Chapter 37

Having gone to sleep hungry and sick with infection, Sheppard woke to the alarming sensation of a syringe thrusting into his neck and unleashing a dose of enzyme into his system. He found himself back in the control chair, having no memory of how he'd got there. Apparently, he'd been sicker than even he'd realised. But not now. Now the enzyme was working its magic and he felt his strength returning.

As his fever receded and everything came into focus, he saw Oolanae to his left, standing at the bars of her cell. Her face was ashen – a picture of pensive anxiety. Something big was coming. He felt it to. Was this it? Was this the moment Akalus had been building to?

Akalus himself was beavering away at the newly adapted console. So, apparently he'd gotten that all fixed up. That was…unfortunate. Sheppard had spent so much of yesterday drifting in an out of consciousness that he hadn't been able to follow events in any way that made chronological sense, but Akalus had obviously made good progress between bouts of reminding him who was in charge. He appeared to be checking readings from the console now on his tablet. Then, content with whatever he'd seen, he crossed to a wall to the right of the chamber and activated a set of doors Sheppard hadn't even realised were there. Beyond it he saw something he recognised. ZPMs. And lots of them. Oh yeah, this was definitely it.

'Time to get to work, John,' Akalus announced, returning to the main chamber and dragging out a crate from behind the console. He delved into it, pulling out what he needed. When he straightened up again, he carried something in his hand…well, Mishta's hand. Something Sheppard really didn't like the look of.

'Since you've proved that traditional restraints won't hold you with the levels of enzyme required to keep you functioning, I find I need to resort to other methods of control. I wracked my brains most of the night thinking about how best to do that, then a little memory revealed itself…actually, not one of mine, but one of Mishta's. Well, it didn't really reveal itself. I dug around in her mind to see if I could find something useful, and there it was, the perfect thing. Remember how she told you that they considered it a successful journey if Juroah's craft returned without leaving at least two pieces of bodywork behind?'

'Yeah…I remember,' Sheppard grunted, sickened by the thought of this deviant raiding Mishta's memories.

'Well, luckily, Juroah always carries something with which to effect repairs. This is not personal, John,' Akalus said, giving him a smile as he grasped his right hand to steady his arm. 'But this time I mean to make it as hard as possible for you to break free of this chair.'

The thump on his wrist wasn't painful at first, and it was only after Akalus moved away that he saw the rivet he had fired through his wrist, pinning it to the chair. Then the pain kicked in. He screamed through clenched teeth as the agony blossomed, leaving him trembling. Another thump, and his left wrist was similarly pinned, leaving him fully immobilised. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he let rip a stream of expletives that would have left his marines blushing. It did little to ease his torment.

'That's no way to talk, John. You brought this on yourself,' Akalus told him, setting down the rivet gun. 'Time to get to work.

To both his horror and his relief, Sheppard was next injected with a large syringe of enzyme. His pain lessened, but with the bolts firmly in place at his wrists, he could not fully heal, leaving raw nerves exposed to the touch of metal each time he tried to move. Still shaking and sweating from shock and now the surge of enzyme Akalus had forced into him, he curled his hands into fists, refusing to touch the altered gel pad that would dial the Stargate where Doranda once existed.

'Activate the system, John.'

How many times had he heard that order now? Sheppard pulled himself together as best he could, throwing a glare Akalus' way. 'Not gonna happen.'

'It will, happen, John. It's pointless to continue to resist.'

'That's your…opinion,' he panted, now managing to pull off a crooked smile. 'The rest of the universe begs to differ, you lunatic.'

As Akalus backed away, Sheppard looked over to Oolanae again. She now sat at the back of her cell, head bowed, eyes closed, lips moving in near silent conversation. His enhanced hearing picked up an odd word or two, and he realised she was calling on her sisters to hurry. But if they came, he couldn't get free to save Mishta or himself. Plan A was suddenly a lot less appealing than he'd thought.

A thump against his shoulder brought Sheppard's attention back front and centre. A burning wave of pain followed, telling him he was now pinned by a third rivet through his left shoulder. That was followed by another dose of enzyme. 'I wonder how many of these your body can take before it simply falls apart,' Akalus mused, casting an admiring gaze at the tool in his hand. 'I expect we might be about to find out.' He pressed the riveting gun against the front of Sheppard's right shoulder. 'Initialise the system, John.'

