Chapter 32

It was getting harder and harder to stay angry.

Sheppard could feel his resistance draining away, like sand slipping through his fingers. He focused on thoughts of the Reliquiae tearing at the Birajans, of Akalus attacking Mishta…of how he was once again being deprived of his rights as a free man, but even with such memories he found himself feeling lonely and missing Leilana's companionship. He knew that wasn't right, that he shouldn't feel that way about her, but it was creeping up on him like an unstoppable force and his free will was crumpling under its incessant pressure.

He dragged himself off his bed and began pacing. He had to keep his mind and body active to stop it falling into the fugue state Leilana was aiming for, where he would be malleable and compliant. Her good little slave companion. Nope. He'd never been anyone's good little anything, and he wasn't about the start now. He'd always challenged authority when he thought they were wrong. He would not slip away into anonymity at the hands of a well-groomed tyrant.

His headache had blossomed into full-grown migraine status now, making it hard to keep any thought process straight. He didn't want to be here. He had to get Teyla home to…For the moment, Teyla's child's name escaped him. Named for her father and for him…so something then John….no…no…how could he forget something so important? His sharp mind had gotten him out of trouble so many times, he couldn't lose that edge. He had to get out of this place now before he lost the will to try.

Deciding trouble was better than this slow slide into oblivion, he began pounding in his door. 'Get me out of here. I don't belong to you people. You can't keep me here!'

No one came.

He pounded again, furious to be flat-out ignored. 'Get this door open now!'

Footsteps. Somewhere off at the end of the corridor, but getting louder. Someone was coming.

He backed up a few steps. The Japhalans were of a bigger build than him, but training with Ronon had taught him a thing or two about using a bigger opponent's momentum against them. He figured he could take whoever came through that door…especially if they weren't expecting it. He was ready for a fight after days of inertia.

Unfortunately, what he wasn't expecting was for more than one of Leilana's guards to come barging in on him. He hesitated just too long, giving the first one through the door just enough time to land and uppercut that knocked him off his feet and planted him on his butt. Apparently, someone else was spoiling for a fight, too.

Pain. Something other than a headache. Now that he could focus on to keep himself on track. As the guard launched for him again, dragging him up from the floor by his shirt front, he fought back, landing a kidney punch…at least he hoped it was where the guard's kidney was. These things weren't certain when dealing with an alien race. He obviously felt it and slackened his grip, giving Sheppard a chance to rip himself free and throw a right hook, knocking the brute to the floor.

A surge of adrenalin cleared the fog from his brain, and he tried to wade in again, only to be halted where he stood by blinding pain in his skull, exacerbating his previous headache. He folded, dropping instantly. He remained vaguely aware of his surroundings…of the sensation of heavy boots driving into his ribs and a solid punch bloodying his nose as the guard he had been fighting exacted his revenge.

Then it stopped. All of it.

Through the ringing in his ears, he heard raised voices. Someone was being admonished for physically assaulting him. Apparently Leilana had wanted to keep him clear of scars because he looked more aesthetically pleasing and refined. He actually huffed at a laugh at the thought of being described as refined. He doubted if she would have felt the same if she'd seen him and Ronon crushing beer cans on their foreheads while listening to Slipknot tracks in his room back at Atlantis. But as he'd already told himself more times than he could now remember, it was all about appearances. She didn't need him to be refined as long as he appeared that way to others. It was all a veneer of civility that Leilana was trying desperately to prevent from peeling away from the rot of depravity it was disguising.

'Get out and take some time to calm yourself,' he heard someone say, and he recognised this voice as belonging to the guard who had asked him about Mishta and Lansha the other day. He'd been too busy getting beat to notice he was there before. 'I can handle this one.'

'He's a fiery one. You need backup.'

'No, I don't. You came in here looking for a fight and you got one. I've dealt with him before. He can be reasonable when handled correctly. You need to get out and take a breather before you get yourself into trouble with Mistress Leilana.'

Sheppard could tell the other guard was reluctant to leave, probably hoping for another excuse to lay into him, but he wouldn't give him one. This other guard wanted him alone. Maybe he had more to say. So, he wiped the smirk from his face and curled up into himself, groaning softly. He was playing for effect, but not much. Everything hurt, the pain receptors in his brain stimulated into over reaction by the control chip once again.

He heard his door open, then close, then lock. It was just him and the young male who had stepped in to prevent him from further harm.

'Can you move?' he heard the Japhalan ask.

'I could if I wanted to,' Sheppard admitted, preferring to stay right where he was until the pain levels diminished.

'I'm going to have to be rough with you for the sake of the surveillance. Please don't overreact.

