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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Sheppard's team makes their way through a thick forest, for the last twenty minutes they had been walking all they had heard was Rodney's incessant complaining; and several of the team members had considered shooting him on multiple occasions.
"This is ridiculous."
"Well, keep complaining about it, and we may get there faster." Sheppard replies sarcastically.
"Well, couldn't we have met these people on a tropical beach planet, populated by tall, blonde women? Hmm? Or anyone who looks like Rayne?"
The Siren smirks as she sidles up next to the scientist, "Rodney, the women on my planet would have eaten you alive. Literally." She chomps her teeth with a grin to emphasis her point before walking ahead beside Ronon.
"Really?" He questions from behind her.
"Whoever wants to speak with us obviously values their privacy." Teyla says.
"Yes, well, I value my time, and this is a waste of it."
"What's a waste of time is listening to you, Rodney. This is the mission." Sheppard grumbles.
"Yeah, well, it strikes me that this is a mission better suited to one of the lower echelon teams."
"Lower echelon"?" Ronon questions wondering what that term meant.
"He means to say "less important." Teyla clarifies to the warrior.
"We got a tip from one of Teyla's contacts. We're following it up."
"And this is, like, what, the umpteenth tip we've followed up in search of a Zed PM?"
"Rodney—" Teyla cautions.
"Look, I just want to make it clear that every second I am out of my lab is a second the galaxy goes without another groundbreaking—"
Men hiding in the forest come forward and shoot all five members of the team with stun weapons. Sheppard and the others fall to the ground, unconscious.
"We have to get them to the gate before their people realize they're missing." The man in charge announces as his men take the weapons from Sheppard and the others.
Sheppard and the others are seated around a large wooden dining table, their hand tied behind their backs. When the hoods are removed from their heads they see several men dressed in a variety of homespun clothing surround them.
"You guys okay?" Sheppard asks looking at each of his team members in turn, making sure to check for visible injuries, which thankfully he finds none.
"Oh, yeah. Fine!" McKay snaps.
"Seems like a whole lot of trouble to go through just to get us to dinner… Not a talkative bunch, are you?"
"If we release you from your bindings, do you promise not to attack us?" The lead man questions.
"Sure." Ronon growls, intending on ripping them all to shreds as soon as he is released.
"Yeah, we promise." John concurs equally unconvincing, before giving a small nod to Rayne letting her know that these men are fair game.
A familiar laugh is heard and Aiden Ford enters the cave. Ronon tries to get up and approach him, but other men hold him back. "Before we untie them, they have to know that they're among friends."
Sheppard quickly shakes his head to the Siren calling her off when he realizes who this man is. "Ford?"
"You thought I was dead, didn't you, Sheppard?"
Sheppard exchanges looks with the rest of the team. Ford smiles mildly, the left side of his face still altered by the earlier Wraith injury.
There is a plate of food in front of each of Sheppard's team. They are now untied. "Guys… Guys, please, eat. Eat."
Ford takes a bit from Teyla's plate and takes a bite, showing them it is not poisoned. Ronon sniffs the food before he and McKay start to eat.
Ford introduces the team to his men that still surround the table. "Well, men, this used to be my team." He nods to Ronon, "Well, not this one… but I think he's okay, too." He then looks to the aqua-eyed woman glaring a hole through him. "And this one is definitely a welcome addition. Nice choice Colonel."
"What is all this?" John questions.
"Just some local vegetables, a sort of alligator thing. It tastes like salted meat. It's good. Try."
"I'm not talking about the food. What the hell is going on?"
"Who are these men? And why bring us here like this?" Teyla demands.
'Whoa. That's a lot of questions."
"Pick one." Ronon growls.
"Pick one." That's good. Where'd you find him, Sheppard?"
McKay speaks with his mouth full nearly spitting pieces of food onto the table. "Maybe you should start with how you managed to escape being culled by the Wraith Dart?" Sheppard gives him a look at the way he scarfs down his food. "Hmm? What? When I get nervous, I get hungry."
"Okay. The Dart…"
Out in the forest, John is chasing Aiden. Darts scream overhead. John glances up at them, then raises his rifle and aims it at Aiden. Sheppard has his gun aimed at Ford. "Ford!" Aiden looks at him for a moment, then lowers his right hand towards the pistol strapped to his leg. John fires a single shot, hitting Aiden in his left leg. Aiden groans but stays on his feet and draws his pistol, aiming it at John. "You're not getting off this planet."
Ford jumps into the Wraith culling beam from the Dart that passes by. He wakes up on the Wraith ship. "I have no idea how long I was in the Dart. Next thing I knew, I was on a cruiser, and I was awake."
McKay is still stuffing his face as while he speaks. "It's the enzyme. It makes you almost immune to the Wraith stunner, so when you dematerialize from the Wraith Dart, you're awake, as opposed to…"
"As opposed to dead."
Awake, Ford grabs a knife and stabs the Wraith soldier standing over him. He grabs its weapon and fires on the Wraith. Then he kneels beside it with his knife. "I cut open his enzyme pouch, took my fill, and made my way off the ship."
Ford makes his way through the ship. "You can get around pretty easy on a Wraith ship. They're not used to people making it aboard, so there's next to no security."
