Author's note: Yes! You guys knew what it was before I had to describe it. That's good for a couple reasons, and the biggest one is that that means it's not so far-fetched that the Ancients would have such a device, so I don't have to justify bringing it out! Woot!

OOOOOOOOOOO

"What kind of beam?" Beckett asked once he'd listened to his patient's heart and found it beating fast, but steadily.

"It's probably some sort of defense mechanism," McKay said. "Most likely to keep the Goa'uld from coming to Atlantis and looting the place."

"Goa'uld?" Everyone looked at him with various degrees of confusion.

"Mitchell's a Tok'ra," McKay explained, absently.

"What's a Tok'ra?" Sheppard asked.

Beckett, though, made an odd noise. He knew what one was; he'd just never worked on one before.

"Let's get her to the infirmary," he told his medics. "I'll want complete blood work done, on her and the symbiote, and make sure we have dual monitors hooked up to her so we can keep track of the health of both of them."

"A Tok'ra is a Goa'uld," McKay told Sheppard.

"A good Goa'uld," Weir added.

"A what?"

Sheppard was distracted from his questioning when a weapon clattered to the floor as the medics picked Mitchell up to carefully put her on the gurney they'd brought. He reached out and picked it up. It was Berretta, and in fine condition. Well-oiled and worn in enough spots to tell Sheppard that it wasn't new, but when he checked the load and cleared the chamber, the action was as smooth as if it were. He tucked it into his waistband. He'd give it back when she woke up.

McKay stood up when they loaded Mitchell onto the gurney, and he followed the team of medics and Beckett when they left the room. Obviously, he was far more interested in her health than he was in explaining to Sheppard what a Goa'uld was – or figuring out the device that had attacked her.

Weir stood as well, looking at the piles of supplies.

"Peter? Let's get these supplies inventoried and added to our own, and try to figure out where that beam came from – and make sure it's disabled."

Grodin nodded, and called for some helpers, and Sheppard scowled. He still hadn't learned anything. He turned and headed out the door, figuring he'd learn more in the infirmary.

OOOOOOOO

"Wow, look at all the weapons..."

Beckett frowned at the medic who was pulling Mitchell's gear off her inert form.

"Try not to set anything off, okay?" He wasn't all that comfortable around guns and the like, himself. He had this bad habit of becoming a klutz when he was holding anything mechanical in his hand that didn't have to do with medicine or medical research.

He finished his initial exam almost before they had her stripped out of her uniform. There were no signs of any external injuries, and it didn't appear that she had any broken bones – but he'd do x-rays to make sure, and a CT scan to check for any internal injuries. Maybe an ultrasound to check the symbiote.

"How is she?"

He looked over and saw that McKay had come over to stand next to him, looking down at Mitchell, with obvious concern.

"What are you doing in here?"

"I was just-"

"Get out of my infirmary, and take that sandwich with you."

Like he needed an audience? It was bad enough he didn't know how she was – or how the symbiote was – he certainly didn't McKay standing over his shoulder while he tried to figure it all out.

"I was just-"

"I'll have them put you down with a sedative that would knock out an elephant – with a needle as big as your pinky."

McKay frowned.

"I'm going... jeez..."

He turned and left the room, looking over his shoulder as an X-ray machine was brought over and they started taking pictures. He almost ran into Sheppard, who was coming into the room as he was leaving.

"Don't go in there." McKay warned. "Carson's in something of a snit."

"What did you do?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

McKay shrugged his shoulders, giving the Major an innocent look.

"Nothing."

Sheppard let it go. He followed Rodney out the door, and back into the hall.

"So... you know who this Colonel Mitchell is?"

"Obviously."

"So?"

"So?"

Sheppard counted to ten.

"So who is she?"

"She's a Tok'ra. Well, not originally. She's an Air Force officer, obviously. A Colonel. A close friend of Jack O'Neill's, I might add."

"General O'Neill?"

"Do you know of another?"

"McKay..." Sheppard's voice was low and warning Rodney not to mess with him. As much as John didn't normally mind the Astrophysicist's smug manner, it was a bit annoying at this time.

"McKay..."

They both turned as Elizabeth Weir walked up to them, looking confused.

"Yes, Elizabeth?"

"You know this Colonel Mitchell?"

"Yes. Well... we're not friends or anything, I-"

"Yes, you said that already. But you know who she is?"

"Yes."

"So?"

McKay was tempted to do the whole 'so?' thing all over again, but the impatient look in Sheppard's eyes warned him he'd find himself tossed out a window and swimming if he tried it, so he fought off the temptation.

"She's an Air Force Colonel who was injured in a mission – I'm not sure what exactly – and was blended with a Tok'ra symbiote."

"What's a symbiote?" Sheppard asked, but Weir held up her hand.

"I'll explain that in a minute, John." It was always better to not interrupt McKay when he was talking. Mainly because he'd forget his train of thought, and you'd have to start over. "Go ahead, Rodney."

"Well, the symbiote is named Talon – that's not his real name, but it's what he prefers to be called – and apparently, he hated the Goa'uld as much as Mitchell did, because the two of them left Earth not long afterwards, and started a serious campaign to kill the system lords."

"Wait... I thought a Tok'ra was a Goa'uld?" Sheppard asked, thoroughly confused. Not that he knew what either was, but if it was a Goa'uld, how could it hate its own kind enough to want to kill them?

"It is," McKay said, exasperated.

"I remember hearing about that," Weir said. "Mitchell went on some crazy killing spree, right?"

"Not crazy, Elizabeth." McKay said, obviously annoyed at the question. "She wasn't crazy at all. But yes, she's the reason the Major here doesn't have a clue what a Goa'uld is."

"Why's that?" Sheppard asked.

"Because they're no longer a threat to Earth and her allies," McKay told him. "Mitchell killed them all, took over their Jaffa armies, and is now literally the most powerful figure in the known galaxy. In terms of one person with armies and ships and weaponry and all that stuff at her control." He clarified.

"So what's she doing here?"

"How should I know?"

"We'll have to wait until she wakes up." Weir said.

"You'd better hope whatever that thing was you said hit her didn't kill Talon," Rodney said.

"Why's that?" Sheppard asked.

"Because if the city killed the symbiote, then it's killed the host."

"Host?"

Rodney rolled his eyes. Could Sheppard really be so obtuse? Did he sit in his quarters and practice it at night?

"Mitchell."

"Oh."

John was quiet for a moment, looking at the now closed door to the infirmary.

"What's a Goa'uld?" He asked, again.

Weir smiled, despite her concern for the newcomer – both because she knew Sheppard would keep asking until someone answered, and because of the sudden look of annoyance on McKay's face.

"Rodney, you go help them make sure that anti-Goa'uld device is really off-line, and I'll explain to Major Sheppard what a Goa'uld is."

"And a Tok'ra..." Sheppard added.

"Yes."

"Fine. But I want to be told when she wakes up," McKay said. "I want a chance to talk to her."

"Fine."

McKay left, and Sheppard turned to Weir.

"This Mitchell person must be someone special..."

"Why do you say that?"

"Have you ever seen McKay so impressed with someone?"

"Well..."

"Besides himself?" John clarified.

"No."