"Wraith hunting?" Sheppard repeated, certain he had to have heard her wrong.

Mitchell nodded.

"What on earth are you saying?" Weir asked, her expression just as shocked as the others' were.

"I need a chance to study them," Melony said, shrugging, although she was well aware that she'd just dropped a bomb on them all. They were certainly looking shell-shocked.

"We had one," Sheppard said. "You have all the information we-"

"I need to see one up close and personal," Mitchell said, interrupting him. "I have technology that you don't have access to, so you don't know how it works against them, and I need to see that for myself."

"The Wraith are dangerous," Teyla said, shaking her head. No one went looking for them on purpose! This human was either incredibly foolish, or foolishly brave. Neither was going to help her against the Wraith if she went looking for them. "You should not seek them out."

"It's crazy," McKay agreed. "They're like nothing you've ever seen, Colonel Mitchell..."

"Which is why I need to see them," she told them, reasonably.

"They suck the life out of you," Rodney reminded her. "I can't imagine it's all that pleasant, Colonel Mitchell. You're nuts."

"They have to touch me to do it, though, right?"

Teyla nodded.

"I can keep them from touching me – probably."

"Probably?" Weir repeated. "You'd risk your life on a maybe?"

"It's the only way I'm going to find out." Besides, she'd risked her life on a lot less than a maybe more than once.

"And if you're wrong, you're going to be killed," Sheppard said. "That's quite a gamble, don't you think?"

She nodded.

"A necessary one, though."

"I disagree," Weir said. "You can't do this."

"With all due respect, Doctor Weir," Mitchell said, shrugging. "You can't stop me."

"This is my expedition."

"And I'm not under your command. You don't control the Military personnel here."

"If I declared an emergency, I would have control of them."

"Are you declaring an emergency?" She asked.

"I could."

"I'm not in the chain of command here, Doctor. I wouldn't be included in the personnel under your control unless I placed myself there. And I won't."

"Are you trying to kill yourself?" Teyla asked, interrupting before the two strong-willed women could really start arguing about something so stupid. Why would anyone seek out the Wraith?

"Of course not. But I need intel, and this is the best way to get it."

"There has to be a better way," Sheppard said.

"The best way to know an enemy is to meet it, Major. You know that." The implication was that he definitely should know it, whether he did or not. "You had your chance to see them up close and personal with that prisoner you held, and I need to see them, too."

Sheppard knew she was right, but he didn't see how she was going to keep the Wraith from killing her the minute they spotted her – which according to Teyla, they were going to do immediately.

"They're not going to stand there and let you study them, Colonel." McKay told her, frustrated because she obviously couldn't see how dangerous her dumb idea was. "Even with whatever Goa'uld technology you brought, you're not going to be able to withstand an attack by them. You're risking your life needlessly."

How long do you think this gene thing will take? She asked Talon.

A couple of days, at least

That long?

I'm not fixing a paper cut, hot-shot. Give me a little while. Genes are complicated

"Not needlessly," she corrected, more than capable of handling a conversation with Talon and the other conversations as well. "Besides, you don't know that the Goa'uld technology won't work. The Goa'uld have never met the Wraith as near as I can tell, so we don't know that they have defenses against them. Do we?"

She was looking directly at McKay, who had to admit that she was right.

"I haven't observed them using any type of Goa'uld technology, no..."

She looked at Weir, but Elizabeth shrugged; she hadn't seen anything, either, and when Mitchell turned to Sheppard, John shrugged.

"I wouldn't know Goa'uld technology from Wraith technology," he admitted. "I'd like to see some of the gadgets you've brought, though. It'd make me feel a little better about your chances."

"It looks like it's going to take a couple days for Talon to get the gene thing working, so there'll be plenty of time for you have a demonstration," Mitchell said. "And in return, you can take me for a couple rides in the Puddle Jumpers, so I can start getting a feel for them – even if I can't actually fly them yet."

"Have you ever flown anything before?"

Mitchell nodded.

"If it has wings, I can fly it."

"Puddle Jumpers don't have wings," McKay told her.

"Then it should be even easier, eh?"

Sheppard smiled.

"They're fairly easy to fly, Colonel. McKay can do it, after all, and I doubt he can drive a car."

Despite the general aura of concern at the table, everyone smiled at that – even though Teyla wasn't positive what a car was.

"I'd like to see some of the gadgets you've brought, also, Colonel Mitchell," Weir said. "I've never had a chance to see that sort of technology up close, and if you're really that determined to do this, I'd feel a little better knowing what you're going to be depending on to keep you safe."

Mitchell nodded and took a sip of her coffee. "I'll give a demonstration of a few things after you've all finished eating."

"You're not eating?" Weir asked.

"Can't. Talon says what he's doing could make me queasy, so it's better that I don't. I'll stick with coffee until he tells me otherwise."

"This creature communicates with you?" Teyla asked, curiously.

"Of course."

"It must be very strange..."

Mitchell shrugged.

"He's good company."

Thank you

Yeah, don't let it go to your head, she told him, hiding a smile in another sip of coffee.