Author's Note: Special guest star, Dr. Samantha Carter

Content Warning: Violence and Mild language

An Eye for an Eye



****Beta-1 orbiting planet Ares (August 25, 2025, Team C, 10 minutes after Sharp's capture)****

They were trapped and they knew it. Everyone except Paris had been trying to hold their ground for over 10 minutes now. Stewart was about to expend the last few bullets he had when a shock grenade roll back to where they were hiding. "Grenade!" was all he could get out before the grenade did it's work. In the instant of the flash, he reached out for the fallen Paris Orion.

****Maldorian Battleship, Ra (Meanwhile, Team A)****

Robin "Mac" Michaels was getting concerned. Neither Team B or C had checked in and they were almost ten minutes overdue. The longer it took for them to complete their tasks, the longer Team A, and especially Sharp would be exposed. She didn't know what it was about this operation but she hadn't felt this apprehensive since her late husband's last mission. The thought of her husband caused her to curse under her breath. Now was not the time to reminiscing.

"Ma'am," started someone, interrupting her train of thought. It was Grissom. "This whole thing is blown. We need to get out of here before it's too late."

Robin shot him a death glare. "IF we do anything, it will be to look for and rescue anyone who needs it. We're not leaving anyone here, do I make myself clear!?" Grissom nodded and backed off a little bit. He was right about one thing Robin knew. The plan was blown and something had gone seriously wrong. It was time to find out what, if she could. She pulled out her radio and broke the ordered radio silence. "This is Alpha leader to Bravo team. Come in, Bravo." The static heard was disturbing. Time to try Team C. "Alpha leader to Charlie Team. Report, Charlie team." Again, nothing. Well there was one other to try. "This is Alpha leader to Havek. Please respond." Robin hadn't been quite sure why Sharp had chosen that code name, something about what he called a comic book. Well that didn't matter now. The worst possible of scenarios passed through her mind. Her team seemed to be the only one not captured... or worse. "Come on, we're finding out what's going on," she said putting the radio away and checking to see if the way was clear.

Grissom got brave enough to pipe up again, "Commander, we're drastically outnumbered and we have no idea..." He was cut himself off when Robin again turned and glared at him. He decided that finishing his thought out loud was useless and he was going to have to save his own skin.

Team A sans Sharp moved out of their cover and carefully started toward where they hoped Sharp would be, the weapon's pod.

****Beta-1 (Meanwhile)****

They waited about a half minute before entering to make sure the grenade has done its job. Their helmets that were apart of their uniform were equipped to filter the effects of the grenades but it was still standard procedure to wait. Even then the team of Maldorian soldiers carefully entered and after moving behind the console where the rebels had been hiding, they checked each and everyone of them to make sure they were unconscious.

"This one's hit, Sir," said one of the soldiers standing over a young woman.

"How bad?" his commanding officer asked him.

The soldier bent over and checked the pulse and the extent of the injury. "She'll need medical attention if she's going to survive. What do we do?"

The ranking officer thought for a moment, looking over at the girl in question. "You know our orders, Pelfry. Now follow them."

"Yes, Sir," he responded, taking one more look at Paris' face before following those orders.

****************

Sharp's cries of pain finally ended as he passed out. Kelsar retracted the rod from what was left of Sharp's right eye. He watched the blood run from the eye socket for several minutes before wiping the rod clean and then signaling for the medic to take a look at him. "Stop the bleeding and dull the pain enough that he can handle it, then wake him again." The medic approached Sharp and went to work. Kelsar meanwhile went to check on the progress of the trap that he had orchestrated for Sharp and his allies. Turning on some sort of communications device, he saw the image of his second in command. "Report."

"We've captured the Captain's accomplices, however the second team was not where our intelligence said they would be."

Kelsar frowned, but it was hidden underneath his hood. He almost ordered him to remove his helmet so he could read his facial expressions and determine his second's intent. "Explain."

