A/N: There has been a bit of a mix up with chapter twenty (apparently it decided to disappear after i had posted it!!) I'm pretty sure it's fixed now for those who haven't been able to read it

oOo

Ronon stepped out onto the ships ramp and took a deep breath of fresh air. Being stuck on the ship for so long was tiring. The trip wasn't all bad though. Ronon made friends with one of the ships crewmembers, who happened to have a certain attraction to weapons…and killing…and violence in general. Ronon and Cobb struck up a great friendship and the two men ended up exchanging half a dozen weapons. But despite the pleasantness of the trip, Ronon left the ship with a sharper focus than ever before.

The funny looking ship had landed just outside of a small town on the dreaded planet. Ronon followed the trader clan into the town, where they proceeded to set up their stands and tents. Ronon stashed his stuff with in the old woman's tent then went off in search of someone who knew how to get into the city. He ended up in yet another bar; talking to a man who was rumored to have the information he wanted.

"So how do you get in?" Ronon demanded…again. The man just downed his mug of ale. Ronon was getting impatient. He pulled out a knife and implanted the tip of it into the space between the man's hands. "How do I get in?" He said slowly. The man stared at the blade.

"There ain't no way to get in from the ground." The man said. Ronon growled. This was an immense waste of time. He started to stand. "There is something else that you might be interested in." The man said quickly.

"What?" Ronon snapped.

"The ancestor's outpost." A thin smile split the man's face. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "I happen to have a map to it."

"What do you want for it?" Ronon demanded.

"I want a ride off this rock." The man said. Ronon nodded.

"When I finish my business here, I'll take you wherever you want."

"And how do I know you'll keep your word?" The man asked. Ronon plucked the knife up from where he'd stuck it into the wood.

"I could just kill you now and save myself the trouble of coming back to pick you up." Ronon said conversationally, testing the edge of the blade with his thumb. The man stopped smiling. Ronon stopped being nice. He glared at the man. "If I'm not dead or anything, I'll come back and take you off of this planet."

The man glared back at him. "I'll make a copy of it." He promised. Ronon pulled a small sheaf of notebook paper out of his pocket, held together by the clip on a pen.

"Make a copy." He ordered. The man stared at the paper. Then he stared back at Ronon.

"You will come back?" He asked one last time.

"I will come back. Make the copy." Ronon growled. The man said nothing, just opened up his folded map and grabbed the blank paper. Ronon leaned back and watched the process, making sure that everything was copied right.

The outpost wasn't exactly what he was looking for but Ronon learned long ago that if opportunity came knocking at your door, it was best to let it in. Ronon was willing to bet that something important would be found.

All he had to do was find it.

oOo

Admare stared hard at the young man before him. "Where will they run to?" He demanded again.

"I don't know!" The young man yelled…again. "I barely know them!" Of course the man didn't know Sheppard. The woman didn't either. Admare knew this but he couldn't let it become common knowledge. Which meant he had to put on a bit of a show for those watching; namely Rolend.

"Chief of Security, I want this man to suffer the same fate as Sheppard." Admare roared across the room. "Seven days in the prison then banishment to the lowest of levels." He was really seething now, something he'd been practicing at home. The young man was shaking, his eyes as wide as they could possibly be. But the chief of security hadn't moved yet. Admare turned slowly, his face red. "Rolend! Take this man away now!" The other man glared at him then slowly moved to usher the young doctor away. But Admare was not finished. "And Rolend? Find Sheppard. Do what ever it takes." Rolend's easy gait faltered for a few steps and a hand flitted up in acknowledgement.

Admare decided that he really had to do something about the respect issue that the chief of security had. Yes, he would deal with that later…after Sheppard had been found.

And killed.

oOo

Sadina hurried along with a loaded tray balanced in her hands. She ducked into the room they'd dubbed 'Sheppard's Den', as the man had only left the room twice in the two day's they'd been here. The discovery was exciting. Her father had acquired the strange bit of technology by winning a bet but he'd never been able to figure the thing out. Then Sheppard merely waltzed in and turned the thing on…with thought! He explained that it was something in his blood that the ship responded to. It was truly amazing.

The room was empty. Sadina froze in the doorway, trying desperately to figure out how the room could be empty. Jeppar had already figured out that there was the problem of getting the ship out of the building and had decided that they would have to cut through the walls to get it out. But there were no holes in any of the walls.

"Sadina?" Jeppar's head suddenly appeared out of no where. She stared at him.

"Jeppar?"

The disembodied head glanced around in confusion. "What's wrong?" He asked.

She dumbly gestured to her own head. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a moment then he smiled. "Oh, sorry. Hang on." And just like that, in a shimmering wave, the jumper reappeared, with Jeppar's head sticking out of the back of it.

