AN: I put "X X X" to mark the changes this time. The asterisks weren't showing up. I'll update the other chapters too. Sorry about that.

Chapter Three: Impossible Odds

Ree'an came through the Stargate so fast that she slammed into the back of the last Wraith, her bow snapping with the impact. As they fell forward, the other three turned, dropped their captive and raised their weapons to attack. She quickly rolled to one side and Wraith underneath took the three stun blasts meant for her.

Before the others could fire again, she rose and, in the same movement, drove her long hunting knife into the arm of the closest Wraith. The creature howled, more in anger than pain, and swung at her with his other arm. She ducked and dodged around him just as the other two fired. Once again, the shots meant for her took out her attacker instead.

Now only two of the four aliens remained, but she knew that they would be more than enough unless she was very quick, and very lucky. Weapons forgotten, the Wraith charged forward in a blind rage. She dove between them, finding herself on top of the unconscious stranger's body. Hoping to find something helpful, she fished in his pockets. Her hand had just closed around his weapon, when she felt a sharp blow on her arm. She fought past the pain as a rough hand rolled her over and reached for her chest. She pulled out the strange weapon, aimed it, and pulled the trigger.

The accompanying thunderclap deafened her sensitive ear and the weapon jumped violently in her hand, but she saw the Wraith staggered. She kept firing until the weapon's loud noises changed into sharp clicks and stopped working. As the Wraith fell, she grabbed his weapon and swung it at the last enemy. This Wraith was distracted by the sudden demise of his fellow and took the sharp end of the stunner in his side. He roared and tried to retaliate, but she had found the stunner's trigger and fired into his snarling face. He collapsed without another sound.

Ree'an stood still for several moments, staring at the still forms around her. She was breathing hard and her arm was throbbing with pain. I can't believe I just did that! her mind screamed wildly. Now that the battle was over, the adrenaline was fading and common sense was taking over. It was time to figure out what to do next. One Wraith she was sure was dead, but the others would recover before long. She did not have a lot of time.

The most logical escape was through the Stargate, but she suddenly remembered that wasn't an option. She had never learned any gate addresses. She silently cursed her habit of skipping her lessons in favor of hunting or fishing. Her only hope was that the stranger would know somewhere for them to go, but he was still unconscious and would be for some time.

That left only one thing: finding somewhere to hide until the man woke up. Unfortunately the landscape did not look promising. The planet was dusty, gray, and bleak, and the area around the gate provided only a few scrawny trees for cover. She could see some hills farther on that looked better, but she didn't think she could carry the man that far. A quick search of the area, however, and she found a narrow ditch about a hundred yards away. It had probably once been a stream and its shallow banks had a fairly large number of trees and bushes that would hide them well. It was a little closer than she would have liked, but it would have to do.

She returned to the Stargate and retrieved her knife. As an afterthought, she also picked up the stranger's weapon and stuck both in her belt before turning her full attention on the man she had rescued. He was older than her by far and his thin brown hair was cut much shorter than the men of Kor'ania. His clothes, as she had noted before, were odd and had more blue and black than she was used to seeing. He also had a bulky vest full of pockets that covered most of his torso. He was certainly the oddest man she had ever seen. Still, he was definitely human and having strange clothes didn't change that.

She hooked her arms underneath his and started dragging him towards the sheltered ditch. The task was harder than she had anticipated. The man was large and heavy and her injured arm argued painfully with each step. It took nearly thirty minutes, and several rest breaks, before she finally managed to reach her destination.

Once there, she collapsed beside the man in the small shelter under the scraggly trees. Breathing hard, she took several moments to regain what little strength she had left. She had never felt so tired in all her life. Tired and thirsty. Her throat burned for water, but she couldn't see any nearby. It was too risky to go searching; the Wraith might wake at any moment. Perhaps the stranger has some, she thought. He certainly had a number of things in his pockets and surely he wouldn't mind if she looked.

She searched several pockets full of strange objects before she found a small liquid filled bottle. After futile attempts to pry or pull the cap off, she discovered that it loosened by twisting. She sniffed experimentally and poured a little into her grimy hand. Satisfied that it was water, she proceeded to gulp down nearly half its contents before remembering that the stranger might want some later. After failing to get the cap back on the bottle, she set it aside carefully and began to examine some of the other things from the man's pockets.

Besides the water, he had several odd devices she did not recognize or understand. Most seemed to do nothing, but one lit up when she touched it. It was white and rectangular and showed a small glowing picture with two green dots at its center. It seemed meaningless, so she set it aside with the others. She also found rolled up strips of green cloth, a small knife, and several things covered in colorful, metallic paper. Nothing looked particularly useful. She also didn't find any food, and by now she was starving. Breakfast seemed like a lifetime ago, though in truth it had only been a few hours.

A sudden sound distracted her from her search. Cautiously she peered over the edge of their hiding place. One of the Wraith was awake and impatiently shoving and kicking his fellows. Two of them rose irritably, but the third did not stir. The remaining three argued for several minutes then one of them left, walking away towards the nearby hills. Ree'an breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that his path took him away from the ditch. The other Wraith took up positions to guard the gate and she had no doubt that their friend had gone for reinforcements. She bit her lip in anxiety and glanced at the still unconscious stranger. If he didn't wake soon, they might never escape.

X X X

Major Sheppard woke slowly. The first thing he was aware of was an annoying tingle that covered his entire body. The next was the sound of soft voices that floated in and out of his hearing. He was sure he recognized them, but he couldn't catch what they were saying. Determined, he fought back the darkness and forced his eyes open. He almost regretted it as the bright light threatened to blind him, but he adjusted gradually and was greeted by more familiar voices.

"There you are lad," said a pleasant Scottish voice. "Welcome back."

He blinked, trying to bring the world into focus. He was in the infirmary. That was odd; he didn't remember getting back. Dr. Beckett and Dr. Weir were standing over him with concerned but relieved faces.

"How are you feeling, John?" Weir asked. Her voice was calm, but he thought he detected a hint of anxiety.

"Like a pincushion," he croaked.

Beckett nodded. "Your body's had quite a shock, but you're going to be just fine."

"Do you remember anything?" Weir asked. Once again her voice betrayed that something was wrong.

Sheppard frowned, trying to think through a haze of confusion. "We were on the planet. The Wraith attacked and..." his eyes went wide. "McKay! We have to go back!" He sat up and immediately regretted it as a wave of nausea hit him.

Beckett grabbed his shoulders and gently but firmly eased him back to the bed. "Take it easy. You're in no condition to go running off just yet."

Sheppard found he no longer had the strength to protest. "But..."

"We already searched the planet, Major," Weir told him. "He wasn't there." Her heart fell saying the words. Lt. Ford and Teyla were still in the village asking questions, but they were rapidly losing hope of finding any sign of their friend. She shook her head, trying not to think of what could be happening to Rodney. She refused to give up while they still had a small chance of finding him.