Chapter 11

Dawn had broken over the village and prison encampments when Sergeant Stackhouse flew them all back to Medulsa. Sheppard was a poor passenger, even though the sergeant was a skilled pilot, so he deliberately hung back in the rear section where he couldn't interfere. The man was more than capable of flying them to the Ancient defence device without any tips from him, but in his current frame of mind just about everything was an irritation and he had no desire to offend him.

They flew over a plain of grassland bathed in warm orange light, with sky blue and lilac mountains rising up on the horizon lying before them. Medulsa was a beautiful planet with a varied landscape, and he felt somewhat aggrieved that he would never view the place without the bias of his unpleasant memories...both sets of them now. Sheppard watched their progress toward the device through the restricted frame of the windshield, the sight of the walled circle surrounding it triggering only the vaguest sense of recollections. Since he'd been high on the draught the first time he'd been transported there he figured that made sense...but he did seem to recall something about Rodney wailing about being terrified when a buck naked Alisia had ambushed him there the first time round...

Stackhouse set them down safely inside the wall and activated the rear hatch as the three other jumpers accompanying them came in to land alongside their craft.

Sheppard was the first out of the jumper despite his aches and pains, his team close on his heels and Beckett, Heightmeyer and Elizabeth heading out after them.

'Okay, Rodney. Get to work,' Elizabeth ordered, eyeing him as if she thought he was about to pass out.

Sheppard watched him scurry away, ordering Teyla and Ford to go keep an eye on him while he fixed things. Within moments, Rodney had his computer tablet linked to the Ancient device, running various diagnostic tests to locate the fault in its systems.

'Okay, now we have the repairs underway, I think it's time to start negotiations,' Elizabeth said. 'Sergeant Stackhouse could you take myself and Drs Beckett and Heightmeyer to the village?'

'Yes, Ma'am,' he agreed, as they all turned to head to the jumper.

'I'm coming, too,' Sheppard called after them, determined not to let them out of his sight.

They all turned, each of them wearing various expressions that suggested they didn't think it was a good idea. The unspoken suggestion they thought he couldn't handle the situation in the village stung, and so without another word he strode past them and back into the jumper, this time sitting up front beside the pilot's seat from where he could see everything clearly. If they didn't agree with him, they would have to physically carry him out because he was determined not to budge.

While facing straight forward he listened the others file in, Stackhouse taking up position beside him as his passengers arranged themselves in the free seats. Shepperd felt a hand gently come to rest on his shoulder. 'I understand your need to be present for this, John. But leave the talking to me, understood?'

He met Elizabeth's gaze and nodded, again annoyed that she didn't think him capable of expressing himself in any way that wouldn't wreck proceedings. But he appreciated that negotiation was something Elizabeth had cut her teeth on. She was the best person to do this, and ultimately as long as the men and boys were freed, he wasn't planning to get tetchy about it.

At Elizabeth's instruction, Stackhouse took them up and out over the grasslands again, heading toward the woodlands that eventually cleared at the outskirts of the village.

Most of the women were already massed at the centre of the clearing, holding some kind of meeting. Sheppard's stomach flipped at the thought of the aggravation they were about to walk into, but this was a situation he would not back down from. They'd seen him at his lowest, been brainwashed to believe the worst of him, and now it was time to prove his true worth. He would set their crimes against him aside and save their lives.

The women begrudgingly moved aside to make room for their craft and that of Sergeant Jeffries' team, which had accompanied them to supply extra protection during the planned negotiations. Once they'd landed Sheppard stood first, clipping on his P-90, but Elizabeth ordered him to cover their six and let Stackhouse take point. Though again not happy, he understood her concerns and deferred to her judgement, letting Stackhouse pass and lead them out. He was injured and pumped full of painkillers, in fact the only reason he was there was that they needed his stronger gene to quickly initialise the machine. If it hadn't been for that, Carson would have confined him to an infirmary bed to recuperate and done the job himself, though he was far from a natural with that kind of thing. This time he could accept the need to play a supporting role.

Jeffries and his team were also disembarking their craft as he brought up the rear of his party. As they headed toward the gathered women the tension and mistrust were palpable, but they pressed on regardless, determined to fulfil their mission.

