.
xoxoxoxoxoxooxoxxo
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Sheppard opened his eyes and saw Teyla's sweet face close to his and he smiled at how much he loved waking up next to her like this. Then he attempted to touch her face and realized his hands were behind his back and he was lying on his side on something very cold and hard. He tried to recall where he was but the last thing he remembered were Ronon and Rodney giving a toast at the tavern. What the hell had happened?
"Teyla" he groaned his voice a little rough. Her eyes opened immediately and he was relieved that she was awake. He struggled to sit up and felt his hands were bound behind his back. He looked around and saw all the others and most were lying on the ground in a similar condition but a few had started to sit up as well. Julia seemed to be the only one whose hands weren't behind her back except they were still tied, he could see.
Sheppard heard Ronon yell in frustration and knew he had just figured out what the situation was. O'Neill was shaking his head and yelling, "What the hell! Sheppard, is this your idea of entertainment? Because I gotta tell you, it sucks!"
John got his legs under him and managed a kneeling position where he could look around and see where everyone else was. He glanced at the General apologetically and said, "Yes, Sir, sorry, Sir."
Teldy was now struggling to sit up and Jennifer was nudging Rodney into wakefulness. Lorne was pushing at Mehra with his foot and Amelia was leaning against Ronon. Julia was kneeling in front of Dave who was resting against the bars of the cage they were in. Carter was still out but O'Neill was leaning down to get her to wake up.
"Holy crap, what in the world…?" McKay griped as Jennifer moved enough to allow him to sit up.
"There was something in the wine that rendered you all unconscious," Teyla informed them.
Teldy had taken up poking Mehra with her foot and said, "I don't get it. Why …?" and then she looked at Teyla. "You didn't get knocked out?"
Teyla shook her head and quickly fibbed, "I was enjoying the toasts and had not taken a sip yet when people started getting dizzy. It was a very short time before all of you were out."
John looked at his sister-in-law and said, "You didn't drink the wine either I'm sure so what exactly happened after all of us went to La La land?"
Julia looked around at the guards who had moved a good distance away from the cage even though they were still glancing in their direction most of the time.
"Teyla knew something was wrong right away and gave me the GDO and radio and told me to go back to the gate. But before I could go anywhere one of the servers blocked my way. Teyla moved closer, distracting him with questions and managed to hit and kick him enough to knock him out."
John looked at Teyla concerned, knowing what her condition was but he kept quiet. Teyla took up the story.
"Then Julia came to my rescue when the other server came up behind me. She hit him with a tray then drove her knee into his chest and head incapacitating him. Unfortunately the two men were not the only ones there."
"Nice job, Julia!" John complimented his sister-in-law. "You still got the GDO and radio?"
Julia nodded and indicated her loose shirt.
Teyla looked at John with a frightened expression. "John, it is Sora and Shiana who are behind this. They have been working together and plotting this for some time."
John's eyes grew dark. "Sora and Shiana! I knew they were up to no good when I saw them talking together at the Coalition meeting some months ago."
A few people murmured questions about these two and John gave a brief explanation. "Sora was a Genii soldier whose father was killed aboard a Wraith ship. She has it in her head that Teyla is responsible for his death when we had to leave him there. And Shiana had her whole village wiped out by the Asurans and blames Atlantis, and specifically me, for everything that happened. She hasn't really been our biggest supporter."
"You know, Sheppard," O'Neill quipped, "You have to stop pissing people off."
John gave a half smile, half grimace. "Yes, Sir, I'll try, Sir. Sorry about this whole mess. I'm sorry to everybody. This wasn't really what we had in mind when we said a fun night out."
He looked over at his brother and asked, "You okay, Dave?"
"I've been better," Dave replied sarcastically. "So is this just another day in the Pegasus Galaxy for all of you?"
Ronon, Lorne, McKay, Teldy and John all nodded and Lorne responded, "Pretty much, yeah."
Dave rolled his eyes dramatically and they heard Sam offer as she began to struggle to sit up, "It's not exclusive to Pegasus. We've had our share of these in the Milky Way, too."
