Part: 9/?

--------

"Sheppard." The voice cut through the fog and brought John immediately awake. He had been lost in an anxious dream in which he had been walking the empty complex corridors of the Elite ship. As he woke up the anxiety followed him reminding him that he wasn't home and that danger could be near. He sat up from the soft sofa cushions, his right hand grabbing at his thigh, looking for the comforting handle of his sidearm. But, of course it wasn't there and only as his mind cleared properly did he remember why. Emmagan was standing nearby, her voice the one that had woken him. Her eyes lifted from his thigh and she gave him what he thought was an approving glance.

"It is time for late meal," she said as she moved away into her bedroom area.

John cleared his throat, blinking away sleep and anxiety. He still had no idea what time it was and after his impromptu nap he felt rather disorientated. However, his stomach grumbled, making its opinion clear; late meal sounded good.

Emmagan reappeared, still wrapped up in her dark form fitting clothing. John's gaze moved from where she had tucked a long knife into a sheath at the back of her belt, to the small patches of bared skin at her sides. Her tattoos didn't show on her left side, so he guessed it was just her right side. Ketra hissed abruptly and John turned to where the small creature was perched on the sofa directly opposite him. The orange eyes were dull coloured, but sharply focused on him. Quickly John assessed the distance across the table between the lizard and his own jugular; she could easily make the jump.

Emmagan broke the stalemate by moving toward the table and she extended her arm towards Ketra, who with one last narrowed eyed look at John, climbed up its owner's arm. Emmagan then turned and headed towards the door and John lifted his sleepy form up out of the comfortable sofa and followed her. They moved through the corridors beyond on the route back towards the canteen. Ketra clung to Emmagan easily, hanging its body and tail across her back like some kind of drapery. The little dragon looked back at him occasionally, not approving that he was so close and so John added a little extra space to his two pace rule.

They entered the canteen a few minutes later and as soon as the doors opened John knew that main staff eating times were clearly over and the collection of individuals around one large table were the rest of the Elite. The eclectic group of people seemed to radiate strength, aggression and power. And they would not have looked out of place in a Blade comic. The theme of clothing was dark shades and, for the most part, close fitting. There was a lot of belts, straps, holsters, knifes and judging by the reduced number of arms Emmagan and Si were wearing, he guessed the other Elite were wearing less weaponry than usual.

Emmagan led him away from the main table towards a buffet spread set across the room. He pulled his eyes away from the vampire gang around the table to study the collection of food for the late meal. It looked pretty basic, but then that didn't really surprise him. Emmagan had a simple metal dish in her hand and was adding what looked like a thick gruel onto one side, then a few yellow potato looking things and finally some more familiar looking green beans. She handed the dish to John and turned to fill one for herself.

"Shouldn't I be the one serving up the food?" He asked as he looked into the dish with its small offerings. He noticed that Emmagan served herself the same amounts.

"Elite choose their own food," she replied as she added green beans to her dish.

John surveyed the foods she hadn't added to the dishes; a pink leafy looking salad and a bowl of white lumps that were definitely not sugar lumps.

"What no beef and gravy?" John muttered to himself.

Emmagan pointed forward towards a large jug. "That is gravy, it is quite good. What is beef?"

John decided to risk the gravy; it might help hide the gruel. "It's from part of a cow; a four legged animal."

Her head snapped round to look up at him. "You eat animals?"

John straightened the jug of gravy and met her eyes with a worried look. Had he just broken some alien taboo? "Yes," he replied honestly. "I take it you don't?"

"You will find few in the military who do," she replied as if it was an understatement.

"Really?" John asked carefully. He would have thought the big buff soldiers on the other table would be well into their protein. It also sparked other questions about the Alliance and why it was only the military that didn't eat meat. "Is it a religious thing?" John asked carefully.

Emmagan turned with her dish to look up at him. "Why do Wraith kill humans?"

John knew immediately where this was going. "To feed on them."

"That is why," she replied.

"It's hardly the same," John caught himself arguing, the gravy jug still in his hand. "On Earth the animals we use for food are killed humanly…for the most part."

Emmagan pursed her lips. "If the Wraith one day suggested that they would only kill humans 'humanly' would we allow them to still kill our kind?"

John thought on that for a moment, having a vision of lines of humans queuing up to a Wraith Hive ship to be killed 'humanly'. "I guess not," he admitted.

She lifted her dish. "We have all the necessary nutrients available." She turned and moved back towards the large table.

John set down the gravy jug finally and caught up with her about half way across the canteen. John looked over the Elite group as they grew closer and realised that there were more women than men; four men to six women including Emmagan. Interesting. There were a few slaves stood around the room, several steps behind their owners, and John spied Kanaan sitting at a far corner of the table beside one of the pilots from the bridge. Emmagan reached the table and gestured to a space next to her, indicating that John should sit beside her. John paused for a moment, wondering if he should, but then followed her lead and sat down. Heads turned towards him and Emmagan as they sat.

