Chapter 33

Rodney felt completely out of his depth. He fixed things, he calculated things, he saved the day with technology and science, but planning military style rescue missions – that was far, far outside of his comfort zone. Having returned to camp, he and the others had gathered to contemplate the best way to retrieve Ronon and find Sheppard and Mishta. So far, they were drawing a blank.

'We need Ronon,' he heard himself say out loud, though he'd been thinking it for over an hour now as the others discussed how best to go about tracing Mishta's actions. 'We need him before we can even contemplate taking on Akalus. If anyone can find them, he can.'

The others looked his way, and he saw both Teyla and Mehra nod.

'Indeed, if we are to actually track her movements, Ronon would be an asset,' Teyla agreed as she tucked into the meagre meal they'd prepared.

'Not her movements…his,' Juroah clarified, anger scoring deep lines in his brow. 'If it were Mishta we were following, I would have several suggestions of places to look. But this is Akalus we're tracking, and his movements and motivations are as alien to me as you are to this world. He could be anywhere by now.'

Rodney recalled his conversation with Sheppard at Phylacos after their successful test flight. He'd said if they found the Stargate they would find Akalus, and right now that had to be their best strategy. 'Sheppard told me to find the Stargate if we wanted to find the equipment missing from Phylacos. And he's right. At this stage in his plans Akalus must have a Stargate in his possession. Don't suppose you guys know where the Stargate is located on this planet?' he asked Lansha and the Birajans hopefully.

Sadly, each of them shook their heads. 'I have heard nothing of the Stargate in my lifetime,' Lansha confessed. 'I read something about a city ship that landed here millennia ago fifty miles north east of Phylacos, but that has long since been stripped of all its valuable components…including the Stargate it carried.'

'Of course it has,' Rodney sighed. Because nothing could ever be easy.

'I still believe we should make plans to retrieve Ronon first,' Teyla said softly, as if she feared someone might overhear her. 'Your friend made it sound like it is essential we free him soon.'

Lansha nodded. 'He's told me in the past that his mistress employs mind control devices to make her slaves more…malleable.'

Mehra huffed out a laugh. 'Ronon? Malleable. She'll be lucky.'

'You don't understand,' Lansha said solemnly, fixing her with his violet eyes. 'He will have no choice. A control device is inserted into their heads and feeds them subliminal messages like how much better their life is under their new keeper's care. Eventually, everyone succumbs.'

Mehra looked troubled and dropped her gaze to the floor. Apparently, the idea of Ronon 'succumbing' wasn't so funny anymore. 'Can't we just use Hakkar's ship and go back in time to make sure this Kaliq guy doesn't snatch anyone?'

With an exaggerated sigh, McKay tried to explain things in terms a marine would understand. 'We could try, but time travel is complex, and we have no idea what events we could set in motion by altering just one event in the past. We might end up inadvertently helping Akalus succeed with his plan, or the Reliquiae might attack us instead, or one of us could be killed trying to tackle Kaliq…we have no idea how anything we try will turn out. And if something goes wrong, what then? Keep going back to put that right and trigger some other disaster? Time travel isn't like a day trip to Disneyland. There are potentially far-reaching consequences we can have no idea of until it's too late.'

'Okay,' she grouched. 'I get it. Time travel is a no-no.'

'I believe Dr McKay is right,' Lansha chimed in, leaning forward to ladle out a cup full of the tea that had been set to brew over the fire. 'If it were that simple, Hakkar would most likely have suggested it already. Besides, we cannot just change what Kaliq did. We need to stop Akalus possessing Mishta, too. We cannot guarantee being able to rectify everything that needs to be changed safely.'

'Exactly. We need to fix things in the here and now. Then we will be free to go home to just after the time we are abducted,' McKay explained. 'That's the right order of things. That's not changing our past.'

Teyla remained unreactive, though there was just the slightest, barely discernible tightening in her jawline. 'All of which only validates the fact that we need to rescue Ronon now.'

'But how do we go about that?' Marmotah asked. 'The Japhalans will be on high alert. We won't get near the citadel without being arrested for trespass.'

'So, we shouldn't try?' Lansha snapped at him.

Rodney felt tension in his throat. He might not be the best judge of people, but it was acutely obvious that Lansha was still furious with Marmotah. Not that he blamed him. He could bare a grudge over a misplaced calculator.

'I didn't say that,' Marmotah protested, but again Lansha shut him right down.

