Disclaimer - I do not own Stargate Atlantis, any of the characters or the events depicted in this story. I only own my character Rayne, her background and family, also anything not privy to the show.
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Enjoy!
Inside the puddle jumper Sheppard sits at the controls, Teyla in the jump seat to his right, Rayne, Ronon and McKay sitting behind them as he flies through the active Stargate. The area around the gate looks abandoned, with pieces of rusted metal strewn around. The jumper leaves the immediate area as Sheppard flies them further inland from the gate.
"Look familiar?" McKay asks the three outsiders, they being the ones that had done the most traveling out of the group.
"No." Ronon says with a shake of his head, echoed by Rayne who adds, "Nothing looks familiar."
"Me either. I do not believe I have been to this planet before." Teyla adds.
"There's no sign of any settlements, at least nothing recent."
"Other than the smoke from that campfire." Ronon casually points out causing the others to snicker at Rodney's expense.
The forward view-screen shows smoke in the forest ahead. Teyla smiles at McKay over her shoulder and the scientist balks, "Oh. Yes, well, other than that." Teyla turns and looks at Ronon who grins. She looks away, hiding a smile.
"I'll land within a few hundred yards." Sheppard says as he puts the jumper in down low over a pond and lands in the shade of the trees.
The Jumper has landed and the team walks through the camp. It has several very dilapidated and botched-together looking shacks, tents and thatched huts surrounding a central area, and the place is littered with debris and bits of scrap metal. There doesn't appear to be anybody around, although the fire that Ronon spotted is still smoking.
"It's primitive, definitely primitive. Probably not even worth making contact. What is that smell?"
"Hello?" Sheppard calls out, pausing a moment to listen for any sounds of life around them.
"It appears they left in a hurry." Teyla points out.
"Just not used to friendlies coming out of the gate." Sheppard says
Ronon sees a cook fire and goes to it. He reaches for a spoonful of food from the metal pot.
"What are you—" McKay says in disgust as Ronon puts the spoon to his mouth. "Oh, my God, he's tasting it! You don't know what that is. That could be their laundry!"
"Pretty good!" He scoops up some more.
"Oh, yes, good idea. And when you're finished with their porridge, why don't we try their beds, hmm?"
Ronon holds some dried meat up to McKay. "Want some?"
"How good is it?"
"Leave it be, Goldilocks." Sheppard grumbles.
Suddenly they hear the rush of arrows being fires. "Get down!" Ronon yells as arrows land in the dirt all around them, and he is hit in the calf as he attempts to run. "Ah!"
"Take cover!"
The team rush to take cover behind boulders and metal pieces. The team ducks down as a group of men break out of the cover of the bushes, duck behind some cover of their own and start firing slingshots at them. The men are dirty, disheveled and dressed in scruffy leather. Whatever is in the slingshots explodes as the missiles impact near the team Smoke appears where the slingshot projectiles hit. The team returns fire.
"What the hell's in those slingshots?" Sheppard shouts.
"Some sort of smoke bomb!" Rayne hollers back to him as she returns fire through the trees, Ronon beside her sits up to deal with the arrow through his calf.
"Are you all right?" McKay gasps.
"I'm fine. Little help beautiful." He smirks looking up at his aqua-eyed brunette, grimacing against the pain.
Rayne rolls her eyes at his bravado as she kneels down in front of him, grabbing the arrow on the fletching side she snaps the shaft in two, then before he can tense up she pulls it out of his leg from the other side. "Ahh!"
"You know this is not the way to make new friends! But we'll leave if you want us to!" Sheppard shouts out to their attackers.
The attackers are silent so John turns to his team, "Let's take that as a yes. Let's go back to the jumper. Teyla, you're on point. Rayne and I'll take the six. McKay, help Ronon."
"Don't worry about me."
"I'm a worrier. Let the man give you a hand."
They get up, McKay supporting Ronon.
"Fire!"
The slingshot group fires, pinning down the team. The team fires back. After a moment they hear the sound of an aircraft flying in at low altitude. The craft comes to a hover above them. The jet-wash from the downward-facing nozzles blows on both the team and the attackers. The aircraft moves and aims its nozzles such that its jet-wash throws a group of the attackers backward to the ground.
"All right, move! Move!" Sheppard shouts and they move out, their attackers watching with an angry expression.
The team rushes back to the jumper and up the ramp, Sheppard runs to the pilot station as everyone gets secure. "Everyone in one piece?" He questions to the team as the jumper lifts off.
"Yeah, thanks to that ship." Ronon states as he starts to stand up, but Teyla shoves him back down in his seat. "Be still." She starts to examine his leg.
"Yeah, I like their timing."
"No kidding. Did you see that thing?" McKay exclaims.
"Yeah, I saw that thing."
"I have never seen a ship like that in all of my travels." Rayne states as she sits in the jump seat, her eyes looking out as the ship in question maneuvers in front of the jumper's front screen.
"Unidentified ship. This is the security vessel Poros. Follow us immediately, and we will lead you to the city."
"Understood, Poros. And thanks for the help back there." He shuts off the radio and turns to the team. "That's how you make new friends."
The city is modern, similar to modern cities on Earth. The team is guided to meet a female official in the courtyard. "Welcome to Olesia. I am Marin."
"I'm Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard. Teyla Emmagan, Dr. Rodney McKay, Rayne Dawn, Ronon Dex."
"Please follow me." They start walking with her as she continues speaking. "I sent a security detachment as soon as we detected your presence on the island. The prisoners there can be quite hostile."
"Yeah, we definitely got off on the wrong foot."
"Prisoners?" Rayne questions.
"Yes, the island's a penal colony. The prisoners usually don't cause much trouble, (smiling) as long as you don't try to land there."
"Well, you could put up a sign." McKay offers albeit condescendingly.