Alishia stepped clear of the crowd as Elizabeth moved forward past Stackhouse to meet her. 'You've returned. We weren't sure you would come back.'

'We have unfinished business on your planet,' Elizabeth explained. 'You see, Sarayah isn't the only person who knows the future of your people. Major Sheppard also has a certain amount of insight into what life has in store for you, which is why we were able to track the approaching Wraith ship.'

'Have you come to repair our device?' the Medulsan asked, her directness refreshing after the game playing of the past days.

'I have Dr McKay working on it right now,' Elizabeth nodded. 'But there are other things we need to discuss. Is there somewhere we can go?'

Alishia flicked her gaze in Sheppard's direction, looking a little flustered. 'Sarayah's home was our main meeting place...it would be hard to accommodate your numbers elsewhere.'

Elizabeth glanced back over her shoulder at Sheppard, who just shrugged. He wasn't exactly thrilled about going in there, but this time he was armed and accompanied. How dangerous could it be?

There was a rumble in the crowd and a parting of bodies as Kaymah forced her way through the other women. 'I wish to be in the meeting, too,' she told Alishia, throwing a filthy look Sheppard's way.

Again, Elizabeth silently checked with him first, and even though there was no love between him and Sarayah's sister, he gave a dip of his head to show it was okay by him.

'All right, we'll use Sarayah's house and you can also be in attendance. I trust Sarayah herself won't be joining us.'

'Sarayah is in my mother's house under her guard. I fear she isn't well,' Kaymah told her.

'Now there's an understatement,' Sheppard muttered, ignoring the shrivelling look Elizabeth cast back over her shoulder. Yes, he knew he was supposed to keep his mouth shut, but could she really blame him?

Alishia led the way to Sarayah's abode. Both Sheppard and Stackhouse took up positions in the kitchen near the doorway and the window from where they could effectively defend the doctors while they talked, and Jeffries and his team stood watch outside, facing down the formidable crowd.

Alishia and Kaymah first had to straighten out the floor and table before their meeting could begin. An involuntary rush of colour came to his cheeks when Sheppard caught the look Kaymah gave him as they worked, and he averted his gaze to the view outside, forcing himself to concentrate on his protection duties. She clearly knew what had been going on down there; Sarayah's erratic behaviour had been more than a giveaway. He hated to think of the gaps Kaymah's fertile little imagination was filling in right now.

Once everything had been returned to its proper place the three doctors sat down at the kitchen table.

'We're grateful for your assistance with the machine,' Alishia began, setting them off on a tactful route. 'If you are able to restore it to operational condition it will be a tremendous weight off our minds.'

'That's one of the things we always intended to do here,' Elizabeth advised her. 'Sarayah's foresight has allowed her to tamper with events in an entirely selfish way, one that's stopped the progression of your society. We can help you move things forward now.'

Kaymah frowned, clearly feeling defensive of the sibling who had saved her in front of these strangers. 'Sarayah has done much good for our village. She's not entirely selfish.'

'Sarayah appears to be very accomplished at deception,' Dr Heightmeyer interrupted at this point. 'I believe she has a condition that affects her mind and the way she views the world. To her, there is most likely absolutely nothing wrong with what she did. But most of her decisions as leader will have been beneficial to her in some way.'

'Not everything was selfish,' Kaymah reiterated, glaring at the psychologist.

'I take it you're referring to the fact she saved your life,' Sheppard piped up from where he leaned against the doorframe behind his colleagues.

Kaymah focused on him, her seething anger toward him still all too apparent. 'What is it to you?'

His colleagues were looking back at him, silently begging him not to mess this up.

'Nothing...' he replied. They breathed a collective sigh of relief. '...except that she clearly uses that as leverage to gain your support when she needs it most. You know exactly how selfish she can be. She even tried to persuade you to help her continue to hide me while my people were taking apart the village.'

Alishia gave her a sideways glance. 'Is this true?'

Though suddenly tight-lipped, Kaymah nodded, staring at the wooden tabletop and picking at the hole Sarayah's knife blade had left in it.

