** This will be the last part until Monday again as my kids are at home for the weekend. They are on a holiday from school next week, but I should be able to get enough work done in the evenings to get the next part up on Monday…I hope!**

Elizabeth listen intently as Major Lorne informed her that they had landed the jumper on the Wraith planet apparently undetected some two clicks from the Wraith compound.

'That's excellent news, Major. We've just received word from the Daedalus. Apparently, they've made better time than expected and they'll be with you in just a fraction under four hours? What are your plans?'

'We'll gear up and head over to the compound immediately. With any luck, by the time we've made the trip there, retrieved the colonel, and made it back to the jumper, they'll be in orbit and ready to take out the compound. I recommend radio silence until we're clear of the planet's surface. Then, I'll contact you and you can give the Daedalus the go ahead to launch weapons.'

She smiled at the confidence in his words. There was no room for doubts on a mission like this. 'Agreed. Does Teyla know where you'll find Colonel Sheppard once you're inside the complex?'

'I believe he is still in his cell for the moment. After the previous encounters with the queen, they have allowed him time to recover, but I fear of we do not find him quickly, they could move him again,' Teyla replied.

'Then I won't delay you any further. Good luck, and please, no unnecessary risks.'

'Everything by the book,' the major promised. 'Lorne out.'

The communication ended, leaving Elizabeth standing in the control room at the balcony over looking the Stargate, knitting her fingers together and rubbing at her palms with her thumbs. Once again, she found herself questioning her decision, wondering if she would have agreed to this almost certainly suicidal rescue bid if it were anyone but Sheppard in there. Was it the guilt she harboured over his previous torture that swayed her decision now? No, she decided, because if it hadn't been Sheppard captured, he would have been in her office bending her ear about how they never left a man behind, and she would have agreed with him, after some persuasion.

She rubbed her tired, dry eyes and turned to look at Chuck. 'If you hear anything from either the team on the planet or the Daedalus, let me know.'

'Yes, Ma'am.'

He gave her a sympathetic smile, as if he understood the turmoil she was going through, but she didn't acknowledge it. Acknowledging it would be tantamount to admitting how scared she was that she'd just sent eight people to their deaths, and she didn't want to even think about that right now.

All she wanted to do at this point was freshen up, eat, and speed up time so they could all be back safely in Atlantis, and the Wraith threat had been eliminated. Unfortunately, since the last wish was beyond her, she had to make to with satisfying her other needs. And waiting.

*****

He knew he had to keep his eyes and ears open for the enemy, but the only thing Rodney could hear was his own shuddering breath, and the only thing he could keep his eyes on was his feet to ensure he didn't trip over them. He gripped a side arm with whitened knuckles, his jaw clenched so hard he was surprised his teeth hadn't shattered.

This kind of thing was not what he'd signed up to do. Writing diagnostic programmes, streamlining power usage, enhancing the functions of ancient tech, that was what he excelled at, not creeping through wooded areas, breaking into Wraith compounds and shooting things.

Ronon had taken point -- no one had dared to question that decision -- and Lorne was watching their six along with Teyla. He and Carson were in the middle of the group, Carson carrying his backpack of emergency medical supplies, ready to administer first aid to Sheppard if it was required before they could move him. McKay thought about asking if he had a tranquiliser to spare, but figured he might be risking physical harm before he even reached the Wraith compound if Ronon heard his request.

He stumbled, but caught himself before he fell, the others throwing him disparaging glances for creating too much noise. Oh, he was so not cut out for this life. He was going to get them all killed.

Ronon pulled up short, holding his balled fist high. Carson and McKay, not quiet so alert as the others, didn't respond as quickly as they did and collided with the marines in front of them, Carson mouthing his apologies. Somewhere ahead, they could hear movement; Ronan's keen hearing had caught it before anyone else's. Between the broad tree bowls they spotted a masked Wraith standing to attention. They sought cover and scoured the area for any more, and sure enough, approximately one hundred yards away on either side of him, were two further Wraith guards.

'They're guarding a perimeter,' Lorne whispered. 'I bet the whole complex is surrounded by guards.'

'Does that mean they know we're coming?' Carson asked.

'Could be. Or perhaps they're there to keep something in.'

'Sheppard?' Ronon grunted.

'Yeah. Him and the natives of the planet Teyla told us about.'

Teyla nodded. 'I believe many people are held there prisoner here. I sense a great sadness on this planet.'

'Could you stop doing the sensing thing now?' Rodney whimpered. 'We might as well march around waving a red flag.'

