John informed her, "say that only the most violent criminals get sent there, and that it has been this way for hundreds of years."

"Do you kill all of your violent criminals on Earth?" Teyla asked curiously.

"Certain countries, yes," Rodney answered.

"Do we need to get into this right now?" John questioned.

"Well, we do if we plan on doing business with these people," Elizabeth insisted, "I want to know more before I jump to any conclusions. I think I'll have to talk to the Magistrate personally. Let him know I'll be coming to the planet to discuss trade opportunities and then head on back here."

"I'll let him know. We'll be back in an hour," John assured her, "See you then."

Elizabeth motioned toward the tech and the gate cut off as D came over to Elizabeth.

"I'd recommend taking Major Lorne's team with us to Olesia, ma'am," D suggested quietly, "minus Dr. Parrish. Lorne is a decent diplomat and the two Marines on his team are patient and disciplined. The team will do well both if the negotiations go smoothly and if we run into any problems."

"You don't have to accompany me, Dr. Vaughn," Elizabeth insisted, "I'll be fine with Major Lorne and his team."

"Hmmm," D tilted her head to the side, "Jack owes me a drink."

"What?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

"Jack assumed that I would be the first to try to break our agreement, ma'am," D answered with an amused smirk, "He even bet me a brand new bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label. I'm curious to see how he's going to get it here."

"All I said was…" Elizabeth trailed off when D raised an eyebrow at her. Elizabeth finished wryly, "I did warn you I would probably complain."

"Yes, ma'am," D agreed steadily.

"We'll leave after the debriefing with Sheppard's team," Elizabeth decided.

"I'll be ready, ma'am," D nodded, "Dr. Zelenka called while you were speaking with Colonel Sheppard's team. It seems there was a small explosion in one of the botany labs."

"Was anyone hurt?" Elizabeth questioned, a concerned frown appearing on her face.

"Dr. Brown is in the infirmary now, ma'am. She has a minor concussion and a few bruises," D informed her, "Security has been dispatched to the lab and Dr. Zelenka has already begun clean-up. Dr. Parrish is requesting that you come down to speak with him as soon as possible. It seems that several of the plant samples he brought back from M4G-610 have explosive properties when exposed to certain wavelengths of light. He was quite…enthusiastic about the implications of explosive plants."

"Explosive plants?" Elizabeth asked warily.

"Yes, ma'am," D replied calmly.

"Right," Elizabeth sighed and shook her head, "I guess I'd better go speak with Dr. Parrish."

*AM*AM*AM*AM*AM*AM*AM*

"All set?" Elizabeth asked as she came into the jumper.

"Ready to go," Lorne confirmed, "Still no word from them?"

"Nothing," Elizabeth shook her head as she sat.

"Don't worry," Lorne reassured her, "We'll find them."

"I was hoping to negotiate a trade agreement," Elizabeth frowned, "Now I'm worried I'll have to negotiate their release."

"Sheppard's team will be recovered, ma'am," D sat in the chair behind Elizabeth as the two Marines closed the ramp behind them.

"You're just trying to make me feel better," Elizabeth retorted.

"That's not really in my skill set, Dr. Weir," D tilted her head, "I was only stating the likely result of this mission. Not including statistical outliers such as random puddle jumper malfunctions resulting in its destruction or one of the team members turning on the others and killing them, I believe we've covered the most probable outcomes with the combined skill sets of the people in the jumper. Your background with difficult negotiations on Earth, as well as the experience you've gained during your time with the SGC and the Atlantis expedition, makes you more than qualified to negotiate with the leadership of Olesia for both trade and the release of AR-1. With Major Lorne and his team covering the remainder of the likely probabilities and me covering the more unlikely possibilities, I believe the recovery of AR-1 is an extremely probable outcome."

"Dial the gate," Elizabeth turned to Lorne with an amused shake of her head, "but go to stealth mode the moment we're through."

"Yes, ma'am," Lorne pressed the keys on the jumper's DHD and lowered them into the gate room.

As soon as they were through the wormhole, Lorne switched the cloak on and headed away from the small island to the larger land mass.

"Is there anything you didn't take into account?" Lorne asked curiously, "About retrieving Sheppard and his team, I mean."

"Weather," D answered vaguely.

"The weather?" Lorne wondered.

"Because of the incident in the botany lab, I didn't have the time to research the weather before we left," D tipped her head back to rest against the seat, "It's possible this planet has unusual weather patterns that could have interfered with the jumper's systems. However, seeing the current weather, blue skies and sunny, I'd say the probability of weather related problems is slim."

"And the probability of the team killing each other?" Lorne inquired.

"Unlikely, but still a possibility. Specialist Dex and Dr. McKay have conflicting personalities," D replied distantly, her eyes focused on the jumper's ceiling, "Ronon's job is to follow orders and McKay's job is to question them. Since this is their first mission together, they're still getting used to each other. The two of them getting along in the beginning depends on whether Colonel Sheppard is able to prove he is a strong enough commander for Ronon to follow and whether Ms. Emmagan is able to exert her calming influence over the entire team. The team will either achieve a suitable balance, making AR-1 one of the most capable and widely utilized teams in the City, or they'll fracture apart violently, in which case the US military will blame Lt. Colonel Sheppard for the failure. Then even Elizabeth's influence won't be able to stop Colonel Caldwell from being appointed Military Commander of the expedition and I'll have to shoot him in the face for being a dick. The odds are about even for either scenario."

"Don't like Colonel Caldwell much, do you?" Lorne asked sardonically.

