Chapter 14

That sterile infirmary smell he'd become so accustomed to was the first thing to filter through to him once again as Sheppard blinked himself awake some time later. So, he was back in the infirmary again? How had that happened? Gradually, the events that had led up to this moment came back to him, leaving him on edge. Was he safe now...was Sarayah waiting to pounce again, she'd seemed unstoppable in those murky corridors. Feeling eyes on him awakened a surge of panic in his gut, but as he rolled his head to the left he found it was only Daniel watching him from the bed next to his.

'Hey there,' Daniel smiled, giving him a wave. 'Welcome back.'

'She got to you too, huh?' Sheppard asked, straining to push himself up into a sitting position. His brain protested by setting the room spinning for a few seconds but it thankfully settled again.

'Yes, apparently she was willing to go through just about anybody to get to you,' he heard McKay say from the bed on his other side. 'Oh, and by the way, you're welcome for the save back there...although I should probably thank you for diverting her attention from me long enough to do that.'

He looked over at Rodney now, spotting the bruised cheekbone and swollen lip he was sporting. 'Then I guess you're welcome, too. So where is she now?'

'Contained,' Daniel explained. 'We heavily sedated her while she was unconscious, and now she's sleeping it off two floors down in a custom-made force shield cell.'

'Seems she has to be conscious to do that whole disappearing act, so while she's out, we found a way to hold her,' McKay added.

'And we're sure that'll do the trick?' Sheppard asked.

'Yeah, it's an alternating shield. It has no fixed pattern, so it deflects pretty much anything,' McKay told him matter-of-fact.

'Pretty much?'

'Well, nothing's one hundred percent certain. We have to allow for a certain margin of error. But seriously, the chances of her getting out of that box are almost zero...no more than a thousandth of a percent,' McKay assured him.

Sheppard nodded, willing to take his word for that. He was a frighteningly smart guy, just as Carter was one hell of a smart woman. What gave him the right to question them? If they said Sarayah was contained, she was contained.

'So, what is she, because clearly she's no ordinary human?' he asked them.

Rodney eagerly fielded that question, punctuating his explanation with vigorous gestures. It was the most animated Sheppard had seen him. 'Well, we can't be sure without further tests, but we suspect this has something to do with the nature of the 'gate she travelled through. The 'gate was probably created by the original 'gate builders, the Ancients, a race of beings who have long since ascended into energy form, perhaps abandoning the project when they chose to do that. No need for 'gates when you have no physical body, right? But for some reason Sarayah has accessed this experimental 'gate, which we think experienced some kind of catastrophic failure, and she's somehow been left in a state of semi-reintegration. It seems the links between her individual cells are still "loose" for want of a better word. So she's able to think herself apart when necessary, and she is apparently very, very good at it.'

'No kidding!'

'From what I saw when she attacked me, Sarayah has spent her life hunting, manipulating and controlling people,' Daniel interjected, much to McKay's obvious annoyance. 'She's incredibly smart...I felt that...and adapts rapidly to any given situation she finds herself in. She's had days of being locked up alone in her room other than the occasional interview and meal delivery, lots of time to practice getting this skill down pat.'

'If that happened to me, I'd be terrified!' Sheppard huffed, then he thought back to a few days ago, when she'd been brought into the infirmary in a state of absolute terror and distress. Had that been when she'd realised she had that ability? She'd been screaming about her hand disappearing and they'd all assumed she meant her right hand, the severed hand. Perhaps she hadn't meant that at all.

'Yes...well...I'm not sure Sarayah understands fear in the same way we do,' Daniel told him. 'She's...brutal. A killing machine. Heartless, soulless, you name it, she lacks it.'

'Except the ability to bypass your security,' Sheppard grunted, rubbing his aching chest as he pushed up a little higher against his crisp, white pillows.

'And she's all yours, Sheppard. Enjoy!' McKay quipped with a lopsided grin. The intensity of the stares from both his companions soon had that smile dropping from his face.