'I cannot stop this sensation. I have been able to detect Wraith all my life; I cannot simply switch it off at will.'

'All right,' Lorne interrupted. 'We need to take out enough of these guys to give us a clear run at the complex. Dr McKay, Dr Beckett, stay here and stay hidden. The rest of us will fan out and take down the guards in this area. We'll each select a guard. Once target is in sight, fire on my mark.'

'No,' Ronon growled. 'Your guns are too loud. You fire those things, every Wraith out here will know there are humans on the planet. I'll take them out.'

McKay huddled in behind Carson and watched him go, toying with the idea of trying to pick the doctor's pack for something to sooth his nerves.

Everything fell silent. They could still see the Wraith they'd first spotted, and those just beyond him. Ronon crept to a position behind a tree trunk some twenty yards from their hiding spot from where he could get a clear shot. McKay was shaking with tension, his muscles already cramping from holding that position. Why was the caveman taking so long?

Suddenly, the familiar boom of Ronon's gun shattered the peace. The Wraith ahead of them fell. Lorne, Teyla and the rest of the team raised their P-90s to prepare for trouble, but Ronon had it covered. The two other Wraith nearest their fallen colleague heard the shot and ran toward the source; the Satedan picked them off as they moved within range.

Relieved it was over, Rodney tried to stand, but Lorne pulled him back down and gave him the 'hold' signal, frowning at him as if he thought he was an idiot. McKay desperately wanted to protest at his treatment, but figured this wasn't the time. He was right. A few moments later, two further Wraith lumbered onto the scene, spotting their dead comrades, but being taken out before they could react. After a few further few minutes of tension, Ronon darted back over to them. 'I think that's it. The sound of my weapon doesn't carry as far as yours; don't think anyone else will have heard it.'

'Let's just give it a few more minutes before we test that theory,' Lorne suggested.

They did, and thankfully Ronon's assessment was accurate; no more Wraith appeared. Rodney allowed himself to breathe again, getting up slowly to stretch out his aching calves as everyone rose to their feet.

'C'mon,' Ronon barked, taking point again. 'We must be getting close.'

Slotting back into the middle of the group, Rodney stuck close to Carson as the only other person there who might feel as unprepared as he did. No matter how many missions he went on, the scientist never got used to this military stuff; he supposed people were either born warriors or not, and he definitely fell into the latter category. Most people leaned toward either brains or brawn, although there were some exceptions his favourite being Sam Carter, but Sheppard was an example of someone who could balance both, too. The colonel liked to pretend he was an Average Joe, but showed moments of numerical brilliance that startled even him…and the bastard had looks too, not to mention the hair. Some guys got all the luck. Except the fact he was currently recovering from major surgery without anaesthesia -- that wasn't something to envy.

He collided with the back of the marine in front of him again, only then realising that the group had once more halted. They all crouched, McKay a second behind everyone else as usual.

Through the undergrowth, he could see a building, at least that was how he supposed the Wraith would describe it. It seemed to almost grow out of the ground like some vast chambered bulbous plant, that weird Wraith organic matter that seemed to coat everything they created smothering its outer structure. There were no windows, so obviously no natural light inside, but the think was enormous, filling their view as the rest of the team quickly assessed the situation.

'Looks like a dozen guards on the door,' Lorne said, surveying the scene through his field binoculars. 'I'm betting there's more just inside. Think you can take them out, Ronon? I'd like to at least infiltrate the compound before we have to alert them all to our presence.'

Ronon simply quirked an eyebrow and took himself off to somewhere with a better vantage point.

Several weapon blasts and a reasonable pause later, Lorne signalled that they were good to go.

Once inside, McKay pulled his LSD from inside his vest and tried to make sense of the information it showed him. Teyla stood at his shoulder and regarded all the flashing dots, fathoming out the layout the device was showing them.

'There,' she said, jabbing her index finger toward two dots in close proximity and away from the others. 'I believe that is Colonel Sheppard and the women he is imprisoned with. That is what my visions showed me.'

Lorne checked the screen, got his bearings, and gave her a quick nod of acknowledgement. 'All right. Put that thing away before they trace us and let's move out.'

Pushing back his fear and focusing on how much Sheppard was depending on them, McKay set his jaw and headed into the stronghold with the rest of the team, ready to fight to retrieve his friend.

*****

Sheppard shouted out and jerked awake to find himself in the familiar surroundings of his cell. Although he would have preferred to see his surfboard, his photo of Evel Knievel, and all the other paraphernalia he'd gathered around him in his room at Atlantis, the cell was still a welcome sight compared to the laboratory where he'd lost consciousness.

