AN: ok, here's chapter 6. Thanks to my reviewers Rowana Farrin, nebby J, Moondoggy, Lirenel, Out of Phase, Cyllwen, angw, cryogenie, and Lennexa. Keep those reviews coming!

Time for me to shut up now.

Chapter 6

Loss of Hope

Rodney Mckay had been drifting in and out of consciousness all day long. He wasn't usually conscious for very long because the hot air was impossible to breath and it burned his lungs when he even tried. But when he woke up this time, the air was cooler, much cooler. Nighttime. At least it's somewhat easier to breathe. H felt something weird on his skin, he felt it every time he woke up, but all the other times he woke up he was more concerned with breathing. The feeling was barley detectable under all of the pain. He only noticed it because that is what he reasoned was making the pain flare up. It was like a feather lightly touching all over his body and wounds. He couldn't figure it out by feel, so he opened his eyes. He wished he hadn't.

His scream came out more like a whimper through his broken, pain filled, and he now realized, bug infested body. I'm literally being eaten alive. His weak struggles stopped as he fell again into unconsciousness, hoping not to wake again.

Like Intel said, the gate was unguarded. Three cloaked jumpers, two military and one medical, flew through the gate and started towards their respective camps with the medical jumper heading to hide out between the two camps, waiting for the militaries all clear.

It was another hour before dawn by the time they got the snipers and jumpers in place. Sheppard and his team were in one jumper, Bates and his team in the other with Stackhouse piloting, and each jumper having an additional five soldiers on their team. When Beckett got into his jumper, Weir didn't even try to stop him. She didn't like having her Head Medical officer on such a dangerous mission, but she knew there'd be no way to keep him from going. She herself had to try hard not to just hump in a jumper and accompany them. But she had the heads of the Lomeian government to consult with.

Everyone inside the jumpers was silent, afraid to make a sound. They waited until most of the guards were inside the building.

"Bates, our targets are in position. What's your status?" Sheppard said into his radio.

"The last of the guards have just gone into the building, sir. We're ready and awaiting your orders."

"Then let's not keep them waiting. Ford, arm weapons. We'll fire at the same time so there's no warning. In 3…2…1. Fire!"

It took all of ten minutes for the Atlantis team to take care of the camp. Half an hour later and they still couldn't find Mckay and they had gone through most of the camp. Sheppard was about to explode. He, Ford, and Bates were looking through all the Lomeians still waiting for a jumper transport back to the gate which Teyla was helping with, also looking for Mckay in case the others had missed him. They had been trying to ask the Lomeians, but none seemed to understand him.

"Damnit Mckay, where are you!" Sheppard finally bellowed out.

"You looking for someone?" asked a nearby Lomeian. All three men immediately pounced on the man.

"Yea. He wasn't one of your people. He's one of ours, about my height-"

"Yes, yes. I know of him. It was not hard to tell he was not from our world. The guards took him four days ago." He cut Sheppard off.

"Where, where did they take him!" Ford now jumped into the interrogation.

"There" the man pointed behind them.

A look of shock, horror, and grief took over the faces of the three men as they looked to where he was pointing. It was the building they had just blown up half an hour before, and was now in ruins and parts still on fire.

"No" whispered Sheppard as he dropped to his knees, head falling foreword as he realized he just killed his friend.

AN2: That's it. This was a nicer chapter than what I had planned shockingly. After everyone's happy reviews that they would find him, I thought about writing him being on another damn planet and trick everybody, but then that would have messed with everything so I didn't do it. I have the next chapter written, I just need to type it up. Reviews encourage me to type faster! Although, this is going to be finals week, so who knows what will happen, finals may just put me in the mood to kill everybody! Hehe. Ok, time to study, REVIEW.