Chapter X

The group parted ways, separating into their designated groups as they each went on their own part of the mission.

The Colonel went off on his own, something most of the group was not happy about. Ronon and Teyla kept their reservations to themselves, however, leaving Rodney to express – during the planning meeting – how bad of an idea it was to let Sheppard loose on the hive ship by himself. Doctors Weir and Beckett then proceeded to remind him that the Colonel would not be alone for long since it was his job to grab the Doctor and Carson and leave. Even still, they all – except perhaps sans for the Doctor – knew that his part of the plan was the most dangerous one.

Teyla went with Doctor McKay, escorting him throughout the hive ship to do what it was he was supposed to be doing. The scientist cast an almost longing at Ronon, who was paired with Rose, but soon started heading off into the bowels of the ship, leaving Rose and Ronon to head in the complete opposite direction of the other three.

Swallowing her trepidation at moving through an unknown ship where countless enemies wait, Rose followed as the big man proceeded to move swiftly through the halls. Again, it seemed that he knew where he was going so she blindly followed, trusting him not to get them lost. Their part of the plan had to happen without a hitch, otherwise it could be disastrous for more than just themselves.

Doctor Elizabeth Weir stood by the main console in the gateroom. Her office stood just off to her left, the work within it beckoning her to come and finish it but she just couldn't.

It was the same every time a team – particularly John's team – went off world. She would sit in her office and pretend to work but really she was just keeping close in case – or in SGA1's case, when – she was needed because of one emergency or another. She often felt a bit like an overprotective mother whose children had just gone off to war but then again, that description couldn't have been more accurate half the time since she was responsible for those under her command.

She already had three quarters the infirmary staff on stand-by just in case – oh who is she kidding; not if, when – they were needed. Doctor Porter had assured her that she would have everything covered and had busily begun to snap orders at all of them, telling them what to stock up on and how to rearrange a few things so they could accommodate a large number of patients in time of crisis.

Meanwhile, Major Lorne and his team along with Sergeant Mendez and his team were currently below the gateroom, somewhere, suiting up. The Major had been tasked with talking to the inahbitants of the world while the Sergeant had been told to get ready to make a distraction.

While the Sergeant had grinned maniacally at the prospect of being told to blow things up and shoot at people, the Major had struggled to hide his displeasure at being told to act as mediator. Elizabeth knew that it wasn't the aspect of talking to another species that Lorne dreaded, it was the fact that said species didn't seem to understand a word of English and the Atlanteans didn't understand the inhabitants' language. She felt a little sorry for Lorne. Should the Doctor's plan not work, the man was essentially left with trying to mime whatever he wanted to say and hoping that those he was meeting with understand what he was trying to convey.

At 12:00 hours precisely, both teams filed into the gateroom. If there was one thing you could count on, it was military men being on time. Elizabeth looked down at the teams, waiting until both leaders looked back at her and gave her nods.

"Dial the gate," she said, briefly turning to Chuck whom she was addressing.

While the technician did as instructed, she looked back down at the teams. "Be careful, all of you," she instructed. "I would like not to have our infirmary pushed to capacity with all three teams come back."

Lorne and Mendez both nodded, offering smiles of understanding.

"Don't worry, ma'am. We'll be fine. It's Colonel Sheppard and his team that you should worry about," Lorne said just as the gate locked. "They're the ones in the lion's den."

The wormhole filled the gate, filling the gateroom with watery blue light. Without another word, the two teams walked through it, transporting themselves onto the planet lightyears away. They waited for confirmation from Lorne that everyone had made it and that so far things were quiet before shutting down the gate.

As Lorne's assurances that they'd check in on time traveled through her ears, Elizabeth wondered if this was the mission that finally gave her the ulcer she was sure she was working on. She'd have to talk to Carson when he came back. Providing he was in one piece.

Carson trembled as pain seared its way through his brain, lighting it on fire. The queen's voice echoed throughout his mind, pummeling him with questions about who he was and demanding to know why she shouldn't just feed on him. Despite the pain, Carson fought against her, only serving to bring on more pain as she channeled all her rage into breaking him.

A whimper escaped through his mouth and somewhere in the back of his mind, Carson knew that he would be mortified in any other circumstances but right now, he just couldn't bring himself to care. Honestly, Carson was surprised he wasn't screaming right now. Though, now that he thought of it that was probably because he physically couldn't thanks to the queen attempting to strangle him.

When she wasn't getting any answers, the queen bombarded him again, the pain washing against him like a rough wave crashing against a rock wall.