Ford shoots another Wraith soldier and bends to cut into its arm for the enzyme pouch. "I walked off with enough enzyme to last me a little while, tracked down the Stargate, dialed the first friendly address I could remember."
Ford enters a tavern and sees Kanayo, who becomes his right hand man. "I need a place to stay, a hot meal."
"And what do you got to trade?"
Ford takes out a Wraith stunner and puts it on the bar. "What'll that get me?"
A bouncer grabs him from behind. "No weapons."
Ford grabs him by the neck and slams the bouncer's head into the bar, then lets him fall to the floor. He turns back to Kanayo. "So? What'll that get me?"
Later, Ford is eating while Kanayo looks on. "I still don't really understand."
"Look at me. I got shot; I healed. I can see farther, clearer than I ever saw before."
"I told them about the enzyme, how it makes you stronger, more aware, more resilient, how it would give us a fighting chance against the Wraith… I mean, look at me. Look at me! I walked off a Wraith cruiser. It works."
"I want to try it." Kanayo says as he shakes hands with Ford.
"Wait a second." Ronon questions as he turns in his chair, resting his hand on the back of it as he motions to the men surrounding them. "All your people here… all your men… they're on the enzyme?"
"Of course."
Kanayo and other of Ford's men stalk a Wraith patrol of two. They ambush and fire on them. One of the men starts to cut the enzyme from a Wraith.
"No. We don't do it like that anymore. Let's gate them back home." Kanayo orders.
The men drag the Wraith across the planet.
"As our numbers kept growing, we needed more and more of the enzyme."
Ford's men spar as Kanayo and others drag the Wraith in to put them beside other Wraith. All the Wraith are shackled and unmoving. Ford enters. "Nice work."
"Thank you."
"That should give us a steady stream of the enzyme. Time to focus on some bigger issues."
"Aiden do you mean to tell us that there are live Wraith here in this cave?" Teyla questions looking alarmed.
"That's right."
"The Wraith can communicate with each other over a distance."
"But not between stars. They'd have to be in this solar system." He points to McKay. "You taught me that."
"Yes, well, good for me."
Ford chuckles, "What's the matter? They can't communicate if they're unconscious."
"Why'd you jump us?" Sheppard asks.
"Yeah… Yeah, I'm sorry about that. It was the only way to get you here."
"Why didn't you just tell us where you were? You know we would have come."
"Yeah, you and a special ops team."
Sheppard shakes his head unconvincingly, "No, no."
"I know you think I'm crazy. I brought you all here to show you that you're wrong. I mean, do I look crazy? Do I seem… out of control?"
"Are we speaking in relative terms, or, um…" McKay says throwing up his hands.
"Look… Jace here has really fine-tuned the enzyme. We know how to administer it now, how to regulate it, refine it… We've gotten so good, we can even lace food with it."
Teyla, Ronon, and McKay all stop eating, while Sheppard and Rayne look to their companions alarmed.
"Excuse me?" McKay whines.
"Congratulations. You've just had your first dose."
"What?" McKay spits out the food in his mouth, while Ronon pulls a large chunk out of his own.
"I thought long and hard about how to show you that the enzyme was safe… Convince you that it was the first step to defeating the Wraith, so you'd convince Weir, convince the military."
McKay shoots to his feet furious, "Are you out of your mind?"
"Hey, settle down, McKay."
"No, I will not settle down! I have been drugged against my will, you little punk!" McKay screams.
"You should not have done this, Aiden." Teyla warns him.
"Hey, be as mad as you want. Couple of days, you'll be thanking me. We'll all have a good laugh about this. Now, eat up." His attention turns to Rayne who has not attempted even one bite. "You too beauty."
Rayne glares at Ford as she states, "The enzyme won't work on me."
"Oh really? And why's that? What do you possess that makes you think you're immune?"
"When the time comes, you'll be the first to find out." She threatens trying to halt her eyes from flashing with her anger, she dare not let them figure out what she truly is.
"Why wait. How bout we find out right now?" He says smoothly.
Hearing the innuendo in Ford's voice towards Rayne, Ronon shoots to his feet in anger attempting to go after Ford, but a man holds a stunner to his face. Ford simply smirks at him before he walks out of the room.
Meanwhile McKay is still standing by the table freaking out as he starts furiously scratching his arms through his jacket. "I'm itchy. I'm itchy all over. This is exactly what happened when I toked pot once in college."
Sheppard stands up, "Everyone stay put." He walks toward where Ford has gone, in an adjacent room. Men stop him, but Ford calls them off.
"Let him go."
"Ford… look… I know what you're trying to do. I get it, I do, but you're going about this all wrong. Weir isn't gonna listen to us if we're all hopped up on the enzyme."
"Your food was clean."
"Why? Why me?"
"You're gonna be the witness. You're gonna be the one to tell Weir that her most trusted team has taken the enzyme and is better because of it."
"Look, buddy…why don't you come back with us? Have Beckett look you over. That's the best proof."
"No. No, I've thought this through. This is the plan."
"Look, I don't know what you're thinking—"
"You're free to roam around as much as you want. You're all a part of the team now."