'Just how much did you find out about her?' Sheppard asked Daniel, turning his way and refusing to acknowledge that joke and further.

'Oh, let's just say I know more about Sarayah and her life prior to coming here than I ever wanted or hoped to. Now I feel like I need to scrub my brain out with bleach,' he said, now looking a little sick at the memories.

Before Sheppard could ask Daniel if he'd seen anything involving him, Dr Fraiser entered to check up on them. 'Ah, so all of my sleeping beauties are awake,' she beamed. 'That's good to see.'

'Er, I wasn't actually ever asleep,' Rodney piped up.

Fraiser blinked at him, then covered nicely. 'No, you're right Dr McKay. My mistake. So how're you feeling, Major?'

Sheppard was beginning to wish someone would give him a dollar for every time he'd heard that expression over the past few days, but kept the frustration from his tone when he answered. 'Okay...I think.'

'Well, the good news is that aside from bumps and abrasions, none of you have sustained any serious injuries, so I'll be releasing you all back to your quarters soon. And, Major Sheppard, General Hammond tells me he's arranged for a car to take you to Peterson first thing in the morning, something I'm sure you'll be sorry to hear.'

The immense sense of relief that washed over him left Sheppard on the brink of breaking down. He was so tired and so freaked out by everything he'd learned and seen over the past few days, he felt like he needed some time away just to get his head around it all. Maybe he'd be able to come back and help them some time in the future, but right now he needed to put as much space between him and Sarayah as possible, as soon as possible. He'd never considered himself to be the easily spooked type, but that woman...that system error...had left a mark on him it would take a lifetime to shake. That momentary connection, those few seconds of union when he'd experienced what she truly felt...that would remain indelibly burned into his brain no matter whether he ever saw her again or not.

'Is Sarayah still unconscious?' Daniel asked, slipping off the bed and straightening out his clothing.

'For the moment, since she appears to need to be conscious to...dissolve or whatever it is she does,' Fraiser replied, clutching her clipboard with their charts to her chest. 'The general has ordered us to keep her sedated until Major Carter had run more diagnostic to be certain the cell is secure...and until Major Sheppard is safely out of the facility.'

'So once he's gone we'll find out if that cell Sam created is strong enough to hold her,' Daniel mused.

'What do you mean? McKay said that thing was infallible to one thousandth of a percent!' Sheppard hated the panicked sound of his voice, but he'd been relying on that reassurance. There was no way he wanted to go up against Sarayah again because he had the feeling he'd only survived the last encounter in one piece through sheer good luck and timing on McKay's part.

'Hey, at least you're getting out of here tomorrow. I have to stay here and study her!' McKay pointed out. 'And look at what happened earlier,' he protested, pointing to a cut just above his left eyebrow. 'That's gonna leave a scar.'

Sheppard covered his own nerves by shrugged his shoulders and telling him, 'Don't worry about it. Women dig scars, right Doc?'

Fraiser smirked. 'Oh, yeah. Nothing I like better.'

'Really?' McKay sat up, puffing out his chest with pride. 'So now I can impress them with my intelligence and my scar?'

'Sure,' Sheppard told him. 'You'll be fightin' 'em off.'

This seemed to please the man immensely, and he laid his head back against his pillows, wearing a silly smile.

'Well, Daniel...Dr McKay, you two are free to go now. Major Sheppard...I know this isn't going to be popular with you, but I'd like you to stay in overnight considering your previous injuries. If tonight's observations show no further complications, you'll be free to leave and pack your things in the morning.'

'And I guess we know how those previous injuries happened now,' Rodney announced, sliding off his bed. 'Didn't I tell you those lesions looked like scratch marks?'

'Thank you, Dr McKay. Make sure you drop by for a check-up in the morning,' Janet said, her voice unusually firm.

Realising that was a hint he should leave, Rodney made himself scarce, as did Daniel, patting Sheppard on the shoulder and telling him to get some rest.