You will tell me what I want to know, the queen promised, briefly reminding him of Michael.

No I bloody well will not, Carson threw back at her, gritting his teeth as he was dropped to his knees by another wave.

Oh but you will, little one. Even if I have to destroy everything that you care about before finally drawing the last breath from your body.

Ya cannae get to everything that I love, Carson argued, the pain lessening as he took pleasure in knowing that at least was true. It wasn't until she spoke again that he knew just how wrong he was.

You forget that I was a companion of the Doctor, the queen taunted. Do you know what planet the Doctor loves to visit the most?

No! Carson's heart stopped, knowing exactly where she was going with this.

That's right. I know where Earth is. And while I have been keeping that information to myself, I will no longer do so unless you tell me everything. I believe your mother is still alive, is she not? Because believe me, she will be the first one I visit after I lead my family there.

Another whimper was torn from Carson's abused throat. But whereas the last one was from the pain in his head, this one came from the pain in his heart as his memory shot pictures of him beloved mum being fed upon by the wraith. Suddenly, that wasn't enough torture. The pictures began to turn to video, showing her dying from a feeding but being given back her youth only to have it cruelly sucked out of her again and again and again.

Anger welled inside Carson, somewhat dimming the queen's attack as it fought against her.

Being a doctor, Carson was not a violent man by nature. True, he'd grown up with several older brothers and therefore had learned at an early age how to win a fight, but if there was a chance to avoid fighting in the first place, he took it. At the threat of his mum, however, Carson had the strong desire to inject the Hoffan virus and watch in pleasure as she died horribly and painfully.

Steady on, now, a new voice soothed, startling Carson. At once, the pain all but ceased and the queen's voice within his head died instantly. Carson looked over at the Doctor, realizing – albeit not believing – what had happened.

The Doctor lifted his chin, his solemn face expressing a promise that now rattled around inside Carson's aching head.

She won't ever reach Earth. I promise you that.

No sooner had those words entered his mind then chaos erupted around them.

An alarm suddenly started blaring, alerting the wraith that something was amiss and Carson knew exactly what it was. Before the wraith within the room could react, a high pitched, painful whir sounded through the room. Everyone except the Doctor covered their ears to drown out the sound. It certainly didn't help his headache but Carson waited for it to stop, knowing that it was serving as merely a distraction.

Without waiting another second, the Doctor struggled out of his bonds and then proceeded to undo Carson's. The Scot winced at the sight of the time lord's abraded, bruised and bloodied wrists but now was not the time for medical care and so said nothing about it as his own abused wrists were released.

The ropes fell to the floor and not bothering to wait for an invitation, both men ran. The Doctor took the lead, whirring the device in his hand at whatever machinery he passed as he did. Behind them, Carson heard the wraith queens yell, the noise sounding like a wraith version of a call to arms more than anything and the Scot knew they didn't have long before an entire hive ship of drones and commanders bore down on their position.

Gas and smoke filled the hallway as poison filled the air. It wafted harmlessly over the pair as they continued to flee for their lives, waiting for the real prey to come before it attacked. Carson watched as the Doctor looked around, his device now scanning the air around them and though Carson didn't know precisely what had happened, he knew what the smoke was and he felt guilt drop into his stomach like a molten-hot stone. It didn't matter that he hadn't altered the plan to include this – that he suspected fell to Colonel Sheppard – it was his virus that now filled the air.

A stunning blast flew past Carson's head, making him jerk to the right to avoid it. He stepped wrongly, he knew that right away, but he didn't have time to ponder what that meant for his physical health. Whatever it was, he knew it was nothing compared to what the wraith would do to him if they caught him and so he kept running.

"It's a shame I have to do this," the Doctor began chatting, sounding barely out of breath as he jogged up ahead. "This is really quite a fantastic ship. I've never really seen anything like it."

For a moment Carson wondered what the Doctor was talking about but then he remembered that injecting the Hoffan plague into the wraith's computer systems – thus corrupting them and destroying the ship in some way that Carson wasn't sure he understood – had been the Doctor's original plan.

A shot like that of a laser stopped him dead for a second as it passed centimeters in front of his chest. But before Carson had a chance to try and catch his breath, the alien was off running again and Carson went with him.

"Well, there are others like this in the galaxy, aren't there? I mean, the wraith outnumber you lot thirty to one, but I don't suppose they'll willingly let me on one; not after word of this meeting gets out."

"A meeting?" Carson huffed, wincing when it hurt his throat to talk. Honestly, he would be greatly surprised if the Doctor heard him but he had to ask. His side started to burn as the muscles began to cramp, voicing their displeasure at the exercise. "Is tha' wha' ya call this?"