"Why is a slave at the table?" One woman asked sternly. John had seen the tattoos on her back as he had walked towards the table. She had two holes cut into her top exposing her shoulder blades, over which her tats could be seen. She stared at Emmagan now, not even looking at John.

Emmagan passed a metal spoon to John and turned to her own food. "You are well aware of my opinion on the treatment of slaves."

The stern woman looked at John and back to Emmagan who was munching on a potato. Ketra leant forward from her shoulder, its small mouth reaching towards the potato. Emmagan made a hissing noise through her teeth and Ketra pulled back.

"You do not normally bring your slaves to our table," the woman continued.

Emmagan finally looked round at the woman. "This is Major John Sheppard from Atlantis."

The woman's face took on a surprised expression and then it merged into curiosity as her eyes returned to John. Another woman sat on the corner of the table by John's right side also began staring at him and then leant out from her seat to look down John's back. John felt like he was back in that slave cage again and he glared at the woman in response, not caring about what was polite; because she sure wasn't. He was fed up with being treated like a piece of meat, which took on a whole new meaning following his conversation just now with Emmagan.

The rude woman lifted her eyes and smiled at him. "I like this one, Emmagan. If you grow bored…"

"Have we heard from the Hastos?" Emmagan cut through the offer.

"We received their final call before they went into hyperspace to the meeting point," Halling replied from his seat beside Scarface down the far end of the table. John almost did a double take as he finally registered the details of the woman to Halling's left. She had purple skin, like those two slaves John had seen back on the station. Her blue red eyes met his shocked look.

"Do not stare at her, she does not like it," Emmagan told him and he quickly looked away.

"Sorry," John muttered, looking briefly at the woman again with an apologetic smile, hoping it would translate to the alien. The woman's eyes met his and she angled her head; hopefully that meant she had accepted his apology.

"Eat your meal," Emmagan said reminding him quietly of the food in front of him.

"Yes, Miss," he replied with a smile at her, feeling closer to her now he was surrounded by such a hostile audience. Ketra took this moment to snap at him, before she ran down Emmagan's right arm onto the table. John had pulled his closest arm away from the lizard as it passed and people began laughing around the table.

"Appears Ketra does not approve of him, Emmagan," Si laughed loudly.

Ketra made her way down the table and each person reached out to stroke her as she passed them. John watched the creature with suspicion.

"The feeling is mutual," he said making Si laugh again. Ketra shuffled quickly towards Si and as he reached out a large strong hand to stroke over the little dragon, John watched Ketra's skin turn from dull to a brighter silver again.

"Are you planning to collect people from Atlantis?" The stern woman cut in.

"I am not collecting anyone," Emmagan replied with a touch of amusement, "he required my assistance and, as we have discussed before, contact with Atlantis is inevitable."

"Or he's a spy," Scarface interjected from across the table.

John felt eyes back on him again.

"He was captured by a planet looking for funds for Alliance protection," Emmagan explained, kindly leaving out the trap part.

"That is what you were told," Scarface replied.

"Our limited past experience with Atlantis has suggested they are not aggressive," the purple skinned woman said. Her two visible tats ran along her collar bones and were coloured not in black like the others', but in a deep indigo shade.

"They are aggressive against the Wraith, that is all I think is important," the woman John had seen leave the lift earlier added to the conversation from a far end of the table.

"Our common hate for the Wraith may be all that is important," Halling said as he pushed his empty dish away from him. Ketra saw the movement and headed towards the empty dish, but had to pass Scarface who waved her away aggressively. Only then he picked up a piece of bean and tossed it to her. Happy with her morsel Ketra moved on and John watched the lizard leap up along Kanaan's arm and settle against his shoulder. John's gaze slid from Ketra to Kanaan who was looking at him with a suspicious look.

"When the territory line is pushed outwards we will inevitably meet Atlantis forces," the stern woman said.

"That is if the High Council ever agree to it," Scarface muttered from the end of the table.

"It will happen, they will see," the purple skinned woman said softly to him.

"I doubt it," Scarface replied bitterly. "They are more interested in holding onto what they rule than to do what the Alliance was born to do; defeat the Wraith."

"They agreed to the present attack and that suggests they are invested in looking beyond the border."

John listened carefully, but kept his head down as he ate, quietly taking in the intel. Besides he was starving and surprisingly the food tasted really good, even the gruel. The potato things had a nice smooth, almost curry like, flavour and the gravy was sweet like honey. He was barely able to keep himself from eating like he was starving and though he had been worrying that the small portions would not be enough, as he ate he could feed that the food was filling him. By the time he had finished, carefully gathering all traces of the gravy from the sides, he felt completely full and his stomach glowed with fulfilment. The discussion around the table had turned to names and places he knew nothing about, so he set his dish aside and sat back a little, trying to keep out of the Elite's interest. It didn't last long.