The group heads outside into the forest managing to find a Stargate close to the camp where they had been held. As McKay works on the DHD, he, Sheppard, Teyla, Rayne and Ronon discuss what they should do now.
"Okay so why aren't these guys watching us?" Ronon questions.
"Ronon is right." Teyla agrees. "They went to great trouble to get us here. Why would they allow us to leave?"
"I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop." Sheppard states and about that moment McKay snaps. "Oh, that little bastard!"
"There it goes." John sighs.
"This is what I was afraid of."
"What did he do?"
"He's taken all the necessary control crystals, something I showed him how to do on a mission, I might add."
"Well, that's not good."
"That is the understatement of the year."
"All right. See what you can do."
"Okay, why don't we just take them?" Ronon questions. "All we've got to do is get our hands on one stunner and I can take them all."
"Yeah, maybe, but if we mess it up, whatever trust we might have been given will disappear."
"Then let me do it. I can inhibit them all in one shot." Rayne advises. "You know I have the power, John."
"Yeah, I know you do. But now that our team has the enzyme I can't take the risk. We need to work with them in order to get out of this."
"You want to make them trust us?" Teyla wonders.
"We play it cool. We let them get comfortable. They're bound to make a mistake."
Teyla is clearly skeptical, "And in the meantime?"
"We play along… How are you guys feeling?"
"I didn't eat that much. I feel fine." Ronon says.
"Perhaps if we were able to fast they will be unable to administer the enzyme."
"I doubt that. I don't think they'd have a problem forcing us." Sheppard concludes.
"Okay, well, this thing is useless, and I ate my face off, and I can tell you, I can feel it working."
"There's a good possibility that everything you're feeling right now might be psychosomatic."
"Oh, is that right, Professor Science? Is that your expert opinion?" McKay snaps to John as they start to walk away from the DHD.
"Yes, it is."
"Well, I can tell you, when they up the dosage, the side effects will be very real and very unpredictable."
Back in Atlantis news of Sheppard's team absence has been noted by Weir and Lorne, and despite the team's tendency to get caught up and forget to check in, Elizabeth is not taking any chances. She sends Major Lorne and his team out to find them.
Back inside of the cave McKay paces the room nervously. "Seriously, I'm getting, uh… I'm getting chills and hot flashes, chills and hot flashes, again and again. None of you are feeling that?"
Ronon agitatedly walks up to Sheppard leaning on the back of his chair. "The enzyme side effects are gonna be the least of his concerns if he keeps this up."
"I know. Just be patient."
"Historically, that hasn't been a strength for me." Ronon reminds him as he pulls off his jacket.
"I know."
Ford enters the room with his other men, "Sheppard, Teyla. Kanayo's running a mission off-world. I want you to go with him."
"Why?" John questions.
"We're running an op. I thought you might want to see the men in action."
"Sure. Wherever you need us."
Teyla nods in agreement as she leans on the table either very tired or very wired up. "Just give us some weapons, and—"
"Nice try. No, you're going to hang back and watch with Kanayo. Don't worry. You won't be in any danger."
"That's a load off of my mind." John snarks.
"Good."
"What about us?" McKay asks as he pauses his pacing.
"Jace will give you the grand tour, show you what we've done with the place. How does that sound?"
"It sounds delightful."
"Okay, good. Then if Sheppard tries anything off-world, you'll be nice and close for me to kill you three."
"Can't think of a better way of spending the afternoon."
Kanayo points a gun at Teyla and gestures for them to leave. "Move."
"Looks like he's itching to go."
Ronon walks menacingly around Ford, grabs his coat, and knocks over a chair before leaving.
Ronon wanders through the corridors with Rayne, she is agitated and he knows she can sense the Wraith's presence in the cave. He stops and pulls her into his arms, "Relax, I won't let anything happen to you."
"I am not worried about me." She confides looking up at him through her dark eyelashes. "I can already sense the effects the enzyme is having on you. It's like a drug, Ronon, and when your body processes what is in your blood, it's going to demand more and you won't be able to fight the pull."
"What do you know about drugs?" He asks teasingly. "We've never had such things in this galaxy."
She smiles softly, "I have spent time with our team members from Earth, they have taught me a lot."
"I will be fine. I promise you." He states convincingly as he leans down and presses a light kiss to her lips.
As Sheppard and Teyla exit the wormhole, they follow Kanayo and the others to a small village in the distance. They hide in a bank of foliage, while the others run by on a trail.
"Are those guards Genii?" Sheppard questions recognizing the uniforms.
"Yes."
"What exactly are we doing here?" Teyla questions, she doesn't understand what the Genii have to do with the Wraith.
"The Genii have spies all over the galaxy. If for whatever reason one of them can't make it back to the Genii home-world, their leaders have established safe houses. If they need a place to reload on gear or a place to hide, they come here."
"That's useful." John agrees.
"Yeah. We've found it to be an excellent source of information and supplies."
"How did you find them in the first place?" Teyla asks.
"I was a Genii spy."
John frowns, "If you're one of them, why don't you just walk in there?"
"Well, I used to but eventually they realized I'd betrayed them."
"I can see how they would."