'Overreact?' John snorted, lifting his head to glare more effectively. 'You know exactly what's going on here. Nothing I can do would be considered an overreaction!'

The guard grabbed him by the arm and hauled him up, swinging him around so his back slammed against the wall. The back of his skull, cracked into the plastered stonework, setting stars dancing in his vision.

'Please, Human…I don't want to hurt you.'

'Funny…that's not how that felt.'

'I have to, for –'

John interrupted him. 'I know, for the sake of the surveillance.'

With his back to the camera now, the guard felt more able to speak. 'That was reckless. Juvanou has little patience and even less restraint, so bite your tongue if you want to keep it in your head.'

'I want out of here,' Sheppard rasped. 'I can't stay.'

The guard's eyes scoured his face, and some of the tautness in his own features softened. 'It's taking its toll. You're afraid of losing yourself. I understand that.'

'No,' Sheppard shouted, squirming in his grasp. 'You don't. You don't have any idea how it feels to be free and have that taken away from you just because of your species. I'm worth no more and no less than any of you, but I'm treated as inferior because of what I am.'

'You don't know of Japhalan history, do you?'

Sheppard shoved back hard, making it easier for him to breath. 'I don't need a lecture right now. I need to get out.'

'When humans died out,' the Japhalan continued, shoving him against the wall again and pinning him there, 'the Reliquiae quickly realised that no other race in this galaxy could sustain them the way humans had. They became hungry, a deep, gnawing pain that no other race could sate to their satisfaction. So, they began to experiment – tried to recreate what they'd lost. That is where we Japhalans came from. We were the closest species they could create to humans with what was left in the galaxy.'

It was obvious that the Japhalans were more human than any other species he'd come across. Their skin colour, hair texture, and general build was similar, but they were bigger and more animalistic somehow, like they'd taken on the spirit of a lion. Predatory and dangerous. Aside from that they shared the lilac eyes of the Birajans, along with a hint of scales along their hairline, not dissimilar to how Mishta and her brother looked. He wondered what other genes had been spliced to create them.

'Our people spent their first millennia as nothing more than slaves and a food source. Terrified and oppressed. Hidden from all others. Over time, other species came to suspect that the Reliquiae had a food source because they weren't dying out as they had been expected to. That was when the Gavallans discovered us. The Reliquiae had been hated for as long as anyone could remember, and the thought that they had become self-reliant didn't sit well with the other species of Pegasus. They wanted them gone. So, they banded together and launched an attack on the Reliquiae to liberate my people, forcing the Reliquiae into retreat and killing all but the females that still exist today.'

'I'm touched you decided to share your origin story, buddy, but that doesn't mean you understand a damn thing about what I'm going through. Now get your damned hands off me,' Sheppard growled, once more forcing him back then throwing a right that caught the Japhalan on the jaw. He barely had to adjust his balance. He was not going down as easily as his friend had.

In one fluid movement, the guard had him spun around, face down on the floor with his arm twisted up behind his back. 'Do not struggle or this will only hurt more.'

'Right, he growled into the polished floor. 'And you don't want that, right? You sound just like her.'

'I am not like her…I'm trying to help you,' the guard insisted. 'I hate that we have become little better than the Reliquiae, keeping humans for our amusement and satisfaction.'

That was a euphemism if Sheppard had ever heard one. 'Sure seems like you're all broken up about it.'

'If I hadn't got rid of Juvanou, this would have been much worse for you.'

'Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. Does it help you sleep at night?' He suspected the young male was being honest, but having someone to rail against was making him feel more like his old self. He needed this, no matter how much of a toll it took on him. He needed to remember who he was.

The guard leaned heavy into his back and whispered, 'Help is coming.'

Sheppard froze. Had he heard him right, or had that just been wishful thinking?

'Stay calm. Get some rest. You'll need your energy soon enough.'

He hauled him up again and threw him toward the bed, which he hit awkwardly, knocking the wind out of him. The guard crossed to his nightstand and turned up the Icanthus lamp. 'Be sure to leave this burning.'

That was the second time today the guard had insisted about the lamp. To be honest, Sheppard didn't know whether to trust him or not. He seemed genuine, but he could just be a convincing actor. What if the lamp was hastening his slide?

'I don't like the smell,' he grouched, picking himself up and holding onto his sore ribs as he slumped onto the bed.

'Well, if you prefer to get an infection in your spinal fluid from an insect bite, go ahead and turn it off. But trust me, you need this burning.' The pointed way he fixed Sheppard with his lilac-blue orbs told him the lamp was important for more reasons than he was imparting.

Sheppard glared back, thought about just straight up snuffing the flame right there in front of him, but then decided against it and shrugged. 'Whatever. No skin off my back.'