'Go to hell,' he rasped, his head swimming and bringing Mishta's face in and out of focus. He felt a pang of sorrow as he looked at her, with her beautiful features twisted by madness and hate. He'd wanted to save her, but now he couldn't even save himself. If Oolanae was right, the Wraith were coming, and Mishta would not survive the revenge they would take on Akalus. She was doomed, but he would hold out for the sake of the people she loved and who loved her. He wouldn't doom them all.

Another bolt thudded into him. This time, the pain hit but he didn't care enough to cry out. What did it matter? It was only wasting energy that he needed to keep fighting. He bit it back and sucked in one ragged breath after the other until the initial shock passed.

'It doesn't have to be this way, John,' Akalus told him. 'If you operate the system all this pain goes away. You want it to stop, don't you?'

Yes…yes, he did. But the price was too high. He would ride it out, compartmentalise it, accept it and put it to one side while he focused on not giving this bastard what he wanted. Because above everything, he wanted this piece of crap to lose.

'Enough, Akalus,' he heard Oolanae shout to his left.

Akalus looked her way, slowly straightening to Mishta's full height. 'And why do you imagine you can give commands to me, Reliquia?' he demanded, walking toward the cell.

'Take it not as a command, but as good advice,' she growled, prowling along the bars blocking the front of her cell like a caged wild cat. 'My sisters are coming. If you leave now, you might escape them.'

Akalus stared at her for a protracted moment, then snorted out a derisive laugh. 'And why should that concern me? I killed your leader as if she was a defenceless infant. I will do the same to them...every single one of them.'

Unphased, Oolanae simply smiled. 'Then stay…but I promise you will not live long enough to regret your choice.'

Through the haze of his pain and his drug-induced high, Sheppard saw what he thought might be a flicker of fear cross Mishta's face, reflecting Akalus' inner turmoil. Apparently, Oolanae's sudden confidence had him unnerved. Would he take her advice? Did he even fear death?

'Whatever will be, will be,' he replied simply, before returning his attention to Sheppard. He pushed the riveter against Sheppard's thigh and fired a bolt deep into the flesh there. 'I still have work to do.'

Sheppard ground his teeth against the pain, breathing hard, trying to keep his ravaged brain on track. Block any activation. Stop Akalus. Those were the thoughts he needed to hold onto, no matter what he did or said to him.

'I'll free her,' Akalus whispered in his ear.

No. He couldn't promise him that. It was the one thing that might shake his resolve.

'Once it is done, she could return to her family and spend the last of her time making her peace with them.'

The thought of Mishta being freed from her torment was sorely tempting. She would be able to say her goodbyes. Maybe she would want that.

'The hybrid has no need to make peace with anyone,' Oolanae called over, throwing him a lifeline. 'She has done nothing wrong. It is you who should make your peace with those you have hurt because your end draws near.'

Her words helped Sheppard focus again. Oolanae was right…Mishta was loved by her friends and family. They would know this was not her choice. She didn't need to make peace with anyone.

Another bolt, this time through his other leg, sent his pain levels soaring, a guttural cry tearing its way out from somewhere deep in his throat. Oolanae hissed curses at Akalus, promising him a torturous end.

'Well, John?' Akalus taunted. 'What will you do?'

'Think…you broke…the chair,' he growled, glaring at him.

Akalus stabbed him with another syringe of enzyme, determined to keep him going.

oooOOOooo

Lansha guided Rodney to the Petracus Expanse, a vast, rocky plain many miles from civilization. It was dusk by now, and they were hungry and tired, but there was no time to lose. Rodney had advised them that the cosmic event Akalus had been waiting for had now occurred and the only thing standing between him and the destruction of the universe was one John Sheppard. Strong as he was, no one believed John could withstand Akalus alone.

Rodney wove the cloaked jumper between the vast needles of rock that clamoured toward the darkening sky, setting them down gently somewhere near the centre of the expanse. From that angle it resembled a stone forest, the petrified trunks surrounding them and casting gloomy shadows that would only make it harder to complete their task. They had to find an entrance.

Rodney scanned the area. 'There's definitely a very faint Ancient power signal coming from below us. So, apparently still not powered up yet.'

'That is good,' Teyla said, trying to keep everyone calm. 'Then there is still time, and if there is still time there is still hope…for both of them.'

Lansha knew that comment was meant for him and smiled his thanks. But a weight sat heavy on him. Akalus had chosen his sister as host, and he had a horrible feeling he would not leave her easily. He gripped the Kheprian weapon in his hands, unsure whether it would be able to drive Akalus out of his sister or not, but hopeful that it would.