"So what do we do now?" Dave asked almost fearfully. He looked at the others in the growing darkness. The guards had lit some torches a hundred feet away or so from the cage so they could see a bit but the cage itself was very much in shadow. He could see a few of the people wiggling around and wondered what they were doing.
When John gave a small yelp he looked sharply at his brother but then saw that John's hands were now free.
"How'd you do that?" He asked knowing the ropes were much too strong to just break, unless his brother had developed some superpower he didn't know about.
John held up a knife and started cutting Teyla's bonds. "Always come prepared," he replied and Dave noticed that Ronon and Lorne were now free as well as Teldy who was cutting McKay and Keller loose. John had freed Teyla and had moved on to O'Neill and Carter.
"Nice!" observed O'Neill as he flexed his hands back and forth regaining circulation. "Love how you people are completely prepared for every situation. Make sure I put a commendation in your file, Sheppard. Unless you get us all killed, then you can forget about it."
Dave was baffled. He knew Teyla had a knife concealed on her calf but she couldn't actually reach it with her hands where they were. He looked around again and commented, "You people always walk around with hidden knives, huh?"
"Yeah, kind of tough going through metal detectors, though. Luckily we don't run into too many of them around here," John said then looked outside the cage at the guards walking the perimeter. "Did you see where they put our side arms, Teyla?"
"Yes, they are in a box near the door to the house."
John's gaze moved and located the box Teyla was talking about then took inventory. "What do we got for weapons in here? And why is Mehra still out cold? Anyone check her? Is she still breathing?"
Teldy nodded and answered, "She's fine, Sir. But she gulped down that wine pretty quick so she probably got a larger dose than anyone else. I've got one knife, Sir."
Lorne, Ronon and Teyla all showed theirs, too. Teldy added, "I'm sure Dusty has a few things hidden as well. She's not one to travel light."
"Wait," Rodney quietly prodded, "Are you telling me Conan here only has one knife on him. You had about a dozen that one time you were on the Wraith ship."
Ronon's head bobbed from side to side and a tiny grin appeared on his face. "I might have a few more strategically placed, McKay. Don't worry about it."
"Okay," Sheppard lowered his voice. "So these guys are gonna notice we're free in a little while so we need to let them find one knife. Get the others hidden back safely so we can use them later."
"Why don't we just jump the guards when they come closer?" Ronon grunted his suggestion. "We've got more people than they have."
"That's true, Chewie," John agreed. "But if you hadn't noticed, they also have guns and I don't really want anyone getting shot while we're wrestling with a few of them. I don't imagine they'll all just walk inside this cage all at once and the few that are left outside will have a clear shot. So we'll wait and see what they've got in mind. Then try and find the best solution for all of us to get out safely. Got it?"
"Yeah," Ronon nodded but he didn't sound happy.
John returned his knife to the inside of his belt in the back while the others stowed theirs in concealed places. Lorne kept poking Mehra with his foot until the woman finally jerked awake and sat up quickly.
"Whoa, major head rush. I didn't think I drank that much." She dropped her head into her hands and rubbed her eyes. When she finally looked up she frowned. "Okay, why are we all sitting here in the dark in what appears to be an outdoor cell of some kind?"
Teldy filled her in on what had gone down and Dusty immediately patted herself down in a few private places then sighed. "Okay, still there."
Lorne coughed discreetly and chuckled, "I hope you're talking about weapons, Mehra."
Dusty merely gave him a dirty look but nodded her head. She looked over at Sheppard and asked, "What's the plan, Sir?"
"That's a very good question, Mehra," Sheppard replied. "I think a few of us should try cutting through the strapping on these bars. But it's gotta be subtle as these guys are keeping their eyes glued over here. Hopefully they'll all fall asleep at some point."
John glanced over at Teyla and Julia and said, "Either one of you see which way back to the gate?"
Teyla shook her head and informed them, "I was laying down as you all were but Julia was allowed to sit up. I believe she can help us."
John looked at Julia who nodded. "I know the way. There's actually a very rough path to get here. It's a bit overgrown but I'll bet the wagon made some tracks. But it was about twenty-five minutes in the cart. I'm not sure how long it would take on foot. Could be less since the animals they used were pulling quite a bit of weight."
