Chapter 29

The next morning, Sheppard reported for duty in the jumper bay, Ronon, Teyla and a half-dozen marines also there to effectively be his bouncers while down on Ipsolan. He'd half expected to back out of the mission after having time to second guess his choice, but after a night spent dreaming of all the terrible things Sarayah could do if she got that 'gate operational, he knew this was something he simply had to do. He had to set his personal feelings aside for the greater good.

This morning his pain felt a little less raw. He'd been injured often enough to know his recovery usually came in increments and today the discomfort had markedly decreased. He was thankful for that much. It made flying the jumper a whole lot easier that was for sure, although the body armour they'd all donned beneath their uniforms, and that even Ronon wore under his tunic, chafed the freshly dressed wounds on his chest. But they were taking no chances. A scorned Sarayah was a very dangerous creature. None of them could guarantee their safety.

All other gene bearers had been recalled from Ipsolan now, along with any Earth scientists and engineers. That had been Zelenka's idea and a pretty smart one, too. Even though it seemed likely Sarayah would come after him, for more than one reason, if she could take someone else to fix and initialise the 'gate to get it up and running she might just do that. It would surprise them, and she liked doing that kind of thing. This way reduced her options. This way she had to come for him.

After first taking a sit-rep from the marines posted at the 'gate, they flew on and landed the jumper at the Atrascan encampment near the caves, cloaking it. The tents supplied as temporary housing were camouflaged so blended in amongst the trees they'd been pitched in, providing the perfect visual cover. A gleaming jumper would certainly draw unwanted attention should someone more unsavoury pay a visit.

On leaving the jumper the first thing Sheppard heard was children's laughter. It was a pleasant sound that warmed his heart, reminding him of the early days of this mission to Atlantis, when the Athosians had joined them in the great city seeking refuge from the Wraith. He really missed Jinto and Wex above all. Those two had been good fun, and it never hurt the ego to get a little hero worship from kids who aspired to be like you one day. He'd always figured he'd end up with one or two rug rats of his own one day, but so far things hadn't quite panned out that way.

Life at the camp was relatively stress free considering what the Atrascans had been through. Many of them eyed the newly arrived Lanteans with something approaching disdain, but that he could handle. It was understandable. Most of these people had had nothing to do with the invasion and probably resented the whole affair since it had resulted in this upheaval. Having checked in with a few of their people positioned around the camp, Sheppard was satisfied that, for the time being, no apparent trouble was brewing, so he and his team moved on.

They headed to the caves where four of their own troops stood guard at the entrance. They, too, reported nothing untoward had occurred and that the Atrascans were already making use of the surveying equipment they'd brought through from Atlantis, along with some geological tools, to figure out the best place to begin digging. Rebuilding here on Ipsolan would be a mammoth task, one which would probably not be completed in the lifetime of anyone here currently, but it was something they needed to do. Living underground was the only way of life many of these people had ever known. Life on the surface held too many risks for a relatively advanced society such as theirs.

Within the protective cavern, most of the senior Atrascans worked on plans for their future. Many of them glanced up as Sheppard and his team wandered in, but few of them looked pleased to see them. Only Solvaat, who had rejoined his people the previous day, made any attempt to communicate with them, heading their way as soon as he spotted them.

'Sheppard! Once again you surprise me!' he cried, stretching out his hand in welcome.

Sheppard accepted the enthusiastic handshake, glad he was feeling a little better since he doubted his shoulder muscles could have taken it otherwise. 'Solvaat. How are things now you've had some time to settle in?'

'Well, it's far from ideal, but we're alive and we live to fight the Wraith another day. We cannot complain.' He lowered his voice. 'Though many do.'

'What about your family?'

'They're in one of the tents your people supplied us with. My sons think this is all a great adventure. They've never spent so much time above ground. I have to admit, the sunlight does wonders for all our spirits, despite the difficulties we face.'

'Well, we have something we're working on that might make you all feel a lot safer very soon,' Sheppard told him. 'Should be up and running in a couple of days at most. Wanna take a walk with me?'

Though Solvaat looked a little puzzled by the invitation, he nodded. 'Of course.'