"The Stargate is on the island. Does this not affect your ability to trade with other worlds?" Teyla asks.
"Yes, of course. As a result, we have needed to be almost entirely self-sufficient."
"Then why put a prison there?" Sheppard questions.
"I believe the Magistrate is better suited to answer these questions. He's very eager to meet you."
The team has moved inside an administrative building and lead into a very well kept, tidy office where the Magistrate was awaiting them. Right from the start he sounds completely insincere in everything he says, and his clearly fake fawning attitude towards the team seems to get John's back up, as he acts just as insincere whenever he speaks.
"Your ship is a most intriguing design. I must admit, I'm surprised to find others in this galaxy whose technology rivals our own. Aside from the Wraith, I mean."
"It's funny—I was about to make the exact same comment." McKay snarks, earning smirks from Rayne and Ronon who stand to his left leaning against the wall.
"Where do you come from?"
"Until recently, Atlantis." Sheppard says taking over the conversation.
"The ancestral city?"
"Yeah. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by the Wraith a short time ago."
"How tragic."
"Yeah, we're pretty broken up about it."
"We are part of a small group of people that were able to escape." Teyla says adding to their well-rehearsed backstory that they had come up with to protect Atlantis and her people.
"How fortunate for you."
"Yes, yes, yes, yes. Very fortunate. Look, getting back to the technology thing. I'm just curious. How have you been able to make such advancements without the Wraith stepping in?" McKay says nearly bursting to know how they have managed to evolve so far.
"The Wraith have chosen to leave us alone."
Sheppard's brows furrow as he glances suspiciously at his colleagues before turning back to the Magistrate, "Why?"
"I don't know."
"They've never come here?" Ronon questions.
"The Wraith have been here many times, but with the ancestral ring on the island, the Wraith have always been, uh…how shall I put this? Satiated with the prisoners living there." Rodney looks sick at this and glances round at John. "The Wraith have no need to venture any further."
"So you protect yourselves by offering those people up as— sacrifices to the Wraith?" Rayne snaps, her aqua-eyes flashing bright causing the Magistrate to stumble backwards.
McKay and Sheppard exchange uneasy glances as Ronon lays a hand on Rayne's shoulder to calm her, none of them can blame her for the way she is feeling.
"Well, that would explain why you put the prison there." Sheppard surmises.
"The island has been a penal colony for hundreds of years. Its location there has benefited my people greatly."
"Not all your people."
"I assure you, only the most violent criminals are sent there… as uh, you discovered."
"It's a good crime deterrent." Ronon scoffs.
"Crime is virtually non-existent on Olesia. Unlike the prisoners, we pride ourselves on being a most hospitable and civilized people."
The team looks skeptical as they follow the Magistrate out of his office, save for Rayne who glowers while walking at the back of the group; her glowing eyes causing fear and sending people scurrying to the sides of the hallway as she walks by.
The Magistrate takes the team on a tour of a glass-walled building. "This section of the city is devoted to scientific research. Our scientists have recently attained success in the enrichment of a fissionable, yet non-radioactive, material to be used in generating power for the city."
"Fissionable yet non-radioactive? Well, that-that-that's…is that even possible? What kind of material is it?" McKay stutters out.
"It's an ore extracted from a mineral found on our planet. It's quite volatile, yet yields great promise. I'd be very happy to show you the laboratory."
"I'd be very happy to see it."
"I'd be very happy to go back to our ship. Our people are due to check in with us in a little while over radio. I'll have to get back within range." Sheppard announces.
"You can link with one of our radio relay stations. There should be enough power to reach the island, if that's your concern."
"So we'll be speaking privately?"
"Of course."
Back in Atlantis inside the control room, Weir holds a tablet in her hand as she speaks to Sheppard over the radio. "And you believe they might be willing to share some of this mineral?"
"Well, they seem open to it. They don't get many trading opportunities coming through the gate."
"Sounds promising."
Inside of the large sumptuous room the team is in, food is laid out on tables, Ronon and McKay are the first to check it out of course; by now Rayne had deemed them both "human garbage disposals" because of their tendency to eat just about anything they were shown.
"There is, however, the minor moral hiccup of their form of capital punishment."
"I'm sorry?"
"They have an island. It's their own version of Alcatraz, where they send their worst criminals." McKay elaborates.
"And the gate is on the island, so…" Sheppard says leaving the clause hanging in the air.
"So the Wraith feed on the prisoners?"
"Yep."
"Talk about cruel and unusual punishment." She then gasps as she realizes what she so casually said and who was listening on the other end. "Apologies Rayne, it's in no way okay."
"It is alright Dr. Weir, I know what you meant." Rayne answered, although they all could hear the anger barely contained in her voice.
"I prefer lethal injection, although I do have a certain fondness for the electric chair. Call me a romantic."
Sheppard chuckles at McKay as Ronon bites into a piece of food before he speaks, "The Wraith get what they want, and the Olesians get left alone. I'm surprised it works."
"He did, however, say that only the most violent criminals get sent there, and that it has been this way for hundreds of years."
"Do you kill all of your violent criminals on Earth?" Teyla questions.
"Certain countries, yes." McKay answers.
"Do we need to get into this right now?" Sheppard grumbles looking pointedly at Rodney.
"Well, we do if we plan on doing business with these people. I want to know more before I jump to any conclusions."
Back inside the Magistrate's office the group once more stand around the room in front of the desk as Sheppard addresses the man. "We were able to speak with our people, thank you."
"Of course."
"If you're open to it, we'd like to discuss possible trade opportunities."
"We are very open. I'm sure there is much that we can learn from each other."
"Well, Dr. Elizabeth Weir will be the one to begin official negotiations with you. That's really her thing."
"I'm looking forward to meeting her, and to the start of a promising friendship."
