4.

Teyla shoved the shirt into her bag. They were going home, back to Atlantis. At every turn, they'd been met with a wall of silence or a chorus of 'I know nothing, I saw nothing'. The problem was, Teyla saw through their assertion. She watched the Hoffans refuse to make eye contact, and watched as their faces screamed guilt. This had been planned; she was now more convinced than ever of this fact, but why? She wasn't any closer to finding an answer.

A knock at her door stilled her packing. She approached it, thinking it was probably Sergeant Baker wanting to see if she was ready to go. She opened the door, but was shoved roughly back, into her room. She looked on in stunned surprise as an overweight male Hoffan that she didn't recognize stepped in, and shut her door.

She contemplated calling for help, but something in his posture indicated he wasn't here to hurt her. "What do you want?" she asked.

The man was scared, she could see that now; he glanced back at the closed door, and reached for Teyla's arm, tugging her even further away from the entrance. "If they find me, I'm a dead man," he whispered. Sweat was rolling down his pudgy face. "I know what they did to Colonel Sheppard…"

What he proceeded to say made Teyla go cold.


Sergeant Walker dropped back, letting Mac take the lead. He signaled Caldwell. "Sir, Colonel Sheppard is heading towards the water reclamation system, what should we do?"

Caldwell had his answer. He'd figured something like this would happen, which is why he wanted the guards trailing Sheppard after he was released. It was one of the few times where he wished he wasn't right. "Continue to follow, do not act unless he attempts anything suspicious, I'll be right there." He cut off the comm, and stood up. First, he needed to collect Doctor Weir and Doctor Beckett. He had a hunch he'd need them.


Sheppard had the vial in his hand. He had a goal, a mission. He walked woodenly forward. He looked at the line snaking out of the tank, and reached behind it, twisting the valve to the off position. Manual override. He'd already instructed the city to stop monitoring this section of the water system. He twisted the cap.

"Colonel, stop. Hands up, where we can see them!"

Sheppard stopped twisting, and palmed the container, holding it underneath his thumb. He lifted his hands, and turned slowly. Two Marines were standing with their pistols pointed at him, and he had no doubts they would follow through if he made any sudden movements.

"What's up, guys?" he asked innocently.

"Sir, what is in your hand?" asked the guard standing on the left. Sheppard couldn't recall a name. It was one of the new men that had arrived with Everett.

Sheppard opened his left hand, and most of his right. "Nothing," he said.

The guard approached him slowly, reaching for Sheppard's still partially closed right hand. It was his mistake. Sheppard's left hand snapped out, slapping the guard's pistol to the ground, and his right arm reached forward, grabbing the guard's vest and twisting him into a neck hold. The guard's body now covered Sheppard's body, protecting him from an attack from the remaining guard.

"I wouldn't," threatened Sheppard, when the free guard cocked the weapon. "You'll kill your friend."

"Back-up is on the way, Colonel. Give up, and no one will get hurt," cautioned the Marine.

Sheppard laughed unpleasantly. "Right," he tightened his forearm against the other guard's neck. "I don't think so. We do it my way. Back off, or your friend here gets a broken neck."

The guard hesitated. Increased choking sounds from the captured soldier penetrated his resolve. He pursed his lips angrily, damnit! Coming to a decision, he backed off. He knew help would be arriving soon, and the goal was to get out of this without any casualties.

Sheppard smiled cruelly. "Good choice." He relaxed his hold on the guard, and that was his mistake, because as soon as the Marine felt the slack, he shoved an elbow against Sheppard's stomach with as much force as he could muster. Sheppard doubled over, releasing the guard.

The Marine, freed of Sheppard's hold, twisted, and followed it up with a two fisted slam to the back of Sheppard's head, just above the neck. Sheppard collapsed to the floor without a sound.


Teyla rushed up the stairs in the Gate room. She'd left Hoff as fast as possible, but she felt every second, every minute, that it took to get back to Atlantis. She prayed she wasn't too late. She saw the tech sitting at the console, staring at her. "Where is Doctor Weir?" she asked breathlessly.

The technician shook his head numbly. "I…don't know," he answered. "I can page her," he offered.

Teyla jerked her head impatiently. "Do so, now," she ordered abruptly.

"Uh, yes Ma'am," he said uncertainly. It had been a quiet day on his shift, but he supposed that was about to change. "Doctor Weir, you're needed in the Gate room," he announced. He repeated the call.

Teyla peered around the man, looking towards the office. "Is Colonel Caldwell in?" she asked.