"The second team surprised our control room personnel and attempted to access our computer files. We pinned them down and rendered them unconscious."

"Did you find any data crystals?"

"No, Sir. We appear to have caught them before they got any information. What should we do with them?"

"Bring Miss Michaels to me. As for the rest, lock them up like the others. After we're done with Captain Sharp, we'll begin interrogations on each of them. They're bound to have some sort of information we can use before we kill them."

Kelsar's second swallowed hard before reporting the next part, "Miss Michaels was injured in the fight, Sir. We're tending to her, but I don't think she's going to survive without some serious medical intervention."

That was unfortunate. They needed her alive at least long enough to use her as incentive to get Sharp to talk. "Stabilize her and bring her here as soon as it is reasonable safe. Make sure she stays alive long enough for us to use her." The second nodded and his picture faded.

The medic was just finishing tending to Sharp and was in the process of awakening him. Kelsar approached them just as Sharp was coming back around. "Welcome back, Captain. Shall we continue?"

The pain was still present but Sharp could tell it was reduced. He first clue was that it was bearable. He's second clue was that his sarcastic nature was returning. "So does that mean it's your turn to lose something?"

Kelsar cracked a small smile. "Actually, Captain, there has been a little change in plans. You see I have found one thing more effective than telling the truth when it comes to people of your character."

Sharp did not like the confidence with which Kelsar was talking. So far everything he has said and done was right on the money and it was obvious that mercy was not his strong point. "You wanna get to the point?"

"The point, Captain, is that you are going to watch your friends die, one by one until I get the answers to my questions." Kelsar saw the look of disgust and hatred fill Sharp's face. He decided to stir up the pot a bit more. "Oh that's right, you don't know yet, do you? We've captured Miss Michaels and your allies. You were right to suspect this was a trap. We were quite impressed at how you resisted the initial bait of Colonel Fox. She's not here of course. In fact according to our records she is long dead. But now we have the next best thing thanks to you." He'd let Sharp wonder what he meant by the last statement for a while.

"If you lay even one hand on her, I will make sure I live just long enough to watch every single one of you bastard die," Sharp snarled back. All sense of logic, sarcasm, even decency was gone. He was going to kill this... thing and nothing was going to stop him.

Kelsar's smiled widen as he realized the progress he was making.

****Maldorian Battleship, Ra (Meanwhile, Team A)****

It took a full 10 minutes of ducking in and out of cover to reach the weapon's pod. They were within sight of where Sharp was supposed to be when Grissom noticed something disturbing. "Commander, this looks like blood." Robin turned to see what Grissom was looking at. Grissom showed her bloodstains on the floor. "Do you think it's the Captain's?"

"I don't know," Robin admitted. It didn't look good she didn't add. "Well at least we know he made it this far."

"I thought you said you didn't know if it was Sharp's blood?" Grissom questioned.

Robin turned back to watch the door and wait for a chance to enter. "I don't know if it is, but there would be blood on the floor if someone got shot and I doubt the Maldorians go around shooting each other in sensitive areas like this." Grissom nodded understanding and joined her in looking for an opening. They waited until the coast was clear and made dash for the door. "Well that confirms it," she said looking at the door panel. "Sharp got here and managed to get inside. Now the only question is what happened afterward." She found the right wire combination and the door slid open. Team A stepped inside and found nothing out of the ordinary, which under normal circumstances would be what they expected to find. But these were anything but normal circumstances. "It doesn't look like he made it inside, however."

"Then what happened between opening the door and coming inside?" Grissom asked, a little unsure that he wanted that question answered.

Robin scanned the room looking for even a semi-plausible answer, "I have absolutely no idea, Mr. Grissom. None at all."

****Beta-1 (Meanwhile, Teams B and C)****

Stewart was the last members of the captured assault team to awaken. He looked around trying to get his bearings and discover what exactly had happened.