He lounged out now, stretched full length on the bed with still plenty of room to spare. He had to hand it to these folks. They did have comfy beds. He checked himself. That was not something he should be getting used to.

'Stay put now. Do not make us come to you again,' the guard warned as he crossed to the door to leave. He turned back to face him as he stepped outside of it, just out of camera shot. 'Seriously it would be better if you remained undisturbed by any of us tonight.' He closed the door between them before Sheppard could ask what that meant.

A little tired of the enigmatic advice, Sheppard reached for the Icanthus lamp, about to throw it at the now closed door…but something told him to stop. The guard had said help was coming, right along with ensuring the lamp stayed burning brightly. Was it a signal to someone?'

He carefully replaced it, staring into its incandescent green light. Watching the flicker of the contained flame calmed him enough to start to feel the tug of sleep. Maybe a few minutes of rest would be a good thing for him. He switched off the room light, leaving just the eerie glow of the Icanthus flame to light his way back to his bed. Letting go again felt wrong…counterproductive…but if help really was on the way, maybe it didn't matter anymore. He could relax and go with the flow while waiting for the cavalry to arrive…

His eyes snapped open to his darkened room and the feeling of being watched. It was darker than he remembered, and as he rolled his head to the side he saw the light of the lamp was now blocked by a black silhouette…one he instantly recognised.

'Mish –'

A hand covered his mouth, and in the vague green light now allowed to penetrate the darkness by the shift in her position he saw her press a finger to her lips, asking for silence.

He nodded, then followed as she gestured for him to move with her to the window. But after a few paces he stopped, and whispered, 'What about Ronon?'

She hesitated, then replied, 'Your friends are retrieving him. Please, John. We need to move now.'

On closer inspection, he could see she'd somehow blocked the signal creating the window shield, leaving it free to climb through. It was the same way she'd infiltrated the Reliquiae fortress all those weeks ago. 'They have cameras,' he warned her. 'They've been watching me. They'll already know you're here.'

'Not anymore,' she assured him, without elucidating. 'Here. Put this on.'

She passed a utility belt around his waist, fastening it for him. He was tempted to throw his arms around her, he was so grateful she'd come for him, but Mishta was in full-on efficient mode – all business as she prepped him for departure. He doubted she'd appreciate the distraction. She extracted a grapple from one of the utility pouches at his waist and looped it around a window strut before doing the same with her own. 'Let's go…now.'

It had been a long time since he'd rappelled because there wasn't much call for it in the Pegasus Galaxy, but he could recall the basics. They gently and quietly bounced their way down to ground level without alerting anyone to their presence, the line automatically releasing enough length to get them down to terra firma. Once down, he couldn't see anyone else nearby, couldn't even hear hushed voices, making him wonder if the others were having trouble getting Ronon free.

Mishta caught hold of his arm and tugged at him. 'This way.'

'Where are the others?'

'They went up first. They're probably back at the transporter already. Come on, we need to move before we're seen.'

Unsettled by the lack of any evidence that they had already retrieved Ronon, Sheppard hesitated. 'Can't you contact them to check?'

'I would, but I dropped my radio.'

'Where?'

'We don't have time to discuss this, John. Come on.' He wanted to go back and look, but another insistent tug from Mishta got him moving at last. It was probably nothing to worry about, just the chip in his head trying to dissuade him from leaving, so he trusted Mishta's judgement and let her lead the way.

They crouch-ran to the perimeter wall, where she had disrupted the sensors along the top of the stonework that would alert if it were breached. She indicated where it was safe for him to climb, then followed him over. He helped guide her down safely, but she pulled free of his grip immediately that her feet touched the ground and insisted they needed to get to the cover of the ship.

They bolted over the open ground surrounding the Japhalan city limits, Sheppard all the time aware of how exposed they were. Though a simple run, this was the most dangerous part of the escape. Mishta might have been able to take out the cameras in his room, but if there were guards on the perimeter, this was the most likely time they would be spotted.

A copse of trees some five hundred yards away – towering and ominous in the scant starlight –appeared to be their destination. It provided the ideal cover for approach and concealment of a craft, at least at night. Mishta took point, keeping low, and Sheppard followed on behind, watching their six. There was no way of telling if anyone had recently taken this route, it was too dark to check for footprints or broken foliage as Ronon had showed him when teaching him to track, but for some reason Sheppard didn't feel like they were trailing the route his friends had taken. Something about all this felt off.

