Chapter 7

Teyla and Stackhouse waited camouflaged by the shadows of a building near Deriam's dwelling. They knew it was a lesson in patience waiting for him like this. They had little choice.

They communicated with Dr. Weir to hold off on her visit until they had talked with Deriam. Eesle made it sound as if he might know where Dr. Beckett and Col. Sheppard were being held. Hope sprung eternal that he did.

Dr. Weir had been understandably unhappy with the theory of government involvement. She held off her meeting though. Government involvement meant one less friend in the fight against the Wraith. Government involvement meant one less trading partner. Government involvement meant a possible enemy.

To further their camouflage, Teyla had located indigenous dress for her and Stackhouse's team. They blended in a little better; the boots still gave them away under close scrutiny- damn shoelaces and treads.

Their patience paid off. Deriam strolled down the street towards home. They waited for him to unlock the door and then they made their approach.

"Deriam! It is so good to see you! It is me, Sora your cousin. I saw Eesle today. This is my business associate Halling. Let us go in and have a drink of tea." In one fluid motion, Stackhouse and Teyla shoved the man into his home.

Once the door was shut, Teyla went deadly serious. "Have you seen Dr. Beckett or Col. Sheppard?"

Frightened and intimidated by being accosted outside his home, Deriam shook his head.

"Damn," swore Stackhouse.

"You misunderstand. I have not seen them, but I believe they are at the commune," said Deriam casting his eyes down. "It is my fault. I told First Mender Gezble about Col. Sheppard hoping she would ask Dr. Beckett about it. I did not think she would take them. I am sorry."

Teyla and Stackhouse exchanged glances.

"She threatened my family. You must help them and I will help you," he pleaded desperately.

"We will do what we can," answered Teyla. "Sergeant, now I think it is time to contact Dr. Weir."

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"We scanned the medical complex. There is no way to tell for certain where they are. We can make an educated guess. These two." Major Lorne reported to the group assembled for the briefing. "They are isolated from the rest of the patients. And this one here could be guard."

Weir laughed to herself, the Proconsul had lied. No big shock there, the peoples of the Pegasus Galaxy had taken self-preservation to an art form. They often bit the hand that fed them.

"I am so tired of duplicitous people who do not think we will react or protect ourselves. We sent the Wraith packing for Christ's sake," sneered Rodney.

Weir silently agreed. This was getting tedious. The only way to defeat or at the very least defend against the Wraith was a coalition of sorts. The people needed to be reintroduced to trust. Unfortunately that lesson would not be taught today.

She looked directly at the major. "What do you suggest?"

"Insertion and retrieval," he answered. "We have a team stationed here on Atlantis now."

Weir pursed her lips and then spoke, "I am going to try one diplomatic mission and give the man an out. If he completely evades then have your plan ready to go.

The major nodded in agreement, "I will ma'am."

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Beckett woke up in a puddle of his own drool. He had woken up like that before, but it usually entitled a few pints at a local pub. He was pretty sure that he was not in a pub now.

"Dr. Beckett, it is time to talk."

He knew that voice and it definitely was not Sheppard's. Sheppard's was nicer.

He felt four pairs of hands grip him by the shoulders and arms. They then hefted him upright. He blearily peeped at the brown haired form in front of him.

"Wha…?"

"We need to talk Dr. Beckett. I need to know the procedure you used on Col. Sheppard."

"Who?"

The bleary form slapped him on the face.

"Dr. Beckett, wake up."

"Mender Gezble?" The smack worked. He looked around the room. "Where is Col. Sheppard?"

"Answer mine and I'll answer yours." She wore a feline smile, as if she had just enjoyed a nice tasty mouse and still had the tail wriggling from her lips.

"What was the question?"

"What is the procedure you used to save Col. Sheppard?" She asked again.

"Procedure? Can't say it was a procedure really, more of a last ditch effort. In a nutshell, we stopped his heart to fool the creature he was dead."

"Can you do this again?" She moved closer.

"Maybe. Look First Mender, I have all the tests, their results and notes of the case back home. If we contact Dr. Weir, I can have them sent over. If these creatures are such a problem, then we really do want to help," said Beckett hopefully.

"Thank you Dr. Beckett but all I need is the procedure. What equipment do you need?"

"I answered your question, two actually. Now, where is Col. Sheppard?"

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Awareness started filtering into his head. Awareness of something sitting in his lap- something heavy- heavy with multiple very sharp pointy sticks- sharp pointy sticks placed where nothing sharp or pointy should ever be. Slowly his eyes opened and his insides turned immediately to ice. The queen mother of the multi-legged universe sat in his lap. It made his very own Wraith bug look like a speck of dust.

Then each pointy segmented leg began to move and crawl up his torso.

"Oh shit."

Well, at least they weren't taking samples.

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A/N: Stickers to everyone who guessed Theodoric of York, the medieval barber. He's a Steve Martin character from SNL. Very funny skit. Thanks for the reviews and comments. Feel free to leave more.