"Take it slow, Chris. You're going to feel disoriented for a little while, but you'll be ok," Sam informed him.

Stewart realized how right she was as he did try to get up too fast and was forced back down by dizziness. "Oh that was not good," he groaned. "Where's Paris?"

Sam's face turned sour, "They took her a little over twenty minutes ago."

"Where did they take her?" Stewart started to worry. "What are they going to do with her?"

"I think they were going to stabilize her condition," she responded, trying to calm him down. Stewart relaxed a little upon hearing that. She didn't add that it looked like they had more in store for her.

Corra walked over next to see how he was doing. "How you doing, Chris?"

Looking up at him, Stewart answered, "I've been better." He rubbed his temples, trying to make his headache go away. "So what's the story here, guys?"

"They got our team and yours," Corra told him. "With the exception of Paris and Tainn, every member of both teams are in here."

Sam cut in, "we don't know where they took Tainn but we assume it was to interrogate him."

"Did they get the data crystal?"

Sam shook her head, "No Paris managed to hide it before they..." She decided it was best not that finish the sentence.

"What about Team A?" Stewart whispered, changing the subject. He wanted a clear head and that wasn't gonna happen if he was worrying about Paris.

"That's what's strange," Sam told him, "they don't seem to be in any hurry to find them. It's as if they don't know they're here."

"Then Mac and Sharp are still out there," Stewart said hopefully.

"Yeah," Corra said. "Let's just hope they have more luck getting us out than we are."

****************

Sharp looked up to see two soldiers bring in Johnathan Tainn, unconscious and chained and threw him at the feet of Kelsar. "Our first guest has arrived, Captain."

"Just let him go, he doesn't know anything about where I came from," Sharp said, half demanding, half pleading.

"I know he doesn't know anything," Kelsar confirmed. "That's why he's expendable. Now here's the deal. If you tell the truth, I'll let most of your comrades go, I'll need to keep Dr. Carter of course for her knowledge on the Argos laser, but for each lie you tell, I will shoot and kill one of them." Sharp sat defiantly, not wanting to acknowledge him. "So let's begin. What was the exact date you encountered the time inversion wave." Sharp still said nothing, just glaring at Kelsar. "I should warn you, Captain, that no answer is just as bad as a lie, so this is your last chance."

Figuring that he wouldn't know the difference anyway, Sharp decided to fudge his answer a bit to mess with whatever plans they had for the information. "November 11th, 2002." Promptly pulling a laser pistol from his robe, Kelsar pointed it at Tainn's head and fired. "YOU BASTARD!" Sharp screamed as he watched Tainn jerk back and fall dead.

Kelsar turned to look at the modified Sharp, "Oh come now, Captain. You barely knew the man. That's why I chose him to show you how serious about your cooperation. You see, Captain, the mistake some interrogators make is only asking questions for which they don't know the answer. I do not make that mistake. You may attempt to lie to me but you will never know which questions I ask for information and which I ask to evaluate the truthfulness of your answers." Sharp's anger was now searing. "Now, do you want to amend that answer or shall we move to our next guest, which I assure you is someone you do know quite intimately." Sharp could do nothing but stare at the man for whose death he was responsible. "Captain, I need an answer."

"September 27th, 2002," he finally answered.

Kelsar smiled. Another one broken. He loved this stuff.

****Maldorian Battleship, Ra (Team A)****

A search of the weapons pod had turned up nothing and with no clues to indicate what happened to Sharp, they made their next objective trying to determine what had happened to their other teams. Unfortunately that meant they needed to now sneak off the ship and back into the base. And then there was the added danger of someone discovering the explosives they planted in the engine room. If this ship left the base, it wouldn't matter who they rescued, they wouldn't have any where to go.