Teyla and Ronon followed the two of them at a discreet distance as they left the caves, the marines remaining further back than that and scouring the surroundings with their keen eyes. Their activities weren't wasted on Solvaat.

'You're expecting trouble from us?' he asked, looking a little disappointed.

'Trouble, yes. From you, no.' Sheppard guided the Atrascan away from the majority of his kind, but stayed where his own people could still see and protect him. 'Solvaat, have you noticed anything odd at all since you got here? Or has anyone else mentioned anything unusual?'

Solvaat frowned at him. 'Everything here is strange to us. I have never seen animal life like the indigenous species here. Some of our people scouted this planet as a potential new home after a culling on the surface a few years ago, but very few of us have ventured here until now.'

'That's not what I meant. Is everyone accounted for?' Sheppard asked, trying to get him on the right track.

'Yes, everyone is here who should be...why would anyone be missing?'

'And your supplies...nothing's disappearing? Food...equipment?'

'Why all the questions, Sheppard?' Solvaat demanded now, his temper clearly fraying. 'Be honest with me, man.'

There was no easy way of saying it, so he decided to be straight with him, just as Solvaat had asked him to be. 'We think Sarayah is hiding out here.'

Solvaat stared at him, his jaw tensing and he drew in an angry breath. 'I know this is a concern for your people, but I doubt that woman would dare show her face around here after what she did to us all. Ultimately, she brought us to this end.'

'That's just it. She wouldn't show her face,' Sheppard told him. 'She wants to be hidden...but she might need supplies...or personnel.'

A frown etched its way into the Atrascan's forehead. 'What personnel?'

'I'm thinking of scientists most specifically,' Sheppard explained. 'She has that Ancient 'gate device and we're pretty sure she's gonna try to get it working one way or another.'

'To use as her means of escape?'

'Yeah...amongst other things.'

Solvaat looked worried, which in turn had Sheppard worried too. 'We have a team of scientists out scouting the planet for natural resources. Ipsolan is rich in forenium, a strong metal we use to reinforce our underground constructions. They're seeking out the richest seams.'

'When did they leave?'

'A few hours ago.'

'And have you had any contact with them since?'

Solvaat looked mildly alarmed and immediately pulled out his radio. 'Reinhaad, report.'

Nothing.

'Reinhaard. What is your position? The man swallowed hard, his eyes meeting Sheppard's in sheer panic. He tried someone else. 'Steerhaaf, report.'

Again, nothing.

The fear was now more than visible on Solvaat's face, mingled in with confused rage. 'Baarsahn, respond!'

That request, too, was met with silence.

Precious time was wasting. 'How many people were in that party?' Sheppard asked.

'Five scientists and five of our troops, plus two of your own for extra security,' he told Sheppard, lifting his cap and wiping the sweat from his brow. 'We knew there was a chance Sarayah was here, but we thought she would be too afraid to do anything other than hide.'

'She doesn't know how to be afraid,' Sheppard muttered under his breath, then asked, 'Did you get the names of our troops who went along?'

'I believe one of them called the other 'Riley'?'

Sheppard nodded. He knew who that was. How activated his radio. 'Sergeant Riley, come in.'

His request went unheeded.

'Riley...please respond.'

Still nothing.

Sheppard closed his pinched the bridge of his nose. Here we go again!

'She killed them, didn't she?' the Atrascan asked.

No. Sheppard refused to give up hope so quickly. 'There could be a perfectly natural excuse for all this, Solvaat. Let's not write them off just yet.' He turned to Teyla and Ronon where they still hung back at a polite distance. 'We've got a problem,' he shouted over to them.

'Already?' Ronon shouted back as they jogged to join them.

'Already,' he intoned. 'Get our team together; we're heading back to the jumper to do a sweep of the planet. 'We have ten missing Atrascans and two missing Atlantis personnel, all unresponsive to communications. Let's get moving. NOW!'

He set off for the jumper, Telya shouting the order to the nearby marines, who all swiftly fell in behind them. Solvaat kept pace with Sheppard, but as the others ran on board, Sheppard caught his arm and pulled him back. 'Solvaat, you don't have to do this. Go back to your family and stay safe...Who knows, maybe they're all just over in another cave system and out of radio range.'