The tech shook his head. "I'm sorry, they left a few minutes ago. I don't know where they were going."

Teyla stood impatiently. The tech tried to find something to do while they waited for either a reply, or the Doctor to arrive. Finally, the comm beeped. The tech punched the receive button eagerly. Weir's voice filtered over the system. "What do you need?" she snapped.

His eyes widened. He gestured for Teyla to use his console. She wanted Weir; she could deal with the obviously irate Doctor. Teyla stepped forward, and spoke, "Doctor Weir, I know what they did to Colonel Sheppard, where is he?"

They heard a brief moment of silence before Elizabeth's tired reply came back. "He's being taken to the brig, Teyla. Unfortunately, I have an idea what you are going to tell me."

Teyla stood still. She had been too late. Before she could apologize, Weir continued, "We'll meet you in the briefing room. He did not accomplish what he set out to do. Weir out."

She stared at the gate tech, as if expecting him to explain, but he returned her look with equal confusion. She sighed.


"So the Hoffans collaborated with the Genii?" Elizabeth said. She looked like she didn't believe it. For that matter, almost everyone grouped at the oblong table had a look of disbelief.

Caldwell was the only one who wasn't quite sure what to believe. "The Genii, weren't they the ones that tried to overtake Atlantis?"

"Yes, they slipped in during the evacuation stage. They would've done it, too, if not for Colonel Sheppard," replied Elizabeth.

McKay wasn't thrilled with his walk down memory lane. "Koyla's still out there, and he's not happy with Sheppard."

Caldwell tapped his fingers against the table. "So it's safe to say he's got a grudge to settle."

"That would be an understatement," said Teyla. "When Colonel Sheppard left him alive on the planet Dagan," she paused, searching for a diplomatic way of speaking her mind. There wasn't one. "It was not the best decision."

"It was his only decision," protested McKay. "Sheppard isn't a cold-blooded killer!"

"According to the report I read, his actions killed over sixty Genii with the push of a single button," Caldwell said. "That is not exactly the actions of a man reluctant to take the lives of others, Doctor McKay."

McKay was shaking his head. "He did what he had to do, that's different than putting the bullet in the brain of an unarmed enemy that you've already conquered."

"Conquered?" asked Caldwell, raising an eyebrow.

McKay looked flustered. Elizabeth intervened, "Koyla wasn't in a position to do anything. Sheppard told me he thought it would send a message that we weren't giving up, but we also weren't ready to declare all out war on the Genii, despite their actions."

"Exactly," agreed McKay.

Teyla didn't agree, but it had been one of a few decisions before the Wraith attack that she and Sheppard had differed opinions on. "Regardless, it allowed the one man who knew more about us than anyone to remain free."

Caldwell agreed with Teyla's assessment. "Do you feel there is a personal component in their collaboration?" he asked Teyla.

She nodded. "I am certain of it. It is no coincidence that the one taken was Colonel Sheppard, and not myself or Doctor McKay," she said. "Koyla has been bested twice by the Colonel. He wants revenge."

"You can't go around killing anyone who might hold a grudge," McKay snapped.

Caldwell looked amusedly at Elizabeth. "He's got a point."

"At any rate, we know how they were able to program Sheppard in the short time he was captured. The Genii are more…advanced when it comes to interrogation," Elizabeth mused, remembering her own brief stay in their hands. "We've got how, and who, now we need to figure out why. Has Beckett analyzed what was in the vial?"

McKay had other things on his mind. "What about Sheppard? Has he woken up yet?"

"Doctor Beckett is currently working on both issues," supplied Caldwell. He swiveled his chair towards Teyla. "Good job on getting the information. Until we know more, there's nothing further we can do."

"You're not going to leave him in the brig, are you?" McKay asked. He hated what had been done to Sheppard, and he knew that Sheppard wouldn't willingly do anything to harm anyone here. With the vial confiscated, he wasn't a risk.

Caldwell didn't agree. "Yes, Doctor McKay, I am," he said. "Dismissed."

Everyone stood, but McKay hung back, pulling Elizabeth off to the side outside the briefing room. "I want to see him," he said, forcing her to listen and not just walk away.

She didn't look happier with the turn of events then he did. "I'll see what I can do," she said. "But Rodney, we don't know what all they did to him. He might not be the same again," she cautioned.

She walked away, heading towards the infirmary. McKay watched her go, his face sober. Sheppard had seemed fine earlier. He would be fine. He had to be fine.