'Okay, let's get out there and get searching,' Mehra told McKay, prepping her weapons ready to disembark as he snatched up a bag of tech equipment he'd thought might prove useful. Ronon, too, checked his guns, as did Teyla. These were accomplished fighters, ready to do what was necessary. Lansha only hoped what was necessary resulted in no further deaths.

For the briefest of moments, he exchanged a look with Juroah, the old male looking haggard in a way he'd never seen before. This had taken a terrible toll on him. Mishta was like a daughter to him, and he felt her loss as keenly as he did. Lansha wished there were some reassurance he could give to Juroah to bring him peace, but only Mishta's safe return would do that. That was all either of them wanted, preferably with John alongside her.

'We should split up, that way we can cover a wider area more quickly,' Teyla suggested.

Everyone agreed before grouping into twos; Ronon and Teyla, Mehra and McKay. Juroah moved toward Marmotah, leaving Lansha with Tamrak. But Lansha wasn't happy with that. He caught Juroah's arm and stopped him. 'You go with Tamrak. Your experience will be a better match for him.'

Juroah stared back at him a moment, and he knew his mentor was willing him to change his mind, but he would not. Unlike the others, he still did not trust Marmotah, and he would not let him out of his sight.

In the looming darkness it was hard to see anything clearly, and they knew from the hatch of jumper bay at the facility in the Greekaf caves that the Lanteans were very capable of hiding the entrances to their outposts.

Their footsteps crunched in the dust, loud in the silence of such a desolate area where no aspect of civilisation intruded. Millennia ago, waters had coursed through this area eroding away the chalky sandstone and eventually the downward pressure on each needle had caused the sandstone pillars to harden and the erosion to slow, forming these stone sentries now guarding the expanse, lending the place an eerie atmosphere of frozen solemnity. Lansha tracked Marmotah's movements while scouring the ground for clues and signs. Dr McKay had the best scanning equipment, but he, Marmotah and the others were reliant on their senses alone.

Thankfully, his senses proved enough. As he crossed a piece of slightly raised ground to circle around a pillar and keep Marmotah in sight, Lansha heard a change in the acoustics of his footfalls, going from solid to hollow in an instant.

Marmotah, also apparently hearing the change, spun to face him. 'Over here!'

Lansha shushed him. 'Idiot. Why don't you just knock on the hatch and let Akalus know we're here?'

'You think he doesn't know?' Marmotah countered. 'He has been one step ahead of us this whole time. I doubt we can take him by surprise.'

'But it wouldn't hurt to try!'

Lansha felt vindicated when Dr McKay rasped an insult at Marmotah too as everyone closed on their position, but his anger was soon forgotten when his scanning equipment told him there was a passageway beneath them that lead down into the facility. They began to scramble around in the dust, looking for the entrance. Eventually, Mehra stumbled upon what appeared to be the controls under a hollow rock that she found hinged to the ground, but the hatch, similarly disguised beneath a façade of rocky terrain, remained stubbornly closed.

'Rodney…can you override the locking mechanism?' Teyla whispered.

He was already swinging his backpack from his shoulder as he mumbled, 'On it,' while he fished various wires out of his bag, then levered the front off the control panel.

They were so close. But in Lansha's experience, this was the point where anything that could go wrong did. He didn't dare hope it would be this easy.

oooOOOooo

Another dose of enzyme brought Sheppard's situation, and his pain, into sharp focus. He was not getting out of this, and Akalus was just going to continue to apply pressure until he couldn't think straight, and made an error. He had to try something different…had to think outside of the box.

He needed to do the last thing Akalus would expect him to do.

The facility sprung into life.

Akalus, who had been just about to fire a bolt into his abdomen, jerked back, staring at the lighting cells above him now glowing with power. He choked out a laugh and ran to the console, ready to set things running.

But he didn't count on Sheppard's next move.

With the extra power of the enzyme coursing through him, Sheppard was able to access everything in the facility, overriding the protocols Akalus had put in place to ensure the system would only carry out only one command. He mentally instructed the AI to isolate the console in front of him and shut it down.

He heard Mishta's voice scream out in frustration and couldn't help but laugh despite the agonies it set rippling through his body. Then he was grabbed by the shirt front and shaken, sending that pain to a whole different level. 'What did you do?'

'I initialised the system like you told me to,' he smirked, wincing as she shook him again. 'Then I locked you out.' He took deep breaths to steady himself as he released him and strode away, picking up the rivet gun once more. A moment later it was pressed to his temple. 'Oh…hey. Go ahead,' he challenged, grinning wildly through his adrenalin fuelled enzyme high. 'Not sure you're gonna have much luck getting me to operate the Stargate with that through my brain, though.'