"Weell, compared to some of my other peace treaty meetings, this one's quite calm," the Doctor answered, sounding like he was taking a stroll and not being hunted like an animal.

A hallway to their right appeared and the pair turned down it, taking a sharp left immediately afterwards. They came to a very abrupt and painful halt as the Doctor ran into someone. Not having expected the Doctor to stop, Carson toppled onto the pair of people, earning an 'oof' from both beings and a pained grunt from the person on the bottom.

"Colonel!" the Doctor greeted, having worked out who he was on top of before Carson had had a chance to try and breathe. "I thought we were going to meet you in the dart bay?"

Carson rolled off so that all three of them could get off the floor and start moving again. He winced when he put weight on his right foot but other than that he paid no mind to the injury as he listened to the other two while trying to get much needed oxygen to his strained lungs.

"I heard the alarms go off and thought I'd meet ya halfway," the Colonel answered. Out of the corner of his eye, Carson saw John wince and he immediately filed it away as things to look into once this whole fiasco was over.

Smoke began wafting towards them as the poison in the air began to drift their way. It wasn't that, however, that got them moving; it was the stunner blasts mixed with laser blasts that had begun to fly past their heads that did.

The Doctor cried out as a laser blast caught him on his left thigh. The time lord collapsed almost instantly as the leg gave out from under him and Carson immediately grabbed the fallen man, hauling him to his feet and half carrying his weight as they kept running.

"Well this is fun, isn't it?" John retorted he dodged just in time to avoid receiving a laser blast through the chest. Apparently the wraith were no longer concerned with subduing them; they were shooting to kill now.

The trio ground to a halt before they slammed into the shut door of the dart bay. Carson wanted nothing more than to release the Doctor and check on his wound but the laser shots weren't stopping, keeping his adrenaline flowing and his fight or flight instincts running high.

"Get that open, Doctor, I'll provide cover," John instructed, moving to step in front of the two doctors.

Carson helped the alien over to the control panel, letting go only once he knew the man wouldn't fall over. While the Doctor worked, a grunt drew his attention to John in time to see him favoring his right arm. He'd been hit, of that Carson was sure. Without hesitation, Carson stepped forward and grabbed the gun that had fallen from the Colonel's hands as his muscles lost their grip. Carson had no idea where any of them were, but at this moment he didn't bloody care. He fired without thought of aim, surprised whenever he heard a thump as a wraith dropped.

A cold wind on his back told him that the Doctor had gotten the doors open and so he began retreating.

"Colonel, grab the Doctor and go," Carson commanded in as loud a voice as his abused throat could manage.

A laser blast caught him on the side and Carson grunted, his body beginning to curl around the injury in hopes of protecting itself from further harm. The Scot fired one last shot in the general direction of where the blast had come from. By now his adrenaline was fading quickly and his hand had begun to shake so he doubted that his aim was particularly steady. He just hoped it was enough to get the rest of them through the doors without further injury.

A hand grabbed the back of his neck and for a second Carson panicked. It wasn't until he was pulled into the dart bay that he realized that the hand belonged to John. The doors closed and the Doctor, leaning on the console and wall for support, began to type furiously on the screen.

"Well," the Doctor said once he was done. He offered the two Atlanteans a grin, barely hiding the pain in his eyes as the fire from smile spread to them. "That was fun."

PX3-525 had gotten considerably colder since the last time Lorne and his men had come to the planet. He shivered as frigid wind bore down on them with the fury of a winter storm on the horizon.

The wormhole stayed open long enough for everyone to get through and for Evan to confirm that all was well and that they'd check in regularly then it shut off, letting more wind sweep cruelly through it.

A rustling in the foliage just to their right drew the group's attention instantly. Evan cursed how out in the open they were. It meant that no matter who came through the forest – enemy or ally – they were exposed. It if was an ally, that was no big deal, but if it was an enemy or an unknown, they would have to fight just to get to cover and by then that may not be enough.

Lorne's heart sunk and his adrenaline rose when four drones entered the clearing. The Atlanteans wasted no time in firing on them, not bothering to care if the noise drew others.

Lieutenant Andrews from Mendez's team was one of the first to be taken down by the wraith stunners; his team quickly merged to cover him, allowing one of their other comrades to pull him out of harm's way until he was conscious again. In response, Mendez's team fired several shots into the offending wraith, defining the word overkill.