Scarface was looking at him again with that judging look. John met the glare this time. Scarface turned abruptly towards the purple skinned woman.

"Nalla, is he a spy?" The question cut through the others' discussion on the fleet deployments, the Elite apparently liking to combine meetings with meal times. All eyes shifted between Nalla and John.

"It is a valid question," the stern woman added her two cents.

Nalla looked towards Emmagan. "It is Emmagan's choice; he is her slave."

John bit back his thoughts on that. Emmagan turned to him. "Nalla is able to sense others' emotions. She will be able to tell if you are hiding anything from us."

John frowned at that and looked at the purple skinned woman. He didn't like the idea of someone having that much knowledge of him. And besides these were not the kinds of people you wanted knowing your every thought, or rather every feeling.

"I sense current emotions, not old ones," Nalla replied as if he had asked her a question. She seemed a calm and polite woman, but the tattoos across her collarbones told him she was a warrior who had killed at least two Wraith Queens with her nicely manicured purple hands.

"Anything I learn whilst being here of course I'm gonna tell my superiors about, but I'm not a spy. Mistress Emmagan helped me out of a bind and I decided to join her on this mission as maybe I could help out, repay her in some way. I've had a lot of experience against Wraith, and other enemies, and I'm an experienced pilot; maybe I can help."

He could feel the judging going on around him, but he kept his eyes on Nalla. The woman inclined her head. "He speaks the truth in that regard, though he likes the idea of taking out the Queen." The extra piece of information seemed to actually help his cause and John saw a few approving nods around the table. Scarface was still glaring at him though.

Emmagan looked over at Scarface. "Are you satisfied, Oneakka?"

Oneakka turned his gaze on Emmagan and angled his head in a move that was probably as close to a nod as that man would ever get. "I am only concerned about your safety as much as ours." Despite the previous arrogant and aggressive words, these were honest and full of conviction. John got a view then into why Oneakka was close to the calm mannered Halling.

"I always value your opinion," Emmagan replied to Oneakka and they smiled at each other with a look that spoke to a long history of friendship.

"Now you two have finished your bonding moment, can we get onto the mission?" Si asked, resulting in some more laughter.

There was a strong sense of comradeship to the Elite group, though the stern woman still looked a little unconvinced.

----------

When John had first seen the 'sleeping box' that had been provided for him he had not been impressed, though once he had actually sat down on it he had found that the basic mattress was comfortable enough. After the long meeting in the canteen they had headed back to Emmagan's quarters and John had found his new bed had been delivered. It had been put on the floor just on the living area side of the long curtain to Emmagan's sleeping area. John had only then realised he should have brought something to sleep in as he only had day clothes. He wondered if Emmagan would mind him wandering through to the bathroom in the night dressed only in his underwear.

John had sat down on his bed outside the now drawn curtain to Emmagan's sleeping area and prepared for bed. Emmagan moved around on the other side of the curtain quietly, though he was able to pick out the sound of rustling clothing at one point. Then he thought he heard the sound of her sitting down on the bench and what sounded like a brush running through hair.

A rumbling growling noise echoed from the far corner from the living area. Ketra had not looked impressed by his bed being in the living area, and had sat on top of her little wooden home glaring down at him, looking very territorial. John had ignored her up until now, but now he saw she was lifting her upper lip and showing her teeth again. He had a horrible thought of what she might do to him in the night.

"Ummm, are you sure Ketra doesn't mind me sleeping in here?" John called through the curtain, trying to sound as reasonable as possible.

He heard a light chuckle from the other side of the curtain. "Ketra. Leave," Emmagan called out sternly. Ketra responded immediately looking grumpily towards the curtain, before she climbed down into the top floor of her wooden home. John watched the lizard curl up inside, but the orange eyes returned to him.

"Thanks," John replied through the curtain, though he wasn't entirely sure if it was going to work. As he settled down onto his rather comfortable mattress he wondered which part of him Ketra would attack first. The sound of a brush through hair started up again. John tried not to listen, but it was far too tempting. "Night," he called to Emmagan.

The brushing stopped and he heard movement. "Good dreams, Sheppard," she replied moments before all the lights shut off.

John held still for a few long moments in the darkness, wondering if Ketra was stalking towards him. He couldn't remember if lizards were nocturnal back on Earth, but then it probably varied and after all Ketra was from an alien world in another galaxy.