He slowed up long enough to check back behind him. No one was coming. There was a guard slumped atop the wall about fifty yards from where they'd climbed over. Lifeless in the lamplight of the perimeter's illumination. Mishta had to have taken him out. Further along, another crumpled form, then another lump further on that could have been one more. They'd been determined not to be seen, that much was obvious. Three guards taken out without anyone raising the alarm. It was impressive work.

'John,' Mishta rasped behind him. 'Keep moving.'

He started up running again, passing through the tree line and into the cover of the thick trunks where it should have felt safer. But it didn't. He could see vague glints of light between the tree boles, starlight reflecting off metal. It had to be the hidden craft.

Mishta, apparently keen to get him aboard and safe, slowed enough to grab hold of him and keep him close by. Her grip was uncomfortably tight, and he tried to pull free, but she wouldn't relinquish her hold on him. 'Why are you resisting?' she hissed, and he felt just a hint of a tremble in her. Was she shaking with fear…or anger? He was definitely getting an angry vibe.

'I'm not resisting,' he said firmly. 'I just don't need you to drag me along like I'm a kid.'

'Then hurry,' she insisted, her grip only tightening. 'We need to get out of sight.'

There was something about her…something wrong, yet familiar. It crossed his mind that she'd taken enzyme again. Had she been worried about ensuring she was strong enough to break him out? She was aggressive…unpredictable in mood. It was reminiscent of the first time he'd met her and they'd broken him out of the Reliquiae fortress. It was like she didn't trust him again.

When they got to the craft, she forced him up the steps ahead of her and, when he opened the hatch, pushed him inside with such force he stumbled and almost fell.

There was no one else there.

He turned, seeing her about to close the hatch behind them. 'They're not here. Something must have gone wrong.'

Her expression inscrutable, Mishta slammed the hatch and headed for the pilot seat.

'We have to go back!'

Now she turned to him, her gaze icy. 'No. We do not.'

He tried to work out what she was thinking…what she was doing. Had she lied to him? Was anyone even trying to free Ronon?

He threw himself toward the hatch and flung it open, only to feel himself hauled back by the collar and thrown to the floor. She hauled the hatch closed again. 'Don't make this any more difficult than it has to be.'

What the hell? 'Get that damned hatch open,' he growled, trying to move her aside. 'You stay here if you want, but I'm not leaving them behind.'

'I don't need Ronon or the others. I have what I need right here.'

He tried to grapple her aside again, finding it like trying to shift a tonne weight. 'You seriously need to lay off the enzyme, Mishta. It's messing with your head.'

She forced him away from the hatch, pulling her gun on him. 'We're leaving. I suggest you take a seat.'

He instinctively raised his hands, even though he doubted she would fire on him. 'What the hell, Mishta? You're not this selfish. We have to go help them.'

She just glared. Silent. Furious.

Fear crept the length of his spine, setting it tingling. This was more than an enzyme high. Something was very wrong here. 'Is anyone helping Ronon at all?' he asked.

The craft trembled, the ground below it vibrating.

Sheppard saw it now – a darkness in her usually vibrant violet eyes. This wasn't Mishta…not really.

He backed up a step. 'No.'

'Take a seat, John.'

His throat seized tight with panic. He couldn't speak. He could only shake his head as he backed up more. This couldn't be happening. Not to Mishta.

'Sit.'

Suddenly, the fear and the shock were gone, and all he could feel was raw fury. He dived toward her, this time managing to knock her off balance and into the hatch. From there, he reached for the release lever and they both spilled out onto the ground, wrestling for control of the weapon.

John could feel the sheer strength in her. At some gut level he knew he couldn't win, but he had to try something. He couldn't hand Akalus an easy victory.

He landed punches, the sensation sickening him even as he fought on. Never had he thought he would raise his hand to Mishta. But this wasn't Mishta, he reminded himself. Not in any real sense.

'You're only hurting her,' Mishta grinned up at him, unfazed by the flurry of punches. Somehow Akalus remained detached from the pain. She threw him off, immediately reversing the roles as she pinned him down. She still gripped the gun in one of the hands she pinned him with. He wormed his hand free and grabbed her wrist, trying to force her to release it. All she did was let go of him with the other hand and punch him near senseless with one blow.

'There's no point in this, John,' she said, Akalus' words through her voice. 'It was inevitable that I would succeed. The universe demands justice.'

'No…you demand it. You are not the universe.'

Her eyes fixed on his and he saw shadow swarm into them, leaving them black and soulless. 'I am the true power in this universe. It bends to my will. You wouldn't be here if that were not true.'

'That's bullshit and you know it!'

She tugged her hand free of his grip on her, getting to her feet while all the time keeping her aim on him. 'Then you choose the difficult path.'