"That is incredibly unsettling." She muttered as she tentatively walked over to him and offered him the tray of food. He smiled smugly at her.

"Yeah but it's pretty cool, doncha think?" He said as he grabbed the tray and walked inside the jumper. Sadina followed him.

"I guess it'd be cool for a gun crazy male." She mumbled begrudgingly.

"Admit it, you think it's awesome." He prodded, taking a bite from a piece of flat bread.

"Fine. Yes, I think it's awesome." She finally admitted. He gave her a smug look then focused on his meal. Sadina watched him for a moment. Something was off. "What's wrong?" She asked. Sheppard searched her eyes for a moment and she could tell he was evaluating her determination to pry.

Finally, he swallowed the food in his mouth and glanced downward. "It won't fly." He said firmly, as if trying not to be depressed by this bit of news.

"What do you mean? I thought the power supply was intact."

"The drive pods are shot." Sheppard admitted. "I wouldnve, world's" /'t even know where to start in fixing them." He took another bite of food.

"What are you going to do?" Sadina asked.

"You asked you dad about the guy who lost this to him right?" She nodded and Sheppard continued. "I'm gonna ask that guy where he got it and hopefully we can get there. Where there's one jumper, there are bound to be more." He shrugged. "I don't know if it'll work, but it's worth a shot…'bout the only thing that is."

Sadina sat down in co-pilot's chair and studied the man before her. There was something different about him. He seemed to ooze confidence despite the fact that his ship was broken. And the confidence seemed to fit… as if this was the true Sheppard whom Sadina was just now getting to see.

Jeppar leaned back in the pilot's seat and propped his feet up on the consol. There was an ease and familiarity with his movements as if resting his boots on the dashboard was the most natural thing in the world for him to do.

"Sheppard." Otunsan's voice reached into the ship. Jeppar leapt to his feet and hurried out. Sadina watched him leave, having to smile at the bounce in his step. After a few moments, she followed him out and saw that he was talking with her father.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"There's an ancient outpost." Jeppar said, grinning.

"A what kind of outpost?" She looked confused.

"Ancient…they're…never mind. The point is, the guy who had this last got it from an ancient outpost somewhere outside of the city." Jeppar was beaming. Sadina glanced over at her father and saw a smile that was slowly fading. Something was off.

"What's wrong?" She asked her father. Jeppar's eyes flicked back and forth between Sadina and her father. The smile started to disappear from his face and was replaced by disappointment.

"What is it?" Jeppar demanded.

"There is no way for you to get out of the city, as I have said before." Otunsan said quietly. Sheppard stared at the floor for a few seconds. His foot tapped on the ground and his face screwed up. He was thinking about something. His head jerked from side to side.

"No. No, I won't stay here." He said firmly.

"Jeppar—"

"No! This city was built up in layers right? The original layer, the ground level, would have had a gate in it or something to get to the rest of the planet. Right?"

"I would assume." Otunsan said stiffly.

"So would I. All I have to do is get to the ground level and…somehow find a way outside of the city. Can't be that hard right? I mean, it'll probably take a while but at least there won't be anyone trying kill me down there...right?"

Silence.

"At least there wouldnve, world's" /'t be any guns…right?" Sheppard looked frantic now as he searched their faces. Sadina just stared at him. The man was an utter lunatic.

"Sheppard, I won't even pretend to be able to tell you what to do but know that to enter the lowest levels is suicide." Otunsan's voice was deep and foreboding. Sheppard grinned manically.

"Yeah well, I've done worse." He insisted. The grin faded. "I can't stay here." He said quietly. To Sadina: "Thank you, for putting up with me and…and for taking care of me." To Otunsan: "I know I've probably taxed your hospitality too far but…if you could give me some food for the road…maybe a weapon if it wouldnve, world's" /'t be too much trouble…and if you could point me in the right direction, I'd be grateful. I can't give you much in return. But I would, if I could." Sheppard looked sheepish again.

Sadina's father waited several long moments while he processed what had been said. Finally, he looked intently at Sheppard. "I'll give you what you need." He said firmly. "I do wish you would reconsider though. I could make you a very happy man as my daughter's husband."

Sadina felt her cheeks flush as her eyes grew round. Sheppard was grinning in an embarrassed sort of way. She wanted to smack that grin off his face.

"No…no thank you, sir." Sheppard cleared his throat.

"Very well. I will have what you need prepared and sent to the entrance. Good luck, my friend." With that, Otunsan turned sharply on his heels and left. Sadina gave Sheppard one last sorrowful look, then she too vanished through the doorway.

A/N: Oh, psych! And you thought I was gonna let him off easy with that jumper…silly readers…I ain't done wit 'im yet…