The Puddle Jumper skims the water as Sheppard flies them back towards the Stargate. "Seriously, am I the only one creeped out by that guy?"
"Politicians, Rodney—they're all creepy."
"Not creeped out, but I'd love to make his head pop." Rayne said casually as if she was talking about the weather, causing everyone inside to look at her in concern and wonder if her scream really could do that to someone.
Back on the prisoner island the leader Torrell, sees the Jumper coming through a makeshift telescope. "Prepare to fire!"
His men prepare to fire home-made cannons that they fashioned from old metal cylinders resembling trash-cans.
"Margaret Thatcher wasn't creepy. Okay, well, maybe a little. She resembled an aunt of mine—same hair style, facial structure, only my aunt was much taller and remarkably hirsute. Oddest thing—she had to shave twice a day."
Sheppard and Teyla roll their eyes as McKay babbles on about politicians.
"Fire!"
The prisoners light off the cannons, firing large metal balls at the Jumper.
The Jumper shakes mid-air and Teyla glances around at the team, "What was that?"
"They're shooting at us." Sheppard surmises as smoke appears in front of the Jumper.
"The prisoners?"
"With what?" McKay snaps.
"Cloak the ship." Ronon states.
"I can't. We took some damage. We'll be lucky to make it to the gate."
"Well, how close are we?" McKay questions.
"Close enough to dial." Sheppard states as Teyla takes his cue and starts dialing.
The prisoners light off more cannon fire. One ball explodes near the Jumper without hitting it.
"That was close." Ronon grumbles as the Jumper shakes once more from the impact.
"Get ready to send an I.D.C."
The Puddle Jumper is hit by fire and immediately starts to descend despite Sheppard's attempts to keep them airborne. "I've lost control systems. Hang on."
The Jumper plunges ground-wards, smoke trailing from one of the engine pods. The prisoners cheer as they watch it go past descending into the forest.
"Now find them!"
The Jumper is heavily damaged, having come to rest after gouging a path through the earth, dust is settling around the site of the crash landing. Inside, everyone has been winded and thrown around by the impact. Teyla regains consciousness first, lifting herself off of the dash where she was splayed. She looks concerned at Ronon and Rayne who are picking themselves up off the floor, they both give her a nod to say they are alright. She turns her attention to McKay who has his fingers touching his teeth, "Are you all right?"
"I think I chipped a tooth. Did I chip a tooth? Am I bleeding? Because I'm a high risk for endocarditis."
Sheppard rouses with a groan and Rayne moves up beside him laying a hand on his shoulder, "John?"
"That was, uh… not one of my better landings. Sorry."
She gives him a smile that sets him at ease, "You did the best you could under the circumstances."
"The gate should still be active for a few minutes." Ronon reminds them all.
"All right. Let's go." Sheppard says as Rayne helps him to his feet.
He opens the rear door of the Jumper and everyone hurries out, Rodney still poking around in his mouth. As they walk down the smoky ramp, prisoners whoop as they run towards them, surrounding them and aiming slingshots and bows and arrows at them or wielding large clubs. John realizes that they are seriously outgunned (or, rather, out-weaponed) and gestures to Ronon and Rayne to raise their hands, knowing the two stubborn warriors would fight to the death before surrendering. The two reluctantly and angrily raise their hands in surrender.
"Hi, folks. I hope I didn't crash-land on anybody."
Torrell and his fellow prisoners have apparently removed everything they can carry from the Jumper and are investigating what they've got. Torrell lifts a P90 and fires it into the air, then makes one of the prisoners move out the way as he fires another burst at the nearby pond. Another prisoner lifts up a rocket launcher, aiming it at the same spot that Torrell just fired at. He presses the button and the rocket fires - out of the other end of the launcher, flying out behind them and blowing up a shack. The explosion knocks several of the prisoners to the ground. As the shack's remains burn fiercely, everybody gets up and laughs as the prisoner wields the launcher triumphantly.
In another shack, each member of the team has his or her arms strapped around a horizontal large stick and is sitting on the ground with his/her arms, waist and neck tied to an upright pole with leather straps. Rayne locks gazes with her team leader, "John," she flashes her eyes bright indicating that she has a plan.
"No." Sheppard states knowing that she intends to use her voice on their captives. "We do not hurt anyone."
"Not enough to hurt them." Rayne scoffs, rolling her aqua-eyes before she mutters, "I can control myself."
Sheppard sighs, knowing that now Rayne believes that he doesn't trust that she can control herself; but before he can speak to her, Torrell, carrying Ronon's blaster, and some of his cronies come into the shack.
"You should know our people are expecting us. If we don't show up soon, they'll come looking for us."
"Ah. Is that supposed to concern me?" Torrell questions.
"Don't go getting all full of yourself, chief. A few cannons are no match for the kind of firepower they'll be bringing with them. Although… I should complement whoever took that first shot—it was a good one."
"Yeah, it was nice, wasn't it?"
"What do you want from us?" Teyla wonders.
"Well, we've already got your weapons. Now I do believe we'll take your ship. You see, we had been planning a little trip to the mainland but after seeing you fly that thing through the ancestral ring—"
"You're referring to the ship you just shot down?" McKay snaps as he kneels beside Teyla. "The one that doesn't stand a hope in hell of ever flying again?"
"The ship that you're going to fix, yes."
"Who am I, MacGyver? Fix it with what?"
Torrell turns to one of his men, "Get him up." McKay is made to stand. He appears very concerned. "You seem like a smart man. I'm sure you'll think of something. Maybe all you need is a little motivation."
He fires Ronon's blaster past Rodney to blow a large hole in the side of the shack.
"Maybe you should think about fixing it, Rodney." Sheppard comments as they all look at the large hole.
"Good idea."
"My friends all tell me I have a remarkable gift for persuasion." Torrell chuckles as a prisoner starts to untie McKay.