"We rely on raids now."
"Why? What more do you guys want?"
"We don't have all the pieces we need for the Lieutenant's plan."
"Right… and which plan would that be again?"
"All will be revealed when the time is right."
"Oh, good. I'd hate for things to be revealed too early." Sheppard snarks.
McKay gets a tour of Ford's lab from Jace. There are primitive computers and various flasks and tubes of chemicals. "How are you powering these Genii computers?"
"We stole a Telnorran generator. They're a pain to keep serviced, but they do the job. Actually, we just got our hands on some Pilation solar cells, but I haven't been able to figure out how to interface them yet. Have you used them before?"
"Can't say that I have. What—what do you do here?" Rodney says indicating to all of the computers and science lab equipment on the tables.
"We study the Wraith."
"Oh, yeah? How's that going?"
"Some of our discoveries have been quite exciting, actually."
"Like what?"
"Well, for one, they seem to be territorial, very much so, it turns out. They're not a united foe like we once believed." He says turning around and leaning back against the computer behind him.
"Hmm. Really." Rodney says pretending like he's actually interested in what the man is saying, but really he is internally panicking over the enzyme in his blood.
"Yes. In fact, I believe they're fracturing even further." He looks at an old computer terminal with Wraith writing behind him. "Now, my understanding of their language is fairly limited, but they seem to be trying to establish a system that would restrict inter-ship communications."
"What? Why would they stop sharing information with each other?"
"Ford thinks it might have to do with your friend's ability to read their minds. If she taps into them, only one ship would be compromised, not the whole fleet."
"All this because of Teyla?"
"Well, for one, she may not be the only one that possesses that ability…"
"Huh. Fair enough."
"And two, I think that the lack of food in the galaxy has created some deep divisions within the Wraith cells."
"Huh. And you got all that from, uh…this?"
"Yes. To be honest, I could use some help. How's your Wraith, Doctor?"
McKay is actually intrigued by this, "It's okay. Let's see what you got."
Inside of a makeshift sparring room, Ford spars with two of his men, beating both easily. "That's better. You guys still need to work together. You're stronger as a team." He sees Ronon has entered and Rayne is standing just inside of the hallway leaning against the wall. "You want to spar a little?"
Ronon just stares at him.
"We're cool, right? You're not holding a grudge or anything? I did save your life."
"I remember."
"You know, it's funny. If you asked a dozen people who they thought would win in a fight between you and me, people would choose you hands down. Hell, I'd choose you… But we went toe to toe."
"Yeah, we did."
"Until Sheppard showed up."
"So I guess it's still undecided." Ronon smirks.
"Look, all I'm saying is, why do you think I was able to fight you like that? It's the enzyme. Look what it did for me. Imagine what it could do for you. I'm not the bad guy here, Ronon. I'm just trying to help… You'll come around. I know you will." Ford walks away.
Back in the Atlantis control room the Stargate is active as Lorne briefs Weir from the planet. He tells her that Sheppard's team is nowhere to be found, which leads them both to suspect that they have been taken off-world against their will. She asks for the last few addresses dialed from the DHD, to which Lorne humbly admits that it's a little out of his skill set, Weir smiles at his humility and says that she'll send Zelenka.
Back at the small village Sheppard, Teyla, and Kanayo watch the Genii soldiers, leaning against the stone wall; they're jittery like they're trying not to fall asleep.
"So, uh, what's the plan?" John asks again.
"We take them by force."
"That's some groundbreaking strategy there."
"I think the Colonel is interested in the type of attack."
"We plan to overpower them."
"I think it's best if we just watch." John offers, but Kanayo obviously disagrees as he lifts his arm speaking into the comm device on his wrist.
"Now." Kanayo's men attack, shooting all the Genii with stun weapons.
"What kind of plan is that?"
"One that works."
"One of your men got hit." Sheppard points out, the man now lying on the ground with a gunshot to his chest.
"Well, it should be safe for us now."
They move in and Sheppard checks for a pulse on the downed man. "This guy's dead."
"So, you see, you are not invincible." Teyla points out.
"We're close enough."
She shakes her head in disbelief, "There are skills to the art of war, Kanayo."
"Don't you tell me how to run my missions. You're just here to watch." Kanayo insists as one of his men arrives with a metal case. He opens it to reveal it's full of C-4. "Look familiar?"
"That's our C4."
"We're stealing it back."
"For what purpose?" Teyla wonders.
"For the hive."
"As in hive ship?" Sheppard questions.
"Yeah. That's the Lieutenant's plan. You're gonna help us destroy a Wraith hive ship."
When everyone has arrived back at the cave, they gather in the science lab while Ford explains what his plan is. "One of the added bonuses of killing the Wraith is every now and again, you get your hands on a couple of these." He holds up a Wraith comm device. "Now, thanks to Jace and some of the computers that we borrowed from the Genii, we've been able to figure out the exact flight path of one of their hive ships."
"It's decimating all inhabited worlds in its path."
"It has to be stopped."
Jace indicates a point on the computer screen behind him. "I've been able to calculate that in the next several days, it'll be forced to make a hyperspace pause very near an uninhabited planet that happens to have a Stargate."