Dr Fraiser stepped up beside the bed, giving him a sympathetic smile. He figured she could see just how freaked out he was by what McKay had just said. 'I'm sorry. I planned to talk to you about the lesions, but I wouldn't have dropped it on you quite like that.'

'So when I couldn't get my breath...the pain in my chest...that was her.'

She nodded. 'It seems that way. Dr McKay did point out that the pattern of the lesions on the inside of your chest walls looked like scratches from a left hand, but at the time it seemed such a fantastic idea I completely ruled it out. Now we've seen what she's capable of, it's the most likely answer.'

He shuddered involuntarily, feeling suddenly cold. 'So is she one of those ascended beings McKay told me about?'

'Oh, I seriously doubt that. There are a lot of criteria to meet to be able to ascend, and I'm pretty sure Sarayah falls way short on all of them.'

'Criteria?'

'Kindness, patience, the ability to release one's burden...I think we can safely say none of those apply,' she said with a smirk, her eyes twinkling with humour.

'No...I think it's fair to say she bears a grudge,' he agreed, rubbing his chest again. He could see there was a substantial bruise on his breastbone from the blow that had knocked him over, but that wasn't what was making him most uncomfortable. 'She had hold of my heart, it couldn't beat properly...I thought she was gonna kill me.'

The doctor squeezed his shoulder to offer some kind of comfort, but it wasn't enough. He wanted to be home in Nancy's arms, holding on tight and remembering how it used to feel. Yet in his heart he knew he would never find that feeling with her again. The crazy down in the high tech cell had more feelings for him than his own wife. How sick was that?

'I know this has all been a trial for you, John, but believe me, none of us would have brought you here if we'd had any idea of her motives or what she was capable of. And we won't ask you to come back unless we're certain we can control her. So, tomorrow morning, all being well, you'll be on a flight back home and all this will be behind you. You'll feel much better then.'

'Thanks, Doc. You're probably right,' he smiled, but he couldn't keep it up for long.

'Okay, well, you take it easy for the rest of the day, you hear? I don't want you getting out of this bed for any reason other than a rest break,' she told him.

'What...not even if Sarayah comes after me?' he called at her back as she retreated from his treatment bay.

'Not going to happen, Major. She will not be surfacing until well after you've gone, that's a promise.'

He knew her words were meant to reassure him, but they really didn't. He laid back his head and tried to close out the images of Sarayah's face coming at him out of the darkness, the hot prickle of her hand moving inside him, gripping his heart, and the intensity of the emotions whirling within her. He really didn't want to be in her head, or to have her inside his. He just wanted to forget any of this had happened, but suspected this experience wouldn't be as easy to block out as many of the bad things that had happened in his life before.

As far as he was concerned, morning couldn't come quickly enough. The sooner he could put this place behind him, the sooner he could try to box this nightmare up and hide it away from the light of day.

oooOOOooo

Sheppard hadn't even realised he was tired until he woke up to find McKay sitting in the chair beside his bed. Apparently he'd been asleep because he hadn't noticed him arrive, but his excited shrieks had now woken him.

'This is unbelievable!' he squeaked. 'I've never seen anything like it.'

Wincing at the shrillness and volume, he pinched the bridge of his nose, blinking the scientist into clearer focus. 'This better be good McKay. I'm under official doctor's orders to get some rest,' he grumbled, rubbing the residual blurriness of sleep from his eyes. His body ached even more than it had when he'd woken earlier, and he'd thought it was bad enough then. He felt like he'd been hit by a truck...and then reversed over for good measure.

'Oh, hey! You're awake,' McKay chirped, hurriedly dragging his chair closer to the bed.

'Yes...apparently so.'

'You have so got to see this!' the scientist insisted, dumping his laptop on Sheppard's outstretched legs and keying in some instructions. 'I managed to get hold of the footage from the corridors during the power outage, and you will not believe what the cameras picked up.'

He set the footage running and Sheppard watched the black screen interrupted only by a tiny beam of light.

He squinted to try to find something recognisable in the darkness. 'What am I looking at?'