Solvaat huffed out a laugh. 'You don't believe that Sheppard, and neither do I. I can't sit by and do nothing while she slowly picks us off, one by one.'

'We do not believe that is her intention,' Teyla intervened, overhearing their discussion. 'We think we know what Sarayah's agenda is, and it may not involve people like you as long as you do not step into her path. Please, Solvaat. Let us deal with her.'

Solvaat squared his jaw as if about to demand they took him with them, then thankfully saw the sense in what Teyla had said. 'All right,' he nodded. 'But contact me the moment you find them.' He handed Sheppard his radio. 'Here, take this. I'll get another.'

Sheppard accepted it and tucked it into his tac-vest before heading aboard and prepping for launch. In less than thirty seconds they were on their way.

'Teyla, we need to scan for life signs beyond this encampment. I'm not sure how much animal life there is in the area, but right now I'm willing to investigate anything.'

The look Teyla gave him told him she had something to say that he wasn't going to like. 'Colonel, if we find them perhaps it would be best if you stay aboard the jumper and allow us to investigate.'

'We're gonna need every able body to –' he tried to insist, but he was interrupted.

'She's right, Sheppard,' Ronon agreed from the seat behind him. 'You're here to oversee things. We can do this. You just need to fly this ship.'

It wasn't that he doubted their abilities, he trusted each and every person in that jumper with his life, but he wasn't good at standing on the sidelines. Of course, he was way off his game right now, so he knew they were right, but he wasn't ready to promise just yet. 'Let's see what happens when we get there, okay?'

Teyla seemed to realise that was as close to agreement as she was likely to get from him, and nodded with a worried smile. Then, she studied the scans the jumper took as Sheppard concentrated on flying the craft. The increased stress levels had already set his head pulsing or he would have done both himself. To him, flying was almost instinctive in this craft, but not so much when his thinking was clouded by pain. There were numerous life signs to check out, some single, and some in groups, but each time they turned out to be herds of deer-like animals, or wild dog types. There was no sign of the missing personnel.

With each minute that passed, Sheppard's sense of foreboding deepened. In his heart, he knew the discovery would be bad when it came, but he refused to completely let go of the tiny glimmer of hope he still desperately clung to. If he could save even one of the missing people it was worth the chase.

Sadly, it came as no surprise when they soared over a rise and found two Atrascans lying face down on the ground outside a cave mouth to the west of them.

'I am detecting no life signs,' Teyla told him, her eyes glistening a little before she blinked and looked away.

'I'll take us down,' he replied quietly, mentally ordering the craft to descend and set down gently around ten yards from the bodies.

They all disembarked in silence, one of the marines travelling with them the first to check both bodies for a pulse. He looked up at Sheppard and shook his head, maintaining the respectful silence. Sheppard acknowledged the man's unspoken message with a nod, scouring their surroundings. He had the disturbing feeling they were being watched.

'Colonel, Ronon and I will proceed into the caves with half of the marines. You should remain here near the jumper where you can fall back quickly into its protection,' Teyla said softly, her voice only just audible.

'And if I hear gunfire?'

'Please, Colonel. Do as I ask. I know that Sarayah will not kill you, but we cannot afford for you to fall into her hands.'

Her brown eyes locked onto his, and even though she didn't actually say the words, he could tell she was begging him to do as she asked.

'Okay. But stay in radio contact,' he conceded.

'We will for as long as the cave allows.'

She selected four of the marines to take into the caves, and then she and Ronon headed away, Sheppard watching them from the cave entrance until the flashlights on their P-90s could no longer be seen.

And then he waited.

There was a strong scent out here on the breeze, something akin to pine he noted, looking over to a large area of tall, needle-bearing trees. The trunks were thick and straight, perfect for someone to hide behind...He watched the woodland a while, scanning for even the slightest sign of movement. He saw nothing.

'Colonel Sheppard, we have found the bodies of three more Atrascans. They are all dead,' Teyla's voice relayed to him, breaking the silence.

He dropped his head and sighed before responding. 'Understood, Teyla. Proceed with extreme caution.'