Inside of the Atlantis control room, Weir is concerned after the gate was activated, but there was no sight of Colonel Sheppard's team. "What happened?"
"The gate activated. Nothing came through." The technician informs her as he punches buttons on his computer terminal.
"Colonel Sheppard?"
"So we assumed. We received no I.D.C., a few moments later, the gate shuts down."
"They should've returned by now. Dial the planet and try to establish a radio link."
"Yes, ma'am."
Elizabeth touches a finger to her comm, "Major Lorne, this is Weir."
"Go ahead."
"I may have to go off-world to assist Colonel Sheppard. I'd like you to assemble a team and have a puddle jumper ready to go."
"Yes, ma'am."
Inside of the shack the four remaining team members are trying to loosen their bindings. "Anyone having any luck?" Sheppard grumbles.
"Not yet." Rayne states.
"These bindings are very secure." Teyla adds.
"Well, leave it to convicts to know the best way to tie people up."
"Well, eventually I will get free and when I do, he's going to pay for this." Ronon growls.
"Well, listen to me. When you get free, you get us free, and we all get out of here. Let 'em find out we're gone after we're gone."
"You expect me to let them get away with this?"
"The operative words are "get away."
"After I kill him…"
"That type of thinking will get us killed."
"Well, if you would've returned fire—"
"The weapons systems were damaged."
"If you say so."
Sheppard glares intensely at Ronon, "I do say so, and right now, I'm saying knock it off."
"Is that an order, Sheppard?"
"Will both of you knock it off, I've had enough!" Rayne snaps causing both men to flinch. They knew that she couldn't hurt them with her voice, but that still didn't damper their fear at the glow in her eyes.
John sighs in defeat and laughs ruefully, "I am beat up, tied up, and couldn't order a pizza right now if I wanted to, but if you need it to be, yeah, it's an order."
"Okay." Ronon mumbles causing Sheppard to look at him with some amazement at how easily he gave in.
Several prisoners wait outside the Jumper while Rodney explains to Torrell that fixing the ship is not going to be easy. "There is no power getting to any of these controls. You understand? Look. Nothing!"
"Why not?"
"Let me go out on a limb here and say that maybe it had something to do with the crash. Which, of course, begs the question—how the hell did you get your hands on explosives?"
"Eldon made them. He fashioned a composite out of minerals and materials he found around the island. Crude, yes, but effective. We shot you down, didn't we?"
"Eldon? Who is Eldon?"
"That would be me."
Rodney turns to face the man who just spoke, who waves at him. He looks even scruffier than the others. "You're a prisoner?"
"I was accused of killing one man—"
"He's a scientist." Torrell says.
"It was a case of mistaken identity."
"Tell you what, Eldon. You can tell him your whole life story. Just help him fix the ship."
"Look, I don't know what you expect me to do. I don't have any of the proper diagnostic tools, not to mention the fact that…"
He trails off as Torrell raises his hand and wiggles his fingers in a 'yack-yack-yack' gesture. "You'll figure it out."
"And if I don't?"
"Well, I could kill you. But you strike me as the type of man who, despite being weak and cowardly on the outside, harbors a strength of character he doesn't even know he has."
"I'm sorry, was there a compliment in there?"
"See, the way to motivate a man like you, Mr. McKay—not to threaten your life. It's to threaten the lives of your friends. Perhaps starting with the green-eyed beauty you seem transfixed by."
McKay gives a look of concern as he thinks about Rayne and his friends.
"That's right. Fix the ship. Otherwise, they start dying, one after another, until you change your mind…or until they're all dead. I don't care." Torrell leaves and McKay reluctantly starts to work on a console.
Back inside of the jumper bay, Major Lorne is at the controls when Dr. Weir enters. "All set?"
Lorne nods, "Ready to go. Still no word from 'em?"
"Nothing."
"Don't worry. We'll find them." Lorne states as two Special Forces soldiers sit behind them.
"I was hoping to negotiate a trade agreement. Now I'm worried I have to negotiate their release."
"We don't know that."
"Dial the gate, but go to stealth mode the moment we're through."
The Gate whooshes as the Jumper flies through and immediately vanishes as the cloak engages. Nearby, two of the men guarding the Jumper run out and stare at the sky but can see nothing. They shrug to each other as the Gate closes down again.
Inside the downed Jumper, Eldon takes out a piece of crystal panel from the wall and stares at it. Despite Torrell's assertion that Eldon is a scientist, his manner of speech implies that he's not very bright.
"The technology on this ship is far more advanced than the Olesians'." Elrond explains.
"How ironic, then, to have been shot down by the cast of Braveheart." He looks round at Eldon, snatches the crystal panel off him and puts it in his pocket.
"Well, I'm surprised we were able to shoot you down."
"Well, it's the old low-tech versus high-tech argument, I suppose."
"We've been working on those weapons for years—"
"Yes, well, well done. Good for them, huh? Now, are you going to continue talking or, uh…" Eldon blinks at him and says nothing. "Thank you."
He works on the panel for a moment, then looks round to see Eldon holding up another crystal panel and looking at it. He snatches it from his hand, "Oh… give me that. Where did that come from?"
Torrell is rummaging through the gear taken from the Jumper. He picks up a radio and presses a button, only to hear a burst of static from somewhere nearby. He presses the button again and listens to hear where the static came from, eventually tracking down a second radio near his feet. He presses the button again to confirm the source of the sound, then looks round at the shack thoughtfully.
Rodney is still working on the panel. He looks round and sees Eldon watching him intently and in fascination. Eldon notices that Rodney is looking at him and turns away. Rodney gets back to working on the panel. "Those cannons. Your design?" McKay asks the small man tittering idly beside him in the Jumper.
Eldon stutters slightly, "No, no, no. Well, I chose the material and helped calculate trajectories. The ignition mechanisms… and the fuses, of course. But most of my efforts went into fashioning the explosive shots."