He felt a thump of energy hit him square in the sternum before rapidly slipping into nothingness.

oooOOOooo

The silence hung thick and palpable as Tarrantha woke their metamorphosised sister from her slumbers. Restrained and impotent, the creature writhed against her bonds, hissing, screeching, and baring her teeth like some cornered animal, fighting for its survival. The display was at once fascinating and repulsive, and Oolanae felt an involuntary curl of her lip in reaction to the site of the poor creature's torment.

'Let us do this. We should not prolong her agonies.'

Tarrantha nodded and picked up the syringe that she had set on a try beside the examination table. Inserting it into the savage creature's neck, she unleashed the payload and then stepped back to watch along with her sisters. The change would not be instantaneous, but neither would it take long if it was going to work. A few moments later, the writhing turned to twitching, then full on convulsions, the bindings at her wrists and ankles straining almost to breaking point. Almost.

But before that could happen, their sister fell still, and, little by little, the observed a change come over her. The skin on her face, which before had appeared stretched thin and translucent green now took on a new fleshier colour, not unlike their own. It seemed she was on the mend.

A few seconds later her eyes flicked open, and she blinked rapidly, as if trying to clear her vision. She appeared calm, restrained, much more herself of old. She turned her head, her eyes now focusing on Oolanae. 'I had the strangest nightmare…'

'Give her another dose to complete the process,' Oolanae instructed Tarrantha. 'It would seem to have been a success.'

Relief washed through her as she gave the instruction. Their numbers were so few they could ill afford to lose anyone to their failed experiments.

'We do have another serum to try,' Tarrantha told her as she gently bathed the injection sites in her sister's neck. 'We have made adjustments based on the results of this first live test and believe the result will be far more favourable.'

Oolanae felt her insides tense. This was a process they needed to go through, but it didn't make her feel any better. If only they had been successful in capturing the Wraithkin. All this uncertainly might have been reduced.

'When do you plan to begin the trial?' she asked, bowing to Tarrantha's expertise in all things genetic.

'Whenever you give the word,' was her simple answer.

Oolanae nodded, pacing around the table as she watched their sister resume her previous Reliquiae form. 'And how confident are you that it is right this time?'

'I believe we are as close as can be without further live tests,' Tarrantha replied, placing herself in Oolanae's path. It may require further small adjustments, but this failure has given us so much valuable information that I am certain we are on the right course.'

Oolanae nodded, looking at her directly, raising her chin as she said, 'Then you will test it on me.'

Whispers broke out around her. Tarrantha frowned. 'Do you think that would be wise?'

'Why not?' Oolanae asked. 'If you are so certain your work is good then there is no danger. Besides, I cannot ask others to do what I am not prepared to do myself.'

Tarrantha cast her gaze around the other Reliquiae before answering again. 'We have others willing to volunteer for this. And I'm sure I speak for all here when I say I would prefer you to remain complete until we are certain we have the serum right. Your clarity of thinking is bound to be of assistance in such a vital operation.'

It was sweet of Tarrantha to place so high a value on her insight, but the truth was that Oolanae did not wish any of the others to become Wraith before her. Such a change of dynamics could put her position of power at risk, if not end her life completely.

She looked about at the others…at Ucillath in particular…and saw a glint in her eyes that told her she would be only too happy to be the first to take the first dose of the new serum.

'I insist it be me,' she announced. 'I am ready whenever you wish to administer it.'

Tarrantha respectfully dipped her head, acquiescing to her wishes. On the tray with the now used syringe sat an unopened box. Tarrantha flipped back the lid and revealed more syringes inside. Was this it? The key to their return to greatness?

As Tarrantha plucked one out and gestured to one of the free examination beds, Oolanae thought she felt a tremble. It was slight at first, then she felt it reverberate through the thick stone floor up into her calves and beyond. Dust and fragments of stone rained down, causing them all to flinch as the shaking mounted.

No…not now!

Oolanae realised what the chaos meant only a fraction of a second before she was engulfed by a crushing shadow and dragged away, her sisters howling their angry protests in her wake.

oooOOOooo

Lansha rolled over on his bedroll, pulling his blanket in tight to his neck as he sought to get a little more sleep. It took a few seconds longer for a sinking feeling to strike his gut, forcing his eyes open in an instant. He checked his timepiece. It was only an hour until the primary sun was due to rise, far beyond when Mishta was supposed to wake him. Had she stayed up all night? Perhaps someone else had taken over the watch in his place to allow him to sleep.

He threw aside his covers and crawled out of the shelter. There was little light out there, only the dim orange glow of the dying campfire embers. She'd let the fire go out? They rarely did that; it was easier to get breakfast prepared if the fire burned through the night, and the chill air was too biting to sit still without something to keep you warm. What had she been thinking? Then he realised that no one was around, not Mishta, and not anyone else.