The violet eyes locked onto his with such fury he thought…he hoped…Akalus was actually going to see the threat through. But, trembling with rage, he snatched the gun away and threw it, breaking it. Sheppard acknowledged the destruction with no small sense of relief. No more rivet gun…no more rivets. It wasn't like he was going anywhere anyway.

As Akalus ranted and raged and threw anything around that wasn't bolted down, Sheppard allowed his mind to explore, finding systems and hidden protocols that he could now access, wondering if he could use them in any way to stop Akalus. Then he sensed something more…something beyond the confines of the underground facility…another piece of Ancient tech.

It was a puddle jumper.

His friends…they'd found him.

Time to let them in.

oooOOOooo

'Hurry up, McKay,' Ronon grunted, clutching his weapon tight enough that his knuckles had blanched.

'Almost there. Oh…oh no!'

Ronon's stomach plummeted. He hated it when McKay said that. It never led to anything good.

'What is it, Rodney?' Teyla asked.

'The facility just activated.'

Though it was getting darker, Ronon could tell what little colour McKay had in his face had just drained completely away. 'So, get us in there!'

'I'm working on it, Conan,' he protested, setting his attention back on the task. 'And I assure you, shouting won't make me work any faster than my imminent death already is.'

Ronon watched him, frustration burning deep into him. He wanted to get in there and kick some ass, but the damn hatch was keeping him back. Suddenly, Rodney jerked back. 'Oh'

'What now?' Ronon demanded, having little patience for another of McKay's panic attacks.

'It just unlocked by itself.'

'You must have done something to trigger it,' Lansha suggested. 'You said you had almost finished.'

'No,' McKay asserted. 'No…it definitely wasn't me.'

'What does it matter who did it?' Marmotah asked, reaching for the hatch. 'Let's get in there.'

Ronon grabbed his hand before he could touch it, his reflexes sharp. 'If McKay didn't open it, it could be a trap,' he warned, now feeling cautious enough to hesitate to take the first step. They'd be no good to Sheppard dead, after all. 'Probably heard you yelling.'

The look that crossed Marmotah's face bothered him, but his attention was soon distracted by the sound of a distant whine, quiet at first, then building to a shriek they all recognised.

'Wraith,' Teyla hissed, grabbing Rodney's jacket and hauling him toward the cover of the nearest rock pillar.

'You mean Reliquiae,' Rodney squeaked as he tried not to trip over his own feet.

As Ronon thumped himself again the pillar next to theirs, he heard Teyla say, 'I said exactly what I meant, Rodney. They are Reliquiae no more.'

Flashes of light spotted the ground around them, each one depositing a Wraith female, armed and eager for the kill.

From the corner of his eye, Ronon saw Marmotah launch from his hiding place toward the hatch, throwing it open and jumping in. Lansha was swiftly in behind him, shouting for him to come back.

Ronon knew that had been a mistake. The Wraith saw the movement instantly and followed.

Marmotah had shown them the way in.

'Ronon!' Teyla yelled over to him, and he needed no further prompting. He fired on the Wraith, surrounding them, his energy magnum thumping and recharging time and time again, lighting up the twilight. The females were strong and were not going down easily. But they had to fight them. They couldn't let them all storm the facility. They had to slow them down.

oooOOOooo

Having opened the door to his friends, Sheppard thought the worst of it was over. They were on their way to rescue him. With luck, McKay would have figured out some way to get Akalus out of Mishta and with a little help from Oolanae, should she feel so inclined, he might actually survive being freed up from the control chair.

Then Akalus pulled a knife on Mishta. With the blade pressed to her neck he issued his ultimatum. 'Let me back into the system or I will cut her throat and you will watch her bleed out right here in front of you while you can do nothing to help.'

Rescue was coming. He needed to buy Mishta some time.

'No…please…don't,' he begged. 'You don't need to do that.'

'No…what I do not need is this host anymore. If you won't let me work, I have no need for a body at all.'

Sheppard couldn't fault his logic. If his plan were thwarted, he could probably wreak more havoc as a free-floating energy form than contained in a meat sack…albeit a very beautiful meat sack.

'Okay…I can unlock it. But it'll take time.'

Akalus was in his face in an instant. 'Just so that we're clear. I know you're lying. Do it now, or she dies!'