"We gate to that planet, get on the hive ship, plant the C4 in the Dart bay, and get out." Kanayo says cockily as if it was the simplest thing in the world.
"We could save thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of lives." Jace states.
"So?" Ford asks looking to the team members.
"Wow." Sheppard comments dryly.
"Wow"?"
"You heard me." John snaps to Ford as if the young man doesn't realize how completely stupid his plan is.
"Let me see if I can couch what Colonel Sheppard means by "wow" in more explicit terms." McKay says. "That is a terrible plan."
"Rodney—" Teyla cautions him knowing the explosive tempers all of these men possess while hopped up on the enzyme.
"Made all the more frightening by the fact that you think it's a good plan."
"What's wrong with it?" Ford demands.
"What's right with it?" McKay snaps agitated. "Look, let's, just for a second, give in to reckless abandon and assume that it would be possible to plant a single charge large enough to destroy an entire hive ship."
"We're planning on secondary explosions in the Dart bay." Jace explains.
"Regardless, the hive ship will be on a hyperspace pause, yes, but it will not enter the planet's atmosphere, nor will it take up any sort of stable orbit. It will be flying through space, which means that unless your enzyme allows you to jump a lot higher than you've let on—"
"We have a spaceship." Ford announces.
"Oh, yeah? Really. What's that made out of, huh? Bark?"
"No it's real, McKay. And in fact, it's the only ship I'd feel comfortable using on a mission like this."
Sheppard's team escorted by Ford and his men arrive at a meadow, where the men uncover a Wraith Dart that's been covered with camouflage netting.
"Okay, where'd you get it?" Sheppard asks.
"Does it matter?"
"None of us have had much success flying it. We've banged it up pretty bad on the last couple of landings. It's in need of some repairs." Kanayo informs them indicating that they have tried to fly it without success.
"And a real pilot." Ford adds.
"This is why you brought us here." Sheppard surmises.
"It's the reason I waited till now, yes."
Kanayo points to McKay, "Assuming this guy can get it working again."
"He can. These people are the best at what they do."
Kanayo then turns his attention to Sheppard. "Look, you fly it, you scoop us up, you take us up to the hive, you drop us off. All we need is time to lay the charge. We'll be in and out of there before the Wraith have any idea what's going on."
"It's perfect."
"It is far from perfect." McKay says in response to Ford.
"But it is possible." John says, the look on his face clearly telling them that he's considering the possibility.
"Colonel…" Teyla says doubtfully.
"Are you honestly considering this?" McKay snaps.
"It's on its way to a culling, Rodney."
"Yeah, and I am sorry about that, but this is insane."
"Maybe not."
"Jace has been trying to get it working but he's not you, McKay. Can you fix it?"
"Probably not."
"That usually means "yes." John states.
"Aren't you the one not taking the enzyme? You're supposed to be the clear voice of reason here."
"Look, can you fix it?" Ford requests.
"Even if I could, I wouldn't. I'm sorry. Drug me all you want. I'm not doing this."
As McKay storms off walking across the field, Sheppard turns to Ford. "Let me talk to him. He'll come around."
"Okay."
Sheppard follows McKay and catches up with him. They walk quickly together. "Rodney…"
"Look, maybe you are on the enzyme. Maybe Ford lied, because no rational person would think that was a good plan."
"Look, a million things can go wrong. I know that, but just— Look it, stop! Shut up and listen." They stop and face each other, McKay looking defiant. "If you fix that Dart, we all get out of here. I know it's risky but Ford's not thinking straight, so—"
"What are you talking about?"
"I'll insist you're all on the away team. I'll scoop you up, and instead of flying out to the hive ship, we fly out to Atlantis."
"How?"
"That Dart's got to have its own DHD, right?"
"Of course."
"You get the thing flight-worthy, we all go home."
"Right. Of course." McKay says becoming abashed. "You know, you see… I would have thought of that myself before I became a drug addict."
"I'm sure you would have."
"I'm sorry. All right. Okay."
Sheppard pats McKay on the back and they turn around and start walking back towards Ford.
Inside the cave Ford studies a document at his desk when Sheppard enters, he looks up at his former Colonel expectantly. "How'd that go?"
"Well, he'll do it… But, we need some conditions."
"What?"
"Dial back McKay's enzyme doses."
"No!"
"Look we're under some time constraints here. I'm not saying the enzyme wouldn't help. I'm just saying we need him standing still and thinking not running laps because it feels good."
"Ronon and Teyla?"
"We stick to the plan there."
"And what about the beauty? Is she really immune or whatever she thinks?"
"Yes, truthfully. The Wraith's enzymes have no effect on her."
"Fine. What else?"
"I'll fly it, that's obvious, but I want McKay, Teyla, Rayne and Ronon on the strike team."
"It's not a good mission for McKay. Could get rough in there."
"Look, if suddenly we need a door open or a computer hacked, McKay should be there to do it. That's why he's on my team in the first place."
"And why does Rayne need to be there? She doesn't look like she'd be much help."
Sheppard actually smirks, these guys had no idea what she could really do. "When it comes to fighting the Wraith, there's no one better you want with you. Trust me, you need her there."