"Ah, explosives. Was that how you killed a man?"
"I didn't kill him. I'm innocent. I don't belong here."
"Hmm. Really. I wonder if there's ever been a convicted felon who didn't claim he was innocent."
"I don't care if you don't believe me. I just want off this island."
Abruptly McKay notices something, "Oh, no…"
"What is it?"
"I assume there's no DHD beside the Stargate?" He sees the blank look come over Eldon's face and sighs, "Uh, the ancestral ring, is there some kind of a dialing device that turns it on?"
"No. Nothing."
"Oh, of course. Why give the prisoners such an obvious means of escape?"
"What's wrong?"
"The main power distribution conduit has been damaged. That effectively cuts all the power to the primary systems—drive pods, cockpit controls, DHD."
"Can you fix it?"
"Easily… if I had a replacement. Without one, you and your friends aren't going anywhere."
"Neither are you. If you don't fix this ship, Torrell's going to make sure you're the first the Wraith find at the next culling."
Ronon, Rayne, Sheppard, and Teyla are still tied up, they all look up as Torrell forces McKay in, his arms are once more bound over a bar. Eldon enters as well behind them.
"Choose." Torrell insists.
"Choose what?"
"Which one of them dies first…? Do it."
McKay looks at his teammates, "I can't do that."
"Well, then, I'll choose for you. Either way, one of them dies, unless you change your mind about fixing that ship."
"Well, I'm sorry, but there are some things beyond my capability."
"I don't believe you."
"Well, I know it is hard to believe, but—"
"No. I think you're lying."
"I'm not. It's broken. You don't understand "broken?"
"I know your type. You whine, and you complain, and you see to it that your every task is viewed as some impossible achievement so that when you do succeed, your gargantuan efforts are viewed as all the more heroic."
"That may be true in some cases, but this is not one of them." McKay balks as Sheppard gives him a look at the admission. "You are asking me to do the impossible."
"Your friends' lives are in your hands. I'll give you some time to choose." Torrell leaves and another prisoner forces McKay to the floor and ties him down. He grunts in discomfort.
"Listen to him, McKay. He's killed 11 people: eight before he was sent here and three since he's been on the island." Eldon informs them all.
"That's 11, huh? You've got some catching up to do, don't you?" He glances over to Sheppard, "He's only killed one."
John frowns, "Who? Him?"
"I told you, I'm here because of a mistake."
"I'm sure everyone here on this island says that." Ronon mumbles.
"Well, as a matter of fact, some of us are innocent. Only a few, like Torrell, are actual murderers."
"You mean they put all their criminals here, regardless of the crimes they commit?" Teyla comments.
"Once, only the worst of the worst were sent here. But the punishment proved to be such a successful deterrent that crime rates in Olesia plummeted, which meant fewer and fewer prisoners."
"Less food for the Wraith." She surmises.
"Exactly."
"So they lowered the bar." Sheppard finishes.
Rayne sighs now understanding why she felt so akin to the prisoners, because they like her and so many others, did not all deserve the treatment they had been given. "So not everyone on this island deserves to be here, something tells me I have heard a story like this before."
The Magistrate leads Weir, Lorne, and his mean through the modern building. "They have not returned to the planet?"
"No, and we haven't been able to establish radio contact with them, either."
"They didn't return to the city. Perhaps they traveled through the ring to another planet."
"No, they would've radioed first."
"Something must've happened on the island. I'll alert our security teams, have them begin a search." Marin insists.
"We'll join them." Lorne offers.
"I would advise against that."
"Would you?" Weir snaps.
"The island is extremely dangerous. Our ships are heavily armored. We know the terrain, as well as the prisoners' tactics. Don't worry. We'll find them."
"I hope you do, Magistrate, for all our sakes."
"Of course." The Magistrate and Marin leave. Lorne and Weir exchange suspicious looks.
Ronon pulls on his bindings, his wrists are bleeding. "I think they're loosening."
"Take it easy, Chewy. You're going to cut your damn hands off." Sheppard admonishes the big guy before his eyes drift over to Rayne who turns her head avoiding his eye contact.
"The more we struggle, the tighter the bindings get." Teyla mentions.
Behind them, one of the metal panels that forms the wall of the shack is tugged aside, and Eldon crawls in and moves round to face the four of them holding up a knife. "You need something like this."
"What about the guards?" McKay whispers.
"They stepped away. No one's watching."
"Will you help us?" Teyla questions.
"If you'll help me."
"How?" Sheppard asks warily.
"Fix the ship. Let me leave with you."
McKay gasps, "Oh, for God's sake, how many times do I have to tell you—"
"I know you could do it. I could see it in your eyes when you were working. You were holding something back from us."
"Rodney?" Sheppard glowers, staring over at the other man.
"Nobody could fix it. I don't care who you think I am, or what you think you saw in my eyes, but it is totally, completely impossible."
"Torrell and his men are going to return soon."
"He'll fix it."
"I just said I couldn't."
John looks over to Rayne, nodding his head at McKay; she sighs but turns her glowing eyes upon Rodney's who uncomfortably quickly looks away. She nods her head to John confirming that she knows McKay is indeed lying. "You really suck at lying, Rodney." Sheppard turns to Eldon, "We have a deal."
"That's cheating." Rodney exclaims turning his accusatory gaze on Rayne before he sighs. "There is one slight possibility."
"Huh? See?" John says nodding.
"I won't actually be able to fix the ship to fly out of here, but I might be able to cobble together enough power from secondary systems to activate the DHD. That way, we can dial the gate and leave on foot. When I say "might," I mean probably not. It's a long shot at best. I'd have to bypass the main power distribution conduit—"
"Get us out of here."