"Good girl, Julia," John responded and gave her a wink although he wasn't sure she actually saw it in the low lighting. He looked around again. "How's everyone feeling? Any lingering effects? Injuries?"
"Well, my wrists are chafed from the ropes," McKay whined. "And who knows what they did to me but I have a definite bruise forming on my back."
Keller sighed. "We're all fine, Colonel."
Rodney was about to argue that point when they saw a few guards walking toward them carrying torches. They placed them at the opening of the cage and unlocked the chain. Everyone in the cell got to their feet, not wanting to be unprepared.
Three guards moved inside while a few stood outside with their guns aimed at the group. When they noticed all of them were untied, Lorne backed away while trying to make it obvious he was hiding something without actually looking obvious. Two men grabbed him, found the knife and gave him a jab to the kidneys for their troubles. They then tossed him away from them onto the ground. Ann kneeled down to check on him.
"Which one of you is Sheppard?" a big, burly guard asked.
John started to take a step forward and noticed Dave about to also. He looked at his brother and shook his head vehemently, his eyes begging him to remain where he was. He noticed that the rest of the people in the cage had moved in front of him in protective mode.
"And what if we don't tell you?" Amelia questioned rebelliously.
The guard closest to her raised his weapon and struck her across the face sending her to the ground. Ronon lunged in the man's direction but stopped when he heard the distinct click of several weapons being cocked and ready to fire. He instead lowered himself to kneel next to Amelia and pull her into his arms, checking her wound.
"That answer your question?" he snapped smartly back to the group.
Ronon looked up at the man with a deadly look on his face. "Just so you know, I'm gonna kill you."
The man just smirked and retorted, "You just try. I'll be waiting."
The burly guy looked through the group again and said, "Sheppard."
O'Neill's voice came through the group as he moved to the front, "I'm a General and I outrank Sheppard so if you have any problems you should probably address them to me."
"Sir, don't," Sheppard begged as Jack moved past him.
Burly guy agreed. "I don't care what your rank is. We were told to get Sheppard and I assume that's you." And he grabbed Sheppard's arm and led him to the door.
Teyla stood in the way before they could leave and asked, "What will you do with him?"
The server/guard who Teyla had assaulted earlier moved inside the cage and grabbed Teyla's arm. "Don't worry, we're taking you, too."
At this, John started to struggle and felt the hands of one of the other guards grab for him. The guards all on the outside raised their weapons at the ready, discouraging the people inside from making any aggressive moves. The third guard inside took his rifle and jammed it into Sheppard's middle resulting in John folding up with a resulting moan.
They dragged him outside and a few of the other guards helped Teyla's friend get her out as well. Then the door was chained and bolted again as John and Teyla were dragged away both fighting ferociously but unsuccessfully. They were far outnumbered.
As Teyla pulled on the arms of her captors she saw John roughly thrown to the ground and the rifle man kick him in the side and then the back as John strained to get up on his feet. John reached for the man's foot and was about to flip him when the burly guard pressed his foot on John's chest causing John to drop his arms. He then stepped on John's hand and the rifle guard pressed his foot on John's other arm, effectively pinning him down.
"You have no idea who I am, I'm sure," they heard the rifle man say in a deep tone. "But just so you know, my brother was one of the men you killed when the Genii tried to infiltrate Atlantis a while back. I've been waiting a long time to take my revenge on the man who did that. When Sora offered us the chance to help her get rid of you, we jumped at it. There are a few of us here who had family or friends in one of those units." And he looked at some of the men who were standing around sneering.
Burly guy put a bit more weight on John's hands making John's breath suck in a bit and come out shaky. He then reached down and pulled John up with his gun pressed to John's face.
"Now you're going to stop fighting us or we'll put a bullet through your lady's head."
John looked at Teyla and saw two men behind her, their guns trained on her. He knew that they really wouldn't do it since he was sure Sora wanted that pleasure herself but there were plenty of other people around who they might very well shoot just for the fun of it. So he stopped struggling.
They pulled him over to the large T shaped pole and strapped his hands to the ends of the cross bar. He was then pushed harshly against the pole and a thin leather strap was wrapped and fastened around his neck, connecting him to the pole. He pulled against it slightly but found very little wiggle room. He could breathe but if he moved even slightly the thing choked him. He looked to where they were doing the same thing to Teyla on the opposite pole.