He turned toward the cave mouth, where the other marines shifted restlessly. He knew they were itching to get into those caves and hunt the bitch down because he felt the same burning urge they did. But the caves were too enclosed; there were too many places for her to hide, waiting to pounce. And that was her forte...hunting in the dark. His mind decided to share with him his memory from the caves in Afghanistan at that point. That Sarayah had come at him so quickly he hadn't stood a chance of defending himself. He had to remind himself she wasn't that Sarayah. Her stealth and ambush methods would need to be more...traditional.

Except...

He snapped his head round, almost certain he would find her lurking behind him, but there was no one there. The hairs on the back of his neck bristled. She was here; he could feel her watching him. But where was she? There was nothing behind him but open space and then the trees, but he'd seen no sign of her there. Not that that meant she wasn't there; she was particularly skilled at hiding. Just then, he noticed something glint on the ground, something metallic and half covered in dust. He walked toward it, and when he bent to brush the dust away, he realised it was a set of dog tags, the chain snapped. He picked them up and examined them, brushing the last of the dirt way with his thumb. They read 'Private Benson'. That had to be the other marine who had travelled with these Atrascans. So his dog tags were out here, but where was he?

As he was looking down at the tags, warm to the touch from the heat of the morning sun, his focus shifted to the ground below where he stood. There were footprints aside from his own, a lot of them, some much smaller than the prints he was leaving. They were randomly spaced and even changed direction at times, but then they suddenly stopped just a few inches ahead of him. And were those specks of blood down there too in the dirt?

He made the startling realisation of what he was seeing just a second too late to reach for his weapon. A hand thrust out and grabbed his tac-vest, yanking him forward, and then there was a boom and all he could see were stars and his ears were filled with a deafening buzz. Though stunned, he retained enough awareness to realise he'd been hit with a sonic pulse. He lifted his head to try and get his bearings, nausea striking as everything tilted and spun around him.

He was inside a jumper. There was a woman in there with him...he figured it had to be Sarayah though the image wasn't clear...and she was moving away from him, heading into the cockpit. His limbs felt leaden, but were vaguely responsive as he rolled onto his side and saw the rear hatch beginning to rise. Bullets pinged above him from the guns of the marines, their muffled yelling clamouring for his attention along with the overwhelming hum of his still-vibrating eardrums. Bullets or not, he had to get himself out of there.

With Sarayah focused on flying and dodging weapons fire he began to use his frustratingly uncoordinated limbs to crawl for the hatch, pulling himself up on it and then sliding through the gap at the side before it could close up too tightly for him to fit through. He thudded to the dirt outside the still invisible jumper and immediately felt several hands grasp his tac-vest, dragging him clear. He thought he heard an angry shriek, but with all the other noise banging around in his head he couldn't be sure.

He tried to tell the men to leave him and run, but he had no idea if the words were coming out right. Even if they were it didn't matter, the marines encircled him and continued to fire at where they knew Sarayah's cloaked jumper to be, the rattle of their rapid fire hitting the metal hull the only thing he could hear and clearly identify through the chaos in his head.

And then it all stopped. The voices around him remained muffled, but had an edge of urgency. He felt his body jerked up from the dust as they stripped him of his tac-vest and then his jacket and he was left wondering what they were doing and what all the fuss was about.

Then his hearing began to return in stages, as did the feeling in his body and the throbbing in his head, now magnified. The marines lowered him back down to the ground, and one began to wrap a field dressing around his right forearm. Had he been hit? The stinging sensation as the dressing was applied suggested he might have.

'Colonel!' Teyla's face was above him now, and he felt relief wash over him. She was okay...and so was Ronon he realised as the big guy came into view. There hadn't been a booby trap waiting for them, just the one Sarayah had laid for him. But she'd slipped up, just for once.

'M'okay,' he slurred, trying to sit up as the marine continued to wrap the bandage around his arm. 'Did I get shot?'

'Yeah...sorry about that, Sir. But you got lucky; it's just a flesh wound.'

'No need to apologise...you kept her at bay while I got out of there,' Sheppard half-grinned, hardly able to believe how close he'd come to falling foul of that little scheme.

Teyla slipped herself in behind him, helping to prop up his upper body for now until he regained his strength. 'We heard gunfire and feared the worst. It is a relief to find you all still alive.'