There were no sounds from the other side of the curtain, and with no obvious sounds of an impeding lizard attack, John settled properly down onto his mattress, pulling the blanket up over him and laying his head down on the comfortable pillow. He realised there were no portholes in Emmagan's quarters and without that touch of starlight and hyperspace, there was absolutely no light whatsoever in the room. The complete darkness was oddly claustrophobic and he found himself worrying over Ketra again, which was odd as there was a beautiful woman sleeping only a couple of metres away. If Ketra's aim was to distract him from Emmagan, then it was working. He was spending his time worrying on whether the mini dragon might be sneaking up on him in the night and biting him in the… He tucked the edges of the blanket tightly around the outsides of his legs and hips, not allowing any gaps. Okay he was getting paranoid. He took a breath and released it, trying to relax as best he could.

He woke abruptly to the sound of a loud buzzing noise. He sat half up, his head thick with sleep. The lights were on full and he blinked round as Emmagan pulled back the main curtain. She was fully dressed in a slightly different outfit from yesterday and her hair had clearly been re-braided. She looked down at him with amusement as she walked past him.

"It appeared you needed the rest."

John sat upright, rubbing at his face. "Is it morning already?"

"Yes," she replied as she moved to the main doorway as the buzzing noise sounded again. John realised it was the equivalent to a doorbell or Atlantis' room chimes. She turned to him with a pointed look.

"Right, I'll get up," he replied pulling his heavy body up out of the sleeping box. He certainly felt like he had slept all night, but it had refreshed him. He picked up his bag and moved away through Emmagan's sleeping area and into the bathroom, not registering that he was only dressed in his underwear until he got in there.

A shower woke him up properly and he emerged from the bathroom a short time later in fresh clothes and aware that today would be an interesting day. He passed Emmagan's bed, which was perfectly made like she hadn't slept in it, and into the living area. Si was perched on the corner of one sofa, Ketra on his knee absorbing affection. Si's dark eyes landed on John and lifted to his hair, which without the aid of any hair products had returned to its main state of complete rebellion against gravity. John resisted the urge to run his hand through it.

"Si will take you to the training room," Emmagan told him, "where you can learn of our weapons and see how the Elite train."

Si smiled widely and John suspected the interesting part of the day was going to start early. "What no breakfast?"

Si set Ketra aside and stood up. "You can eat after training." There was far too much glee in the big man's eyes for John to feel comfortable, but half of it was about bravado wasn't it? So he nodded.

"Sounds good," he replied and moved forward appearing eager.

"Stay with Si," Emmagan told him as he passed her and he nodded at her clear warning, wondering where she was going to spend the morning. Perhaps visiting Kanaan?

He followed Si out into the corridor and looked back to Emmagan to find she was watching him in return. He got the abrupt sense that she had been admiring him from behind, but there was nothing but a faint polite smile across her face. The door closed and he turned his attention to following Si. He wondered if he was expected to follow behind Si like he did Emmagan, but besides it wasn't like there was any space next to Si's wide shoulders in the corridor anyway. John held back more than he would with Emmagan.

The training room was situated near the front of the ship, if John's orientation was correct. And it was hardly a 'room', being about the same size as a school gym. The floor had the usual gym standard of thick mats across the floor, but it was the wide selection of weaponry set along the walls that drew John's attention. The weapons were all arranged orderly and in groups set in racks fixed to the walls. The first section held wooden weapons clearly for basic training, then metal weapons that didn't look too sharp and finally in the far corner a selection of guns. Ford would love it here.

As he followed Si into the wide space he got a sinking feeling. "So, I guess this is the point where you want to 'test my skills'?" John asked.

Si turned with a wide smile as he reached a narrow table and began taking off his own very real sharp deadly weapons and laying them aside. His two guns from his hips were the last to be set down.

"Look I'm not sure what you hope to prove. I mean look at you; you're built like a house, you kill Wraith for a living and you've taken out Wraith Queens with your bare hands. I'm not sure what exactly it is you need to prove." It perhaps wasn't the best thing to say, but John said it. He had spent the last couple of days being manhandled, treated like crap and ordered around. Though Emmagan had been friendly he was hardly in the most relaxing of environments and wasn't popular with the other Elite. But, Si seemed loyal to Emmagan and John took his single opportunity to get back at someone, even a little bit.

Si smiled and chuckled as he pulled a wooden staff out of a rack and tossed it at John. John caught it, aware that there wasn't going to be any way out of this.

"It'll help you," Si replied as he pulled a staff of his own out of the rack. "Feel free to take out all that anger on me." The big man strode towards John, lifting his staff in both hands.

John gripped his staff in both hands as well, swallowing with worry. Yet, a part of him felt a flush of joy at having a weapon in his hands again, even if it was only a staff and not a P90. Maybe Si was right; he could do with a workout. He tested the weight of the staff as Si grew closer. "So are there any rules?"

Si struck out abruptly, the wooden weapon sailing out from one hand directly at John's head. John jumped back just in time and pulled his staff up quickly to block the next blow that Si delivered. John pushed away the attack and struck out himself with the end of his weapon, but Si easily stepped aside and the wooden end of his weapon connected with John's back sending him sailing down to the mats. John sighed with aggression as he got up and turned back towards Si, who was already attacking again.