Eldon goes to Ronon first and cuts his hands free. The moment he does, Ronon grabs the knife off him, seizes him by the arm and holds the knife against Eldon's throat.
"Ronon, what are you doing?" Sheppard snaps.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't cut your throat."
Sheppard gets his attention, "For one, it would make a mess. Look, we made a deal. Just let him go."
Ronon glares at Eldon for a few moments longer, then shoves him onto his back and cuts himself free before getting up and cutting John free. He then goes over to Rodney and bends down to cut the strap around his waist.
"Careful, careful."
"Suck it up!" Ronon snaps as he frees McKay, then goes to Teyla to release her followed lastly by Rayne.
John crawls to the gap at the back of the shack, checks to make sure nobody's around, then everyone crawls out. But what they don't see is the radio sitting active under some rope, its Transmit button is taped down.
They walk in a single file through the woods, all at once Sheppard signals for them to crouch. "Why are we stopping?" Ronon questions.
"This is way too easy. All right, stay close and," looking pointedly at McKay, "stay quiet."
"What? Why does he say that to me?"
"Shh!" Teyla says shoving him onwards as the team makes its way nearer to the Jumper, then takes cover at the edge of the clearing and checks the area. No one is guarding it. Rayne's acute senses alert her and she notices the archers hidden in the woods nearby, she points them out to John who looks round at Eldon.
"I didn't know anything about this, I swear." Eldon confesses.
"We will never be able to make it to the Jumper. They have our weapons." Teyla reminds them.
"We don't need weapons." Ronon growls.
McKay scoffs, "How about the fact that they seriously outnumber us?"
"At least we've got the element of surprise." Sheppard says as he takes stock of their surroundings.
"I was beginning to think you were afraid to fight." Ronon admits.
"No, I'm just naturally lazy, but I will if I have to. And it's starting to look like we have to." John glances over to McKay, "How much time do you need to rework the DHD?"
"Well, in a perfect world, two days."
"Rodney."
"Right now, uh, ten minutes, give or take."
"All right, we need to create a diversion. We're going to split up, flank them, get them looking everywhere except the Jumper. Hopefully we can buy enough time to steal back our weapons."
"John." Rayne says softly gaining his attention, "This is why you wanted me on your team. Trust me."
Sheppard shakes his head, he knows she is right, this is why he wanted her on the team, she had a weapon that no one could take; but for some reason he can't bring himself to ask her to use it. Luckily he doesn't have to answer when the gate activates nearby. "Or we could just dial the gate."
"They fixed the DHD?" Teyla wonders.
"That's impossible." Rodney adds, if he couldn't do it then he was sure that they couldn't.
"I don't think they're the ones who dialed it." John says as the prisoners run out of their hiding places and race away from the Gate. The all-too-familiar sound of a Wraith Dart is heard as it swoops out of the Gate. "Get down!"
"It didn't see us." Eldon says.
"It saw us. It didn't care." Ronon states, he knowing the Wraith better than anyone in their group.
"Why not?"
"Who cares? They left the Jumper." John shouts as they all jump up and make a break for the Jumper.
Inside of the Olesian building the Magistrate is delivering some bad news to Weir and Lorne. "I'm afraid the news is not good. Our rescue teams had just begun their search on the island when the ancestral ring activated."
"The Wraith?" She questions.
"It appears a culling is under way. We're not sure how many ships are involved, but our teams were forced to pull back. I'm not giving up hope. I'll send teams back in the moment the Wraith are gone. Hopefully your friends will have evaded the culling. I must attend to this."
He rushes off and for the second time that day Weir and Lorne exchange concerned looks.
But inside of the Magistrate's office there is another conversation being had that no one from Atlantis would have ever comprehended.
The Magistrate pours some wine into a goblet. "I apologize for my tardiness. I had an urgent matter to attend to… a matter which could ultimately benefit us both."
The Magistrate apologizes as his attention turns to his companion, he hands the goblet to his guest…. A Wraith.
"In that case… apology accepted." It takes the goblet and inhales the aroma of the wine before taking a sip. "Exceptional, as always. I think this is my favorite vintage yet."
The Magistrate, holding his own goblet, sits at the opposite end of the table, on which is spread a meal. "I hope you find the food acceptable as well. My new chef is quite accomplished."
"I certainly hope so. Your previous chef, unfortunately, proved to be far more appetizing than the meals he prepared." He eats a bit of food, tossing it back into his throat with apparent relish.
"I must admit… I still find it intriguing to watch you eat actual food."
"Our lineage may have diverged, but there are those of us who still retain an appreciation for finer things. And although it may provide a moment's pleasure… it does not sustain me." He stands and walks around the room. "This arrangement I have made with you and your predecessors has served both of us well. While others of my kind have been forced to sleep between cullings, I have enjoyed a steady stream of humans for my consumption, and the taste of their defiance is sweet. You, in return, have been allowed to live in peace."
"We thank you for that."
"But… throughout the galaxy, hives continue to wake in far greater numbers than are sustainable, and with a hunger that is most pressing."
The Magistrate is becoming nervous at the Wraith's words, "I assure you that I have put measures in place to augment the population on the island."
"Then why is it there are even fewer inhabitants on the island? Others of my kind would have destroyed your entire planet… but I am more civilized than that."
"And I thank you for your generosity."
"Still, there are interests which must be served. There are many Wraith who hunger… And I have promised to provide for them. The decision you are now faced with is… on whom shall we feed?"
"Your needs shall be met. You have my promise."
"Good. I would hate to see anything happen to you. I do so enjoy our dinners together." He smiles falsely.
Ronon is standing outside keeping watch. He listens as a Dart swoops past nearby, then hears the Stargate close. He then limps up the ramp into the Jumper. "The dart went back through the gate."
"I do not know why it did not cull anyone." Teyla wonders, it was odd for a Wraith dart to come and go without taking anyone, and they had been right in its path.