"Grissom, Johnson," Robin called back, "cover me and Samuels. We're gonna make sure the airlock is clear." Everyone did as they were told and Robin took point with Samuels right behind. They took to either side of the airlock and Samuels hit the button to open it. Robin swung around, rifle ready and entered. The way was clear to the outer door and Samuels rushed up to join her. Repeating those same steps, the door open and Robin checked the hallway. Seeing it was clear, she waved up the rest of Team A and they joined her.

"Where to now?" Grissom asked.

Robin looked around to get her bearings, "we head to the detention area. If they're alive there is a good chance that's where they are."

No sooner had she finished when a Maldorian security detail rounded the corner and spotted them before they could react. "Don't move!" one of the men yelled and they all raised their guns. Robin and her team shot off a few rounds before scattering for cover. One of the security detail was hit but they all managed to get to cover of their own. After a few seconds of exchanging fire, one of the Maldorians finally set off the base alarm.

Robin once again cursed under her breath. Their luck had run out.

****Beta-1 (Meanwhile, Teams B and C)****

"Any luck?" Corra asked Sam and Stewart, who had been working on opening the heavy metal door since Stewart had gotten up and around.

"Not yet," Sam responded in a mess of wires that they had pulled from the ceiling. "For all we know, these wires don't run anywhere near the door controls."

"Well it's all we can do besides sit here and wait for them to come get us, and I not about to do that, Doctor," Corra explained.

Sam looked down at him, "I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just trying to make sure you don't get your hopes up." She then looked over to Stewart, "try that one, Chris."

Stewart connected two wires and shook his head, "no, that's not it either."

"Damn," Sam muttered. "Try this one."

Corra took up position against the door in the unlikely event he would be able to warn them in time if someone was coming. Just as Stewart connected the two wires Sam specified, the base alarm sounded. Sam quickly shot him a look that yelled 'what did you do'.

"I didn't do it!" Stewart defended himself. Sam adjusted her look to 'are you sure?' Stewart shrugged, "at least I don't think it was me."

"Who cares if you did it!" Corra exclaimed. "Just fix it before they get here!" Sam and Stewart began frantically stuffing wires up into the ceiling when suddenly the door opened partway and then stopped. Stewart, Corra, Sam and everyone else all exchanged looks before scrambling to make sure the way was clear.

"Maybe we didn't trigger the alarm after all," Sam suggested and then stepped out into the hall.

Stewart took his turn to peek outside the cell and then followed, "so what do we do now?"

"Well if we didn't set off the alarm, it must have been Mac and her team," she surmised. "Stewart and I will go back to the control room to get the data crystal. Luke, you and everyone else see if you can find a radio and get in touch with Mac."

"Will do," Corra agreed and they went their separate ways.

****Beta-1, Interrogation Room (Meanwhile)****

The interrogation had gone fairly well so far, Kelsar decided. Sharp was still trying to resist a bit of course, but with the prospect of killing another one of the rebel looming over his head, he was giving him everything he needed.

"Who was in command of the SGC in your time?" Kelsar continued.

Sharp was barely awake. His head kept drifting back and forth, but he was too afraid of what would happen if he stopped answering Kelsar's questions. "General Hammond was in command," he tried stalling. "Second commander of the SGC... after General West..."

"That was not my question, Captain!" Kelsar said sternly. "Perhaps you need some more motivation." He walked over and opened the door to reveal two men who brought in an unconscious young woman. "Perhaps this will help your concentration. You will answer my questions promptly or Miss Michaels dies!"

Sharp looked over and cracked a small smile. "You better get your glasses checked, because that's not Robin."

Kelsar had not actually looked at the girl to confirm her identity. Upon closer inspection, he noticed the error. He pulled the soldier aside and was about to ring his neck when the base alarms sounded. "Miss Michaels must be stirring up trouble," he snarled. "You have one chance to fix your screwup," growled at the soldier. "Watch them until I return!" Kelsar turned and exited the room. It was time to put an end to her meddling.

****Beta-1, Control Room (15 minutes later)****

"Are you sure she hid it in here?" Stewart repeated the question for the third time.