'You are the reason we are in this mess. Mishta left to verify your story of the Rammarant tribe being wiped out because you have lied so much that she didn't trust you. She was afraid you would do something to harm the group if you returned. Akalus got to her because she left the safety of the facility to validate your story. So, don't you ever presume to tell us how best to do anything!'

Marmotah's eyes flashed with anger for the briefest of moments, but he held it in. But if Rodney had seen it, he knew the others had too. In fact, a quick glance Juroah's way showed his face shadowed by mistrust now. Great. How were they supposed to rescue anyone when they didn't even trust one another?

'Guys…guys!' Mehra shouted, glaring at the two of them. 'We don't have time for this. We need to work out how to get to Ronon.'

And then Rodney had one of his Eureka moments. 'I have an idea.'

Everyone's attention was now back to him.

'You remember Sheppard shot down a dart near the last rebel base?' he asked Teyla. She looked puzzled, but nodded that she did. 'I can remember roughly where it went down. If it isn't too damaged, we can fix up the dart and –' He gestured flying, signalling their approach on the citadel.

He looked around at the others gathered there, seeing the first sparks of hope.

He felt a firm slap on his back, finding Mehra grinning beside him. 'Now I know why you think you're the smartest guy in two galaxies. Nice going, McKay. That might actually work.'

'We should call Hakkar. I could use his help,' Rodney said, pulling his radio from his pocket.

'I'm good with machines. I can help you,' Marmotah offered. 'I've been fixing up and improving transporters since I could walk.'

Rodney didn't want to be the one to say no, so was grateful when Lansha overreacted again. 'I don't want you anywhere near any part of this plan. You can tell us where to find Kaliq, nothing more.'

'Lansha…' Juroah warned.

'No. I'm serious,' the young hybrid insisted, doubling down on his assertion. 'This is far more complex than improving a transporter. Let the experts work without hindrance from him.'

Rodney couldn't have said it better himself, and decided using Lansha's anger as a shield was his best option.

'Come, Marmotah. We should make a list of potential places Kaliq might trade his wares. Once we have Ronon safely back we have a lot of work to do,' Juroah said. The old Birajan lead the way to their shelter, Marmotah seemingly reluctant to follow. There was trouble brewing and Rodney really hoped the two of them could keep a lid on it until they had everyone back safe and sound.

'Lansha, perhaps we should focus on how we might find information on the latest whereabouts of the Stargate. Anything we can uncover could be a vital clue to Akalus' location. Tamrak, perhaps you could help, too?' Teyla's soothing tone seemed to immediately diffuse Lansha's anger. He nodded, and the three of them now wandered a little further away to a quiet spot where they could discuss the matter. Rodney had found Teyla to be a good sounding board in the past, even if she didn't fully understand the matter being discussed. He hoped she could help Lansha recall something useful.

'Looks like I'm with you,' Mehra told him, sliding a stick of gum from her pocket and folding it onto her tongue. 'Just to warn you, I'm down to my last three of these, so we should get this figured out quick because you really do not want to know me when I run out of gum.'

She chewed, grinning. He HE realised it was a joke meant to put him at ease. She knew he was anxious, and he was grateful that her insight was better than his.

'Hey, I haven't had coffee in seven months, so…no competition,' he quipped in return.

She clapped him on the back again, her grin broadening. The strength of her presence and the calmness she displayed in the face of all they were up against was reassuring in the same way Sheppard was, and that brought him a little comfort. They could do this, but first they had to get Ronon.

And that was pretty much all on him.

oooOOOooo

The air felt cool on his hot skin as Sheppard woke to the sensation that he'd been hit with a truck. Beyond that, he felt a low-level thrum through his body…a sense of distant connection. A sleeping Ancient AI. He lay there, eyes closed, not daring to open them for fear of aggravating the sledgehammer pounding in his brain, and hoped someone would soon give him something to take away the pain.

And then he remembered…he wasn't with the Japhalans anymore.

The sudden recollection of his battle with Akalus in Mishta's form had him jolting upright, sending the room around him spinning in a slow, tilting waltz of lights and vague, out of focus shapes. Slowly, they began to settle into a recognisable picture. An Ancient cell? Where the hell was he now?

The overpowering sensation that someone was watching him made him turn to his right, and then lunge to his left on finding a Reliquiae staring through the bars from a cell beside his.