Ronon shrugs his shoulders, "Maybe it did. It headed for the mainland when it first came through."
"All right, keep watch." John orders, Ronon rushes back out and the Colonel turns to Rodney. "How's it coming, Rodney?"
McKay is working under the forward control panels. Eldon is beside him. "Slower than I expected, but faster than humanly possible."
"Any chance of getting the cloaking generator powered up, too? Could really come in handy right about now."
"Okay, and how about a snack? Maybe you'd like me to make you a nice sandwich?"
"Only if it's humanly possible."
"It would be a miracle if I get the DHD back on, let alone the cloaking generator. And even if I could manage that, the power will be intermittent at best."
"Okay. Well, FYI, the Wraith have all gone, so it's just a matter of time before Torrell and his boys return… with all of our weapons."
"I get it!" McKay hollers annoyed.
"Good." Sheppard responds equally annoyed.
Weir, Lorne, and his men wait anxiously inside of a room in the building when Marin enters, looking concerned.
"Marin? What's happened?" Weir asks the young woman.
"No one must know I'm speaking to you."
"Of course."
"You should leave—as soon as possible."
"Why?" Major Lorne questions.
"The Magistrate has just rescinded my orders to send rescue teams back to the island."
"What? Why would he do that?" Weir enquires.
"Several arrests have been made. Many people in the city have been apprehended for unspecified violations to be sent to the island to increase the population there."
"To keep the Wraith fed." Lorne figures out.
"This has been going on for some time, but never so bad as this. The number of arrests is—I cannot keep quiet any longer. I have to speak out."
The door opens and the Magistrate enters, with an entourage, his voice is quietly civil as he addresses them. "Lies. Seeding fear not only among your own people, but now our guests. I cannot allow it."
"I was only trying to understand why so many people are being arrested."
"Your job is not to question the actions of this government." He signals for his men to take her, which they do.
"No. Wait! Help me! Please!" She screams as she is taken out of the room.
"Where are they taking her?"
"I'm sorry you had to witness that."
"What crime has she committed?"
"I have recently learned that Marin has been involved in a group seeking to undermine the Olesian government. She's become very adept at spinning lies to suit her organization's treasonable agenda."
"Did you or did you not rescind the order to send rescue teams back to the island?"
"Why would I do that?"
"That doesn't concern me. My first concern is with the safety of my people, and I promise you—"
"Everything is being done to ensure their rescue and safe return. If there has been any hindrance at all, it was because of Marin."
"What's going to happen to her now?"
"She'll receive a fair trial in our courts."
"And then what, sent to the island?" Lorne probes.
"I'm sure where you come from, treason is also considered a very serious offense."
"So that's a "yes." He surmises.
"Tell me, what else is considered a serious offense around here?"
"Anything that threatens the welfare of the Olesian people."
"Are you sure it's the welfare of the people that concerns you? Or just your own?"
"Choose your words very carefully, Dr. Weir."
"Oh, I do. Why? Is that a threat?"
"It's advice…from one ally to another."
"Well, this alliance… it's just been rescinded." Weir states turning to her people. "We're leaving."
The Magistrate looks round to his own guards, who put their hands on their weapons.
"What, do you plan to arrest us, too?" The Magistrate looks nervously at the Marines and their looks of determination. "Because you do not want to do that." Weir warns as Lorne and his men bring their weapons to bear on the Magistrate. Elizabeth and the Magistrate lock gazes for a moment, then the Magistrate nods in resignation and gestures to his guards to stand down. They step out of the way and let Weir and her team leave.
Outside the puddle jumper Ronon and Rayne see some prisoners returning, the big man calls inside the Jumper.
"Party's over."
"And we were having such a good time." Sheppard says as he comes out of the Jumper and watches as the prisoners make their way cautiously towards the Jumper. "All right, let's see if we can hold them off." He goes back inside to McKay. "As soon as you get the DHD back online, dial the gate and make a run for it. When you get back to Atlantis, start working on those sandwiches. We'll be right behind you."
"Two minutes! Hold them that long, we're good to go."
They wait until the path seems clear, then run off, Teyla and Ronon going to one side of the path, Rayne and John to the other. Taking cover in the bushes, Teyla picks up a thin branch from the ground and snaps it across her knee to make two fighting sticks. John, copying the idea, picks up another branch and slams it down onto his knee, only to wince and hobble when it's too thick to break.
He grabs his knee and has to fight not to yell, while beside him Rayne bites her lip to avoid laughing, John notices it and glares at her. "Not a word." He threatens as he bends down and picks up a shorter, but equally thick, branch.
Rayne purses her lips, biting back a retort as she cracks her knuckles, the two of them break cover and maneuver behind some prisoners. Ronon and Teyla break cover and run deeper into the bushes as a couple of prisoners run up, crouching down near the area that they just left.
As a third man runs up, John jumps out and slams his branch across his back, then into his stomach, finally using the branch to cut his legs from under him. Rayne takes out another two men with her bare hands, Teyla takes on another prisoner with her sticks. Ronon, unarmed, fights two men simultaneously. The fight is evenly matched for some time, but eventually more prisoners arrive, and some of them are wielding the team's guns while others have bows and arrows aimed at them.
But before they can put the men down, more prisoners armed with their SGA weapons come up on them.
"Don't move!"
The four stop and raise their hands, dropping the makeshift weapons to the ground.
"That's it! I did it! We're ready to dial!" McKay shouts in triumph, but as he turns his smile drops as he sees that Torrell and his men are back.
"See that? I knew you could do it."
Other prisoners have brought back the rest of the team, forcing them to their knees, hands placed behind their heads. They force Ronon apart from the others and onto his knees, none of them noticing the brunette's eyes beginning to glow.
"Kill him."
