In the control room, the Wraith seemed more interested in what was behind them, turning to point their stunners in the direction of the gate. Everyone in the room looked dumbfounded. Weir was the first to come to her senses. "Get out. Everyone out!" she hissed.

"But…" began Peter.

"We can activate the self-destruct from Rodney's terminal," she said, staying low and giving him an encouraging push towards the exit. "Hopefully we won't have to if the major and his men can regain control and we can get the shield back up."

Without power, there was no way they could do anything from the control room anyway. Being on the top level did give them somewthing of an advantage. Using the control consoles for cover, they hurried down the back steps and into the hallway.

The wormhole disgorged another handful of Wraith, and more stunner blasts began to fly through the air just as Weir and Grodin, the last of the control room occupants, slipped out the door unnoticed. They were almost run down by Sheppard.

"How did Wraith get in the city?" he demanded, panting.

"The shield went down," Grodin volunteered.

Stunner blasts could still be heard from behind them. "Who's shooting?" Sheppard asked, bewildered.

"More Wraith."

"More…" He stopped himself and grabbed her by the arm while at the same time giving Grodin a shove down the corridor. Yelling at the rest of the escapees to get to their quarters and stay there, he was glad to see no one had to be told twice. He rushed Peter and Elizabeth towards Rodney's old lab, knowing that's where the scientist had been heading last.

They met McKay in the hall, just a few feet from the door. "You overloaded the secondary conduits," he accused Peter. I told you not…"

"There are Wraith on Atlantis," Sheppard snapped, cutting him off.

"What?"

Sheppard propelled him back towards the lab. "I need citywide, can you do that from here?"

"Uh…" he said, still obviously confused.

"And the self-destruct?" prompted Weir. She gave a worried glance over her shoulder back towards the empty hallway. There was no telling how long they had before the Wraith stopped fighting each other and started taking notice of their surroundings.

The gravity of the situation finally seemed to sink in. "No. No power. No terminals. Rodney ducked back into the ruined lab and grabbed his laptop. "Come on, I think we can do it from the new lab."

"You think?"

"We can do it from the new lab," he assured them. "There's a portable power source and access to the central computer system." Entering the lab and rigging his laptop, he ignored the odd looks from the rest of the scientists and technicians as he grabbed several different items from various workstations. "I just need a minute."

Sheppard resisted the temptation to tell him that they didn't have a minute.

Weir was looking thoughtful and a little pensive. "Peter, did you notice something odd."

Grodin's eyes were still twice normal size. "Odd?" he asked in shocked disbelief at the understatement.

"They didn't seem particularly interested in us, did they?"

He thought about it a moment. "Now that you mention it, they seemed much more interested in what was coming through the gate behind them.

"I wonder if they even know they're on Atlantis?"

"How can they not know?" asked Sheppard.

"Citywide, Major," said McKay, tapping one last button.

Sheppard nodded his thanks. "There are Wraith on the base. I repeat Wraith on the base. This is not a drill. All military personnel report to the armory if possible. Everyone else stay where you are and lock the doors." They had had two drills since it became apparent that the Wraith might eventually attack Atlantis. Sheppard just hoped everyone had been paying attention. He headed toward the door, ignoring the commotion his announcement had caused in the lab.

Rodney waved Zelenka over. "Put the self-destruct in standby," he instructed before running out the door after the major. "Peter," he yelled over his shoulder, "middle crystal." He trusted Grodin to remove the middle crystal in the door panel that would temporarily deactivate the controls, effectively locking the door.

Sheppard looked at him without pausing. "What do you think you're doing, McKay?"

"I can't fix the shield without access to the control room!"

Sheppard shook his head but didn't have time to argue as he increased his pace toward the armory.

Ford was already there, handing out weapons to the group of men who had assembled. "Here you go, Sir," he said tossing Sheppard a P-90. McKay caught the next one. The young lieutenant also handed his commander several lifesigns detectors.

Sheppard addressed the soldiers. "We've done this as a drill plenty of times. There are Wraith in my city and I want them gone! Attack Plan Alpha. In seven," he said looking at his watch. "McKay, go with Ford's group and take this," he said, passing him a detector. He knew Rodney's ability to use the handheld device, as well as his intimate working knowledge of Atlantis, would be an advantage for Ford's team. The second device he handed to Markham and kept the third for himself. "Let's go."