No one was on watch.

'Mishta!'

He hadn't even thought about attempting not to wake the others as dread grasped him. She'd seemed so withdrawn last night he had an awful feeling that she'd done something foolish. The odd, queasy sensation in his stomach told him so.

'Mishta!'

Tamrak parted the folds of his shelter's doorway, woken by his calls. 'Is something wrong?'

'I can't find my sister. She didn't wake me to take over the watch and she isn't here herself.'

Marmotah came tumbling out of their shelter now, with Juroah not far behind him. 'Mishta's gone?'

Lansha nodded, pacing around the dying fire, looking for clues, looking for signs of a struggle, looking for anything that indicated where she'd gone. Then he remembered his radio, and dived back into his shelter, scrambling about to locate it under various other items. When his hand closed on it, he wasted no time in calling her. 'Mishta. Mishta, do you hear me?'

Nothing.

He stumbled back out into the clearing, heart racing and nauseous to the pit of his stomach. Something was wrong. He didn't know how he knew, he just did.

'What has the child done now?' Juroah grumbled. 'Please tell me she hasn't gone off alone to look for the human.'

McKay also emerged now, blinking sleep-heavy eyes as he yawned out, 'What's all the noise?'

'Mishta isn't here,' Tamrak told him.

Rodney stared at him, slack-faced and confused. 'Why not? Where'd she go?'

By now, Lansha was thumping on the cloaked jumper. 'Mishta, are you in there?'

It was Mehra who met him when the hatch lowered to reveal the jumper's innards. 'What the hell, dude?' she demanded, hair dishevelled from sleep.

He looked past her, seeing only Teyla stirring on one of the rear benches. 'Mishta isn't with you?'

That got Mehra snapping to full attention. 'No…she's not with you?'

'No. She never woke me to take over the watch,' he explained. Then more to himself than anyone else, he whispered, 'What has she done?'

'She's probably sleeping in her craft again,' Mehra told him, stretching out her back. 'If I'd known she wasn't coming in I would have slept on the other bench.'

'And if not, you know where she'll be,' Juroah retorted, slapping a steadying hand on his shoulder. 'She's gone to the Japhalans.'

'Great. And if she gets herself caught, that'll be someone else we have to rescue,' Mehra grumbled, starting to pull on her gear. 'We're short on numbers and expertise as it is.'

'Perhaps she has simply gone for a walk,' Teyla suggested. 'Have you tried to contact her, Lansha?'

'Yes…several times. She's not responding.'

Teyla tried to mask the worry that reply awoke in her, but he caught a glimpse of it. 'Then perhaps she is carrying out reconnaissance and cannot answer.'

'Wow. You really woke up in a 'glass is half-full' kinda mood, huh?' Mehra snorted, zipping up her tac-vest and clipping on her P-90. 'She's probably gone off all half-cocked to mount a rescue mission because we were taking too long to find anything out.'

She glared at Marmotah as she said that, as if she suspected he had been deliberately obscuring their attempts to locate their friends.

'I'm doing my best!' Marmotah protested, immediately on the defensive. 'I have tried everywhere I can think of to find Kaliq.'

She planted her hands on her hips and pinned him with an icy glare, 'Sure you ha –'

Unable to stand to listen to their argument, Lansha took off running for the site where they'd left their crafts, hoping beyond hope that Mishta was simply so deeply asleep in her craft again that she hadn't heard his calls.

When he breeched the treeline and broke into the clearing, he could see Mishta's craft still there under its camouflage cover, but Juroah's transporter was gone.

The others, who had decided to follow him, stumbled to a halt as they hit the clearing taking in what they were seeing.

'Is there any particular reason she would have taken your craft and not her own Juroah?' Teyla asked, noting that it was gone

'It has all the equipment she would need to launch a rescue mission stored on board,' he replied, matter of fact as he panted to catch his breath. 'It's always on my craft because we always do these missions together. She's never taken it without asking permission before. I'll have a few choice words for her when she gets back, I can tell you.'

'Don't suppose it has a tracker on board?' Rodney asked hopefully as he zipped up his jacket again the pre-sunrise chill.

Juroah just gave him a smirk. 'Since we are constantly hiding from someone, that would be a very bad idea, don't you think?'

'Yes…'Rodney mumbled, obviously embarrassed by the response. 'Of course it would.'

A quick burst of static, followed by someone speaking interrupted the exchange. 'Lansha. Are you there?'