"Oh, no, no. You don't have to do that. If you want me to dial the gate for you, that's fine. There are hundreds of suitable planets out there you can go to." McKay shouts trying to reason with Torrell.
"Yes, and there are hundreds of unsuitable planets you can send me to, aren't there?"
"Yeah, but I won't send you to one of those."
"I think our best option is to just come with you, to your planet… provided you got more of these lying around there, do you?"
"Forget it." Sheppard states.
"I'm sorry?"
"We'll dial you another address. You can go through. But we're not taking you home."
"You are aware of the fact that we have all of your weapons pointed at you, right?"
"Yeah, well, you're going to murder us the minute we step through the gate anyways. What difference does it make?"
"That's very distrustful."
Suddenly they all hear a humming sound coming from above, all eyes turn towards the sky and McKay mumbles in horror, "Oh no…"
A Wraith cruiser is making its way slowly toward them, as if coming in for a landing.
Inside of Lorne's Jumper he cruises them over the water toward the island, bringing up the HUD display. "We've got a Wraith cruiser headed for the island, and I'm picking up several more on approach outside the atmosphere."
He cloaks the Jumper even before Weir responds.
"Go to stealth mode. Let's find our guys before they do."
"What is that? What is that?" Torrell hollers as he walks over standing in close proximity to Ronon.
"It's a Wraith cruiser, and trust me, you don't want to be around when it gets here." Sheppard tells him.
Torrell continues to stare into the sky, using the distraction to his advantage Ronon takes his stunner from Torrell, clocking him across the face with it before he can react, then points it at the armed prisoners. Torrell points his other gun at Ronon egging the large man on, "Come on."
"Wait, wait." Sheppard shouts hoping to pause them all from starting a shootout, he turns to McKay. "Dial the gate."
The men continue to glare at one another, the prisoners inching in from the outer edges of the circle, pointing the SGA weapons at the team. Torrell shouts to McKay to halt what he is doing, "Stop!"
"Enough!" A booming voice cuts through the air causing the prisoners to momentarily falter and clutch their heads; Rayne stands before Torrell, her aqua-eyes glowing bright causing him to shrink back slightly. "There is another way."
John steps up standing beside her reiterating her point, "If all the prisoners get off this island, where do you think that ship will go?"
The cruiser is getting closer as McKay shouts out, "What? Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. No! We've got a big problem in here!"
Sheppard and others rush in. "What's wrong?"
"I lost power to the DHD."
"Why?"
"I told you the power feed would be intermittent at best. We should've dialed when I patched it instead of standing around talking—"
"Can you fix it?"
"I don't know."
"They're right on top of us." Ronon points out.
"We could shoot them down." Torrell offers, clearly knowing nothing about the Wraith ships.
Teyla shakes her head, "Neither your weapons nor ours will damage it."
"What about the drones? Can you patch enough power to arm them?" Sheppard asks Rodney.
"They're not as intricate as the DHD. Maybe—maybe—maybe one, given the time constraints."
"Then do it."
"Can one drone shoot down an entire Wraith cruiser?" Teyla enquires.
"Maybe we'll get a lucky shot. McKay?"
Rodney is up under the panel working on the console, "Almost… just give me one more… and… okay! We're armed! Go, before the power cuts out again!"
Sheppard activates the controls and fires a single drone, which flies up and impacts the belly of the cruiser, doing significant damage.
"Did you see that?" Lorne asks from inside their jumper.
"A drone." Weir confirms.
"We scored a hit. That's either going to buy us time or piss 'em off." Sheppard announces as he rises from the pilot's seat.
"If they didn't know we were here, they sure as hell do now." McKay adds.
"Colonel Sheppard, you damaged the Wraith cruiser…" Weir's voice comes over the radio Torrell is holding. "…and it's leaving the area. But there are two more cruisers incoming."
Torrell hands over the radio to Sheppard, "Here."
"Elizabeth, where are you?"
"We're in Jumper 2. We're cloaked, directly above you. Are you all right?"
"Our jumper's disabled. Right now, I need you to dial the gate to one of the back-up planets to the Alpha site. Doesn't matter which one."
"Understood." She nods to Lorne. "Do it."
The Stargate engages and Sheppard yells to everyone crowded outside of the jumper. "Okay, everyone who wanted off of this planet… now's your chance!"
The prisoners run for the Stargate not needing to be told twice.
"Time to go."
"Why should we trust you? Huh?"
"If you want to stay, stay. I really don't give a damn, but you are not coming home with us!"
Eldon stands up in objection, "But I—"
Sheppard waves him off, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, you can come."
Eldon sinks back down in relief. Torrell thinks about it for a moment, then gives a half-hearted salute and leaves. Ronon gives him a predatory smile as he leaves.
"Elizabeth I need you to keep the gate open until the last of them go through, then shut it down. Dial Atlantis."
"We can land and pick you up."
"Negative, just keep the gate open. We'll take it from there. Stay in stealth mode till the Wraith have gone away."
"Acknowledged." Weir hesitantly replies.
Dozens of prisoners, now including women, rush for the nearby gate. In less than a minute the group hears the gate shut down again
"Here comes another cruiser." John notices through the front windshield of the jumper.
"Dial Atlantis." Weir orders and Lorne starts to dial. "We're dialing. Head for the gate."
Sheppard leaves the radio behind and they all run out. Above them as the damaged cruiser limps away with smoke trailing from it, a second cruiser starts to descend and fires at the fleeing team. The team hurries to the gate amid the cruiser firing on them as they run, causing explosions around them. They throw themselves through the active wormhole just as one lucky blast hits the ground at the base of the gate, just a moment too late for the Wraith.
"They're through." Lorne reports and Weir sags back in relief as the second cruiser moves away back towards the mainland; where from the supposed safety of his office the Magistrate watches in silent horror as a cruiser descends into the city.