"Don't! Please!" John begged roughly as he saw Teyla's arms spread out and anchored to the cross bar. "Come on, she can't escape those bindings, just leave it off her neck at least."
He struggled a bit more but only managed to cut off his air supply until he stopped. He fisted his hands and gritted his teeth as he watched the men manhandle Teyla and fasten her in the same way. The light was a tiny bit brighter here as they were closer to the house and closer to more of the torches and he could just see her terrified face. But he could also see her staring back at him and he knew she was terrified for him and not herself. He knew exactly how she felt.
Once finished, the men moved back and Burly said, "Now it's time for you all to get a little bit of sleep. Sora and Shiana have a big day planned for you tomorrow. Have a good night." And the vile chuckle he gave let them know exactly what kind of a night he figured they'd have.
A few guards moved to walk around the perimeter again while the rest headed to a barn that was past the house. John saw them go in and hoped they would stay there for the rest of the night. If they only had two guards to deal with they might actually have a chance. But the others still needed to get out of the cage and John had felt the strength of the straps that they were lashed together with. It wouldn't be easy to cut.
"Teyla," John whispered just loud enough for Teyla to hear him. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"
"I am … uncomfortable," Teyla responded softly. "But I am unharmed. What of your injuries?"
"I'm fine," he answered predictably. "Nothing broken anyway," he assured her when he almost sensed her doubt. He took note of where the two guards were and saw they had decided to sit on a bench beside the house. Good, further away from the cage so hopefully a few people could start cutting themselves free.
John turned his head best he could with the neck strap attached and directed his voice in that direction.
"Everyone okay over there? Banks? Lorne?"
"I'm fine, Sir," Amelia's voice sounded strong although he could hear Ronon still muttering some dire threats.
"I'm good, Sir," Lorne replied not really sure what else he could say to the man. He motioned for Ronon and Teldy to start attempting to cut the bindings on the connected bars. He stood near the side where the guards were sitting. Every now and then they would walk nearby with a torch and count heads and check out what was going on. Lorne made sure he gave enough warning for them to stop what they were doing and hide any evidence of it.
They took turns throughout the night with one person being watchman, at least two trying to cut through the straps or bars and the rest trying to sleep. Whoever was watchman also had the task of making sure that Teyla and Sheppard remained awake although the two kept calling to each other throughout the night trying to do the same thing. The group knew that if either one of them fell asleep the neck strap would choke them in minutes.
By the time morning arrived, Sheppard and Teyla were attempting to remain standing on trembling legs and their breathing was ragged. Jennifer was especially concerned because she knew Teyla hadn't eaten anything since she'd been sick yesterday and was most likely feeling those effects as well and the night had been extremely chilly, also. They'd all been able to huddle for a bit of warmth but John and Teyla were out in the open and exposed.
As the sun rose, John cast his eyes on Teyla and sent her as much love and support as he could through his mind. He knew she had been able to sense him much stronger lately and hoped it would help in some small way.
She looked up and gave what she could of a smile and he could almost feel her love being sent back to him. But she looked exhausted and he knew if she felt even a fraction of the fatigue he felt then she couldn't be doing too well. He wasn't sure how much longer his legs were going to hold him. He'd already had a few times where his legs had buckled or he'd nodded off and had paid for it with the strap tightening around his neck.
When that happened he would always hear Teyla call out to him. And he had done the same whenever he hadn't heard her move or shuffle for a while. He felt like they were playing a modified life or death version of Marco Polo.
He looked over as best he could to the others and saw that Dave was now on watch and Teldy and Lorne were working on the cage. He couldn't really see that they had done much but then he knew they wouldn't want to make it obvious for when the guards came around to check on them. And now that it was light, they might need to stop altogether. The last thing they needed was to all be tied up again.
John saw Dave's eyes on him and tried to give him a reassuring smile but his arms were quivering and his legs were shaking and he knew it couldn't be very convincing. He looked back and saw Teyla's head start to droop and her eyes close and his heart started racing again. He clenched his fists again and summoned up the strength to say her name.