He recognised the voice instantly. It was Haldias, the Japhalan guard he had been trying to reach. 'Haldias? It is good to hear from you.'

'Why didn't you take Ronon?'

Everyone perked up at that question. Haldias knew of Ronon? Then at least he was in the Japhalan city. 'What do you mean?'

'I set everything up for you…if you had taken them both last night it would be over. Now there is no chance I can assist you again. It's too risky to –'

'Haldias…I have no idea what you're talking about,' Lansha interrupted. 'I have been trying to reach you to ask if you knew where our human friends were because we suspected they might be in your city, but I couldn't reach you.'

'I spoke with your sister yesterday morning…did she not tell you? I told her I would burn Icanthus lamps in their rooms last night so they would be easy to identify. Your sister knew all this. But if you didn't take John…who did?'

'Why would Mishta not tell us this?' Teyla asked. 'There was no need for her to go after John alone. We could have all helped and rescued Ronon, too.'

'So, you're saying John isn't there anymore?' Lansha clarified, holding his hand up to ask Teyla for silence.

'No. The window was disrupted. I thought since that was your usual modus operandi that your people had taken him.'

Lansha paused, trying to fathom what Mishta had been thinking. Haldias was right. Blocking the window was definitely something Mishta would do. It was how they had taken John from the Reliquiae…or at least that had been the way they had gained access to him. The escape had been a little less organised according to Juroah's later retelling of events. 'Keep the Icanthus lamp burning for Ronon,' he said firmly. 'We will come for him.'

'If you're caught, we never had this conversation,' Haldias responded.

'Of course.'

A moment of silence was followed by a heart-felt, 'Be careful, Lanny.'

Embarrassed, Lansha mumbled, 'You too,' into the radio and cut off the call.

Juroah cocked his head, and slipped directly into surrogate father mode. 'Who is this Haldias to you? How do you know a Japhalan so well?'

Lansha simply stared back at him. 'Really? You think that is the most pressing issue we have to discuss at this time?'

The old Birajan regarded him shrewdly, then nodded. 'You're right. But I will ask you about this again once we've found your sister,' he told him, wagging an authoritative finger in his face.

Lansha forced himself not to roll his eyes. 'I would expect nothing less.'

'So Mishta went all lone wolf and freed Sheppard last night?' Mehra clarified, bringing things back on track. 'In that case, where is she? Why didn't she come back?'

'Why take such a risk at all when she knew we were all willing to help?' Teyla added. 'It does not make sense to me. And of the little I know of your sister, Lansha, I do not believe she would have risked failing where John is concerned.'

'Neither do I,' he agreed, rubbing at his dry, tired eyes and trying to focus his thoughts on what Mishta might have been thinking. 'She was distracted last night…I could tell she was troubled. Why did I leave her alone?'

'Do you notice something?' McKay asked, out of the blue, his gaze drifting around the clearing.

They all looked his way, puzzled. 'No,' Mehra was the first to respond. 'But if you've got something useful to say, spit it out already.'

'No buzz,' he replied, vaguely circling his finger in the air around him.

And yes, he was right Lansha realised. The tell-tale buzz of the disrupter field was gone.

'We need to get in the jumper and go scout around,' Mehra insisted. 'We're getting nowhere like this.'

'I agree,' Teyla nodded. 'Something must have happened for them not to return. We will be able to search far more efficiently from the safety of the jumper. We can scan for life signs in the vicinity of the Japhalan city that might be John and Mishta. However small the chances, we must try something. With luck, from an elevated position we might find them if they have become stranded somewhere.'

'Yeah, or maybe they're just preoccupied right now…you know…making up for lost time,' Mehra suggested with a grin as she shoved a piece of whatever it was she regularly chewed into her mouth.

Lansha's jaw dropped, and he blinked at her, unable to furnish her with a response. But he couldn't entirely rule it out. Mishta was very impulsive. From her response, he could see that Teyla, too, was shocked, as she arched an eyebrow at the young woman.

'But probably not…because Sheppard absolutely would not do that,' Mehra stammered, quickly covering her awkwardness. 'Right. Okay, everyone. Let's gear up. We're heading out.'

'Where to?' Teyla asked.

'I'll find out,' Juroah grunted, snatching the radio from Lansha's hand. 'Mishta. Mishta, you answer this call right now. Mishta!'

His demands met only with the sound of his own voice echoing back at him. They all looked about at each other. The radio was somewhere here with them. Mehra, threw back camouflage cover of the craft, climbing aboard. I think I heard it somewhere around here.'

'Why would she leave her radio here?' Lansha breathed. Juroah spoke into it again, so they could track it. 'Hello. Hellooo.'

