"Lorne, I need two teams in puddle jumpers here, now!" Sheppard barked orders over his radio while Rodney devised a plan to locate Dr. Weir.
"Once again, I have to do the impossible in record time. What would you people do without me?" complained Rodney.
"Can you do it?" asked Sheppard.
"Can I do it? Of course I can do it. It's just that…"
"Rodney" John glared at him. The look in his eyes caused Rodney to stop his ranting and get back to work.
"Ronon, Teyla, I need you to speak with the operatives to understand where she might have been taken. Once we narrow it down to a village, hopefully McKay will be able to zone in on her exact location, then we'll use the puddle jumpers to get there and extract her."
"I'm linking into their systems now. The Castorians implant a marker chip at birth so that the population can be tracked. When we scan the village for life signs, theoretically, Elizabeth will be the one life sign without this tracking device," explained Rodney.
"What do you mean, theoretically?" questioned Ronon.
"Well, if the sympathizers have found a way to remove the tracking devices, then we'll have no way of knowing which life sign is Elizabeth's."
"Let's hope that's not the case," Sheppard furrowed his brow. They couldn't run through a village trying to locate her. They had precious little time. This had to work. Her life depended on it.
Rodney looked up from his computer and glanced back at John, "Yes, let's hope."
Elizabeth mustered all the courage she had. She stiffened her back and looked defiantly into the eyes of her Wraith captor. What she saw next was almost as surprising to her as being held captive by a Wraith hive queen. Entering the room was the Prime Minister's trusted aide.
"Elias?" she said shocked.
His once friendly face was now cold and expressionless. "Dr. Weir"
"Why are you doing..."
Her question was interrupted by the queen. "Silence! I understand you are from a world that can provide us with a rich new feeding ground. I want to know how to find this world, and you are going to tell me."
Elizabeth felt a chill go down her spine as she realized why she had been brought here. She would never give up the location to earth – to the place where her friends and family lived safe from the threat of the Wraith. No, it was a secret she would take to her grave. "Where are you John?" she thought to herself. She could only hope that she would live long enough for him to find her. She took comfort in the fact that he was out there searching for her and hoped that he wouldn't arrive too late. She needed to stall.
Elizabeth tried to appeal to Elias. She looked past the Wraith and stared at him, "You are human. You know what will happen to my people if I disclose the location of my world. How could you let that happen?"
Suddenly, she felt the sting of pain on her face and tasted blood as the queen backhanded her, "He serves me – worships me. He will not listen to you," the queen leaned forward, her face inches from Elizabeth's. "You will tell us, and then I will take pleasure in feeding upon you."
"It won't happen. I will never tell you."
"Yes, Dr. Weir, you will." She turned to face Elias, "Obtain the information we need, and do it quickly." Then she was gone.
Elias closed the door. They were alone. Elizabeth looked at him accusingly. He was a disgrace to his people. She did not try to hide her disdain for him.
"I know what you are thinking, but in return for my service, the Wraith let my people live in peace."
Her eyes narrowed. She was angry, "So, you would allow my people to be slaughtered in exchange for the lives of your own?"
"I'm sorry, but I don't have a choice."
"Yes, you do."
"I will not take pleasure in hurting you, but I will do it, if necessary. Tell me how to find your world."
"I can't do that," She stared at him defiantly. He stepped forward, grabbed her throat and slammed her roughly to the ground.
"We got it," said Ronon as he and Teyla ran into the room. "One of the operatives confirmed that she is being held in Rigella, a village about 30 miles south of here."
"Okay Rodney…get to work. Let's find her."
"Right, I just need to…" Rodney ran over to his computer and started to type. "Yes…Yes, I think I have it. Look," he touched a button and the information on his computer was projected onto a large screen so everyone could see it.
"There…the building in the middle of the complex. You see…two life signs without tracking devices." He smiled proudly.
"Which one is Elizabeth?" questioned John.
Rodney looked bothered and started punching keys on the computer again. After a few seconds, he looked up, "I don't know."
Just then, Major Lorne walked in, "The puddle jumpers are standing by. We're ready to go on your command, sir."
John looked over at Lorne, "We found her…well, sort of. Rodney, you're with me. Try to figure out which one is Dr. Weir before we get there."
He looked over at the rest of his team, "Let's move out."
Bruised and battered, Elizabeth was starting to fade. Elias' interrogation was relentless. Every muscle in her body was crying out in pain and she could barely stand. She winced as she muttered the words, "You can kill me, but I will never lead you to earth."
Another slap in the face brought Elizabeth to her knees. She desperately wanted to cry, but she would never give him the satisfaction.
"I won't kill you, but I can inflict enough pain to make you wish that you were dead." He paused and decided to try a new tactic, "You will not win. The Wraith will never stop until they find your world. It's not too late for you, though. You might be able to negotiate a deal to save your life."
Elizabeth did not respond.
He knelt down and put his hand underneath her chin, lifting her face to meet his. "You know, you are a very beautiful woman. We do have other ways of obtaining the information we need." He paused for effect. "If you continue to refuse, I will have to take this interrogation to the next level."
Elizabeth felt the fear rising inside her. She tried to hide it, but was too late. He saw it in her eyes and smiled coldly. "It's your choice, Dr Weir. Tell me, or face the consequences." He traced her jaw line with his finger. She recoiled and spit in his face. His dark eyes flashed at her. He stood and wiped his face.
"I will let you think about my offer. For your sake, I hope you change your mind."
TBC – Please R&R