"Yes, I'm sure, Chris. Just keep looking," Sam ordered. Stewart moved to the other side of the room, almost tripping over the dead soldiers on the ground. They had be out gunned by Sam using an abandon laser rifle they had stolen on the way there. The owner wouldn't have had any need for it anyway as she had surprised him and he subsequent fall down a flight of stairs had taken care of him permanently. Stewart linger over the bodies a moment before attempting to remove the soldier's helmet. "What are you doing?" Sam asked him.

"We've never seen what these aliens look like and I want to find out," he explained.

"That's not what we're here for and we don't have time," she argued.

Stewart continued to try and remove the helmet, "it's only gonna take a second. Aren't you just as curious as me?"

Sam turned to face him, "there are more important things, such as finding this data crystal and then finding Paris. Both of which have a clock."

He stopped what he was doing and looked at her, a little ashamed, "you're right." His memory flashed back to seeing her fall after being shot during their fight. Slowly standing back up, he started searching for the data crystal. After a few moment of silence, Stewart had to ask, "she's gonna be ok, right?"

Sam had been trying to keep her mind from dwelling on Paris too much just like Stewart, but the question was enough to put a worried look on her face. "I'm sure she'll be fine," she lied.

Trying to force a smile, "I mean they would want to keep her alive. She would make a valuable hostage and she knows stuff and..." he stopped himself. He wasn't making things better, only worse. He just had to trust Paris was going to be okay. He was so absorbed in worry, he almost completely missed seeing the hidden data crystal. He was about to move on when he realized what he had done and turned back to grab it. "I have it, Sam!"

She broke out of her own trance and hurried over to him. "Alright, get back to the gate and take it back to the base," she ordered.

"What about you and Paris?" he asked, shaking his head.

"This information is too important to risk getting lost," she reminded him.

"Then you take it back and I'll find Paris!"

Sam was getting frustrated. "Chris, we're wasting time arguing about this!"

"Then let's stop arguing and we'll both go!" Stewart said as if it were the most obvious conclusion.

It was obvious he had made up his mind. "Alright, we'll both go, but you'll do as I tell you. I don't want you getting yourself killed."

"Yes, ma'am," he said saluting.

They both got a quick smile and then took off to find her.

****************

They had to lose these guys and fast. They had retreated once again to another set of hallways and returned the fire that had chased them there. Robin took a moment to see where they were and if she remembered the base plans right, they were almost to the detention area. Now all they had to do was get rid of their shadow and they would be in business. That's when Robin felt some supreme being smiling on her. "Grissom, do you see what I see?" she asked grinning widely. Grissom looked in the direction of Robin's stare and nodded. They both took careful aim at the cooling unit and fired. The coolant quickly mixed with the air and all of Team A took cover to avoid injury from the large explosion that followed.

When they were sure it was safe, they first looked around to make sure they were all ok and then into the hallway where the explosion had occurred. The hallway was been almost completely cut off by debris from the ceiling and walls. "Nice job, Grissom," she congratulated him. When he didn't answer, she looked over to notice that he wasn't there. "Where's Grissom??!" she demanded to know. Samuels and Johnson looked back just as confused as she was. "Damn it! Alright, we stick to the original plan. Split up and search the cells. If you find anyone, radio it in." I guess that takes care of who was leaking the information, she thought.

Samuels and Johnson nodded and all three went their separate ways.

***************

Kelsar was on his way back to his ship when he heard the explosion. He knew immediately who it was and what they were trying to do. He quickly yelled to two soldiers to follow him and he turned to return to the interrogation room to grab Sharp before Robin could get to him.

****************

Corra and the four with him had decided that if they were going to be any help to Robin, they were going to need to be armed, which was why they had gone looking for and found the room where the Maldorians had taken their weapons. They were armed again, but it came at a price. Two of them had been fatally wounded in the fight. There was not time to grieve, however. They still had a job to do. He was almost tempted to use the radio and just ask where they were, but that risked giving away where they were to the enemy too, so he decided against it.