'That's us coming up the corridor where she pounced on us...look, that's you turning round 'cos I walked into the extinguisher. And then you're off again...'

The beam of light grew brighter and stronger, and as it neared the end of the corridor where it was crossed by another, he could just make out his features, particularly the annoyance he'd felt when he'd thought McKay had bumped into him. And then, he watched the flashlight go flying, and in its weak light he saw the shadow of his body flying backwards through the air and sliding into the wall.

Then, so quickly he could barely make out any definite movement, Sarayah was returning with McKay's neck gripped in her hand. When he glanced up at McKay, he could clearly make out the thumb-shaped bruise on the front of his throat, something he hadn't noticed yesterday, and figured there would be finger marks to match at the back if he checked them out.

He watched himself clamber back to his feet and challenge her, seeing her punch McKay and advance, again her movements a complete blur as if one moment she was a few feet away, and the next moment right on top of him.

He couldn't help but noticed the inane grin on McKay's face as he watched it all. Much as he'd been terrified at the time it was going on, the scientist in him clearly found the phenomena totally fascinating now.

'It's like the most eventful episode of Ghost Hunters ever!' he chirped, eyes sparkling. 'She's moving so quickly she's like an apparition...not that I really believe in those things of course! But seriously, this is amazing. Watch! Every time you try to hit or grab her she just dematerialises that part of her body so you can't make contact. It's like she's invincible.'

The hairs on Sheppard's arms and neck were all standing to rigid attention as he watched the events play out. Fascinating it might be, amazing even, but it was also terrifying. She'd been almost unstoppable and he'd never come up against something he couldn't get a handle on before. He needed time to get his head round things before he could get enthusiastic about it. And he needed to hurt a whole hell of a lot less.

As he saw the moment Sarayah dragged McKay up from the floor and threw him into the wall, the scientist piped up, 'Look, I'm playing dead, you know, like they tell you to when a bear attacks. I can't believe that actually worked.'

Sheppard couldn't help but smile. McKay clearly wasn't a proud man, but his smarts had definitely won through on this occasion.

The rest of the ordeal played out, the darkness making it hard to see the moment her hand entered his chest and literally grasped his heart, but it didn't stop his physical reaction, the hot tightening sensation repeating as if she'd done it to him all over again. And then wham! McKay hit her with the extinguisher and she was down. The sense of relief he experienced as she face-planted was almost as palpable as the first time.

McKay grinned at him, but he just raised an eyebrow in question. 'Why're you showing me this?'

'Cos it's cool...and everyone else is busy. I mean, we went through that together, we worked as a team to take her down...I thought you might be interested.' Looking slightly crestfallen now, the scientist snapped the laptop shut and slid it back over onto his own lap. 'I guess you're just a bit to freaked out to appreciate it.'

'No, it's cool,' Sheppard admitted, feeling guilty that he'd sounded so unimpressed when McKay had actually reached out to him in friendship. 'You know, I guess if that wasn't me in those pictures I'd be just as excited to watch them as you are, but since it is me...'

'It creeps you out.' McKay's bunched shoulders relaxed a little, as if he didn't feel quite so rejected. 'I guess if that psycho was fixating on me I'd be just as weirded out by all this as you are.'

'She was just so...unstoppable,' Sheppard sighed. 'It's a good thing you were able to sneak up on her or who knows what she might have done to us.'

'Yeah well, if it proves one thing, it's that she's not omnipotent. She told Daniel Jackson she was a god, but good as I am, I seriously doubt I could take down a god.'

Sheppard huffed out a laugh, amused by McKay's attempt at humility. He was really going to have to work on that. 'No, I'm thinking she's not really all that!'

McKay shuffled his chair just a little closer. 'I'm not supposed to tell you this, but apparently Daniel got a headful of what she and future you got up to...and it wasn't pretty. That's why you're out of here tomorrow – he's adamant you can't stay anywhere near her. He says she's some kind of baby-murdering torturer back where she comes from, and he doesn't think you and she ever had the kind of connection she claims you had.'

