Warning: there are minor spoilers for Critical Mass in this chapter.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa…you want me to do what?" cried Rodney.
They were gathered around Elizabeth's bed in the infirmary. It was a brainstorming meeting that would've normally taken place in the Atlantis briefing room, but they weren't on Atlantis, and Carson wouldn't let Elizabeth out of bed for an extended period of time.
She was still very much in charge, though. "Rodney, I understand your concern, but it's the only way."
"What?" he retorted sarcastically, "Am I supposed to just walk up to the Wraith and politely ask if I can get on their hive ship so I can upload a virus into their systems?"
"It was your idea," reminded Sheppard.
"No. Well, yes…the virus was my idea, but.."
John interrupted, "We need to be inside to get it onto the ship's system."
"And by we, you mean me…again!"
"Look…you and Ronon can blend in with the Wraith Sympathizers, which will allow you to get on the ship without being detected."
Elizabeth added, "And since you are using a program that's similar to the one the Trust had Col. Caldwell upload into the Atlantis system…"
"Yes, yes..I know…I should have plenty of time to get off the ship before the power supply is overloaded and it explodes," he looked at John. "And what if it doesn't work? Huh, what then?"
'You'll figure something out Rodney. You always do," said John tiring of the discussion.
"Oh, thank you Colonel…that's very comforting," he sighed and sat down.
Disguised as local villagers, Rodney and Ronon entered the hive ship at night with a group of Wraith sympathizers. Together, they walked down the long, dark hallway.
Ronon noticed that the hall split into two passageways up ahead. He looked over at Rodney and caught his attention. They would break away from the group when they reached the split.
"Well, that was easy enough," said Rodney when they successfully separated from the group and were alone.
"Let's hope the rest is that easy. Keep your guard up. You never know when we might run into the others."
Rodney swallowed hard, "Yes, but you are here to protect me, right? I mean what happens if they…uh, what if they find us?
Ronon stared at him.
Hey, I'm just saying…I don't respond well to torture," said Rodney nervously.
"Don't you have work to do?"
"Yes, yes…" he said looking around, "we need to find a panel that I can patch into…um, this way."
Ronon sighed and followed.
Soon, Rodney stopped and started fiddling with a control panel for one of the doors. It took him a few minutes, but he was able to get it to open.
They entered the room. It was a small storage facility.
She was back in the cold prison cell. This time, it was the Wraith interrogating her. She refused to give away the location of earth. The Wraith stepped forward to intimidate her, but she would not back down.
The Wraith motioned to Elias, who left the room. She turned back to Elizabeth with a menacing grin. A few seconds later, Elias returned with Sheppard, holding a gun to his head. Elizabeth's face went white and she gasped.
"Tell me how to get to your world," the Wraith demanded.
"I-I can't do that," Elizabeth's voice was shaking.
"Then he will die," the Wraith walked over to John and thrust her hand onto his chest. John cried out in pain.
"NO!" she screamed, sitting up.
John almost fell out of the chair as Elizabeth screamed. He jumped up and put a hand on her shoulder.
Elizabeth looked up at John, relieved that it had only been a dream. She was shaken. The experience seemed so real.
She tried to calm her breathing as John sat down beside her. "It's okay. You're safe. It was just a dream," he said trying to comfort her.
"No, that was definitely a nightmare." She said with a half smile.
"Are you okay?" he had noticed that Elizabeth had not been sleeping well. He hoped that she would fare better when they returned to Atlantis.
"Yes…thank you John," she said looking up at him. The room was dark, empty. It was late, and they were alone. For a few moments, neither one said a word. He gazed down into her eyes wishing that he could take away her pain, wishing he had been able to stop them from taking her.
Elizabeth sensed his thoughts and reached towards him, "It's okay."
"What?" he asked.
"I'm going to be fine. My wounds are healing and Carson says…," her words trailed off as she noticed a movement out of the corner of her eye. She looked past John towards the doorway.
He turned his head to follow her gaze.
The main lights snapped on, and Jacob entered the room with a dozen soldiers. One was holding Ruiz – who had been stationed outside the door. Teyla, Beckett, and the rest of the team had also been accosted.
John stood, and Elizabeth stiffened.
"Prime Minister…what is the meaning of this?" asked Elizabeth cautiously.
"I am sorry, but you must come with us," he paused.
Elizabeth and John looked at each other. They were aware of the Prime Minister's plan to turn them over to the Wraith, but John had not expected him to move this quickly.
Elizabeth started to get out of bed, and John helped her. At that moment, she was very glad she had been able to convince Carson to let her wear normal clothes again.
"Jacob, you don't have to do this. We can help you," she said.
"You can protect us from the Wraith? You can stop the cullings?
He paused and stared doubtfully at both John and Elizabeth. "I didn't think so."
"We can help you fight them. We can give you weapons; teach you how to defend yourselves." John offered.
"It won't be enough." He looked at Weir, "Elizabeth, I value our friendship. Elias' deception was an act of treason, but nothing can change that now. A deal has been made."
"Jacob, it's not too late. Please let us help you," Elizabeth replied.
"Of all people, Elizabeth, you should understand why I am doing this. Like you, I have to protect my people. I am responsible for them. If I don't hand your team over to the Wraith, they will begin the culling immediately. If the tables were turned, you would make the same choice – to protect your people."
"No, Jacob…you're wrong. I would never turn my back on your people. I could not stand by and let them slaughter you." She glared at him, looking directly into his guilt-ridden eyes, "They will kill us. You know that." He knew she was right and looked away.
She could see that her words had registered with him. However, he had already resigned himself to the fact that they were a casualty of war.
"Your lives will not be forgotten. I will see to it that you are lauded as heroes, sacrificing yourselves to protect our lives and give us freedom from the cullings." He said.
Elizabeth's eyes widened. She looked at John in disbelief.
"What if someone comes in?" Ronon questioned.
"I disabled the door. It can't be opened. The program should only take a few minutes to upload, but I have to hack into their system first. That…well, that might take longer."
"How long?"
"I don't know. We could continue to stand here and talk about it for a really long time, but I prefer to get back to work before they figure out that we're here."
Ronon looked away and started to pace anxiously.
"Do you mind? Brilliant scientist…trying to concentrate over here," said Rodney.
"Just hurry up." Ronon barked and sat down on one of the boxes littered around the room.
Rodney went back to work, punching keys on his computer. It took him about 30 minutes to hack into the system, but once he got in, he was able to upload the program.
"All right…it's done. The program will cause their power supply to overload, which will trigger a massive explosion. It will take about 45 minutes, which should give us plenty of time to get out of here before it blows up. By the time they realize what's happening, it will be too late."
"Okay, let's go," said Ronon looking over his shoulder at him, "and stay behind me."
Ronon and Rodney moved cautiously through the halls. When they made it back to the main hallway, they were able to successfully integrate back into another group of sympathizers. Both men moved slowly and silently, keeping their eyes down, not wanting to give themselves away.
They were close now. Rodney's heart started to race. They were going to make it. He couldn't wait to get off the ship, and then he heard a noise up ahead.
A group of people were being ushered onto the ship. He looked up. It was then that he saw them – Elizabeth, John, Teyla, Lorne and his men. They had been captured. "Oh no," he whispered and looked up at Ronon.
From the look on Ronon's face, Rodney was sure he had seen them also. Ronon glanced over at Rodney and yanked him into a side corridor.
TBC -- If you are enjoying the story, please let me know. I'm a feedback junkie. Do you like where this is going? I'm building up to the finale now, so R&R. Thx!