The halls had been relatively empty, most likely due to everyone looking for Robin and her team. At least they were relatively empty, Corra thought when he saw a hooded robed figure and two and soldiers escorting him. One of the soldiers punch in something on a keypad and they entered. Corra quickly waved for the other two to follow.

****************

The soldier guarding Sharp and Paris turned to salute Kelsar as he entered. "Prepare the Captain for transport to my ship," Kelsar ordered. "We're leaving!"

"What about this other one?" the soldier asked.

"She's worthless. Kill her," he replied coldly.

Sharp began struggling desperately to get free, "No! I'll tell you whatever you want to know! Just don't hurt her!"

Kelsar ignored him, "after you have disposed of her, sound the evacuation alarm. This station can be the rebel's grave."

The two soldiers with Kelsar went to secure Sharp while the third cocked his gun to carry out Paris' execution. The soldier aimed his rifle and was about to pull the trigger when a gun shot rang out from across the room he fell dead. Several more followed killing the other two soldiers. Kelsar turned in shock and anger to see not only Corra and his group, but Robin as well. In a complete rage, he quickly ran to the computer and began frantically working at the panel.

"Stop him!" Sharp yelled. It was unnecessary as Corra was already moving to subdue him even as he yelled. When he reached him, Corra thew him up against the wall. Robin in the meantime freed Sharp who proceed to head directly to Kelsar. "He's mine!" he told Corra, who then backed away. "Now it's my turn for questions, Kelsar!"

"I won't tell you anything," he said definitely. "You'll just have to kill me."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," he said, red with anger. Then Sharp grabbed the hood of the Maldorian general and took a good look.

****************

It took Sam and Stewart longer than expected to get back to the detention thanks to the collapsed tunnel left by Robin. "Ok, chances are they have her in one of the interrogation rooms."

"Split up?" Stewart asked.

Sam shook her head, "No, if we split up we have no way to keep in touch with each other. We don't have our radios, remember?"

"Good point," he conceded. "Ok, where to first?"

They both scanned the area, but there was no way to say which area was better than any of the others. "I guess we just pick one and hope we don't get caught."

"Great," he said sarcastically. "Can't there just be some sign that says 'they're in there'?" Almost on cue, there was a loud bang from one of the rooms. Sam and Stewart exchanged very worried looks.

"That sounded like a gunshot," Sam said concerned.

"But the Maldorians use laser," Stewart reasoned.

Sam nodded, "I know. I'd say that just narrowed it down quite a bit. Come on!" Sam took off in the direction of the gunshot and Stewart followed closely.

****************

Sharp and just about everyone else was shocked at what they saw. "You're human!" Sharp stated the obvious.

"Don't insult me, you piece of filth!" Kelsar spat back. "Your species is weak and pathetic. We not only defeated the Goa'uld, but we conquered your mighty Asguard allies!"

Behind them, Robin was tending to Paris who was still unconscious. "Glenn! We need to get Paris home now!"

"We'll be out of here soon, Mac!" Glenn said, not even turning to look at her. "I'm not through with this piss ant yet!" Sharp lifted him off the floor. "It's your turn to answer some questions!"

Kelsar smiled nervously, "You are already dead, Captain! You and your species will perish and they won't even be a footnote in our history! Mr. Tainn was not the first and he will not be the last!" He started laughing and Sharp became furious. Grabbing Corra's pistol, he raised it to Kelsar's right eye. Kelsar stopped laughing and his eyes got wide a few seconds before Sharp pulled the trigger. Sharp let go of Kelsar's corpse and let it fall to the floor.

"What the hell did you do that for!!" Corra yelled. "I thought you were gonna pump the guy for information!!"