Whether they guessed that the Atlanteans weren't going to be taken alive or they just didn't care, the wraith switched their stunning blasts to the lasers. Evan still couldn't believe that the wraith had developed their guns so that they were more like Ronon's. The only difference between theirs and the Satedan's was that Ronon's either stunned or killed; the wraith's injured so they could still feed if they chose.

A gust of air flying past Evan's cheek seared with heat, letting him know that he'd narrowly missed having his face permanently scarred. He growled his displeasure and turned around and fired at the closest wraith he could get, joining his teammates in redefining the dictionary.

The wraith went down quickly after that but not before they fired as many shots at the Atlanteans as they could. Most of the shots went wide but a few actually hit their targets. Two grunts pulled Evan's attention to his left where one of Mendez's men got caught in his side and where one of Evan's own got grazed on his leg. Neither wounds were deep but they served their purpose in distracting Evan so that he didn't notice the laser blast coming at him.

While Evan took a moment to check on the two men that had been hit, he felt someone shove him to the right just before hot pain seared through his shoulder. Instinctively, he knew that had it not been for the shove, the blast would have hit him square in the chest, effectively killing him. As it was, it burrowed through the meaty portion of his shoulder instead. Though he was bleeding profusely and there was pain with every movement he made with his arm, it was still usable and so Evan thanked whatever deity reigned in these parts for that.

"Are you alright, sir?"

Concerned green eyes peered down at Evan, thick, dirty-blond eyebrows wrinkled to complete the expression. Without really waiting for an answer, Sergeant Monroe held out a hand to help Evan up.

"Other than the whole in my shoulder, I'm fine, Sergeant, thanks," Evan answered, offering a smile-turned-grimace of assurance.

At over six feet, Monroe easily stood out above the crowd. His lithe body leant a welcome flexibility when it came to making quick actions. Evan easily guessed that it had been him that had pushed him out of the way, saving him from receiving the full blast.

"We should patch that up," Monroe said. His fingers fidgeted with the pocket on his TAC vest that held what meager medical supplies Beckett could pack as though to start doing just that. Evan wondered if the man had originally started training to be medical personnel in the military but had been moved out of necessity.

"Not now," Evan countered, stopping the man. "Dial Atlantis and tell them that we're gonna need another team for good measure. While the wormhole is established, send the critically injured back as well and then meet us thirty klicks northeast of here."

"Yessir!" Monroe answered. When Evan and his batch of newest additions to the Pegasus galaxy had first arrived, they'd saluted every time as they'd been trained to. Less than a week after arriving, they quickly learned that the Lt. Colonel didn't care about that, preferring sharp nods instead and so had adapted to doing that instead. The Sergeant offered one such head nod instead of a salute and jogged off to do what he was told.

"Mendez! Get your men together and go thirty klicks southeast of here," Evan commanded. He grimaced when he moved his wounded arm, quickly dropping it and holding it against his side.

"Yes sir!" Mendez shouted, already organizing his men, sending the wounded and stunned with Monroe and then ordering the rest to their given position. "Where will you be, sir?"

"We're going parallel to you," Evan answered, pointing with his head to the opposite side. He watched as Monroe dialed the gate before turning his attention back to his 2IC.

"You're thinking if we surround these bastards, we'll have a better chance at defending ourselves?" Mendez asked, his sharp mind processing the strategy with his.

"That's the idea," Evan answered. Honestly, their chances of that going as smoothly as it sounded weren't good but it was better than nothing. "Keep in radio contact," he added, though he doubted it actually needed to be said. "If things go wrong in the sky, we'll need to be ready to adapt."

Mendez crisply nodded and then jogged to catch up to those men who had already started heading towards their designated position.

"Do you really think things will go wrong with Colonel Sheppard, sir?" Monroe asked, coming up behind him after having finished his task.

"It's Colonel Sheppard, Sergeant," Evan answered with a small smile. "Nothing ever goes right when he's involved."

Teyla stalked the hallways of the hive ship, making sure to keep a sharp eye on the shadows in case they weren't empty. Her heart raced with adrenaline and fear but years of meditation helped her to control her emotions rather than giving in. Rodney hadn't stopped nervously chattering since they'd parted with John and Ronon, despite her telling him several times to be quiet. The last thing either of them wanted was to draw attention to themselves or their task.

The alarm announcing their escape sounded far before they had reached their destination and so Teyla hurried their progress. The quickened pace made Rodney breathe harder which made him become quieter – relatively – but that was currently the last thing on Teyla's mind. Since they were found out, it no longer mattered if they drew attention to themselves.