D's head snapped forward and she slapped a hand over her mouth. She looked to Elizabeth, flinching as she dropped her hand.

"My apologies, Dr. Weir," D said quickly, "I didn't mean to say that last part out loud."

"It's all right," Elizabeth suppressed her smile, "I already knew the odds were even either way."

"Yes, ma'am, but that's not-" D started, looking to Lorne nervously.

"I'm still not past my disappointment about the whole 'didn't check the weather before we left' thing," Lorne gave an exaggerated sigh, "I don't know how I'm going to manage without knowing the full history of weather patterns on this planet."

"I'll be sure to include a full weather report in all your future mission briefings, Major," D deadpanned, "I'm sure Lt. Reed and Sergeant Coughlin will be overjoyed with the extra reading."

"Oh, look," Lorne brought up the HUD with a grin, "Landing instructions."

"Follow them please, Major," Elizabeth ordered easily, "And let's all be prepared for any possibilities, weather related or otherwise."

"Yes, ma'am," Lorne agreed.

*AM*AM*AM*AM*AM*AM*AM*

Elizabeth and the team were met at the landing site by a small security detachment. The five of them were led through well-kept gardens to a large building made of concrete and glass. They were introduced to the Magistrate and his young assistant, who then led them through the impressive building to a small conference room, decorated in the same efficient style as the rest of the building. The beginning talks were going well, until one of the nameless, silent guards pressed a hand to the oblong silver earpiece in his ear, then stepped forward to whisper in the Magistrate's ear.

"Is there a problem, Magistrate?" Elizabeth asked politely.

"I'm afraid the news is not good," the Magistrate answered uneasily, "Our rescue teams had just begun their search on the island when the ancestral ring activated."

"The Wraith?" Elizabeth questioned warily.

"It appears a culling is under way. We're not sure how many ships are involved, but our teams were forced to pull back," the Magistrate spoke quickly, "I'm not giving up hope. I'll send teams back in the moment the Wraith are gone. Hopefully your friends will have evaded the culling. I must attend to this."

The Magistrate rushed out of the room, followed quickly by the uniformed guards. His assistant bowed her head respectfully, giving Elizabeth a nervous look before following the men, pulling the door shut behind her and leaving them alone in the room.

Elizabeth exchanged a guarded look with Lorne. She turned to D and saw her gray eyes narrowed, her fingers twitching against the gun at her thigh as she stared at the door the Magistrate left through.

"Dr. Vaughn, did you have something to say?" Elizabeth asked neutrally.

D flicked her glance to the corner of the room, then smiled at Reed politely, "Lieutenant, could I ask you to take two steps to your left?" she shifted the polite smile to Coughlin, "Sergeant, three steps forward and one to your right, if you would."

The two Marines looked to Lorne, who nodded once, then they moved as they had been directed. D flicked her glance to the opposite corner of the room, then took Elizabeth's right elbow gently, moving her several steps toward the two Marines before dropping her hand back to her side.

"Major Lorne, if you would stand on Dr. Weir's left side please?" D's polite smile was still firmly in place.

Lorne moved closer to Elizabeth, stepping around her to stand on her left side.

"There are two security cameras in this room," D explained softly, "Reed and Coughlin are blocking the view of anyone monitoring so as long as we speak quietly, we'll have some measure of privacy."

"How did you notice the cameras?" Elizabeth asked, resisting the urge to search the walls to find them for herself.

"It's my job," the smile finally dropped from D's face, "Permission to speak freely, ma'am?"

"As a general rule, D," Elizabeth insisted, "I always prefer you speak freely."

"The sleaze ball is lying through his disgusting teeth," D stated bluntly, "about nearly everything he's told us."

"Well, that's pretty obvious," Lorne agreed drolly.

"He was terrified when he received the report about the Wraith," D continued, "but in an extremely selfish manner. His pulse doubled and his hands started to shake. He all but ran from the room – without bothering to check if his guards were following. He does not want us on the prison island for any reason and has very little interest in trading with us, at least fairly. The Magistrate is a bully, used to getting what he wants at the expense of others, and may try to force a confrontation if we leave, but he'll only fight if he thinks he can win. His assistant, Marin, has information that could be useful to us but she's too afraid of the repercussions of speaking out."

"Do you think they've detained Sheppard's team?" Elizabeth narrowed her eyes.

"No, ma'am," D shook her head, "That was one of the only things he was telling the truth about. AR-1 is no longer in this part of Olesia. They're somewhere on the island."

"Anything else?" Lorne asked carefully.

"If the Magistrate forces a confrontation…" D held Elizabeth's hard gaze as she trailed off.

"I know how to deal with bullies," Elizabeth said firmly.

"Yes, ma'am," D inclined her head then turned to Lorne, "Major?"

"Don't back down," Lorne nodded and looked down to the gun strapped to D's left thigh, "You know how to use that?"

"Would I be allowed to wear it if I didn't?" D raised an eyebrow at him.

"I guess not," Lorne grinned.

"While we've got some spare time," D looked between Elizabeth and Lorne, "I'd like to propose a scheduling change, ma'am."

"Scheduling change?" Elizabeth wondered curiously.

"Yes, ma'am," D's mouth quirked into half a smile, "I've been going over the mission reports and I've discovered that Lt. Colonel Sheppard's team is three times as likely to require additional personnel to…assist them during their missions. I'd like to recommend an extra two teams are on stand-by whenever AR-1 has an off-world mission scheduled."

"Only three times?" Lorne snorted, "From what I've heard, it's way more than that."

"We can discuss it when we get back to the City," Elizabeth agreed with an easy smile.