Again, Sheppard's skin prickled. She'd lied to him that they'd been close, even made a move on him, to lure him into her trap of trusting her. 'No...baby-murdering torturer really doesn't sound like my type,' he mused, wondering just exactly what Daniel had seen that he felt was too terrible to share.

'Anyway, considering that thing, whatever she is now, was a one woman killing machine, you are definitely best out of –'

'Don't you have somewhere else to be, Dr McKay?'

They heard Dr Fraiser's stern voice before the tapping of her shoes reached his bay, her expression showing just how annoyed she was that McKay had been talking to him about what Daniel had experienced.

'Er...no. You told me to rest up this evening, remember?' he snorted.

She glared at him, arms folded, lips tight.

'And by that I mean, "Yes,"' he quickly back-peddled. 'I was just heading off to my quarters now. See you, Sheppard.'

McKay departed quickly like a dog with its tail between its legs, leaving Fraiser in his wake, her manner almost instantly changing to her usual good humour in his absence.

'I'm sorry about that, Major. I didn't even realise he was in here. I guess he slipped by me.'

He shrugged. 'That's okay. I didn't mind the company.'

She looked a little surprised, as if McKay's company had never been appreciated by anyone, picking up his charts and leafing through them. 'Really? Well, I'd rather he wasn't filling your head with all sorts of worrying stories when I need you to get more sleep.'

He laughed, pinching the bridge of his nose again to try to clear his still woozy head. 'Trust me, it's nothing that's not in there already.'

'I suppose.'

She took hold of his wrist, testing his pulse. He knew she'd find it a little high, but figured after everything they'd gone through earlier that was to be expected and she'd make allowances.

'Why doesn't anyone think I should know what Daniel saw when Sarayah attacked him?'

Fraiser's deep brown eyes flashed up to his, reflecting her annoyance that Rodney had told him that once again. 'Because tomorrow morning you're out of here and Sarayah will no longer be your problem.'

He stared back at her, hoping his best hang-dog look would wheedle more information out of her. When it didn't, he slowly nodded, accepting that decision. He already had enough junk in his head from his past and present to last him a lifetime. No point in dwelling on things to come before they even happened. 'I guess you're right.'

'Of course I am, I'm a doctor,' she smirked. 'Now I insist you do what you can to put these events out of your mind and focus on what's important...you're alive and you're going home.'

'I will,' he promised, and he meant it, although he knew it wouldn't be easy.

She squeezed his shoulder in that way she always did when words weren't really enough, then left him alone again. Alone apart from the haunting feeling that he was still being hunted.

oooOOOooo

The next morning, accompanied by a chorus of thank yous and goodbyes, Sheppard made his way to the surface and to a car that was waiting for him at the North Entrance. He felt a little sorry to be leaving McKay in particular because he'd looked decidedly dejected as they'd shaken hands and wished each other well, as if he was losing his one and only friend. Though there was no denying McKay lacked anything that could really be called people skills, Sheppard had developed a high regard for his intelligence and a fondness for his acidic humour. In fact, he thought McKay might actually be the one person at the facility he'd miss the most.

At the surface, a young man, no more than a kid really, leaned against a humvee waiting for him to turn up. When he saw him approaching with his kitbag, the kid snapped upright and gave him a salute. 'Second Lieutenant Ford, United States Marine Corp, Sir. I'm here to take you to Peterson.'

'At ease,' Sheppard told him. 'Nice to meet you Ford. Now, no offence, but do you mind if we have the rest of this conversation on the move? I'm ready to get home.'

'Not at all, Sir,' the young man grinned, taking his pack from him and loading it in the vehicle. 'Jump in and we'll hit the road.'

The young lieutenant proved pleasant company for the journey, with a ready smile and a real enthusiasm for his job that was contagious. He told Sheppard that he'd started working at the SGC six months before and had taken a few trips through the Stargate in that time, likening it to being flash frozen and then forcibly defrosted in a split second. It didn't sound all that much fun to Sheppard, but the kid told him it was a real buzz, and he'd met a few crazy-looking aliens that made the whole freakiness of being dissembled and reassembled millions of miles away worth the trouble.