Ford nods in agreement, "Is that it?"
Sheppard gives him a quick nod. They stand up and shake hands.
McKay helps one of Ford's men remove the coverings from the Dart. Jace holds up a box and McKay shakes his head. "No."
In the cave, Ronon and Teyla spar vigorously. Ronon also spars with one of the men, getting beaten to the mat. Several of the men spar with Rayne at a time, all shocked when even with the enzyme they can't beat her; she anticipates their actions and moves fluidly like rapidly flowing water preventing them from keeping up.
In Ford's office, Ford goes over the Wraith ship schematics with Sheppard. "So that's…"
At the Dart, McKay climbs out from underneath it. "No, no, no, no. You fire it up now, it'll all go up in smoke."
In the cave, Ronon and Teyla are forced to take enzyme injections, Rayne stands off to the side frowning in concern at her friends.
At the Dart, Sheppard arrives and climbs in.
In the cave, Teyla beats her opponent in sparring. Ronon does also with little to no effort.
At the Dart, McKay activates a remote control. "Okay…" The Dart powers up and lifts off the ground. "We're close."
Inside of the office Ford rolls up the schematic setting it on his desk, taking a seat in his chair while Sheppard sits next to it on a crate.
"It's a good plan." John admits.
"Couldn't have done it without you, sir."
"Well, I'm glad you trusted me enough to bring me here." John notices that Ford looks troubled. "What's wrong?"
"I want to go home."
Sheppard stands and approaches Ford. "Well… then let's go. Give McKay the DHD crystals, and let's get out of here. I can have you back on Earth within an hour."
Ford considers this, but shakes his head. "No. We have to do this first. I have to prove to them that we can do this."
"You don't have to prove anything to anyone, Lieutenant. I saw your cousin and your grandparents while I was back there. They miss you… a lot. This whole M.I.A. thing is killing them."
"They're strong. They can wait. If anyone's ever going to take me seriously ever again, we have to do this."
"Listen, Aiden—"
"No. I'm sorry. I don't want to talk about this."
Sheppard talks to Teyla and Ronon, who are eating in the dining area, Rayne sits on the end of the table listening and watching her companions closely.
"Well… part of me thinks he brought us here 'cause he knew we'd bring him back. I think subconsciously he knows what our plan is, and he's fine with it."
Ronon and Teyla aren't listening. They are making aggressive expressions to each other across the table. Ronon stands and steals part of Teyla's food with a challenging smile.
"Give it back." Teyla says, her voice low and threatening.
Ronon puts the food in his mouth and chews. "Or what?"
Teyla slugs him in the face, smiling.
"Hey!" John snaps at the two of them.
Ronon grabs Teyla and pulls her across the table onto the floor. Sheppard is shocked. The two start slugging each other and sparring, all the while smiling like crazed lunatics. Sheppard approaches as does Rayne, who for her efforts gets punched in the face by Ronon.
John's eyes widen as he sees Rayne's eyes flash, he needs to stop the fighting now before she reveals what she is to everyone with one scream. He jumps in between them, "Knock it off, guys. Stop—"
Ronon then accidentally elbows Sheppard in the face, knocking him down. They immediately stop fighting.
"What the hell's gotten into you two?" The two of them back off, Ronon unable to keep a grin off his face. John realizes exactly what's gotten into them. "Oh, right. Never mind." Sheppard gets off the floor and sits down painfully. Rayne stands at the other side of the table breathing heavily and trying to keep herself calm.
"Are we gonna talk about this?" Ronon asks grinning.
"About what?" John says rubbing his jaw.
"The enzyme works. No one's saying it, but we're all thinking it. It works."
"I must admit, I have noticed an increased amount of strength." Teyla says with a smile, moving as if full of energy.
"Maybe Ford is right. Maybe it's worth looking into, seeing what this stuff can do." Ronon suggests, but Sheppard is clearly dubious.
"They were an hour late delivering our doses yesterday, and I felt awful." Teyla says revealing the downside, just as Rayne knew would happen once their bodies became addicted to it. "It frightens me how reliant my body has become on the enzyme always being in my system. What would happen if we suddenly could not receive it?"
"If the only negative is that you've got to keep taking it, I'd want to stay on it." Ronon states.
"What about you?" John questions looking at Teyla.
"The fact that I'm even considering it makes me feel—"
Her words drift off as McKay enters, "Hey."
"So?"
"It's ready." He states.
Sheppard sits in the Dart's cockpit. Jace is beside him. McKay climbs up to show him what to do. "Okay, now…" He motions to Jace, "Could you move? Look, this is probably going to make you a little uneasy, but when the canopy forms, it's perfectly opaque."
"Then how am I going to fly this thing?"
"The whole thing is one giant heads-up display. It'll show you all the pertinent information that you need."
"Yeah, you mean in Wraith!"
"Yeah, which is why I've installed an interface to translate a lot of the readouts."
"By "a lot" do you mean "all"? Because my Wraith's not all that good."
"Enough to get you by."
Ford steps up beside the Dart looking impressed at McKay, "I knew you could do it. Right on time. Kanayo will get you suited up. You should get ready."
"Right. Great."