'It seems your sister has played us all for fools,' Alishia scowled. 'But no more. We need to elect a new leader, one who will guide us in a manner intended to improve the lives of all on Medulsa, not just themselves.'

'All of you?' Sheppard asked.

'John.' The warning tone in Elizabeth's voice was unmistakable. She thought he was pushing things too fast.

Alishia had picked up on his meaning though. She looked at him directly for the first time during this meeting. 'You disapprove of the way we treat our men?'

Though he knew it would get him in more trouble with Elizabeth, he replied, 'Would it surprise you if I said yes?'

She had the decency to look a little embarrassed as she made their excuses, something he felt certain no other woman in the village would have managed. 'We have our reasons for keeping them oppressed. Why do you judge us so harshly without first asking why we do it?'

He pouted as he stared back at her, his recollection of her previous role in his incarceration making him more willing to spare her his true feelings on that matter. 'I know what your reasons are, but we have a little saying where we come from – two wrongs don't make a right.'

With a look of genuine puzzlement, Alishia moved her gaze back to Elizabeth now. 'What Major Sheppard is trying to say is that no matter how awful the crimes of the past were, they can never justify what you're doing to the males of this village now.'

Kaymah rose, slamming her palms down on the table. 'You dare to tell us that protecting our own safety is wrong?' she demanded, glaring at each one of them in turn.

'No...of course not,' Elizabeth assured her, keeping her voice low and calm in the face of Kaymah's growing animosity. 'But there may be another way to do it.'

'Such as?' Alishia asked.

'Reintegrate the men into your society. Give them their rights...their dignity. If they become full members of Medulsan society again they'll want to protect you, not harm you.'

'Oh, and I suppose it will be that simple?' Kaymah scoffed, casually resuming her seat and lounging back, folding her arms over her chest. 'They will just fit in and live amongst us like none of this ever happened?'

'We're not suggesting this is gonna be a smooth transition,' Sheppard fired back at her, approaching the table now. 'But it's a necessary one...and it will work. I've seen that.'

'And what of Sarayah?' Kaymah asked. 'She will never fit in to this new society you propose. So what do we do with her? Cast her out of the only home she's ever known.'

'This village is bigger than just Sarayah!' he snapped, then he sucked in a breath and steadied himself as Dr Heightmeyer took over.

'That's why I'm here. I can help to offer advice on adjustment to the people of your village, and perhaps to Sarayah in particular. This will be a period of great upheaval for her, and I'd like to offer any assistance I can,' she explained,

'She would eat you whole and use your bones to clean her teeth,' Kaymah growled, making Heightmeyer shift uncomfortably in her chair.

'I'm sure once she gets to know me she'll realise I'm not to be feared,' the doctor continued in her non-confrontational way.

'She would not fear you, she would only pity you,' Kaymah sneered in response. 'What can a woman like you hope to teach people like us?'

'How to shut up and listen when we're offering you help, for one thing,' Sheppard snapped again.

As soon as the words passed his lips he knew Elizabeth would be mad with him. It had been a hellish couple of days. His body hurt and cried out for rest and he'd let it all get to him far more than he should have. Maybe he should have stayed with McKay...

'Perhaps it might be best if you got some air, John. You're looking a wee bit peaky,' Carson suggested, giving him an excuse to leave. 'I'll step outside with you, shall I?'

Allowing himself the minor admission that he might not be in the best mood for such a delicate negotiation, Sheppard let the medic guide him out of the shady house and into the rising sunlight.

Carson gave Sheppard a supportive smile as they emerged. 'Not easy being back here, is it?'

'No...no it isn't,' he conceded, looking around at the mistrusting faces staring at them both. 'But then, negotiation was never my forte.'

'Oh, I think you have more skill than you realise,' Carson grinned back at him. 'I've seen the way you handle Rodney.'

Sergeant Jeffries ambled over to them, acknowledging Sheppard with a respectful dip of the head. 'It's been quiet out here, Sir. Seems like most of these women are in shock. They don't quite know how to handle us.'