'Do not panic, Human. I cannot reach you. I know because I tried…several times.'

Somehow, that was not as reassuring as she seemed to think it should be. As he regarded her, waiting for his heart to sink back down from his throat so that he could speak, he realised this was the first Reliquiae he'd ever laid eyes on at the fortress…Chatty Cathy as he'd named her.

'I bet you have,' he groaned, rubbing his temples. The disc was still attached, but he felt no ill effects when he caught it with his fingers. Maybe the blast from the gun had shorted it. Or maybe it didn't work if out of range. Whatever the reason, it was a relief not to feel the pain he'd come to associate with its presence. He looked over at her now, having had chance to compose himself. 'So…I see you're not a Wraith yet.'

Her smile slipped away, and a low rumble vibrated in her throat as she glared back at him. He took some pleasure from the fact he'd pissed her off.

'I could still defeat you,' she eventually hissed, pressing in close to the bars separating them. 'And devour your innards slowly while you beg for the release of death.'

He arched an eyebrow, supressing his disgust. 'Charming. You must be fun at parties.'

She bared her teeth and hissed again.

He shrugged and headed over to the far side of his cell where he sat down until his strength could fully return. 'Just sayin'.'

Chatty Cathy remained hovering at the bars, eyeing him like a big cat in a zoo might size up the visitors and dream of snacking down on them. 'We were about to transform when Akalus took me,' she growled, swaying from side to side in an odd motion that made his skin crawl. 'My sisters, newly restored, will come for me and when they do –'

'You'll devour my innards slowly while I beg for the release of death…yeah, I got that,' he grunted, glaring back at her through the bars. He hated being this close to her…knew for a fact that she would carry out her threat if given the opportunity. 'You really need to get some new material.'

'Perhaps I should make you wait, and I'll feast on your friends first while you watch them suffer,' she rasped, baring her foul, jagged teeth in what he figured passed for a taunting smile.

He knew she was trying to rile him, but he bit anyway. 'Maybe you should shut the hell up.'

'SILENCE!'

It was Mishta's voice that halted the argument in an instant…yet at the same time, it wasn't. It had somehow lost the soft mellow tone that he'd come to love, now sounding hard and hollow as it reverberated from the hard surfaces of the Lantean tech and architecture surrounding them.

'Why am I here?' the Reliquiae demanded. 'I understand your foolish errand includes this creature, but you have no need for me.'

'You would be wise not to question me, Oolanae,' came the thinly veiled threat of a response. 'I have treated you well thus far. It does not have to be that way.'

A hiss issued forth from deep in her throat. This was a creature unused to being spoken to so bluntly. 'You did not answer my question,' she challenged, unwilling to let the matter go.

Akalus approached the bars to her cell, the stride pattern so unlike Mishta's natural grace. 'I need enzyme, and you can provide it.'

'I will not,' she growled. 'We share it with no one.'

'I am not asking you to share. I intend to take it. Your willingness to give, in fact, whether you are alive or not when I take it, is of no consequence.'

'He's lying.'

Mishta's violet eyes turned Sheppard's way, her stare cold, distant and yet somehow penetrating. 'And what makes you say that, Human?'

'If you didn't want her alive, she'd be dead already. You need a steady supply of enzyme, and continually killing Reliquiae isn't an efficient means of getting it. This is.'

He continued to stare through Mishta's eyes, and Sheppard felt the hard ground beneath his feet begin to vibrate. Oh, that was not good.

'Do you remember what I am capable of?' he asked, walking closer to Sheppard now. 'Do you remember the pain I can inflict without even touching you?'

Oh yes. He remembered all right. That had been the moment he'd realised Geeja wasn't his friend, but Akalus himself. And she'd been watching him suffer and waste away in the cells of Phylacos all that time, only concerned with keeping him alive so that he could use him to end the life of everything else. In that instant, his mind cast him back to the moment.

'Stop it!' he shouted, getting to his feet, his anger now outstripping any fear he should have felt. 'No more lies. I've opened my heart to you over the past six months, told you my biggest hopes and fears, and you've lapped it all up you heartless, soulless bitch!'

Geeja's expression changed. An unusual hardness came to her eyes, and Akalus shed the innocent tone of Geeja, to take on the usual menacing tone of her alter ego. 'How dare you call me such a name?' she rumbled, the cell now vibrating so much that dust began falling around them from the ceiling and walls.