"Teyla, wake up, sweetie."
He didn't care that he had just called her an endearment in front of the others; he needed her to stay with him. He couldn't lose her now. He wasn't sure if it was the strap digging into her neck or hearing her name but she did open her eyes and straighten up a bit. She flashed him a look of thanks and John could see the love shining in her eyes for him. He sent the look right back at her hoping she would know just how much she meant to him.
"Now this is so sweet I think I might just be sick," Sora drawled as she came out of the house and noticed the looks passing between the bride and groom. "Perhaps I could spice things up a bit."
John's look changed to one of disgust and he noticed those in the cage had perked up and were all paying attention to the newcomer as well.
Sora moved in front of Teyla and with syrup in her voice asked, "Did you have a nice night? Probably not what you're used to lately, I'm sure. I have to tell you, Teyla, I can understand why you chose Sheppard. I will admit the man has a definite appeal to him. I thought so when you first brought him to our planet."
She moved in closer and softly taunted, "I've been thinking of different ways to make you squirm before I actually kill you and I wondered how you would feel if I helped myself to a little bit of your intended before Shiana got hold of him." Her eyes widened almost in glee as she asked, "Would you like to watch as I get some pleasure from him?"
Teyla's eyes were tortured as she spat out, "You are a sick woman, Sora."
Sora turned abruptly and walked away saying, "You think so? We'll have to see how sick I can be."
She took the few steps to Sheppard and reached up to touch the side of his cheek. Her face held a twisted expression. "Well, Sheppard, the question is exactly how far would you go to make sure your true love was unharmed? Would you come inside and give me a wild ride if I promised to let her go?"
John glanced briefly at Teyla then glared at Sora. "Let them all go first and then you and I can discuss terms."
Sora threw her head back and let out a mirthful laugh. "You don't trust me, Sheppard? But maybe you could convince me privately to let them all go. Do you think you could satisfy me enough to make me forget about killing Teyla?"
She turned to look at Teyla, "Does he satisfy you, Teyla? Would he satisfy me?" She turned back to Sheppard. "Maybe I'd be willing to keep you as punishment for her. She took something that I loved and so I'll take something that she loves. But I'll take it in a very different way." Sora moved her hands to John's chest and explored the muscles underneath his button down shirt then moved to his waist. But they didn't move lower she just reached in her own pocket and pulled out and unsheathed a small, sharp knife.
She held the knife up in front of John's face and threw over her shoulder, "Or I could just make you pay by watching him die a little at a time."
Sora took a second to really look at the knife then she moved it to right above Sheppard's heart and pushed slowly until a trickle of blood spread across the light blue cotton. John's face was rigid, his fists clenched and his breathing harsh as he tried not to react to the pain she was inflicting. He could hear Julia's sobs from a few feet over and Ronon's growls of frustration. But he wouldn't give her the pleasure of seeing him cry out in pain.
She paused briefly to watch the crimson spread across his chest.
John shook his head a tiny bit and quipped, "That stain's never gonna come out you know. And this is my favorite shirt."
"Oh, it is, so sorry," Sora gleamed sardonically. "Then maybe I should remove it before it gets even worse." And she proceeded to unbutton his shirt then she pulled it open and touched the spot where the knife had gone in. She pressed down on it with her fingers and chuckled, "Does this hurt?"
John's eyes closed tightly for a second and he sucked in a deep breath. But he didn't utter another sound; he just sent daggers her way with his eyes. He took a moment to glance at Teyla and his heart broke when he saw tears trickling down her cheeks and felt her sorrow conveyed in her own eyes.
Sora held up the knife again and trailed it across John's chest. It circled his nipples then followed the path of hair down his stomach. Her fingers then moved to retrace the route the knife had just taken. "He does have a very nice chest, Teyla. It's too bad I have to mark it up a bit."
They lingered on one spot on his abdomen and she remarked, "You have a few interesting scars here, Colonel. Maybe I could add a few more and make it a complete set."
She placed the knife in between the scar he'd gotten from Michael's collapsed building and the one he'd gotten saving Keller from the Wraith virus that had overtaken her. She repeated her trick of slowly pushing against it and seemed to get pleasure from the trickle of blood that started to surround the tip of the blade. She quickly removed the knife then repositioned it to start the pressure again in another location.