Before he could act, sounds came drifting down the passageway that lay beyond the chamber. Foot falls. Someone was coming. He prayed it would be Ronon…or anyone with a Kheprian weapon they could fire on Akalus. That had to work, right? The knife was lowered as Akalus turned to prepare for attack, the threat to Mishta over for the moment.

The sight of Marmotah barrelling in was not what Sheppard expected or wanted to see at all. And, of course, he was pointing his gun straight at him. The Birajan hesitated on seeing his condition, and then spotting Mishta, faltered to a halt with a mixture of fear and longing contorting his features.

'Marmotah! Stop!'

Now Lansha burst in on the scene, grabbing hold of the little Birajan and trying to disarm him. But Marmotah proved determined. He broke free and aimed the gun at Sheppard again. 'I told you this was not over, Human.'

Sheppard had no witty retort or rapier-like comeback. He had nothing left. The glimmer of hope he'd entertained for a few seconds was gone and the release of a quick death at Marmotah's hands seemed like a welcoming embrace. He closed his eyes and waited for the burst of energy to take him.

'They have come,' he heard Oolanae hiss.

And yes, he sensed them now, too. Oolanae's sisters had found her, and they were on their way in. Everything was happening at once, and he was helpless to do a damn thing to intervene.

Akalus, still apparently unaware of the risk fast approaching, dived for Marmotah, slashing at him. He cut a deep wound across the Birajan's chest, sending him staggering back as he clutched at his injury.

Only now that Marmotah was prevented from acting did Lansha see Sheppard's state. His jaw hung slack, and Sheppard saw the hope that had driven him to stop Marmotah leave him. 'Lansha…get out…get out now!' Sheppard yelled, but even as the words left his lips he knew it was pointless. There was only one way out of the facility, the AI had told him that along with everything else about the facility, and the Wraith were coming right now.

Hearing the commotion behind him, Lansha blanched, and for a second Sheppard thought fear would paralyse him. But it didn't; he readied the Kheprian gun he carried and threw himself into cover. It was his best and only chance of survival.

Of course, Sheppard was a sitting duck, and the Wraith would take him without hesitation. Cold flooded his body as the first Wraith emerged from the passageway. She grabbed Marmotah, who had slumped to his knees in the opening, and tossed him aside, slamming him against a wall. He slid down to the floor, a second Wraith now appearing and slamming her hand into his chest, beginning to feed. More followed until there were at least a half dozen Wraith in the chamber, hissing and circling in on Mishta, sensing Akalus within her.

'Human! Unlock the door and I will intercede on your behalf.'

He rolled his head to look in Oolanae's direction, wanting to trust her, but fearing that he couldn't. But without the constant feed of enzyme he was beginning to weaken, the pressure on his body of dealing with the bolts was taking a heavy toll.

'Save Mishta and her brother,' he ground out as he strained to see her.

She held his gaze, then gave a sharp nod.

He concentrated, finding the controls to open her cell. The door swept back. Oolanae rushed to her sisters, to one in particular, while Sheppard mentally searched out the controls that would allow him to close and lock a set of doors further back down the passage. He couldn't help in here, but he could at least stop any other Wraith from coming in.

One of the Wraith had now grasped Mishta. The chambers began to shake with Akalus' feverish anger as he sensed his plan slipping away. True to her word, Oolanae tried to intervene.

'Tarrantha, take only Akalus,' she pleaded. 'He will feed you beyond fullness.'

The Wraith turned her yellow eyes to Oolanae, and frowned as the chamber continued to shake. 'Why would you ask this of me, Sister? Have you grown soft during your incarceration?'

'The human…he freed me. I promised him this in return,' she explained.

Sheppard sensed no understanding from the Wraith, no compassion for her sister's pleas. He knew before she spoke that she would refuse. 'That is no concern of ours. He will be our next meal…meagre as it will be.'

The one called Tarrantha thrust her hand against Mishta's chest, latching on. Oolanae tried to stop her once again, but was thrown aside.

Lansha launched from his hiding spot, firing on Tarrantha, only to be batted away by one of the other Wraith and pursued for his own life force. He scrambled away, firing again, at the Wraith now in pursuit of him. But still, she hunted him down. The Wraith were strong. They had recently fed. With a creeping dread, Sheppard hoped his friends hadn't been on the menu.

Another Wraith rounded on Oolanae. 'If you are not with us, you are against us, Oolanae. You betray us to favour the Wraith Slayer?'