In an instant, Sheppard's body verged on erupting, the blood in his veins bubbling as if he was boiling from the inside out. 'Because you deserve it, you psychopath,' he hissed through gritted teeth. His knees buckled, his vision greyed, and he spilled to the floor, down on his hands and knees and crying out once again despite his best efforts to keep it in.

'Must we go through this again, John?' he heard her ask over the sound of the blood pulsing in his ears. 'Did you learn nothing from your early rebellions? I won't kill you…I know you know that. But I can make you wish I would.'

Though he was literally folding up from the excruciating display of Akalus' power, Sheppard couldn't stop himself from firing back at her, 'You'll get what you deserve, Akalus, but it won't be what you want. I'm gonna make sure of it.'

Geeja was gone now, as was Jemma. And now Mishta stood before him, just an empty shell housing the spirit of a monster. 'And do you remember what I promised you?' he asked, too angry…too heartbroken…to care about what Akalus would do to him anymore.

Mishta's head tilted and her eyebrows lifted, a silent request for him to continue.

'I told you I would make sure you didn't get what you want, only what you deserve. And that's a promise I mean to keep.'

The trembling beneath his boots mounted, and Sheppard felt a slight quake within himself. It was a threat at this point, only a hint of what he could expect if he didn't stop. But as he looked into Mishta's compassionless gaze, he understood he didn't care. He'd known he felt something for her, but now he knew she'd meant everything to him. Why should he worry about what Akalus did to him now? The only thing that mattered…the only thing he could do for Mishta…was ensure he kept the people she cared about safe from this lunatic and his dreams of universal destruction.

'Don't you understand how insane this all is? Whatever the universe has done to you, how can you possible think it justifies the pain and suffering you have inflicted through…God knows how many years?'

'It is not the universe I wish to destroy,' Akalus told him, an oddly reflective expression settling on Mishta's features now, a softness that threatened to melt Sheppard's resolve. 'The universe will be reborn, of that I feel certain. It is the parasites that crawl through it, arrogantly squandering resources in a selfish search for knowledge and power. That is what I hate. That is what took my family from me.'

Sheppard paused. There was genuine sadness in the expression and voice Akalus had commandeered at that point. He had to remind himself that these weren't Mishta's words – that Mishta's words had been silenced. No matter what this tormented bastard had been through, he could not forgive him for that.

'Then you should understand that what you're doing is wrong. Geeja was someone's family, so was Jemma. And you've seen what Mishta means to her brother and Juroah.'

'And to you.' The eyes had once again hardened, and the gaze she fixed him with was cold.

He bowed his head, his fighting spirit momentarily crushed as he allowed the truth of Akalus' accusation in. 'Yeah…she was a good friend.'

'All necessary losses,' Akalus stated, beginning to walk away.

And that was all Sheppard needed to hear to unleash the rage he'd been fighting down. 'Who the hell do you think you are? You have no right to decide who gets to live or die.'

That was when Sheppard truly remembered what Akalus was capable of. His body erupted in searing pain as every cell in his body shook and threatened to pull apart. His knees buckled and he slumped to the floor, crying out despite his efforts to bite it back. Akalus held him like that on the cusp of breaking apart – or at least it felt that way – for what seemed like an eternity.

Then it stopped.

'Who do you think has that right?' he heard Mishta's voice ask as he writhed and twisted in an effort to find a position that made the pain depart more quickly. 'The gods?' Footsteps approached the bars again, coming to a stop near where his head had cracked against the hard floor. 'I am as close to a god as any living creature in this universe. I have every right to restore the balance my kind disrupted through their foolish crusade for knowledge. And neither you, nor anyone else, can stop me.'

Sheppard rolled himself onto his side and watched Mishta's form walk away, desperately holding back the tears that threatened to spill.

'You think the female is dead?'

Very carefully, Sheppard pushed up into a sitting position, using the bars behind him for support. 'Pretty sure, yeah. I saw what he did to his last host.' His stomach knotted painfully at the memory and he tried not to think of Mishta decaying in the same way.

'She is not.'

He was so stuck in his dark thoughts that it took a second or two for her statement to filter through. He raised his gaze to where she stood at the bars between their cages. 'How would you know?'

'I may not be able to feast on lifeforce yet, but I can still sense it. There were two inside that form. One dominant, one cowed. The female lives yet.'

A flicker of hope ignited, but he soon let it gutter. 'Doesn't matter. She may not be dead yet, but that's the way this'll end. No hosts survive.'