The teams split up, the bulk of the unit going with Markham and Ford for flank assaults on the control room. A few handpicked men left with Sheppard for a frontal attack that was less an assault and more a distraction for Markham and Ford's teams.

Sheppard checked his watch outside the control room and nodded to his men giving them a three count on his fingers, at which point they burst into the control room, P-90's blazing. There was an explosion of gunfire and stunners as all hell broke loose. Ford's group appeared on the upper level while Markham's men fired from the lower level opposite Sheppard's team, catching the group of Wraith in a deadly crossfire. It was all over in a matter of moments and the gunfire stuttered to a stop. Sheppard considered it a resounding success since it resulted in all the Wraith being taken down in a barrage of bullets while only two of Markham's men laid stunned. The four soldiers who had been guarding the gate also appeared only stunned, the Wraith not yet having fed upon them.

Twenty men now stood directly in front of the gate, their P-90's aimed at the swirling vortex which was giving off a soft glow in the dimly lit control room. Rodney was talking to Grodin and Zelenka over the radio, the three of them working feverishly to get enough power routed back to the control room so that the shield could be raised before more Wraith decided to join the party.

"Damn it, McKay," shouted Sheppard. "Get that shield back on-line."

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" the scientist yelled back, never pausing in his frantic attempt to reactivate the shield.

"And see if you can figure out where they came from," added the Major.

"Anything else?" snapped McKay.

"It'd be nice if you could get the lights back on," Sheppard snapped back, still angry that they'd been caught with their pants down.

McKay quickly rearranged several of the inserts in the control panel, trying to get what little power was available rerouted to the shield.

The gate shut off and the room was plunged into darkness except for the small lights attached to the P-90s. The men relaxed a fraction but kept their weapons aimed on the gate.

"No, not that one," Rodney snapped into his radio when the panel flashed on briefly. "Wait! Turn it back on!" The panel glowed again. "Oh no."

"What?" yelled Sheppard from below, his P-90 still trained on the gate. When McKay used that tone, it was never good news.

"Some of them must have left the control room before we got here," Rodney shouted over the railing.

"What?" Sheppard cursed under his breath.

"There are Wraith loose in the city, Major."

Making his way over to the lower level exit, he glanced down the darkened hallway, "How many, McKay?"

"I'm not sure, there's not enough power to get a solid reading…three, maybe four."

Sheppard shot a look over his shoulder towards the scientist, "Can you tell where?"

"North of the main tower somewhere, it keeps fading in and out."

"Markham and….O'Conner, you have the gene right?" At the soldier's nod, he continued, "Ford, you and the rest stay here and guard the gate until McKay gets that shield back up. If it activates, I want you to start shooting if you see so much as a toe, you got that?"

"Yes, sir," answered Ford.

"McKay!"

"What!"

"Lifesigns detector."

Rodney grabbed the unit off the console he was working on and tossed it over the rail to Sheppard, who caught it and handed it to O'Conner.

oOo

"Son of a…" Sheppard ducked back behind the corner as a stunner blast barely missed him. He took two quick breaths then poked his head back out and emptied what was left of his P-90 clip into the Wraith which finally fell to the floor, dead. He pulled off a sweaty glove and checked his lifesigns detector, happy to see no one else in his immediate vicinity and tapped his radio twice. His team had split up, hoping to be able to keep the Wraith contained in that general area until they could be found.

Markham answered immediately, reporting no sightings. O'Conner didn't answer at all.

Sheppard cursed under his breath and told Markham to head towards O'Conner last known position and stay with the man if he should happen to find him alive. Meanwhile, the major headed back at a run through the maze of corridors towards the armory for more ammunition.

"I've got the shield back up," announced McKay excitedly over the radio.

"That's great, Rodney," said Sheppard. He checked the lifesigns detector again and slowed his run to a walk. "Crap!"

"What's wrong?"

"I'm in trouble." He tucked the detector in his pocket so he'd have a hand free for his knife. The device would do him little good now. He pulled his glove back on and pulled out his pistol, knowing it would be woefully ineffective against a wraith.

"Could you be a little more specific?"

"I'm trapped in the corridor with a Wraith headed toward me in either direction and I have nowhere to go. How's that for specific?" he hissed.

Irritation quickly took over in the scientist. "Which corridor, damn it?"

"The gray one."

"Major!"

"Northwest of the tower, somewhere."

"We're on our way."

Sheppard glanced to his left and his right, trying to decide which Wraith was likely to appear first and did some quick calculations. He came to the conclusion that there were times when being a math wizard really sucked. "You'll never make it in time."