A sudden announcement from their radios made them start. 'This is Groves. We have an incoming jumper making an erratic approach for the 'gate.'

One of the marines there with them responded. 'That's Sarayah. Fire on that target.'

'Launching RPG.'

They all heard a crashing explosion through the open channel, and waited for an update.

'We hit our target, but the jumper was shielded and is still airborne. Repeat, the jumper is still airborne! She's turning away from the Stargate, swinging around...'

Sheppard fumbled for the button on his radio with tingling fingers. 'Groves, she's gonna fire on you! Find cover!'

Over the radio, he heard shouting, panic, and then an almighty blast. In the distance they saw flame mushroom up from a spot in the general location of the Stargate.

'Groves, come in. Groves...GROVES!'

All he got in return was a burst of static. He gripped onto the radio, calling their names, until Teyla eventually wrapped her hand around his and guided it down.

'Colonel, I believe if he could answer you, he would have by now,' she said softly.

She was right, and now his instincts kicked in again. 'Get me to the jumper. We have to get to them,' he barked. 'They may be injured and in need of help.'

'John...you are in no condition to fly...'

'I said get me to the jumper!' He looked into her deep brown eyes, seeing the genuine care that had driven her to make that comment. Now his sense of guilt increased. 'I know I can get us to the 'gate, Teyla. It's not that far.'

Though clearly worried, she nodded, and said, 'Help him,' to Ronon.

The big man gathered him up quickly and dragged his left arm around his shoulders, helping him stagger to where they had left the jumper just a few yards away. Once on board he dropped into the pilot's chair and fired her up, even as the marines were still piling in and taking their seats. The flight was hard but over quickly, the jumper soon taking them to the smouldering site of what remained of Groves' team.

Sheppard set down and stared out of the windshield, trying to comprehend what he was seeing. There had been no need for her to kill them. Since the RPG hadn't downed her craft she could have just gone through the 'gate and escaped as she'd planned to. This had been a sheer act of callous revenge, but not on them...not really...this was a message to him. He'd screwed up her plan and now those men were dead. This was his fault.

'I will dial Atlantis and tell Dr Weir what has happened,' Teyla said, beginning the dialling sequence. 'They will send someone through to retrieve the bodies of our people. You do not have to do anything more.'

He nodded, afraid that if he opened his mouth his voice would let him down. Once again, Sarayah had left a trail of destruction in her wake, and now she was on the loose with a device that could potentially take her anywhere she chose once she mastered it. He swore then that he would stop her, no matter what the cost to himself in the process.

oooOOOooo

Back in the infirmary, Sheppard let the medical team do what they had to do, ignoring the urge to bat their hands away and tell them to stop fussing. What he really wanted to do was get back out there and start hunting Sarayah down, but he'd promised to return to the infirmary the moment the mission on Ipsolan was over, so here he was, trying his best to keep his foul mood in check.

'You're lucky,' Dr Keller announced as she approached his bed. 'The sonic pulse doesn't appear to have aggravated any of your pre-existing injuries and other than the nick to your right arm, the other two bullets hit your Kevlar vest and left only bruises.'

He could feel them already without her telling him. Upper back, just lower than shoulder blade level, and they sent twinges of pain firing up to his brain whenever he moved against his pillows.

'So no need for me to stay, huh?' he asked, annoying himself with just how eager he sounded to be out of there. 'I need to update Dr Weir as soon as possible.'

'I think Ronon and Teyla are already doing that, Colonel. There's no rush. I'd just like to keep you here for a little while longer until I'm sure the after effects of that pulse are not going to cause any problems.'

'I'm fine, Doc. Besides, I'm confined to the station for now so if anything does go wrong you can fix me up again. I really need to...'

'Do something?' she asked.

He nodded, uncomfortable with the way she was looking at him. She was judging him, thinking he wasn't coping. Well, he was coping just fine, and if she would just let him out of the infirmary he could prove it. 'Sarayah just killed another six of my men,' he growled. 'So yeah, I need to do something.'

She looked sheepish, chewing her lip as she dropped her gaze, but then she gathered herself and faced him down. 'I'm sorry, Colonel. I really am. But you do need to rest so I have to insist you stay here a while longer.'