"Where are no pauses in fighting Wraith," Si said very calmly even though he was striking out at John repeatedly. "They are always stronger and faster." John was completely on the defensive, blocking and dodging as best he could as he was forced continually backwards. "The odds are never in your favour and the moment you think they are…" John blocked a rapid series of strikes feeling his body finally getting into the game. "You strike…" Si twisted abruptly, dropping one end of his staff and swung down at John's feet. It was too fast and John tumbled down again, legs knocked out from under him. "Or you die."

John rolled away from Si and crawled a few more feet to get some distance. He was on his feet and better prepared when Si came at him. Si held his staff overhead in both of the guy's thick hands as he struck down at John and John had a moment of amazement at the speed of the man as the wooden weapon thundered down on him. John blocked Si's staff across his own, but was forced to his knees by the impact. Si pressed his weight down on John's staff and John's arms shook with the strain. Si kicked out at John's closest knee, but John just saw it in time so dropped his arms and rolled away. Si chased him across the mats and it was only when John did a tumble roll away that he got enough space between them to get up again. Si chuckled as he attacked with rapid strikes. John deflected them, but the shock of the heavy wood weapons connecting was sending vibrations down from his hands, making his wrists and elbows ache. What was more worrying was that it was clear Si wasn't really trying very hard. John got frustrated with that thought.

He blocked the next strike, turned with the hit and struck up at Si's head. The big guy smiled as he dodged, turned and stepped aside. With a few moments of breathing space John considered his options. The staff was too much weight for him to use for as long as this. John turned and ran from Si, which clearly had surprised the warrior, but John didn't stay to watch any more of Si's reactions. He tossed down his staff as he reached the racks of wooden weapons and pulled out a strong wooden sword. He turned with the weapon in a double grip and moved forward to meet the next attack. Si was smiling as he did so. John was still well out of his depth, but the sword weighed less and he was able to use it more effectively. He blocked the staff at angles that helped divert Si's added strength and he even managed to get in a few strikes at the guy. None of them connected of course, but it still felt like John was getting somewhere.

Si stepped back eventually and John did the same, panting for breath. There hadn't been any breaks with Si, just strike after strike on and on. Si smiled again as he turned and walked towards the wooden racks. He set his staff back into the rack and reached out to John, silently asking for the wooden sword back. John threw the weapon back, thinking that as bad as that had been it hadn't been as bad as he had expected. Si returned the sword to the racks and then moved on to two short sticks about the length of a forearm. He turned and threw them one at a time at John. John hadn't been expecting that and only caught one in time. The other stick landed by his feet. As John picked it up he sighed - he should have known better than to think it had been over.

"These are Emmagan's favourite weapons," Si told him as he pulled out two sticks of his own. "They are called bantos rods and the Athosians are experts in their use. Of course her swords are of more use against Wraith, but in training the rods are very useful." Si moved forward swinging the bantos rods round with expert skill. The sticks looked more like twigs in the big guy's hands.

John tested the medium weight of the sticks in his hands and did an experimental spin with one, swinging it around in his hand. Si was on him then, and John barely managed to block the rapid three hits and the fourth one caught him across the arm. Swearing loudly John pulled back after picking up his fallen rod. Si held back waiting. John guessed this was a different kind of test now. Shame he didn't know the rules. After long minutes through which John collected a wide range of bruises and, though it was clear Si was pulling his hits, they still hurt. John had enough by then and stopped trying to prove himself as an equal and began to fall back into his training.

He started dodging more and side stepping, trying to use speed and skill over Si's power. That usually worked against bigger opponents, but it appeared that, against all John's experience, Si was as fast as anyone else despite the bulk of muscle he carried. John started to play dirty then, taking low shots at Si's ankles and poking in the ends of the sticks to jab at Si. Si blocked them all, until one point when John was knocked down and instead of rolling away for distance with which to get up, John rolled towards Si and kicked up. Si grunted as the kick hit his thigh, but he dropped down onto John, pinning his legs with his weight.

John dropped his sticks and reached up for a grappling hold, twisting his body and arm around Si, trying to get his arm around Si's thick neck. Si grunted as he twisted in response and gently elbowed John in his side and John hissed out a breath, but kept on, changing his grip to dig his nails into Si's skin. Si grunted again and dropped all his weight down over John, taking them to the floor. He was a very heavy man and John's breath was forced out of him under the impact, but though his vision dimmed slightly, John had a slight advantage that Si was closer, so he worked to complete his headlock on the warrior. Si rolled over, pulling John with him to shove John under his weight again. But, the break had given John space to lift his legs out from under Si and he wrapped them as best he could around Si's waist.