"Then...then stall them."

"You're kidding, right?" asked Sheppard in disbelief. Catching a movement in the corner of his eye, he turned to meet the first Wraith that had appeared. He backed away slowly, even though he realized he was putting himself that much nearer the second, as yet unseen, Wraith. Raising his pistol, he held his fire knowing that the closer the Wraith was, the more damage he could do with what little ammunition remained.

"Look, um, Fred. Can I call you, Fred?" The Wraith looked at him and growled. "I'll take that as a 'yes'. Fred, I'm all skin and bones. You don't want me. Really, there are lots of juicier morsels on Atlantis." Sheppard took another step backward, shooting a nervous look behind him. The other Wraith had not yet appeared. "Take McKay, for example. He might be a little sour, but throw on some barbeque sauce…"

The Wraith hissed again, but not at Sheppard. John glanced over his shoulder and saw the second Wraith who growled back. Tension was thick in the air as both Wraith continued to glare at each other. Oh, great. Now I'm in the middle of some sort of freaking Mexican standoff? He wouldn't have minded, only he doubted they would overlook draining the life from him once they settled their little squabble.

As if reacting to some signal, both Wraith flung down their stunners and ran at each other, totally oblivious to the human between them. John just barely managed to jump back into a small service alcove, narrowly avoiding being sandwiched between the two as they collided.

Fred attempted to get his hand on the other Wraith's chest briefly before his adversary slammed him into the wall, loosening his grip. They both crashed to the floor snarling, ripping, tearing and biting at each other while Sheppard watched half in fascinated horror and half in the hope that the fight might move far enough away that he could make an unobserved escape down the hall.

Rolling quickly to their feet, the Wraith stared at each other in undisguised hatred and loathing before resuming their vicious attack. A few more powerful slams into the wall and Fred succeeded in getting his hands firmly on the other's neck, giving it a sharp twist and rip, nearly decapitating his enemy. He gave a roar of victory then stood panting, black gore oozing from the socket where his right eye had been ripped out by his opponent moments before. Turning his one good eye menacingly on Sheppard, he took a deliberate step towards him.

Sheppard backed away, emptying what was left in his pistol into Fred. The wraith took a staggering step back then started forward again, reaching out his hand towards the major's chest. John pulled out his knife and took another step back, bumping into the wall.

A sudden thought came to him and he began rubbing his left wrist on his thigh frantically trying to peel off his glove. Just before the Wraith made contact, Sheppard stabbed his knife into its shoulder, making little impact except possibly angering it even more. Grabbing frantically at his left hand, he ripped off the glove and reached back to touch the wall just as he felt the Wraith's hand make contact. He thought he heard someone scream but the sound was drowned out as his world exploded into a sea of scarlet, neon green, fire, and pain.

McKay, Ford, and a handful of men rounded the corner in time to see the Wraith make contact with Sheppard punctuated by a spark of green. Without hesitation, Ford aimed the stunner he had procured from the control room and blasted them both. A blinding flash of neon green completely engulfed the pair for a few seconds as the Wraith screamed and finally collapsed backwards. Sheppard crumpled to the floor in a heap.

Rodney ran over and dropped to his knees near Sheppard, frantically feeling for a pulse, shying away when Ford grabbed a P-90 from one of the other men and emptied it into the Wraith.

His immediate duty completed, the young lieutenant looked anxiously from Sheppard to the scientist.

"I don't feel a pulse," Rodney said, clicking on his radio, "Carson!" Just then he felt a slight flutter against his fingers and Sheppard took a gasping breath. "Oh thank God!"

"Rodney?"

We need a medical team down here, right now," McKay demanded, willing the slight rise and fall of Sheppard's chest to continue.

As the scientist relayed their location to the medical team, Ford stationed two men with stunners down the hallway in either direction and handed McKay an extra clip of ammunition, before taking the rest of the men to search the area and make sure there were no more Wraith running loose.

With Beckett and his team on their way, and Sheppard still breathing, McKay took the opportunity to look at the Wraith closest to him. He could see its face was a gory mess, but the thing that drew his attention was its hand - scorched and contracted with faint wisps of smoke still emanating from it. He carefully pulled away the remnants of John's shirt to reveal a bloody blistered handprint and cringed, more surprised than ever that the major was still alive. It was only then he realized that he had touched the major without getting zapped.