She had done this more than a few times when they heard, "Are you quite done playing now, Sora? We have business to finish."
John was almost relieved to see Shiana. The wounds Sora had inflicted had not been deep enough to do him any serious damage but they sure hurt like hell. Then he saw what Shiana was carrying and his relief dissipated instantly. It was a long rod that he recognized as one the Genii had used on him when he'd been held by Kolya. The electric jolt that came out of it was strong enough to tame a Wraith and he had felt it once as he'd tried to attack the guards. It could not be a good sign that she had one.
Shiana saw where his eyes had traveled and held up the rod. "I see you recognize this, Colonel Sheppard. A very handy device that Sora was kind enough to provide for us to use. Your friends over there," and she nodded toward the cage, "would perhaps like to see a demonstration."
John managed to shake his head slightly, the strap around his neck seeming to grow tighter with each movement. "Nah, I'm sure they're fine. Not interested at all."
Shiana looked toward the guard who had stuck his rifle in Sheppard's gut yesterday; the one whose brother had been killed during the Genii siege of Atlantis. "Nikkel, what do you think?"
Nikkel walked over and removed the rod from Shiana's hand as she moved a few steps back. "I think they would like a demonstration. I know I would like a demonstration." And his hand reached out and touched the wand to Sheppard's exposed flesh.
John arched in distress as every nerve ending screamed with the agony of an electric current running through it. He tried valiantly to keep from yelling but the anguish was so intense that a few low moans escaped as his breathing became rapid and shallow. Nikkel merely chuckled at this and touched the rod to John's chest again and again, barely giving him time to recover from one shock before he gave him the next.
John's legs had just about given up actually holding him and the neck strap dug in tighter. He gasped for breath and thought for sure he wouldn't make it if the guy touched him again. And looking at the man's face he was getting ready to enjoy Round Two.
But Sora grabbed the rod from him and moved over to Teyla, enjoying the sorrow on the woman's face. "Does it bother you to see your darling betrothed in so much pain?" Sora actually laughed almost maniacally at this thought and the tears on Teyla's cheeks. "Maybe you'd like to join him."
Sora lifted the rod to waver in front of Teyla and John somehow found the strength to push himself up a bit and relieve the pressure on his vocal chords. He tried a few times but found that they didn't want to work. As Sora touched Teyla's shoulder with the rod and she trembled with the shock, the word, "NO!" was ripped from his mouth joining in with the yells of several of the occupants of the cage.
"Please stop!" Julia cried distraught while Dave held her close. John could just make out his friends standing stoically by, their hands wrapped around the bars or holding each other. He knew he couldn't ease their suffering but he really needed to ease Teyla's. He knew Shiana had children who had died but she had been a mother. And she had been kind to Julia regarding her condition. Maybe he could appeal to her sense of decency; if she had one. But should he take the chance or would Sora use that information to wreak even more suffering on them?
Sora touched the rod to Teyla's arm this time causing her to twitch in pain and he could see she was losing the strength to stand as he had. She would choke herself to death in minutes and he would have to watch. Or Sora would keep moving the rod and maybe hit on Teyla's stomach, possibly killing their child. The thought of that happening and watching it happen was worse than anything he'd endured today or in the past. He looked at Shiana and managed to gasp out her name.
"Shiana, please," he begged weakly through clenched teeth.
Shiana walked over to him and studied his face, tears shimmering in her own eyes. "Is it too much to bear seeing someone you love being destroyed? Do you know how I felt watching my husband and children die right before my eyes? Why should I stop her? Give me one good reason."
John knew he had to take a chance and hoped it wasn't the worst decision he'd ever made. His eyes pleaded as he croaked past his tortured throat, "She's pregnant."
He could tell he'd hit a nerve right away but Sora still managed to touch Teyla again as John cried out, "Please!"
"Okay, that's enough!" Shiana waved her hand and indicated for one of the guards to take the rod away. Sora seemed a bit put out but Shiana continued, "We have a few other things planned."