At this point he was aware of someone laughing nearby, but John kept on, knowing that Si still had the upper hand, but he wasn't going to give in. Sure Si was bigger than him, but he still knew how to fight. He broke one arm free and lightly punched into Si's kidney area and got a growl for his effort. Si got his arms fully around John's chest and began squeezing. John wrapped his legs tighter around Si's middle and he also tried to squeeze the big man's neck at the same time. It would be a matter of who lost consciousness first.

Si rolled again, but stopped on his back this time, John's lower legs trapped under his bulk and John's forehead pressed into the mat in order to keep his headlock around Si's neck. Si released his tight hold around John's middle, abruptly giving John full breathing space again, but then the two fists slapped into both of John's kidneys. He grunted under the impact and decided a new tactic was needed. He twisted pulling one leg out from under Si, and he rolled onto his back pulling Si with him by his neck. It sounded like Si laughed for a moment before John completed the headlock properly this time, one arm entirely around Si's throat and he wrapped his legs back around Si. It was a strong grappling hold, but Si was so big John couldn't really get all the leverage he needed. Si rolled heavier onto John and reached up at John's head and his big thumbs found the soft vulnerable points under John's jaw where too much pressure would knock him out. John tried to bury his head into his neck, but Si worked one hand around John's throat and John could only put more pressure on Si's throat in response.

"Enough!" Emmagan shouted abruptly and Si's hands relaxed from John's throat. John's awareness broke into real time and he registered that he was panting with exertion and that his body was tired and partly trapped under Si. Si gripped one of John's arms and pulled hard, trying to break his headlock, which John realised he hadn't released.

"Sheppard," Emmagan commanded and it broke through John's fighting mindset and he released Si. The two of them rolled away from each other. John laid flat on his back for a moment trying to steady his breathing and feel a moment of pride that he hadn't been a total pushover as Si had been expecting. John was pretty sure Si could have broken one of John's arms or legs if he had wanted, but he had chosen to play 'fair'. John looked over at Si who was getting up. John sat up and groaned as he got up slowly.

"Are you injured?" Emmagan asked from behind him. John wasn't sure if she was asking him or Si the question, but he replied anyway.

"No, I'm okay," he replied, though his tight voice and groan as he stood upright probably didn't add much credence to that answer. As he turned to look at Emmagan he realised there was an audience behind her and he remembered he had heard someone laughing. Oneakka, Halling and a female Elite warrior were standing just inside the doorway. They looked amused.

John looked at Emmagan to see that she wasn't angry or worried, but she did look him over sternly and then Si. John looked over at Si and was immensely proud that there was a small cut on Si's face, the small amount of blood drying on his skin a tiny victory. Si looked at him with a wide smile and reached out to clap John on his shoulder.

"Do not worry, Emmagan, I wasn't going to break your toy. Besides, I like him," Si said as he shook John's shoulder forcefully, though it was clear it was affectionate in nature. John smiled back at the guy.

"Thanks for not breaking anything," John said honestly.

Si laughed at that and released John's shoulder with one last slap.

"Males," Emmagan muttered, but there was a smile to her lips. "Next time you feel like testing someone who is not Elite, use the Generator," she said to Si.

Si smiled at her. "Simulation is not the same."

She inclined her head. "Agreed, but it would hardly be the best first contact with Atlantis for us to return his dead body."

John felt more than a little pleased that she was worried for him. "I can handle myself, mostly. You give me a gun and I'm your guy." She met his eyes and the double-entendre he hadn't intended, at least not consciously, made her lift an eyebrow.

"That is your preferred weapon?" She asked.

"I'm an okay shot," he replied liking the challenging sparkle in her eyes.

She gestured towards the rack of guns behind him. "Show me."

The gym turned into a shooting range with minimal effort. From the ceiling targets were lowered on rails like back in an Earth range, and Si laid out a wide selection of guns. John looked them over as Si gave him a brief overview of each weapon, though some of the terms he used John had to translate to what he believed Si was talking about. It was pleasing to see that the Elite used projectile weapons as well as energy weapons. John picked up each weapon in turn learning the basic mechanisms and checking them all over, for once in his life making sure all could see his skill. The three Elite who continued to be an audience moved closer, appearing eager to get into some shooting as well.

"Show me," Emmagan repeated once Si had finished his tour de weaponry.

John picked up a gun the closest to what he was used to. It had the same weight as a P90, though the loading mechanism was slightly different. The line marking the far distance to the targets had been revealed when several mats had been pulled back. John stepped up to the line, set the weapon against him, taking his time to get comfortable, but not too long as to appear unsure of himself. He squeezed off five precise rounds and lowered the weapon, making it safe and turned to Emmagan. She brought the target forward on the metal mechanical rails and as it drew closer John felt a flash of relief as all five holes were tightly clustered around the target's outlined face, all in its forehead. Not bad and with an alien weapon, though it had far less kick back than Earth weapons and he wondered how they had achieved it.