Sharp turned to walk toward Robin and Paris. "He was a bastard and he got what he deserved! An eye for an eye!" He leaned down next to Paris, "how is she?" he asked Robin.

"I'm no doctor, but I think she's dying," she responded.

"Ok, you guys take her and get back to the gate, see what your doctors can do for her," he told her.

"Are you forgetting this is my mission?!" she reminded him.

"Mac, your mission is over. Paris needs medical attention we need to get out of here before the rest of us do too!"

Just then Sam and Stewart rushed into the room. "PARIS!!" Stewart exclaimed and rushed to her side. Sharp and Robin moved out the way to give him room.

"We still need to complete our mission or it won't matter who gets off this base, Glenn!" Robin argued.

"That's why I'm gonna take care of it!" he came back.

"Guys!" Corra tried to break into the conversation.

"Not by yourself you're not!" Robin continued, ignoring Corra. Sam meanwhile went to see what Corra was looking at.

"Yes, by myself! There's no sense in anyone else staying!"

"Uh, guys??!!" Sam said, realizing what Corra was trying to tell them.

"You're right, which is why I'm staying to make sure the base is destroyed," Robin decided. "You make sure everyone else gets out."

Corra and Sam couldn't believe they could be arguing at a time like this. "GUYS!!" they both yelled at them.

Both of them turned and yelled together, "WHAT??!!"

Sam started a minute before Corra, "Neither of you have to worry about the base. Kelsar put it on self destruct!!"

"How long do we have?" Sharp asked, coming back to reality.

"I don't know, but I say we move now!" she answered.

Stewart picked up Paris without waiting to be asked and everyone started a mad dash for the stargate.

With the Maldorians all scrambling for escape pods and transport ships, no one was interested in stopping them. As they ran, Sharp turned to Robin, "did you plant the explosives in the battleship?"

"If they activate their hyperdrive, they're done," she told him. He nodded acknowledgment and followed Stewart into the gateroom where they all stopped in their tracks. Slumped over the DHD was the body of Grissom.

Corra stepped up to check his pulse, "he's dead."

"Fitting end for a traitor!" Robin sad coldly.

"It wasn't him," Sharp informed her. "Grissom knew about the third team we sent, but Kelsar didn't. Grissom wasn't the leak, he was just trying to save his own skin."

"Well then who's the leak?" Corra questioned.

"I have an idea, but I'm praying I'm wrong," he replied before moving Grissom's body off the DHD and dialing.

Only minutes after they left, two large and separate explosions were recorded by the rebel base computers in the Ares sector.

****Planet Hades (August 26, 2025)****

Sharp had been up all night waiting to hear the news on Paris' condition. Robin came out from the room where they were treating her. "How is she?"

Tears filled Robin's eyes, "Her organs are shutting down, Glenn. They don't think she's gonna make it through the night."

"Can't they do anything?"

"Unless they can find organ donors, she'll die." Robin then collapsed into Glenn's arms.

They just stood holding each other for what seemed like centuries until the base doctor came out to find Robin. "Miss Michaels... we've found a match to a terminal patient"

"What?" she said confused. "You said the chances of a match to even a healthy person was practically zero! Who is it?"

The doctor looked over to Glenn, "It's Mr. Davenport. He's almost a perfect match."

Even since his suspicions had been confirmed, he had been wondering what to do about him. A through examination had revealed the device inside of Davenport keeping him alive, but that was also sending everything uttered around him straight to the Maldorians. He had been told that removal of the device would mean certain death for John, but they couldn't just leave it active. They would continually compromised.

"What are John and Paris' chances if we do it or not?" Sharp asked.

The doctor look right at him as he answered, "For Mr. Davenport, none. The removal of the Maldorian device will most certainly kill him. Miss Orion's chances if we proceed are 50-50 at this point, Captain."

It was an agonizing decision, but Sharp knew there was only one thing to do.

"Do it, doctor."

****To Be Continued in "The Fox Hunt"****