Sora moved closer to the cage as Shiana whispered to one of the guards who swiftly removed the neck strap from around Teyla's throat. John breathed a huge sigh of relief, barely, as Teyla was still strapped by her wrists to the pole and she seemed scarcely able to stand. But at least she wasn't in danger of hanging herself.
Shiana moved closer to the cage too and demanded, "Who do we have here? How are they connected to Teyla and Sheppard?"
She pointed to a few and said, "Dr. McKay and Ronon Dex, part of his team. Who are the rest? Are you all military?"
"Some of them don't look military," Sora observed. "But their military personnel wear identification tags around their neck. Go check!" And she pointed to a few men who opened the cage while others readied their weapons pointing inside at the others.
The few men inside quickly designated Lorne, Banks, Teldy, Carter, O'Neill, and Mehra as military. One guard pointed to O'Neill and disclosed, "This one said he is a General and outranks Sheppard."
"What connection do you three have with these people?" Shiana asked of Jennifer, Dave and Julia.
Jennifer's eyes widened in fear and she said quietly, "I'm a medical doctor on Atlantis."
"And she's with me," Rodney said as he pulled her in closer to his side.
"And you two?" Sora demanded as she looked at Dave and Julia. "Obviously together from your actions but what is your connection?"
Lorne took a tiny step forward and fibbed, "They're just helping with the wedding details. They just unfortunately got sucked into your little house of horrors."
"I don't know," Sora looked thoughtful. "The pregnant one seemed pretty upset when we weren't being nice to our friends over there."
Another one of the guards standing outside the cage nodded and revealed, "When we called out for Sheppard last night, this guy here looked up and started to come forward but Colonel Sheppard stopped him."
Sora's eyes lit up and she cocked her head. "Another Sheppard? How are you related to the Colonel?"
Dave took a deep breath as he looked at the people around him. He wouldn't let any more of them make excuses for him. He held his head up and admitted, "I'm his brother."
Shiana's eyes now lit up while Sora howled with delight.
Shiana glared at Lorne and stated, "I don't appreciate lies." And she gave a nod to a guard who jammed his rifle butt into Lorne's stomach then hit him across the face with it sending the man to the ground, barely conscious.
McKay looked horrified. "You don't like lies but torture and abuse is just fine."
Shiana's eyes narrowed and Rodney was the next to land on the ground, a gash across his temple. Shiana signaled to her men. "The brother, the General and the teammate, bring them out."
The men grabbed Dave, Ronon and O'Neill and hustled them out in between where John and Teyla were still trying to keep vertical. As they were forced to their knees in front of John he looked down at them and his eyes showed his remorse.
"I'm sorry."
O'Neill looked up and said sarcastically, "You know I could have you Court Martialed for this, Sheppard."
John actually started to laugh but his abused throat revolted and he began to cough as he struggled to ease the strain around his neck. "Yes, Sir. Looking forward to that, Sir."
Sora moved around the three of them kneeling there and pondered a bit. "Hmm, superior officer, brother or good friend? Any thoughts Colonel on which one you'd like to see dead?"
John just closed his eyes weakly and took a few shallow breaths. When he opened them he saw Nikkel walking behind the three men, his rifle at the ready.
"I personally think that since you killed my brother then I should kill your brother. Any thoughts on that Colonel?"
John didn't reply or even move his eyes from where they were focused on Teyla across the way. He knew whatever answer he gave would be the wrong one. But his eyes did move down as he saw the man raise his weapon and bring it down on the back of Dave's head. Dave fell to the ground unconscious. At least John hoped he was only unconscious as he heard Julia scream David's name and start crying hysterically.
Ronon moved quickly and checked even though one of the guards nudged him back sharply with his rifle too. But John saw Ronon look up at him and nod, assuring him Dave was not dead. But how much longer until he was? How much longer until they were all dead? He should never have had Dave and Julia come here. It was a stupid decision. One he would forever regret. If he even lived long enough to have regrets.
But Sora was still pushing for a decision. "Who will it be, Colonel? We're giving Teyla a little breather right now so you need to pick someone else." She had picked up the rod again and moved down the line and gave a little prod to each one of the men, even Dave who was just starting to moan and move a bit. O'Neill dropped to his hands and knees while Ronon merely twitched then righted himself, giving the man a deep scowl. Dave moaned but stayed sprawled on the ground.