'Perhaps because they did not have enzyme to help make them strong.'

The flicker burst into a full flame. Chatty Cathy…Oolanae… made a good point. Enzyme might just make Mishta strong enough to survive. 'Why are you telling me this?'

'You did me a kindness, pointing out Akalus' lies. I merely returned the favour.' She turned away now, walking to the far side of her cell and sitting down against the bars, almost mirroring his position. 'Besides, I imagine knowing she is alive inside there, unable to speak or act for herself, will bring you more agony than the thought she suffered an instant death.'

He smirked, not amused, more in a 'Why am I not surprised?' kind of way. Of course that thought would please her. It made total sense now that she'd told him. And she was right. Although he knew now there was hope he could save Mishta, that was far from a certainty. And the thought of the torment she was enduring tore him up inside.

There had to be a way out of this, and Chatty Cathy over there, with her black humour and her enthusiastic threats to consume him, might just be his only hope to get them both out of there.

oooOOOooo

The smell of burnt scrub and flesh filled the cockpit as Rodney clambered aboard the downed dart. It had come to rest in a patch of shrubs and grass on a plain around a mile east of the caves – and by rest that meant had collided solidly with the baked-hard ground and presumably burst into flames.

Rodney's clothes, which hadn't exactly been pristine to start with now sported smears of carbon from his contact with the craft as he'd clambered inside, his fingers blackened from cutting away at the panels to reveal the ignition tech beneath.

'I'm not sure this is going to work,' he called to the others, head down under the front panels to see what was keeping it in place. 'There's a lot of smoke damage…might even have melted some components.'

'Components can be replaced,' Hakkar told him, peering in at his work, the thought giving Rodney's spirits a small and much needed boost. When he'd first seen the dart, his heart had dropped to his boots at the sight of the carbon-scored exterior and the blackened plant life, but it was just possible that the craft's exterior structure had taken the brunt of the heat damage and the workings were still intact.

Having cut everything loose, Rodney tried pulling the panelling free, but it was still stuck. Hakkar helpfully reached in and plucked it free with one clawed limb.

'Oh…thanks,' Rodney said, trying not to feel feeble. He screwed himself up into an impossible position to get a better look at what had been exposed, now more pretzel than scientist. 'Okay, I can see a few melted connections fused here and there.' He fiddled, ignoring the slightly fleshy feel of what equated to wiring. 'The beaming tech was well protected and looks intact, but the propulsion system's shot. We need another power source if we want any hope of getting this thing airborne.'

'We will have something you can use, I am sure of it,' Hakkar told him, leaning in to take a look. 'It is a tight space. We might be able to rig something up from a weapon that will give you enough power for a short flight.'

Rodney uncurled and poked his head up. 'How short are we talking?' he asked, getting a familiar sinking feeling.

'A few miles…ten…perhaps a few more.'

'How far away is the Japhalan city?'

Hakkar tilted his head, considering the question. 'Substantially more than that.'

'So, it won't work. I should have guessed. Look at the mess this thing is in. I guess it's back to the drawing board,' Rodney whined, feeling his whole body slump in defeat.

Mehra, who had climbed her way onto the nose of the craft and sat perched there like a heavily armed hood ornament called over, 'What if we move it closer before we start the flight?'

Rodney lifted his head to look at her. Sometimes this jar head really amazed him. 'Can we do that?' he asked Hakkar.

'I don't see why not. I'll call in a one of our land transporters. There should be enough room in there to work on it while we move it into range.'

A crooked smile broke out on Rodney's face. 'Huh! Yeah, we could. Oh…wait…but we need a pilot. I have no idea how to fly this thing.'

'So, we call Lansha…or Juroah,' Mehra shrugged. 'Man, I bet Juroah would be up for flying this thing. I know I would if I could.'

Rodney cast his gaze over the burnt hull, curling his lip. 'Really?'

'Sure. How often will he get the chance to fly one of these.'

'It may not look pretty, but it will fly once we restore power,' Hakkar assured him, strolling away as he contacted his people to head to their location with the required transportation.

Rodney turned to Mehra, finding her grinning back at him. 'See, Hakkar's not worried.' She leaned over and playfully punched his upper arm. 'You got this McKay. We'll have Ronon back in no time.'