The other Elite peered forward and Halling and Si made sounds of approval. Oneakka moved away to the table, selected a weapon of his own and moved towards John. John held his ground and to his relief Oneakka simply stood up to the line beside him. Oneakka reached for the target and scratched a tiny cross with his thumbnail into the chalklike covering and sent the target back across the gym. Once the target had settled against the far wall Oneakka, with a condescending smile at John, lifted his weapon and with barely a second to aim he set off two shots. John looked down at the target as it ran back towards them. The tiny cross Oneakka had marked was obliterated under the two bullet holes that had been so close it was basically one hole.

"Childs play," Oneakka replied.

"Then why shoot twice?" John asked, more from interest than for the challenge.

Oneakka smiled slightly, creasing up the scar running down the side of his face. "Most Wraith require two rapid shots; one to break through the skull and a second to make sure they go down."

John stored that nugget away. A P90 didn't usually require such precision firing in the heat of battle, but it was worth knowing.

"Why does a pilot need such a high standard of skills?" Emmagan asked.

John turned back to her. "Everyone in our military goes through basic training."

"That did not answer my question," she replied.

John nodded that she was right. He guessed this wouldn't be the arena to confess his extra black ops experience. "I flew a lot of choppers and planes into some harsh areas on my world," he said instead.

"Are your people at war with each other?" Halling asked.

"As a rule most of the planet is at peace, but there are a few areas where there is still warfare. In my home galaxy there are several dangerous alien enemies as well. One race in particular ruled over many planets." The Elite looked particularly interested in that. "They were a parasitic race that invaded a host's body and took over them. They ruled like gods over their subjugated people."

"You speak in the past tense," Emmagan pointed out.

John smiled grimly. "Their slaves rebelled and together we got rid of them." The Elite exchanged a few impressed expressions.

"Who rules your planet now?" Halling asked.

"There are many different countries, each have their own sovereignty. But, there are several superpowers who together oversee our interests off world."

"Why did your people come to this galaxy?" Emmagan asked.

John met her gaze. "We were still struggling to find a way to stop these aliens and we knew that there was a lost city that the Ancients, the Ancestors, had left in this galaxy. We had been left the address and we hoped to find information and the means with which to save our galaxy."

"Did you find what you needed?" Emmagan asked.

"We didn't need it in the end against that particular enemy, but Ancient technology has saved our asses many times. What we've learnt in Atlantis has made so much more possible and there are still threats back home. And of course there's the new threat of the Wraith."

"They know of Earth," Emmagan stated with no question.

John nodded. "We can't let them find the means to get to Earth. Not only would my people be at risk, but the billions of other humans in my home galaxy."

"So you chose to stay in Atlantis," Halling said.

John dragged his gaze away from Emmagan's curious large eyes. "Yes and we've learnt a hell of a lot there. We've saved the city from destruction a couple of times as well. And we've been helping a lot of other worlds hit by the Wraith," he added carefully.

"We have heard that you have taken in survivors," Halling asked.

"Yes, we have. Many we have relocated, but there are some who have asked to stay in the city. The numbers are increasing who need our protection." John looked over the Elite as he said that. It was well known that the Alliance protected only their own and the worlds outside were left to the Wraith.

"The Elite wish to eliminate all Wraith," Emmagan said.

"I got the impression from what you guys were saying last night that you have some resistance to that," John asked carefully.

The Elite warriors exchanged looks that told John enough; they felt frustrated. "It is important that we remain strong as an Alliance," Emmagan replied repeating what was clearly the policy line.

Oneakka huffed at that. "The politicians make the decisions and half of them haven't seen a Wraith for most of their lifetime thanks to our work."

"We have the same problems back home sometimes," John confessed. "The balance between civilian governments and the military is always a difficult one."

"We must temper each other," Emmagan said.

"They do not listen to us. The military is a tool they wield, we are nothing more to them," Oneakka argued.

"They fear our power," Si added.

A loud blazing alarm echoed around the gym and the lighting dimmed abruptly.

"Elite to the central station," a voice echoed through a wall panel, not that the warriors hadn't already been heading for the door.

John set down his gun on the way out, though tempted to take it with him. One quick lift ride and a fast pace down a corridor and they were in the bridge. John hung back to the side, keeping himself close to Emmagan. The lighting had changed and the bridge was filled with more people, all of which were looking at the large porthole at the front. They had dropped out of hyperspace, the stars clear outside as was the round weight of a planet nearby. John frowned at the view, wondering what the problem was. He glanced over at Emmagan and saw the tension in her shoulders and looked back to the display screens beside the view. There was a display of another ship, similar to this one and John looked back out towards the planet and saw light glint off something in orbit of the planet.

"No contact?" Someone was asking.

"They are not responding, but we received a brief burst of a warning alarm before we reached the coordinates," a voice reported from the other side of the large bodies of the Elite.

