Retribution
Chapter 7: Recipe For Disaster
"We are so dead. Dead! We are going to die. The Genii are going to kill us...ever so slowly and painfully." Rodney McKay ranted as he frantically paced the cell that he, Teyla, and Ford currently occupied. Cowen's henchmen had locked the three of them together in a room barely larger and just as sparsely furnished as the cell in which Sheppard was now residing.
Ford looked up from his inspection of the door lock in annoyance at the high-strung and agitated physicist. "Dr. McKay, get a grip! Having a panic attack is not going to help us get out of here."
"Oh, excuse me, Lieutenant. I guess I am the only one that truly comprehends just how SCREWED we are right now!" McKay had momentarily stopped his pacing and was waving his arms emphatically as he spoke.
"Aiden is right, Dr. McKay. We must remain calm if we are to think of a plan for escape. We must find a way out of here and go help the major. I fear Commander Koyla has a worse fate in store for Major Sheppard than he does for us." Teyla's expression did not hide her concern, and also displayed her resolve to somehow prevail over the odds presently stacked against them.
Momentarily shocked into silence, McKay took a deep breath to regain control of his emotions. In his mounting panic, he had almost forgotten the major's predicament. Teyla's words, however, served as an acute reminder that the Genii had even more reason to punish Sheppard. It was the major's actions, after all, that had caused the final defeat of Koyla's invading forces. The Genii commander did not strike them as a man who would or could ignore such an affront to his pride. He would avenge the deaths of his men, and Sheppard would be the one to ultimately pay the price.
"Sorry. You are right of course. You know how I react to impending doom. The imminent threat of pain and death hanging over my head tends to make me get upset. When I am upset, I rant." McKay apologized, the worry still evident on his face.
Ford had finished his scrutiny of the door and pounded his fist against it in frustration. "Damn! There's no way to access the padlock or hinges from inside."
He looked around the windowless room. "There has to be a way of this. There has to be!" The lieutenant wanted desperately to help his CO and friend. Who knew what Koyla and his soldiers were doing to the major while the three of them remained trapped in this room. "I should have tried to do something in Golathe's chambers. I should have never let Koyla take the major away." Ford vented his regret and anger.
"Ford, you would have only succeeded in getting yourself killed. We were unarmed and outnumbered. The major wouldn't have wanted you to risk taking aggressive action under those conditions." McKay tried to assuage the lieutenant's guilt.
"Doctor McKay is correct. We would have only made matters worse if we tried to stop Koyla. Besides, it is my fault for even bringing us here. I am the one who put us all in harm's way." The Athosian woman stated with remorse.
"Alright, we can continue the self-condemnation once we get out of here and find the major. None of us are precognitive. We would have had no way of knowing this was going to happen." McKay reminded them.
Before they could continue discussing their next plan of action, they were interrupted by the sound of the cell door being unlocked and opened. Bracing for what awaited them next, the team from Atlantis watched in apprehension as Cowen and Koyla entered the room with several soldiers.
"What have you done with Major Sheppard?" Teyla demanded from their Genii captors.
Koyla gave the Athosian a hard stare and spoke with a voice dripping with mocking contempt. "That is none of your concern for now. Let's just say that the major was...resting when I left him."
"If you hurt him, you will answer to me, Koyla. I swear it!" Teyla hissed out a promise to the warrior before her.
"Oh, come now my dear Teyla, surely you realize you are in no position to make threats." Koyla grinned cruelly as he grabbed her arm and twisted it painfully behind her, forcing her to arch her back in an effort to relieve the agony.
Ford and McKay tried to come to her aid, but were blocked by the soldiers.
"Leave her alone!" Ford yelled as he pushed against the Genii guarding him before a punch knocked him to the ground. Rubbing his jaw, the stunned lieutenant shook his head and glared at Koyla and Cowen as McKay helped him to his feet.
"Your concern for each other is admirable. Pity I can't stay and test it further, but I am needed elsewhere." Koyla released Teyla who backed away from the commander, massaging her arm in an effort to ease the lingering discomfort.