McKay rubbed his arm, and for once didn't protest at the physical discomfort. Mehra's enthusiasm was contagious. Like Sheppard, she was the eternal optimist, and she was just what he needed right now when his mind was so determined to see the problems and not the potential. She was right. With Hakkar's help and Juroah's piloting skills they could have Ronon back in their midst within a day. Then they could focus on finding Sheppard and bringing this whole nightmare to an end.

oooOOOooo

The sound of his door opening woke Ronon instantly from his shallow slumbers. His room was dark save for the green-tinged illumination from the lamp that continually burned to keep the venomous nocturnal insects he'd been warned about at bay.

The silhouette of a figure moved across the light and he pushed up onto his elbows to get a better look. A light, feminine perfume drifted to him on the air, raising his follicles. A female?

Weight depressed the mattress beside him as the covers lifted then settled again. He didn't speak. Why would he? Apparently, he was having company tonight. This place just kept getting better and better.

As a face now loomed in close to his, he realised it was Leilana. He was truly privileged.

'Ronon…I know you must be tired after all your work today, but I am lonely and require companionship. Do you mind if I share your bed?'

'Of course not,' he replied, relaxing again.

Leilana's arm snaked across him as she snuggled in close. 'You are warm on this cool night. You don't mind if I enjoy your warmth, do you?'

At the back of his mind, he had just the faintest feeling that this was wrong. He was a warrior. His duties were to train the Japhalan military. He was certain this did not fall in his remit…but this was his mistress. Who would criticise him if it was the lady of the towers herself that shared his bed?

'You have been a most pleasing purchase,' she cooed, her hand stroking his chest, nails dragging gently on his skin. 'You have settled into your role so well in the training grounds. Everyone sings your praises.'

'I'm glad to serve,' he told her, closing his eyes and savouring the sensation of her gentle touches. He was a warrior, and he was used to physical hardship, but that didn't mean he didn't appreciate some kindness sometimes.

'I think since my other slave escaped, I might have need for you as more than just a trainer,' Leilana purred. She rose up on her elbow, so her face was above his, green glints lighting her eyes. 'You have fitted in so well in my home, I want you to enjoy some better treatment. I would like you to be my companion Ronon. Would you like that?'

He stared into her eyes, and for just a moment that sensation that this was wrong crept back into his mind. The other slave…John…his friend. This had been his duty? But he had escaped. Did that mean he should try too? 'I'm more of a fighter.'

He saw her lips curl into a smile. 'And a man of few words. But we don't need words.' She leaned in and kissed him, her lips lingering on his a while until he softened his mouth as an invitation for her to continue. She climbed on top of him, not that it concerned him. He was strong, he could move her off if he wanted to. But right now…it wasn't so bad, just another aspect of his duties. If he fulfilled them, he could get some rest.

'You're not the kind of human I would have chosen, but Kaliq obviously saw your potential,' she whispered as they parted. 'I can almost forgive your friend for leaving.'

Kaliq. Ronon couldn't pull forward a face to attach to that name, though he knew he should have been able to.

Leilana pressed forward and kissed his neck, Ronon growled deep in his throat, the sensation not unpleasant. But…still…she was his mistress and had confessed she was lonely. Perhaps she would regret this tomorrow. Was he taking advantage of her disappointment at losing John?

'Leilana…Mistress…I think you should give this more thought.'

'Oh, I've given it thought…I've thought of little else all day.'

Ronon gripped her arms and, as gently as he could, pushed her away. 'I'm not worthy to share the bed of a noblewoman. You should expect better.'

'I expect you to perform your duties, that is all. Your worthiness is my decision.'

For just a moment, Ronon felt like he understood why John had escaped. There was so much pressure to please her. What if he didn't? 'I'm tired. It might be better if we did this some other time.'

She stopped and sat back, the lamplight accentuating the age lines around her eyes and mouth. 'Are you disobeying my order?'

Ronon knew what being accused of disobedience meant and had no desire to force her hand. They didn't like doing it. It hurt them just as much as it hurt him, they all told him. He wouldn't make her punish him. 'No, Mistress Leilana. I'm just eager not to disappoint you.'

Her expression softened, and she moved in for another kiss. 'Oh, Ronon, my wonderful human, I doubt I could ever be disappointed in you.'

As their lips met, he closed his eyes once more…but that didn't stop the brilliant flash of light that hit him from penetrating through his closed lids.

A/N: Yikes! Good thing they went for Ronon when they did! Now they just have to figure out where Sheppard might be.