McKay gives Sheppard a nervous look, then climbs down and walks over to one of Ford's men, who drops his vest on purpose.
"He seems a little nervous." Ford comments to Sheppard.
"You know McKay. He'll be fine."
"You know how to dial the DHD on this thing?"
"Got the addresses memorized."
"Good. Good. Listen, I should probably tell you, uh… there's been a slight change of plans."
Sheppard appears unconcerned as he answers, "Oh yeah?"
"Kanayo!"
Kanayo and the others point their weapons at McKay. Ronon pulls out his weapon, but Ford's men aim at him as well. "Don't even think about it!"
"What the hell are you doing?" Sheppard yells.
"McKay's going to stay here while we do the op. Take him!" Some of Ford's men force McKay to leave. "What? No! No, no, no, no, no!"
"That wasn't part of the plan."
"Neither was you heading back to Atlantis. You didn't really buy the whole "I want to go home" speech, did you? Huh?"
Sheppard appears disappointed he fell for it. Kanayo takes Ronon and Rayne's swords from them.
"You're always underestimating me, Sheppard. You need to stop doing that. Complete the mission, and McKay lives."
"We can't complete the mission, Ford. It's a bad plan!"
"You said it was a great plan."
"You didn't buy the whole "it's a great plan" speech, did you?" John shoots back.
"Get this Dart in the air and come scoop us up. Oh… and the Dart DHD only dials to the planet we're going to and back here, just in case McKay's life isn't enough to get you to do the right thing." Ford steps away from the Dart.
"Aiden… what are you doing?" Teyla asks him.
"Just making sure you guys hold up your end of the bargain." He turns to his men. "It's okay. Give them back their weapons."
"Are you sure?" Kanayo questions before handing the warriors back their swords.
"Yeah. If we're going to do this, we've all got to work together." He steps over and hands Sheppard his pistol. "Good luck to us all."
Jace holds his weapon on Sheppard while he powers up the Dart.
"Stand by for pickup."
The canopy becomes opaque, and the Dart lifts off. It circles back to beam up the remaining group, including Ronon, Rayne and Teyla.
The Dart leaves the planet and approaches the Wraith ship. Sheppard sees readouts on his heads-up display, but can't see anything outside. "This is going to take some getting used to." Data streams by over his head, then stops. "Come on. We were getting along so well." The display shows the autopilot engaging. "Oh, autopilot? No, no, no, no. No! R2, I need you to turn the autopilot off. Now…" Nothing happens and he sighs in concern, "Worth a try."
The Dart flies into a hangar entrance on the side of the Wraith ship. The display shows the Dart flying toward a red target point as it enters the large hangar bay and flies upward. The display reads: "Rematerialize cargo"? And buttons for Yes and No. Sheppard chooses Yes.
The Dart flies over a narrow Bridgeway. The passengers re-materialize, but some are too close to the edge and fall over, screaming as they plummet to their death. Jace is one of them. Kanayo nearly falls, but Ronon grabs him.
"Jace!" Ford screams out.
"We have to go after them!" Kanayo yells as he looks down.
"No one would have survived that fall." Teyla states plainly.
"We have to get out of the open." Ronon warns them as they start to move off.
"You guys okay?" Sheppard calls over the comms system.
"No, we're not okay. You beamed half of us off the edge of the platform." Ford snaps back.
Sheppard is extremely concerned, but only about his team. "Rayne, Teyla and Ronon?"
"Is that all you care about? You murdered my men."
"I've lost all control of the Dart. I had to release you blind."
"Maintain radio silence until we lay the charge."
"Negative. We need to stay in contact. They're—"
Ford turns off his radio and Teyla looks at him in concern. "You should leave that radio on, Aiden."
"Don't tell me what to do."
"Ford? Ford? Ford! Damn it." John snaps as the display says 'Exit Craft for Inspection'. "I'd prefer not to." The display then says, 'Opening Canopy'.
The canopy disappears. "Ooh, boy." Two Wraith soldiers approach Sheppard. "You mind checking the oil?" He pulls out his P90 and kills both of them. From further away, a high-pitched siren starts up. "This is not good." He gets out of the Dart and rushes away.
Ford and the others hear the sound. "What is that?"
"It's an alarm." Ronon states.
"That shouldn't happen."
"No, it shouldn't."
Ford turns on his radio calling out to Sheppard. "Sheppard, you there? Sheppard, you there?"
"I think I might have set the alarm off. You guys be careful, because there's probably some guards on the way."
"Too late. If you want to live, stay behind me." Ronon states as he pulls out his blade with determination and moves forward.
In any other situation Rayne would have been extremely aroused by that, but right now her only concern was not being caught by the Wraith. Visions of the pit and being fed upon flashed behind her eyes as she gripped her sword and followed Ronon.
Back on the planet inside of the cave, McKay sits at the table and sees the bouncer inject himself in the arm with enzyme. "Oh, do—"
"Want some?"
"No, I'm good, thanks."
"You sure?"