At first, he thought he felt okay, much better than the last time he'd woken. His head seemed clear, he wasn't sweating, and the shivers were all gone. Then, the aching started in his abdomen, and flashes of memory returned; Wraith hands, covered in his blood, slicing away at various organs until he'd thankfully passed out and left them to their butchery.

He sat up slowly, feeling the tug of bruised and tender skin, and lifted his shirt to assess the damage. What he presumed to be a Wraith dressing adorned his stomach. It was dirty looking and cumbersome -- no doubt because they were unaccustomed to dressing injuries for themselves or their other prisoners. He supposed the dose of Wraith enzyme she'd given him had worn off during the procedures and they were unwilling to give him more unless it was entirely necessary. That made sense. They wanted him to break, so they had to leave him in a certain degree of pain and sickness to hopefully keep him subdued. Well, it would take more than this to slow him down; he felt quite insulted that they thought he could be so easily subjugated.

Orial scooted over to him, looking greatly relieved to see him awake. 'What did they do to you? I asked them when they brought you back to the cell, but they wouldn't tell me anything.'

'They took some more samples…had a good dig around to get them out, too,' he winced, pressing against his dressing as he pulled himself up a little straighter. He'd learned from experience that doing that made movement easier, even if it was partially the psychological comfort of believing you were preventing your insides from unravelling all over the floor. He considered peeling back the dressing and taking a peek at what lay beneath, but decided against it. If he didn't see how bad it was, he could convince himself it was minor and nothing to worry about.

Unpleasant as the residual pain undoubtedly was, he found it far more bearable than either the feeding or the fever they'd treated him for. He'd had surgeons poking around inside him before, admittedly under general anaesthetic and with them administering painkillers after the event, but he could ride this; this was nothing compared to the feedings.

He checked his watch. It was now an hour after the time he'd estimated it would take a rescue team to reach the planet. Had he been wrong? No, no he hadn't. They were coming. They had to be. His timing was just askew.

'You look much better than you did earlier,' Orial smiled. 'The colour has returned to your cheeks. Did they give you Wraith enzyme?'

He nodded. 'They were scared I was going to die on them, so they had no choice.'

'Seems they didn't give you enough to heal all of your injuries,' she said, dipping her head toward his stomach.

'I think that was the idea.'

Desperate to get off his numb backside, he stood and straightened slowly. The throbbing made him catch his breath, but when it subsided, it wasn't so bad. In truth, the pain wasn't the worst part of any of this. It was the utter futility he felt deep inside when he looked into the Wraith queen's emotionless eyes. Nothing he could say to her would make a difference to his situation. The queen couldn't be reasoned with because she didn't see him as in any way her equal. To her, he was a food source, admittedly an advanced and temporarily useful food source, but a glorified meal none-the-less. He was the Pegasus Galaxy's equivalent of a burger and fries. Besides, he had no leverage to bargain with. There was nothing he could offer that she would want more than the total domination of every other species.

Bouncing on his legs to test their strength he decided they definitely felt much steadier than they had for some time. If help didn't show up soon, he might actually be able to fight the Wraith again himself, perhaps whip that assistant of hers into a feeding frenzy. He stopped mid thought, re-evaluating his plan. Getting himself killed now didn't solve the problem of the samples they'd already taken from him. If he died and no one on Atlantis knew what had happened, the Wraith might actually succeed with their plan, and his friends would be none the wiser until they took the base and wiped them out. Letting them kill him wasn't an option anymore.

He looked over at Orial, still crushing a damp cloth to her injured skin. It occurred to him then that the people on Atlantis weren't the only ones he had to help. Orial was just the tip of the iceberg, the one visible victim of this compound. Somewhere in there were five hundred or so more of her people, all of them suffering what he had been put through day after day of their miserable lives. He couldn't let that continue. How could he put this behind him knowing these people were still in Wraith clutches? Orial's people deserved to be freed from their suffering.

Whatever happened, he couldn't just sit around waiting for rescue that might never come. He needed to get out and find his jumper. He needed to get back to Atlantis and return with more troops. No…if he escaped, he suspected the queen would bring her wrath to bear on these people in ways he couldn't even imagine. What he needed to do was find a way to get Orial's people out and destroy the facility and all traces of the genetic experiments along with it.

'Orial, if we get out of this cell, could you find your way back to your people?'

She looked puzzled, then amazed, nodding emphatically.

'All right. Here's what we do…'