'Well, better shocked than angry,' Sheppard said quietly. 'Let's not do anything to annoy them while Dr Weir does her thing.'

'No, Sir. We'll do our best.'

Jeffries returned to his team, and Sheppard fell quiet, scanning the village and trying to ignore the growing sensation that these women weren't the only ones watching him. Sarayah was still in that village somewhere, and he couldn't shake the feeling she had her eyes on him even now. He remained lost in that thought until he noticed a couple of Jeffries' team simultaneously turn their heads to look skywards, along with a number of the womenfolk. Then he heard it too, the sound that had caught their attention. There could be no mistaking what it was.

'Incoming!' he yelled as the dart came in fast. 'Get inside!'

The women scattered as Sheppard pushed Carson back into the meeting and then bolted for a jumper, the Scot's warning that he wasn't fit for the fight ringing in his ears as every thud of his boots sent pain shooting through his ribs and injured back. No kidding? But he'd be damned if he was going to stand by and watch the Wraith attack the prison encampment. Those men had been through enough.

Before he could reach his craft the dart passed over, beaming several beefy looking specimens right into the centre of the village. Veering sharp left, Sheppard headed for the closest of them, spraying the brute with bullets before he could feed and gain strength enough to survive. The sound of stunners buzzed in his ears, flashes of brilliant light burning their images onto his retinas and making it harder to focus and take aim. He dodged and swerved, firing when he could be sure he wouldn't hit the fleeing villagers, but what few bullets met their target did little good.

And then she was there...Sarayah...right there in the middle of the chaos with that stupid smug smile on her face and a Wraith grunt heading right for her. Sheppard stumbled to a halt and gaped, expecting her to pull a weapon and slay the creature, but she didn't. She just kept her gaze fixed on him. Then it struck him why she was doing that. She knew he couldn't let her die.

Though it galled him to do it, he made the shot, hitting the drone in the back of the head with his very first bullet, flooring him where he stood. Then he ran and grabbed her, catching hold of her arm and pulling her along with him.

'What the hell do you think you're doing?' he yelled over the general din of panic and gunfire.

'I was afraid...I froze,' she smirked, allowing him to pull her along and into the cover of the jumper.

He slammed his hand onto the control to shut the hatch, dashing forward toward the pilot's seat and jumping into it. 'Sit down. We're going after that dart, and you're not moving from that chair.'

He began initiating flight, only to see the flash of metal in her hand. She was armed...why hadn't he considered that possibility when she was always armed? 'No we're not, we're going to the 'gate.'

'You have got to be kidding me!'

'Do it, now!'

Pissed off and in no mood for her crap, Sheppard wasted no time in jerking the jumper forward, spilling her out of her seat. Then he grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her up high enough to slam her forehead against the controls before throwing her into the rear compartment and closing the bulkhead doors on her. That old 'holding a knife on him' routine might work when she had him all tied up, but no way was he going to allow her to pull that stunt when the odds were even.

He took off in pursuit of the dart now, following its previous course and trajectory and soon picking it up on the HUD. A drone weapon dispatched it over an unpopulated area, but as he swept the ship over the farmland near the prison encampment he saw a couple of bodies lying drained of their life force amongst the freshly turned soil. He should have been there to help them. If things had panned out the way they had the first time round, he would have been closer and those men would have lived.

Everything was wrong, Sarayah's perverse and controlling touch having tainted the timeline. He took the jumper right into the enclosure and decloaked it, setting it down as three Wraith grunts and a commander stalked the huts, looking for anyone who hadn't made it to cover before turning their attention to those barricaded doors. His ploy to distract them from the culling worked. The Wraith all turned toward him, the surprise at seeing the ship appear clear on the commander's face, even if the drones couldn't show it.

In the rear compartment, Sarayah had roused from her daze. Sheppard took a deep breath and turned toward the bulkhead doors, her curses and thumps telling him she was none too pleased with his treatment of her. He stood up and drew his 9mm, hitting the door control and levelling it at her immediately.

'I get that you're pissed, Sarayah, I really do. But right now there is something bigger than you or me going on here. So do as you're told and step aside like a good girl and let me kill the nasty Wraith monsters, okay?'