McKay is nervous and frantic as he replies to the bouncer and guard. "Yeah, pretty sure. Look, don't you think that they should be back by now? I mean, how long does it take to fly there and fly back, you know? I mean, I say it's a minute from here to the gate, 10 tops from their gate to the hive ship, 20 to get in and lay a charge, and, what, like 10 more to get back out and home, right? So…"
"Worrying really isn't going to do anything."
"Yeah, well, I subscribe to a different school of thought."
"They're fine."
"You can't possibly know that."
"I got a gut feeling."
"Yeah, well, I have a different gut…" The guards approach him menacingly. "…feeling."
In a corridor on the hive ship Sheppard reloads his machine gun after taking out two more Wraith guards. "Ford what's your position? Ford!"
Ford and the others are engaged in direct combat with the Wraith. Some are firing while Rayne and Ronon fight hand-to-hand, their blades soaked in Wraith blood.
Sheppard hears growling nearby. "Ah, damn it." He pulls out a flash grenade and lobs it at a Wraith soldier. It blows up, blinding him. Sheppard moves in and fires on it.
Ford's team continue to fire. Kanayo and Teyla are hit with stun weapons and fall. "Keep fighting!" Ford orders them.
Sheppard is stunned from behind. He falls unconscious. A Wraith drags him away.
A Wraith drags Teyla away as Ronon and Rayne continue fighting, back-to-back with Ford. "We can't hold them!" Ford yells.
Ford is hit, while Rayne and Ronon pick up the discarded guns and keep firing with both hands. "Ronon, if this fails you have to kill me!"
"What!?" He yells not believing that he heard her correctly.
"I can't be taken alive! Promise me!"
"You couldn't promise Sheppard! I won't promise you!"
Rayne keeps firing as the Wraith close in on them, she feels her power taking over as her eyes glow in the darkness. A powerful scream tears through her throat, the Wraith drop to the floor clawing at their ears. But their numbers are too great for even the Siren as moments later they are overrun by Wraith and taken down.
Back on Atlantis Weir sits at the desk in her office speaking into a voice recorder. "And thanks to several modifications the specifics of which are encrypted in this data burst, we believe we can streamline our power consumption a further thirty percent… Also, at the time of this transmission, Colonel Sheppard's team is still missing, and is… is presumed… Colonel Sheppard's team is still missing. End transmission."
She drops the recorder on the desk, clearly upset.
Rayne comes to sometime later her head hanging limply over her chest, she shakes her head as she rouses herself, feeling her head throbbing. Trying to move her arms she finds them shackled to chains and spread out to her sides. Seeing several Wraith standing before her she takes a deep breath and screams, but it dies instantly as a blinding pain rips through her body causing her to black out.
Sheppard is lying on a platform off the floor, his head on Teyla's leg. He wakes up. The rest of Ford's team is there too, awake and pacing.
"Are you all right?" She asks him.
"We're in a holding cell?" He questions.
"Yes."
"On a hive ship."
"Uh-huh."
John sits up with a grimace, "Well, then, no, I'm not doing so good." He looks around at his companions and notices quickly that his aqua-eyed friend is missing and his heart drops. "Where's Rayne?"
Ronon's pained gaze meets his as he replies in a low voice. "They took her."
At that moment a piercing scream echoed through the corridors, but it wasn't the same octave as they'd heard from Rayne before.
"That didn't sound like normal." John mentioned looking over at Ronon who shook his head slowly. "It wasn't. That's what it sounds like when she's in pain."
"I can't believe you screwed up." Ford says choosing that moment to voice his concerns, disregarding the anger being displayed by Sheppard and Ronon.
John snaps to his feet, "I did what?!"
"You set off the alarm. You ruined the mission."
"The Dart went on autopilot the second I got close to the hive. You're lucky I was able to get you out!"
"Well, why would it do that? Why would it go on autopilot?"
"That's what Jumpers do when they gate to Atlantis."
"Well, why didn't you say something?"
John looks at him incredulously, "Why didn't I say something?!"
"You want me to fail. You want me to look bad."
"That's right, you snot-nosed brat. I'd put my team's life on the line just to prove you wrong!" John snaps angrily.
Ronon hears something coming towards them. "We got company."
A Wraith arrives with soldiers. Ronon stands at the netting holding them in, blocking the Wraith's view of the others. "Move away."
"What do you want?" He growls.
The Wraith smiles, "The one who flew the ship."
"Why don't you start with me?" Ronon challenges. The netting slides open as a guard stuns Ronon, causing him to fall in pain.
Sheppard steps forward, "Wait, wait, wait. You want me." The Wraith sniffs at Sheppard. He and the guards lead Sheppard away. Teyla puts Ronon's arm around her neck and helps him to his feet.
"It's all right. There's always a way out." Ford says confidently.
Ronon glares at him threatening, "If he or Rayne die… you die."
The guards lead Sheppard to a platform in the Queen's chambers. He turns in a circle, looking around the room, although there's not much to see because the rest of it is so dark. Suddenly a Wraith Queen appears right in front of him. She has long white hair and the biggest mouthful of teeth he's ever seen. John stares at her in shock. She just looks at him for a few seconds, then her right hand shoots up and her long fingernails touch the side of his face. Her voice echoes in his mind…
"Kneel."
Despite trying to resist, Sheppard falls to his knees.