The further from the Cheyenne Mountain complex they got, the lighter Sheppard's mood became. He listened as Ford told him about his grandparents, never once mentioning his parents, leaving him wondering whether Ford was an orphan or if his mother, perhaps being a young single parent, hadn't felt able to raise him herself. He figured it would be too intrusive a question to ask, deciding the kid would offer up the information at some point if he wanted him to know. He never did.

For his part, Sheppard talked a little about his grandparents, too, making comparisons to the stories Ford told him, and never mentioning his parents either. No point in dragging the conversation down with his sorry tales. He felt happier than he had in days and he was determined not to sour things with unpleasant memories and regrets.

Eventually, they drew up at Peterson Air Force Base and Ford hopped out of the vehicle to escort him in, even trying to carry his bag, though Sheppard declined the offer. He might be feeling a little beat up this morning, but there was no way he was too bad to carry his own things.

'Well, Sir. It's been great to meet you. I hope you come by the SGC another time and maybe we could show you a little more about what we do there – maybe we could even take a trip through the 'gate together.'

'Maybe,' Sheppard smiled, shaking his hand. 'It's been a pleasure, Lieutenant.'

'Have a good trip, Sir,' the kid grinned, saluting him again.

Sheppard returned the gesture a little more casually, and then headed out to the waiting plane.

Within fifteen minutes, all pre-flight checks had been completed and they were airborne, leaving Colorado and the distinctive patterns of white circles and semi- circles of the airbase's outdoor museum arrangement far behind.

With the craft in the air, Sheppard finally felt like he'd left the SGC and his crazy time travelling, space-hopping stalker behind him.

Now he could go home and try to put together what remained of his shattered marriage. Somehow, he got the feeling that might be more of a challenge than trying to get to grips with Sarayah in the shadowy corridors of Stargate Command had proved the previous afternoon.

oooOOOooo

O'Neill tensed as the woman behind the force shields began to stir, the sedative she'd been subdued by and topped up with for the past twenty-two hours finally wearing off. She was evidently feeling a little the worse for wear – not that he cared about that – and rubbed at her eyes as if trying to focus on both he and Carter, who stood beside him, backed up by a dozen armed SFs at their rear.

'Good morning, freak,' he chirped, giving her a quick, tight smile. It was the best he could manage.

Sarayah didn't bother to reply, just staggered to her feet, stumbling around until she completely regained her balance. O'Neill had to admit to himself that he was impressed by the speed at which she recovered. They'd been topping up her dose regularly every time she'd shown signs of surfacing, and the last dose had been administered less than forty minutes ago. This was one formidable woman...or rather, thing.

Beside him, he sensed Carter shifting from one foot to another, a little nervy. He didn't like it when Carter got nervy. It suggested she wasn't entirely convinced they'd got this woman beat, no matter how many times she and McKay had gone over the figures for that box of shields. He looked over at her, and she glanced his way, her features rigid with tension.

For her part, now she was steady on her feet, Sarayah looked completely unfazed. She walked toward them, getting a face full of energy charge that knocked her back. O'Neill winced, but was glad to see it had at least had some kind of impact on her. Her brow puckered with confusion and concern, but only for a moment. Then she got back to her feet and approached the barrier again, stopping just short of it.

'What is this?' she demanded.

'This is your new quarters,' O'Neill quipped, rocking on his heels as he smirked at her. 'It's not as luxurious as your last accommodations, but, you know, that was before you went all psycho killer energy being on us.'

'Energy being? Is that what you're calling me?' she asked.

'Well, that's one of the things we're callin' ya',' he informed her. 'And it's pretty much the only thing I'm happy to repeat in front of polite company.'