'Why? You want to save those wretches in the camp?'

'Yes, now move!'

'He isn't there.'

'Who?'

'Balfor,' she grinned. 'He's long dead. We worked him to death two revolutions ago.'

He let that sink in a moment, feeling the sadness her words evoked, but controlling it. Now was not the time to mourn Balfor. That would have to wait. 'There are still others who need my help. Now move aside or I'll shoot you. And like someone both you and I know said, I know exactly where to shoot you to not kill you.'

She scowled while emitting a noise that was disturbingly close to a growl, then stood back and let him pass to lower the ramp and fight the invaders.

A stunner blast hit the ramp before it was any more than two feet open, something that sent Sarayah diving to the floor, but just warned Sheppard that he had to be ready to start firing. He reholstered his sidearm and grasped the P-90 clipped to his Tac-Vest, unleashing a deluge of bullets the moment he got the first glimpse of their slimy green skin, spraying the area and hoping he didn't hit anyone else hiding out there as barrels and water buckets splintered, releasing their precious contents.

He pressed forward as the Wraith backed off, ducking only just in time to avoid a stunner blast catching him square in the chest. He couldn't afford a mistake like that, and he fired again with renewed vigour, bringing the three drones down.

The commander, however, was proving harder to fell, no doubt because he had been the one to feed. He let loose a stunner shot as he scrambled for cover behind the jumper, hitting Sheppard in the legs. Sheppard fell, but continued to fire, at least he did until his bullets ran out. He dumped the empty clip, flipping open the pocket on his tac-vest that contained his spare, but by that time the Wraith was already out of his hiding place and running toward him. He was moving fast, and Sheppard couldn't load his ammunition clip quickly enough...

The sound of several gunshots split the air and the Wraith slowed, staggered, dropped to his knees, then face-planted right in front of Sheppard's position.

As he dropped, he gave Sheppard a clear view of Sarayah and the 9mm she was now holding. Even though the Wraith were all down, she wasn't lowering her weapon. Of course she knew about the spare guns in the jumper supplies; why hadn't he thought of that? With only the slightest of movements, Sheppard finished clipping his bullets in place and set his weapon to single shots.

'Now, as I was saying before we were interrupted,' she drawled, strolling toward him, 'You're going to fly that ship of yours through the gate to a planet of my choice.'

A throaty hiss told them both the Wraith wasn't quite dead yet. Sarayah wasted no time in putting three more bullets into the creature's temple, finishing the job. 'You have to admire their persistence,' she called to him.

'Yeah, remind you of anyone?' he grunted, grimacing as he tried to move and found both his legs still frustratingly numb and useless.

'So, about that flight,' she purred, approaching a few steps.

'Well, I'd love to oblige, but since you don't have any bullets left, I think I'll pass.'

The smirk that had been twisting up her lips suddenly disappeared, and she aimed the gun at the floor, pulling the trigger and hearing nothing but a hollow click.

'Then I suppose that makes us even since you have no bullets either,' she replied, tossing the gun aside, and pulling out her knife. 'Except I have a knife and you can't move.'

So she hadn't seen him reload? The Wraith had been in her eye line, but he hadn't dared hope to be that lucky...not twice in one day.

When she started walking toward him, he lifted his weapon to aim at her. 'You just stay right where you are, lady.'

She arched an eyebrow. 'If you had any bullets left in that gun of yours you'd have finished that Wraith off yourself.'

'You really don't wanna test that theory,' he warned her, rolling into a better position to steady his weapon. 'If you move again I will shoot you.'

'Endearing as your challenge is, I'm afraid I'm going to have to call your bluff.'

'I was hoping you'd say that ,' Sheppard murmured, firing a single round that clipped the muscle of the thumb on her knife wielding right hand, forcing her to release her weapon and grip her injury.

'You shot me!' she screeched, falling to her knees and pressing her hand under her left arm to try to ease the pain.

'No, I grazed you,' he clarified. 'But if you come any closer I'll put a bullet in you this time.'

She stayed crumpled in the dirt about twenty yards away, and screamed out in utter frustration. The fact he'd won probably stung just as much as the flesh wound he'd inflicted, and that was most likely adding to her self-pity.