"Status of Hastos?" Halling demanded as he moved forward, peering up at the displays by the front porthole.

Emmagan turned to the display table. "We are detecting power and life readings, but no response to our calls. The ship's engines are inactive, but they have power."

"Take us closer," Halling commanded to a pilot.

As they neared John saw the ship finally and immediately it was obvious that something was seriously wrong. The ship was set at an odd angle and was clearly drifting without control.

"Their life support and gravity shielding are intact," Si reported from the display table.

John shifted forward to look around Emmagan's shoulder at the displays. He squinted at the alien language, but it made no hint of sense so he focused on the visual parts of the display. There was an outline of the Hastos with patches highlighted with different colours. He picked out what had to be the engines and then another screen appeared with a mix of small dots, presumably life signs. A new light appeared suddenly on the screen and he heard Emmagan take a breath to tell someone, but suddenly the ship shuddered violently under them. John staggered as the floor lurched under him.

"The Hastos is firing on us!" Si reported with shock and anger.

"Call them again. Send the identification code," Halling commanded.

"They are not responding," the report came back. The ship shuddered again.

The screens before Emmagan shifted as she touched a button and another display took the Hastos' place. "That was a direct hit to our number one engine," she reported with the same shock in her voice as Si had. She looked up. "We must fire back."

"Agreed," Halling replied and John saw Oneakka and another Elite member step away towards a console across from the display table. The ship shuddered violently again, but this time John had got a good grip on the table and he jammed his shoulder against Emmagan's to help her stay upright.

"Is the Hastos an Elite ship?" He asked her.

"Yes, they are part of the mission. We are," the ship shuddered again, "attacking the Wraith together."

"We have two direct hits to their hull," Oneakka reported with a mixture of victory and concern in his voice.

A light flashed on the table and John looked down at the same time as Emmagan. "I am detecting an energy build up in their second engine," she reported.

The flash of light from the front drew everyone's attention and they watched as a burst of fire engulfed one corner of the Hastos. The flames quickly dying as they met the vacuum of space and John saw piece of debris in the distance that told of a compartment decompression. As the light faded the Hastos was revealed again and John could tell exactly where engine two had been, for one corner of the ship was missing.

"They still have atmosphere," Emmagan reported, "emergency procedures have kicked in. Power has been reduced to emergency levels."

"Life signs?" Halling asked.

Emmagan brought up that screen. "Several are missing from before, but the majority are intact." There was a collective sense of relief. Emmagan checked another screen. "Their weapons are off line."

John reached forward and pressed the control he had watched Emmagan use to change the screens. She didn't object as he called up the life signs screen again. "Look at this; the life signs are clustered into three groups in the ship."

Halling appeared beside Emmagan and Oneakka, Nalla and another Elite member stepped up. "They could be trapped in those areas," Halling suggested.

"Would Wraith life signs show up differently on this?" John asked.

"Yes, these are all human," Emmagan informed him.

"Could it have been a malfunction?" Nalla asked.

"No, we were precisely targeted," Oneakka replied.

"They sent out a warning signal just before we were due to arrive, but that signal was cut off almost immediately," Si said, "maybe someone tried to warn us, but was stopped."

"Or the warning was to draw us in," Nalla suggested.

"Why did their second engine explode?" John asked Emmagan.

She was already looking at those screens, but since he couldn't understand it he had asked directly.

"The power build up we detected suggests it was deliberate," she replied.

"Are there any other ships nearby?" Si asked.

"No I checked, nothing," Oneakka replied.

"Something happened on that ship and we have possible personnel trapped over there," Halling stated.

"Is it wise to get closer?" Nalla asked. "This could be part of the plan."

"Their weapons and engines are down, and their life support will not last on emergency power for long. We can not afford to leave our people over there," another female Elite argued.

John watched the interaction around him. There still didn't appear to be any clear hierarchy among the Elite. One female Elite warrior stood next to him reached past him to press the display calling up a tighter view of the Hastos. "There are two isolated life signs close to the area where the second engine was located."

All eyes turned to the screen. "We should go in three teams; two to the large groups of lifesigns here and here, the other team will start with these two near the engine room," Emmagan suggested and there were nods all round.

"Let's go," Oneakka stated pushing past the others towards the exit.

John followed quickly behind Emmagan into the corridor. "Let me come along, I can help." She glanced over at him doubtfully. "You need as many people as possible; there are at least three areas that need to be searched. It's gonna be tight quarters in there and you know I can take care of myself. Let me help."

She walked on thinking and he was aware of Elite ears around them.

"Very well," she replied looking up at him through the duller lighting, "but you keep behind me at all times and you follow all orders. If an Elite tells you to back away, you will do so. If there is any fighting you keep out of the way if possible."

"Okay," John agreed, feeling finally useful.

-------
TBC