Each one of them had been given a specific task to accomplish. John's was relatively easy; find the being known as the Doctor and Carson and escape with them down to the planet. Ronon and the girl named Rose were to take the Doctor's ship down to the planet and help Major Lorne with preparing the inhabitants – now named the Gabrihath – for battle. John, the Doctor, and Carson were to join them once they were able, creating a stronger front for the wraith that remained on the planet.

She and Rodney had the most important section of the plan. If they did not finish their task, the entire plan went into ruin. While Teyla and her team – and the Doctor and Rose, it would seem – were certainly good at improvising, the days previous to this mission had been long and Teyla did not wish to prolong this mission any more than it needed to be.

"Hurry Rodney," she called when she reached the console ahead of him.

"Yes, yes," Rodney snapped, panting heavily. "Not all of us were raised to be warriors, you know."

Despite his complaints, he quickened his pace and soon reached the console. After entering a code – unknown to her – the door swished open, admitting them into a lab. Inside was a large cavern with four separate consoles spread in a half circle, each with wraith symbols that ran in repeated patterns across the screens.

"Place these into the slots to your right," Rodney commanded, handing her two vials of clear liquid. One contained the retrovirus that they were to spread throughout the ship. The other contained the plague developed on Hoff which was to serve to corrupt their systems; though how, Teyla wasn't sure.

During the meeting where they had planned all this out, the Doctor had attempted to explain how his plan would work. But Teyla feared that he hadn't been all too clear since he tended to talk more than was necessary. She suspected that he did that for a reason – so as to keep the truth from them without appearing to do so – but she could not prove it since she did not know him that well.

Doing as she was told, she turned around and inserted the vials, her expression never wavering from neutral despite her mind wincing when they made a squishing sound. She could not explain why but the sound always bothered her.

"Are they in?" Rodney asked, impatient for confirmation.

"Yes, Rodney, they are," Teyla answered with patience for her abrasive friend.

Without answering, he inserted an adapter which translated the information on the wraith computers to the small one in his hands in something he could actually read. The data pad beeped and Rodney automatically began pounding the screen, his fingers hitting the glass almost furiously though she knew that was just the way he treated the machinery.

A stunning blast swished between them, breaking their illusion of peace. Without hesitation, Teyla returned fire. Instead of aiming for the drone's chests, she aimed for the more exposed parts of their bodies. She knew that a being could just as easily die from a wound to the stomach as they could from one to the head or chest.

Two wraith went down but three more replaced them and Teyla began to feel herself becoming overwhelmed with their numbers. She avoided being stunned so far but she could not keep the pace of avoidance while protecting the prone Rodney for much longer.

"Rodney, please hurry," she said as the energy from a stunning blast grazed her arm.

"I'm sorry that I am not moving at a faster pace but it's not like there's a manual on how to disable a wraith ship while killing all the wraith inside. It takes time to figure out the right paths to take!" Rodney snapped.

Apparently sensing weakness, the wraith advanced. The white of their stunners changed to a green and Teyla began to feel her worry increase. She'd listened with shock as the Doctor and John had explained that they wraith had adapted their guns to not only stun but maim and possibly kill. It sounded like such an un-wraith thing to do that Teyla had trouble believing it possible. As she knocked herself and Rodney to the ground just in time for them both to miss being gravely injured by a shot of the green light, she no longer had misgivings about the information she'd been given.

"I believe that it is time to go whether you are done or not," Teyla said, moving them both to a more defendable position.

"Just give me a minute," Rodney said, refusing to leave. His data pad beeped again and this time a thick fog began to seep out of the walls.

Teyla watched as the wraith that had begun to flank the one and only door began to choke and cough before falling unconscious onto the floor. The Doctor's plan had worked but they were far from out of danger.

Still, it seemed that Rodney did not understand that as he once again went over to the console and began working some more. Teyla kept a sharp eye on the wraith on the floor almost at their feet while he worked. It wasn't long before the data pad beeped again and this time Rodney announced, "Done."

"Good," Teyla acknowledged with a small nod. "I believe it is time that we meet up with John and the others."

Rodney gave a heavy sigh and leaned forward on his knees, his chest heaving. Apparently he had not had sufficient time to recover his breath but as Teyla could do about that, she ignored it. She rose an eyebrow at her friend, challenging him to try and stay behind and he sighed again. "Fine, let's go."

Teyla didn't say anything as she turned around and began to step around the wraith on the floor. Together, they entered the halls, disappearing into the red, pink, black and purple hues of the hive ship to meet up with their friends and commander.

TBC