Apparently she got the joke, because a faint flicker of a smile threatened to break out, though she managed to control it. She reached out and touched the wall again, getting a shock in her fingertips as it repelled her. She shook out her affected digits, and once again O'Neill found himself flinching on her behalf.

'Still there, huh? That's a little inconvenient for you,' he joked.

'How long do you plan to keep me like this?'

'Just as long as it takes for us to return you to your previous state,' Carter told her, stepping up to the mark. 'We think you were sent here via some kind of experimental Stargate that has somehow altered your genetic make-up, weakening the bonds between your cells. Dr McKay and I are working on a way to re-establish the correct connections and return you to some form of normalcy.'

From what Daniel had told him of the visions she'd forced into his head, there wasn't much normal about Sarayah to begin with in O'Neill's opinion. But making her more confinable would definitely be a plus. 'So your days as an energy being are numbered, and then we'll have to go back to calling you all the other things I can't mention.'

'Where's John?'

O'Neill glanced Carter's way again, catching her anxious expression. This woman's absolute obsession with the man was deeply unsettling, and he'd come across some weird things in his time. Perhaps it wouldn't have seemed so worrying if the undercurrent of danger pulsing through her wasn't so strong. But it was there, and he didn't doubt for a second that she would kill every one of them if it meant she could get to Sheppard.

'He's gone,' he told her, raising his chin. 'He set off for home several hours ago. I doubt you'll be seeing him again.'

'Is that so?' she asked, looking worryingly unconcerned by the news.

He'd expected anger. He'd expected panic. He'd expected railing. He hadn't expected amused acceptance...or maybe this wasn't acceptance. Maybe this was confidence that she would see him again. She'd known a lot of things she shouldn't have when Daniel had spoken to her yesterday, maybe this was another of those things she'd managed to listen in on. 'Yeah...that's so,' he assured her, narrowing his eyes. 'If you're lucky, maybe he'll send you a postcard, but don't go holding your breath on that.'

Sarayah drew herself up and looked him straight in the eye. 'Amusing as you are, O'Neill, I'm growing tired of your company now.'

'Well, I'm sorry to hear that,' he smirked back at her. 'Especially since we're all the company you're gonna have for the foreseeable future.'

She cocked her head, a slight smile curling her lips. 'And you said you wouldn't underestimate me.'

She closed her eyes and seemed to disappear for just an instant, reappearing on the outside of the shield just in front of them.

O'Neill grabbed a momentarily stunned Carter and dragged her back behind the line of fire while troops shouted warnings to the woman to remain exactly where she was or they would fire.

'Carter?' O'Neill yelled, both furious and scared that Carter could have got things so wrong.

'I don't know how she did it, Sir. I suppose she may have been able to figure out the pattern changes in the resonance of the shield and somehow make her own cells resonate in the same way.'

'Smart woman, that one,' Sarayah growled. 'I can see why they gave her the command of Atlantis rather than handing it to a man like you.'

Though he was sorely tempted to order the SFs to fire on her, O'Neill held that order back. 'Give yourself up and agree to co-operate and I promise you won't get hurt.'

The woman just stared back at him, clearly untroubled by his threat. She looked around at the gathered troops, all with their weapons trained on her, and simply replied, 'Funny, I was just about to say the same to all of you.'

And then she vanished, right there in front of their eyes, becoming nothing more than glistening dust swirling and dispersing, the bullets of the SFs whistling straight through the spot she had just occupied. She could have left without incident, but obviously figuring she needed to punish them for their attempts to contain her she intermittently manifested in her true form, somehow drawing strength from the environment and flooring every last one of them, Carter and O'Neill included, before finally vanishing from sight.

They gradually dragged themselves up, O'Neill checking Carter was okay since she'd taken quite a blow to the head in her collision with the wall behind them. She nodded to say she was fine, and O'Neill staggered to the alarm, setting it off. What the hell they were going to do to track her down was beyond him, but the alarm seemed like as good a place as any to start.

A/N: Uh oh...enough said! XD Thanks again for those reviews...they're food for my muse while I finish up this tale.