"What do you want with us?" McKay asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
"Surely a man as intelligent as you, Dr. McKay, can figure it out. Your little team from Atlantis are bargaining chips we plan on using in order to get what you owe us. Getting revenge at the same time for Major Sheppard's attrocities against the Genii is just an added benefit to having you as our honored guests." Cowen explained.
"And right now, Dr. McKay, I require your assistance to send a message to Atlantis." Koyla added. "You will be coming with me for a little field trip."
"Why should I help you?" McKay asked.
Koyla gestured to two of his men who walked up to the scientist and grabbed him on either side. One pulled out a lethal-looking knife and held it up against McKay's throat.
Koyla paced slowly around the men holding McKay and angled his head slightly to better view of the physicist's face as he spoke. "Surely you haven't forgotten how well my men are trained to handle a knife? Or do you need a refresher course, Doctor?"
The point of the knife cut slightly into McKay's skin, causing a thin line of blood to seep down the side of his neck. Gulping in fear and wincing in pain, McKay stammered in response. "I...I can't help you if I am dead now, can I?"
"Let's put it this way, Doctor, either you give Commander Koyla all the assistance he needs to contact Atlantis or you can live a while longer and watch your friends die. And I promise you, their deaths will not be pleasant. The choice is yours." Chief Cown cut in as he ordered his men to aim their weapons at Ford and Teyla.
"Alright! Alright! You don't need to hurt them. I will do as you ask. What is it that you need me to do?" McKay cast worried looks at his friends who stood defiantly awaiting their fate.
"Come with me to the stargate. I need you to dial the coordinates to Atlantis and transmit a message to Dr. Weir. It is only fitting she be notified of your current situation." Koyla replied as he instructed a few of his men to lead McKay from the cell.
Following them, he paused at the doorway and called back to Cowen. "I will be back shortly. When I return, I have some unfinished business with the major I need to attend to."
"Of course, report back to me when you are through. I will be waiting in Golathe's council chamber until then."
Cowen turned back to Ford and Teyla before heading from the room. "I will deal with you both later. You will remain here for the time being. My guards outside will ensure you do not escape. For now, I bid you good night."
Meanwhile, Koyla and his group continued escorting McKay to the stargate. Marching at a brisk pace, they were able to make good time in arriving at their destination. As they approached the gate, McKay turned to Koyla.
"I don't know what you hope to accomplish. Dr. Weir will never lower the shield without my identity code. Even with it, once you came through, you would be quickly outnumbered by our military forces."
"I don't plan on entering the stargate at this time, Dr. McKay. We are just going to transmit a message. I simply need you to dial the correct address and open a channel with your communication device. I will handle the rest."
As Koyla finished speaking, one of the soldiers jabbed McKay in the back with the muzzle of his rifle, prodding him closer to the DHD.
"Okay. I am dialing. You can tell your trained gorilla to move his gun out of my backside now." McKay complained as he proceeded to dial the sequence of coordinates.
On Atlantis, the chevrons lit up one by one as the stargate began to activate. In the control room, Peter Grodin paged Dr. Weir. She left her office and walked over to his console. "What's going on?"
"We have an unscheduled activation of the stargate. The major's team was not due to report in for another 45 minutes." Grodin notifed the expedition leader.
"Maybe they have made progess in the negotiations sooner than they anticipated. Do you have a code transmission yet?" Weir inquired.
"Not yet, but the signal is coming from Logara. There's an incoming communication transmission coming in...Wait, I am also getting Dr. McKay's ID code."
"Open a channel, Peter."
"Rodney, this is Elizabeth. Please report." Weir waited a second for McKay's reply. The venomous voice that came over the radio receiver, however, was not the one she expected to hear. Instead she heard a voice she would never forget for as long as she lived.
"Why Dr. Weir, how good it is to speak with you once again!"
Elizabeth looked at the console in shock and disbelief as she realized her team was once again in trouble.
"Koyla!"
(TBC)