He activated the radio he wore clipped to his vest. 'Jeffries, this is Sheppard. Come in.'

A second or two of silence followed, then he got a reply. 'This is Jeffries. What's your position, Sir?'

'I'm in the prison encampment. I took out the Wraith threat, but I'm gonna need assistance getting to McKay over at the defence device.'

'We're on our way, Sir.'

'Oh, and bring Beckett along for the ride,' Sheppard told him. 'I have Sarayah here and she's injured and in need of treatment.'

'Sarayah? Understood, Sir. We'll be there ASAP.'

Sarayah's mood shifted, and she raised her eyes to his in pure anger. 'I am not so badly hurt I need his help.'

'Why don't we let him decided that?' he suggested.

'I take instruction from no man.'

'No? Well, I suggest that for the next few minutes before Jeffries gets here you break the habit and do as I say. Okay?'

'You have not won. You will not make me face the Divine One again. I will kill everyone you know before I allow that to happen.'

The tingling in his legs and feet was worsening as the stunner's charge took full effect, but Sheppard refused to show any sign of his discomfort to Sarayah. He was one up on her for a change and he meant to enjoy the experience for as long as possible. 'Oh, yeah? Guess that means you're not feeling quite so happy to see me now, huh?'

The angry glare turned to a smirk as she stared back at him, still flexing that damaged hand. 'I'm no less thrilled to see you than I've ever been, John. This course of events has only delayed our inevitable joining. You can't deny something the universe is determined should happen.'

'No you can't. So why don't you just be a nice little crazy lady and turn up on Guedeseo in around...oh...say three years time and do what we need you to do?' he taunted.

'I won't go through that 'gate, John. You know that. I'll do everything I can to prevent it.'

Sheppard kept watch on her down his sight, lining up a shot that would stop her in her tracks if she showed any sign of moving. 'You still really don't get this, do you?' he scoffed. 'If you stop it from happening, all this just starts again.'

'We shall see.'

They maintained their awkward stand-off until another jumper joined them at the scene. Jeffries and his team disembarked followed by Elizabeth, Drs Beckett and Heightmeyer and Alishia, who looked rather unsteady as she stepped down to solid ground. That had to have been the first flight she'd ever taken from the severity of her reaction.

She soon found her feet and her confidence again when her eyes fell on Sarayah and Sheppard, who was still holding the Medulsan at bay with the threat of another bullet.

'Sarayah! How did you get here? Where is your mother?'

Beckett tried to approach the downed Medulsan, but she bared her teeth like an angry dog and he backed off, hands raised, heading for Sheppard instead.

'If you're referring to that treacherous creature who forced me out into this world, I left her behind,' she sneered, fixing the woman with her most ferocious stare.

Alishia looked uncomfortable, but didn't back down from their exchange.' Is she harmed?'

The question met with a shrug of indifference. 'I'm sure she will wake eventually...it makes little difference to me if she doesn't.'

With the others now there, and Beckett at his side offering assistance to get him to his feet, Sheppard relinquished the responsibility of holding Sarayah at gunpoint to his troops. His legs were still almost completely numb, and it soon became clear Beckett alone couldn't support his weight, so Elizabeth wrapped his left arm around her shoulders and supported him too.

Sheppard couldn't imagine feeling no emotional connection to his mother. The relationship seemed wasted on Sarayah; she felt no warmth or loyalty to the woman, even though she had saved her life many years before. Sparing her had been done for her own purposes, not because she considered her life precious in any way.

'How could you do that to you own kin, Sarayah?' Alishia sighed, shaking her head. 'To hurt those who would come here to harm us is one thing, but to hurt your own mother, the woman who has taken care of you all of your life...'

Sarayah yawned and blinked back at her. 'I tire of you, Alishia. Be on your way.'

Clearly prickling at that slight, Alishia drew herself up to her considerable height. 'I no longer take direction from you, Sarayah. It has been decided that you are not fit to guide the peoples of Medulsa.'

'About time,' Sheppard muttered, wincing as his legs buckled and his two human crutches struggled to hold him up.