He pushed himself up into a more upright position and began detaching the various devices monitoring his blood-oxygen, pulse rate and blood pressure. 'I don't need to be here, Doc, so either you discharge me, or I'm walking outta here anyway.'

Keller caught hold of his hands, stopping him before he could rip the blood pressure cuff free. 'Dr Weir anticipated this,' she told him, securing it again. 'She told me to tell you that you're not allowed to discharge yourself, and she'll be along to update you later.' She reattached the pulse oximeter to his left index finger. 'So I guess that means you'll be staying.' She gently pushed him back into a reclining position and he allowed her to do it, furious to be overruled on this, but realising that further complaint would be futile. 'Let us look after you for a while, Colonel. Sometimes you need protecting, too.'

She gave him a weak smile and left him alone again, no doubt feeling satisfied that she had him back in her infirmary since she hadn't wanted him to go to Ipsolan anyway.

He let his head fall back on the pillows and stared up at the infirmary ceiling, still silently seething about the fact they thought he wasn't fit for duty. There was nothing much wrong with him. It wasn't like he was incapacitated; he was just a little sore...

When he next blinked himself awake Elizabeth was standing beside his bed. She smiled at him in that 'I've heard you've been a bad boy' way she did sometimes, and he straightened himself up, ready for his reprimand.

'How long have you been there?' he asked.

'Not long,' she assured him. 'I just wanted to update you on our briefing. Teyla told me everything that happened. Thank God you were able to maintain the presence of mind to get out of that jumper.'

'Yeah...well...I guess it could have been worse,' he mumbled, feeling a little foolish that he'd walked right into her trap that way. 'Just wish I could have stopped her taking off.'

'What happened at the 'gate wasn't your fault, John,' she quickly added, as if reading his mind.

He didn't answer, just gave her a wry smile. He wondered how long it would take everyone to realise that saying that didn't make him feel any less responsible.

'Anyway, after careful consideration I thought I should let you know that I've decided to remove you from the hunt for Sarayah until you're fully fit.'

That instantly fired him back into speaking. 'I thought we'd decided catching her was a priority, and that to do that you needed me.'

'And considering the fact that she has taken an Atrascan scientist hostage, and the only thing that stands between her and an operational mobile Stargate if she gets what she wants from that poor soul is a strong Ancient gene bearer, I don't want you going up against her until you're fully fit...in fact, it might be better if people with a strong gene representation keep well away from her from now on. '

Though he knew she was right, the insinuation that he wasn't up to the challenge still stung. If his mind had been on the game he would have realised the bodies and the dog-tags were a trap sooner and then he might have had a chance to react to Sarayah, rather than just barely escaping her clutches. His stomach lurched at the thought of how things could have turned out had he not thrown himself out of that jumper despite the gunfire.

'This scientist...'

'It's a young woman...she assisted on the repair of the 'gate generator device. Danteeras doubts she can fix the machine alone, but it may keep Sarayah busy for a day or two while she works that out.'

'And then she's as good as dead.'

Elizabeth dropped her gaze to the floor. 'More than likely, yes.'

'Much as I enjoy the thought of Sarayah's plan being scuppered, that thought leaves a pretty bad taste in my mouth,' he confessed.

'I know what you mean. Oh, and I had a meeting with Alishia earlier. I wanted to see if she had any ideas where Sarayah might hide out. She was able to give me some suggestions, so I'll be sending out teams to follow those up.'

'Good idea.'

She fixed him with one of her more penetrating stares. 'She's asked to speak to you.'

That was going to be an uncomfortable conversation, and he really didn't feel like putting himself through it, but Alishia had to be feeling pretty bad about letting Sarayah fool her the way she had. A brief conversation was the least he could do for the woman.

He shrugged his shoulders, feeling the dull ache still nagging in them. 'Sure...why not? It's not like I have anything better to do.'

'Okay...well, she's waiting just outside so...I'll send her in.'

He watched Elizabeth walk away, her body language tight and stilted. Elizabeth always kept up a facade of calm, but he knew this situation had her unnerved, not least the news of her impending demise that Sarayah had delivered so casually. But right now she was alive, and when he was out of this bed he planned to remind her that they needed to move the city because he intended to keep her that way.