'Here!' Teyla cried from the far side of Mishta's craft.

They hurried to join her, seeing the radio lying on the ground. Lansha realised she must have dropped it in her hurry to leave.

'Uh…guys.'

Lansha looked up toward the craft, almost falling back as he saw what she held.

'Oh my God!' McKay squeaked. 'You almost gave me a heart attack!'

But Mehra didn't crack a smile as she turned Akalus helmet over in her hands from the pilot chair of Mishta's transport. 'I'm guessing Mishta didn't pick this for a Halloween costume, so why would she have it in her craft. The rest of the suit's here, too.'

Lansha's throat seized. He couldn't breathe. Through his fugue he heard McKay say, 'I don't know. I just know I was hoping I would never see that thing again.'

As everything else seemed to fall away from around him, Lansha slid his gaze toward Juroah. He saw his own fear reflected in the old Birajan's lilac eyes. But unlike Lansha, Juroah was still able to move, and climbed aboard the craft now to see for himself.

'Why would Mishta have Akalus' suit and not tell us about it?' Teyla asked, puzzled. 'And when did she find it?'

'Maybe when she went out the other night,' Mehra suggested. 'When she got back and found out that Sheppard was missing, she probably forgot all about it.'

Juroah now picked something else up from the floor of the craft – a syringe. Within it was a tinge of amber…just a tiny trickle of what looked like enzyme. 'There are three more of these,' he told everyone. 'She's been using enzyme.'

'I guess she wanted to be strong to go after Sheppard,' Mehra once again tried to explain. But a little of the colour had left her cheeks, along with the conviction in her voice. 'Right?'

Tamrak began to back away into the cover of the trees, scouring the copse all around them. 'We should leave this place. We're not safe.'

Lansha knew he was right.

The others tried to make excuses for everything they'd found, but that awful sinking feeling he'd felt in his gut on waking now made sense. Mishta wasn't just missing, she was gone. He'd always felt a connection to her ever since they were young. Now…now he felt nothing. And that, he now understood, was what had scared him so much the moment he'd woken.

'Look, there's probably a really good reason why she did these things, and when she comes back here with Sheppard, we can all ask her all about it,' Mehra said, trying to keep their spirits up.

But Lansha could not pretend this was explainable any longer. 'She's not coming back,' he said quietly, feeling silent tears spill down his cheeks as he allowed that thought to fully form for the first time.

'Akalus needed a host,' Tamrak whispered.

'Dude…seriously. Is that the only thing you can say?' Mehra snapped, but it was clear from her body language, suddenly deflated, that she didn't actually doubt him.

'But…but we had a disruption field. How did he get to her?' Rodney demanded.

'Because he was already inside her when you set it up,' Teyla replied, leaning against the side of the craft. 'She did not leave camp yesterday, so she did not have to cross it. And now it is broken, and she is gone. It was the only way Akalus could pass beyond the boundary. She was gone for a long time the night John and Ronon were taken, with the excuse that she had fallen asleep. Perhaps there was more to her absence than we thought.'

'How could we miss this?' Juroah asked, sinking into the co-pilot seat, despair suddenly overwhelming him. 'I thought she was sad, nothing more.'

'Akalus learned from his previous interactions as Jemma. This time he was quiet…kept his distance. He adapted,' McKay said, grasping what they had all been party to.

'But you said the human child died because Akalus took her as a host,' Marmotah said, physically shaking as he spoke. 'And now he has taken Mishta for the same purpose?' The full horror of the situation only now visibly registered with him. 'Then she is dead, too?'

'No…I don't think so.'

Lansha looked to McKay for an explanation for his assertion, not daring to hope he was right.

'Keeping his distance wasn't the only thing he learned from his time using Jemma,' Rodney continued. 'He needed Mishta to lure Sheppard out. He needed her alive. That's why he used the enzyme. Mishta could still be alive even now.'

'If she is, then she will be fully aware of what she's doing,' Lansha replied, not sure how to feel about the revelation. The story of the only other survivor of Akalus' possession played over in his mind. She could recall everything she had done while under his control. It left her with an unbearable burden of guilt.

'If she's alive, then there is a chance to save her,' Teyla stated, looking suddenly determined. 'We will locate John and Mishta and find some way to drive Akalus out of her.'

Though he'd tried not to let it in, a flicker of hope now burned in Lansha's heart. He nodded and offered up a faint smile, unable to speak through the emotion constricting his throat. If they could save her, they could help her heal, no matter what Akalus made her do.

There was only one problem with the plan

They still had no idea where to start looking.

Uh oh! Thanks just got much worse very rapidly! Thanks to all reading and reviewing. I love to hear from you.