Sheppard reached out to the facility, asked it for anything it could give him to fight back with. But this was not a facility armed for warfare. There were no weapons. Thumping from the doors he'd closed told him there were more Wraith waiting to enter – desperate to feed, and smart enough to find their way in soon enough. Two more Wraith had converged on Mishta, each one now taking their fill of Akalus who seemed trapped within in her body now they had begun to feed. His complacency…his utter disbelief that he could be bettered…had defeated him.

The Reliquiae were on the rise, now Wraith once more. Sheppard had sworn he would not leave them alive and here he was, a virtual dead man, just waiting for one of them to finish him off.

Then he sensed contact from beyond the facility. It was the puddle jumper again, and it was responding to his calls for assistance. He could control it…and it was armed.

One of Oolanae's sisters now pulled her up by the front of her dress and drew her hand back, ready to feed. In that moment, she cast her gaze one last time toward Sheppard. He thought of what he was about to do, tried to communicate it to her in the hope she would understand. They were all dead anyway. What did it matter now? Her expression changed, and he saw real resolve in her. Once again she nodded, reminding him of Sumner all those years ago, the first time he had awoken the Wraith.

As he closed his eyes and concentrated, he took control of the five remaining drones aboard the jumper, commanding them to fire as he bid the facility to open its doors to the Wraith outside them…

oooOOOooo

The red flash of Ronon's gun strobed repeatedly as they fought to hold the Wraith who had spotted them at bay. Juroah, too, fired time and again into them, but they were strong. It took many shots before any of them began to fall.

Teyla kept Rodney shielded behind her, firing rapid bursts each time she saw movement that she knew could not be any of her companions. The bullets tore into the Wraith and the rock alike, send blood and rock splinters flying in all directions. She had no idea how many Wraith had already made it into the facility, but the numbers out here were considerable. She wasn't sure she had much more ammunition left with which to keep firing. Mehra, too, fired on them in the same way, staying as shielded as she could, emerging only to spray bullets at their targets. The Wraith were strong, but one by one they were beginning to succumb to their onslaught.

A familiar sound suddenly caught her attention, and she looked back through the pillars of rock to where they had left their cloaked craft. The jumper was now decloaked and hovering several feet about the pillars. The drone pods opened.

'Rodney! Why is it doing that?' she shouted to him.

He shook his head, eyes huge and terrified, 'I have no idea…there's no precedent for this kind of thing.'

'Can you stop it?'

He just gaped up at it, and shook his head again. 'Something has control of it.'

'Is it Akalus?'

'I don't know!' he yelled. 'I have as much idea what's going on as –'

Before he could finish his rant, five drones shot out of their pods and sped towards the facility, diving down into the open hatch.

'No!' Ronon screamed, breaking cover to run for the hatch.

Teyla bolted after him, 'Ronon, stop! There is nothing you can do!'

A massive blast erupted from the hatch, a fireball mushrooming up into the grey sky before receding back down into the underground outpost. The force of the blast shook the ground beneath them, knocking Teyla off her feet. Her eyes sported the flare of the brilliant light that had burst forth, and her ears rang from the deafening blast, leaving her momentarily disorientated. Then the reality of what had just happened set in, and she rolled onto her knees trying to rise.

'John!'

A hand grasped her arm, and she found Mehra now pulling her back to safety. 'We need to get to cover!'

She allowed Mehra to pull her away, her eyes fixed on the glowing orange hole in the ground. The facility was alight, the heat emanating from the hatch causing rippling distortions in the evening air. There was no way anyone could have survived the explosion.

But they'd thought the same thing at Phylacos, and John and Ronon had lived. Until she saw evidence to the contrary, she chose to believe John was alive down there.

She became aware of Juroah and Rodney dragging a stunned Ronon behind a pillar to her right. His head was slightly bloodied: he'd been closer than her and had most likely been hit by flying debris.

Some of the Wraith had been caught up in the fireball and now crawled blindly away, their various injuries too much too heal after having already taken fire. Teyla found her spare clip of ammunition and loaded it into her P-90. They needed to finish this.

That was when Ronon rallied, letting out the most feral cry that she had ever heard rip its way free from his lungs. Anger, fear, and grief, all rolled up into one ferocious battle cry. He forced himself back to his feet and threw himself back into the fray.

Mehra threw Teyla a grim smile. 'Let's get this job done…for the colonel.'

They both launched themselves back toward the Wraith, only a few of them still standing, and fought until every last one of them was dead.

A/N: Yeah...so...that went south pretty fast! As I warned a few chapters ago, it's a grim one. But stick with me!