His thoughts were interrupted by the heavy footsteps now approaching his bed. Alishia, looking pale and drained, greeted him with a smile. 'Colonel Sheppard. You look well.'

He couldn't help but smirk at that one. 'You're a horrible liar, Alishia...and call me John.'

She chuckled, and he gestured to the chair beside his bed. She sat, still smiling, though he could see real sadness in her eyes.

'I am sorry for what Sarayah has done to you and your people, Colonel. It would have been better if you had never returned to our planet.'

'Our peoples can do good things for one another, Alishia. Don't let this sour what promises to be a useful alliance.'

She nodded, sighing. 'Perhaps you're right.' She looked around her, up at the ceiling and at all the technology around them. 'This city is a wonderful and formidable place...to think that Sarayah tried to give this to an aggressive race...'

'It's not your fault, Alishia,' he told her.

'No...and neither is it yours, John. You were right. Sarayah is sick, so sick I believe she is beyond help. Now her daughter will grow up motherless.'

'What will Talsan tell her?'

'That her mother died,' she replied, matter of fact. 'And in a way it is true. That Sarayah, the loving mother and dutiful partner, was nothing more than a creation that Sarayah has now chosen to rid herself of. That Sarayah is dead now.'

'That's probably for the best.' He suddenly had a thought, though he wasn't sure he should see it through. But it was something that had been eating at him since it had happened, and in the end his curiosity outweighed his anger and embarrassment at what had been done to him. He had to have an answer. 'Alishia...Sarayah left me a message and I can't read it. Would you...?'

'Of course.'

She looked a little startled as he tugged off his scrub shirt, but that turned to a whole different expression as he peeled off the first of his dressings. She frowned, waiting until he'd pulled off the third and final dressing before focusing on the swollen and reddened gouges across his chest.

'I...' she faltered, rubbing her lips thoughtfully with her fingers.

'Can you read it?' he asked.

'I can...I just don't understand why she...'

'Let me figure that out,' he urged. 'Just tell me what it says.'

'It says 'Mine through all times', and then beneath, the crescent moon and knife, that is Sarayah's mark.'

He nodded, huffing out a humourless laugh. 'Let me guess, something to do with hunting at night.'

Alishia nodded. 'Yes...it is her particular skill.'

'Yeah...I got that impression.'

Alishia continued to look troubled, and helped him back into his scrub shirt when his various injuries made it hard for him.

'I don't understand why she would do this. It's barbaric,' she said quietly, sitting down heavily at his bedside again.

'Tell me about it,' he quipped, trying to lighten the mood, but it had no effect; she was still clearly disturbed by what he'd shown her.

'Prior to Allanae's death, there was only one method of execution for men deemed to act in an inexcusable manner on Medulsa,' she said solemnly.

'Beheading,' he nodded, realising they were about to take a trip down memory lane.

She frowned, as if wondering how he knew that.

'I saw the block...the chopping marks and the blood...it doesn't take a genius to work it out,' he explained, though that was only partly true. She accepted that, but he felt bad about lying to her. Explaining to her that he'd once seen Balfor about to be executed by Allanae, both of whom had been dead before he'd arrived on Medulsa two years ago, wasn't going to do much for her confidence in him, so he figured it was the right thing to do.

'Yes, beheading,' she continued. 'When Sarayah came to be our leader, she decided that beheading wasn't deterrent enough.'

'Lemme guess. Too quick?'

She nodded. 'Yes. Though on the odd occasion it took more than one blow, there were three of us very skilled with the axe. One blow with a well sharpened implement was usually enough.'

He grimaced. 'When you say three of us, you mean...'

'Yes, I was one of the executioners,' she dropped her eyes from his, swallowing hard. 'I am not proud of the fact.'

'Well, you didn't know any better back then,' he said, unable to think of anything better to say in response. 'You had laws to follow...'

'Laws that Sarayah changed. When she came to power, she introduced a number of other methods of death; hanging, beating, drowning, disembowelling...the choice depended on the crime committed.'