"A decision, Colonel!" Sora demanded angrily.
When Sheppard remained quiet and it looked like Sora would hit him with the rod again, Ronon growled, "Me. You can kill me." And he kneeled up tall with his shoulders back.
The guard with the rifle took aim and was about to pull the trigger when they heard a yelp from the cage.
"Stop it!" McKay ordered. "You know if you want to be mad at anyone it should be me. Shiana, I'm the one who found the replicator code that made them attack human worlds. I'm the one who turned it back on again. If you want revenge then you should leave the rest of these people alone and take it out on me."
Rodney took a deep breath knowing that was just about the stupidest thing he'd ever done. The bravest, yes, but also the stupidest. Shiana walked over to the cage and looked at him critically. She looked pensive for a few moments then asked, "Did you make the decision to turn this code back on by yourself?"
Rodney looked confused but answered, "Uh, no."
"Who gave the order to do it?"
Rodney looked chagrined and more than a little guilty when he squeaked, "Oh, uh, Sheppard."
Shiana's eyes narrowed and she turned back around. "As I suspected."
As she walked away Rodney mumbled, "But, but …" and he looked at John who turned his head as much as he could and gave him a look that he knew meant, 'thanks for trying, Pal'.
Rodney couldn't even look at Sheppard, yet he couldn't look away. The man looked like hell. He had blood dripping down his torso, his limbs were visibly shaking and the pain in his eyes was almost palpable. And the pain was emotional as well as physical. He knew Sheppard could handle an immense amount of physical pain. He had proved that more times than he cared to count. But he'd never seen his friend so emotionally fragile, even when he'd been completely paralyzed.
He saw that John's eyes kept straying to Teyla and Rodney found that hard to view as well. She was trying to stay alert but she looked almost as haggard as Sheppard. And if what Sheppard had said earlier was true, that Teyla was pregnant, then Rodney felt even more sick at what these people were doing.
He looked at Jennifer and whispered, "Is Teyla really pregnant?"
Jennifer nodded with a sob and the others in the cage all stiffened up a bit more. Dusty was livid and wanted to just kick some ass but realized that wasn't realistic right now. But what she did notice was that all the guards who were outside were concentrating their attention on what was happening closer to the house. She moved to the back of the cage, pulled her knife out and she began to work on the bars again. Teldy and Lorne noticed what she was doing and moved to position themselves so that if anyone looked in this direction they wouldn't see what she was up to. Amelia and Carter saw their movement and changed positions as well. It was all very casual from the outside but those inside were hoping it would give them a slight advantage if there was a chance to fight.
Rodney continued to keep his eyes on John and Teyla and the goon squad. Dave had managed to push himself back up to his knees but he looked a bit wobbly still. He could hear Julia take a deep breath and stop sobbing but he couldn't even imagine how she felt. Okay, maybe he could if he remembered back to when they first got here. He'd been more than a little timid and afraid when they ran into this kind of danger. Okay maybe he was still that way but at least he was a bit more used to it now.
He watched as the guards continued to physically bully the three men kneeling on the ground while Sora yelled at John to chose who they would kill. She didn't really seem like she was in any hurry to actually do it. It was like she was getting her jollies from taunting Sheppard and Teyla with just the threat.
But on the next pass Rodney could tell Ronon was getting pissed and he took a swing at one of the guards. The next thing he saw was the burly guard from yesterday swing his gun in Ronon's direction and he heard it go off. Rodney jumped back at the sound but then saw Ronon fall to the ground.
Sora gave a sadistic little grin and said, "Well, Sheppard I guess the choice was made for you."
Amelia scrambled to the bars and called out Ronon's name in a desperate plea for an answer. When Ronon groaned and attempted to sit up she breathed a sigh of relief and leaned heavily against the bars. He was cradling his left shoulder and shrugging O'Neill off with "It's nothing."
Everyone stood quietly for a second waiting for what would happen next. But it wasn't what anyone expected.
Teyla straightened up and gave a small cry. Her eyes opened wide and she frantically announced, "The Wraith! The Wraith are nearby!"
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xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
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