'So he has convinced you to turn against me, just as I said he would,' Sarayah hissed, blood still dripping steadily from her injured hand. 'Don't you see where this is all leading?'

Mouth dropping, Alishia looked uncertainly from her to Sheppard and then back again. 'Both he and his people have been nothing but reasonable...they want to save us from the Wraith Hive ship heading this way.'

'And you think they will do this at no cost to our world?'

Again, Alishia slid her gaze in Sheppard's direction. 'No price can possibly be as high as that of a Wraith culling.'

Figuring this was as good a point as any to reveal their terms, Sheppard lifted his chin and delivered the conditions of his rescue plan. 'It isn't. I'll fix that protection device if you agree to let the men and boys of this planet live freely amongst you.'

Alishia's brow puckered at the request, and Sarayah blurted out, 'You see. I warned you that this one would be the death of our society.'

Alishia blinked slowly, an exaggerated motion, as she allowed Sarayah's words to sink in. Then, a deep frown scoring her forehead, she turned to face Sarayah where she sat. 'This is what you meant all those times you told us this man would be our destruction?'

'Medulsa is a matriarchal society. He is killing that as surely as if he took a knife to each of our throats,' she growled. 'If you set the men, free in only a few years we will be at their beck and call, heavy with their children and feeding their expanding waistlines.' She finally rose to her feet, taking a few steps toward Sheppard until the click of several weapons forced her to reconsider. 'You may have convinced these weak-minded idiots to do your will, but I will never bend so easily.'

'This is not the death of Medulsa. It's a new beginning...a chance to live without fear, and chance for life to be complete for all of us. This could be a good thing, do you not see that?' Alishia asked her. 'And it seems we have little choice if we want to live.'

'Good for who?' Sarayah yelled, turning on her fellow Medulsan with such ferocity even she, with her Amazonian physique, drew back a pace. 'I don't want this. I refuse to live amongst those stinking, wretched, pathetic creatures.' She turned now to Sheppard, a glint dancing in her eyes. 'Perhaps I should seek refuge with the Atlanteans since they have made my position untenable.'

'Sure, you can have refuge with us...when hell freezes over,' Sheppard grunted.

'Stranger things have happened,' she purred. 'I do feel a distinct chill in the air.'

'That's otherwise known as rejection. You should try getting used to it.'

'You need me, John,' she countered, grinning. 'Whatever you think of me, you know our paths have to cross again. This oafish woman might have usurped my power on Medulsa, but I'm still important to you.'

After a moment or two of stunned silence, Alishia simply shook her head. Then, without another word to Sarayah, she turned back to Sheppard. 'I accept the terms of your assistance, Major Sheppard. The men will be freed this very morning, once the machine is fixed, just as our laws were originally written. But there is sickness in the camp, so until that has run its course, they cannot truly become part of our village. I would welcome any help you could give us to cure them and speed the process. And I also accept your offer of medical assistance for Sarayah, Dr Weir. I believe that will be most practical considering her obviously fragile state of mind.'

Sarayah flew at her, but Jeffries and another member of his team intervened, pulling Sarayah clear and restraining her as she cursed and spat at her once loyal right-hand woman.

'I think it might be best if we get that device fixed, then we'll talk about medical intervention for the men and how best to implement the changes once they're well,' Elizabeth suggested, barely able to hold back her smile. 'This type of social restructuring is going to be difficult, but we'll help with the adjustments in any way we can.'

Elizabeth and Carson began to walk toward the jumper, and Sheppard found he could move his legs enough to keep pace with their slow progress, even if he couldn't feel the ground beneath the soles of his boots. He glanced Sarayah's way just briefly as he passed her, glad the rage clearly visible on her face wouldn't be directed at him this time. He would get that machine fixed and he'd be out of there. And no way would he set foot in this place again until he absolutely had to, which was pretty much how he'd felt the last time he'd given the Medulsan men their deliverance.

A/N: Sheppard's ordeal is over for now, but this story still has a long way to go. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. As ever, thanks to everyone who has left reviews. It a makes the effort worthwhile. :)