'Disembowelling,' he repeated, his face screwing up at the thought of it. 'Please tell me –'

'I never carried out that sentence...in fact, the disembowelling was not carried out by any woman.' When his confusion became too apparent to ignore, she explained it for him. 'It was only ever done twice; once on a man who overpowered and assaulted Indarah, and the second time...' She sighed deeply, closing her eyes and shaking her head, a tear breaking free and running down her cheek. She took a couple of seconds to compose herself, then set her jaw, looked him straight in the eye, and began again. 'There was a boy...no more than nine years old...he was prone to episodes of violence from the very moment he was able to move unaided. 'I had discussed with Allanae a number of times the fact that he was dangerous and perhaps we should rid ourselves of him –' Sheppard couldn't help the way his eyebrows raised at that comment, and she immediately went on the defensive. 'Again, I am not proud, but it was our way. Allanae was more forgiving of the boy than most. She said we should let him live and hope that as he grew older he would develop an understanding of our laws. Then, when she died and Sarayah took over things changed for him. He was beaten and punished for everything he did, and his temper grew steadily worse. Eventually, one day he attacked Sarayah herself when she came to the training camp. He had a sharpened stone he'd hidden from the guards there and if he had been just a fraction quicker he would have sliced her throat.'

'I'm thinking this doesn't end well...' Sheppard murmured, seeing the sadness in her eyes as she remembered the scene.

'I begged her to let me deal with him. One bullet here,' she pointed to her temple, 'would have been enough. But she would not allow me to. She enacted the law...marked him for death, then scored his body and left him tied out in the dust at the edge of the village. She didn't have to disembowel him; a pack of wild dogs did it for her. I can still hear that poor child's screams in my head whenever the village falls silent at night.'

'I can imagine,' he whispered. The sound of the shot he'd fired to kill Colonel Sumner played out in much the same way for him whenever he was quiet and alone.

Everything was hushed for a moment, then Alishia took another deep breath and said. 'It wasn't about the child, or what he'd tried to do. It was about Sarayah making her mark as leader, striking fear into each and every one of us. The men weren't the only people you freed that day, John. You delivered us all from her hold.'

In an unexpected show of genuine gratitude she stood and scooped him into an embrace, even kissed his cheek as he tried not to complain about his various aches and pains. He tried to will away the rush of heat to his cheeks as she sat again and wiped the tears from her eyes.

'I'm sorry. I just...I'm babbling. We were talking about what she did to you.' She sniffed and wiped away a few stray tears. 'When a male was sentenced to death, she passed a law that they should be marked. Their sentence and the mark of the member of our village to carry it out was scored into their chest as the initial part of the punishment, and then they were staked out for everyone to see for hours before the sentence was carried out. But what she carved into you is not a death sentence.'

'No...more of a life sentence,' he grumbled, 'but what you said makes some sense. This is my punishment. She thinks she has to teach me how to be a better person, and I'm guessing this is part of all that.'

'Mine through all times,' Alishia murmured, frowning as she thought about those words. 'It doesn't make sense. She must have made an error, carved times instead of time. She makes so few mistakes...'

He didn't say anything. He didn't want to lie to Alishia anymore, especially not after her uncharacteristically emotional demonstration. All this had her upset; he didn't think it was fair to rattle her any more.

With a deep intake of breath, Alishia composed herself and spoke again. 'I've kept you long enough, John. I'll let you rest now. But if there is anything I or my people can do to help, you just have to ask.'

'Thank you...I will.'

She stood, smiling down at him as she patted the back of his hand. And then she walked away, leaving him to his thoughts. Marked for death and left for all to see. Yeah, that sounded like Sarayah all right. And that was what she'd done to him, marked him and then left him there, and eventually word would get around of the way she'd scarred him. The jungle drums on Atlantis were particularly efficient, he'd found. But he wasn't ashamed anymore, he was angry. She'd marked him as if he was a slave...as if she owned him. She didn't own him, no one did. And hopefully he would get the chance to tell her that real soon.


A/N: So now Sheppard finally knows what Sarayah wrote on him. Maybe she'll live to regret claiming him like that. Time will tell.

This will be my last post for a couple of weeks. I have a hectic time ahead with birthdays, Christmas and lots of parties and visitors, so my next post will most likely be in the new year. So I'll take this opportunity to thank my readers for all their time and comments thus far and I wish a very Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate it, and a Happy and prosperous New Year to you all! :)