The day had seemed endless to John. By the siren announced the end of the work day, his arms, shoulders and upper back ached deeply. His hands were trembling from exhaustion. He wasn't even hungry; all he wanted to do was shower and sleep. He had kept an eye on Carson the whole day. John was used to physical exertion, but Carson didn't have the training, nor the experience. John had kept pushing some of the crystals he had mined, over to Carson. As a result, they both had rather few crystals to show at the end of the day. A tired looking guard unchained them from the wall and herded them back to the surface.

Back in the main camp, John and Carson found that most of the prisoners had already eaten. It was up to the guards, who got on the first truck back and who got on the last. The alien oatmeal they had had the previous night, was already out when they came back. The late-comers had to make due with soup and dry bread. The soup tasted better than the oatmeal, but what counted in their situation wasn't the taste, but the calories. John didn't plan on sticking around until he starved, but I didn't know when the opportunity to escape would present itself.

In the rush to get something to eat, he had lost sight of Carson. He had successfully scored an extra piece of bread and then went looking for Carson. The prisoners had a free hour after the evening meal. John started to search the camp for Carson. He finally found him lying on his cot. John couldn't tell whether it was the strain from the hard labour, or the withdrawal from whatever drugs Carson had taking back on Atlantis, Carson didn't look good all. He was sleeping an unrestful sleep, tossing and turning, mumbling words and half-sentences. John sat down on his cot next to Carson's. He was worried about the other man. He wasn't the Carson that he knew, but he had saved his life back on Atlantis. John had grown attached to him. But still, his trust on Carson only went so far. Carson was a drug addict and had betrayed Atlantis to their worst enemies. John carefully grabbed Carson by the shoulder and turned him on his side. Carson muttered something John didn't understand, but didn't wake up. John pulled back Carson's tunic, looking for the knife. He would feel better if he had the knife. The prison tunics were wide and fell in folds, making it easy to hide something. John found the knife and hid it in his own tunic. Carson would probably be furies when he found out, but John didn't care. As long as they got out of this place, he didn't care, even if he had to drag Carson along.

oOo

Radek Zelenka was lost and confused. He was in the middle of a forest on an alien world, without his glasses and his radio. He had tried to find the latter items, for what had seemed like ages, he had crawled on the ground, exploring with his hands, as it was too dark to see and his vision was too weak without glasses. But aside from cuts to his hands, he had nothing to show for his efforts. Five minutes ago, it had started to rain, on top of it all. Not just rain, the sky had opened and a veritable downpour had started. Now, Radek was drenched, his pack weighed at least a ton and he was lost. At least, he could no loner hear the howling noise of the Wraith Darts flying overhead. He opened it wasn't because the Wraith had captured the rest of the team. Ideally, they had found the Therasia plant and were their way back to Atlantis. He was pretty sure, that they weren't going to delay the mission to search for him. Lives were on the line and the planet was crawling with Wraith. Radek was surprised they hadn't found him yet.

Radek had an idea. He put down his pack and started rummaging through it. He pulled out a flashlight and a power bar. He turned on the flashlight and swept the ground around himself. The scanner, his radio and glasses had to be somewhere. Now, Radek could see that he had apparently fallen down about three feet. He had been lucky that he hadn't broken anything. He started to climb the incline back up. It was easier said than done. The downpour had turned the ground wet and slippery making it near impossible to gain purchase on the steep incline. Eventually, Radek made his way up. He was drenched, covered in mud and his head hurt worse than before. But when he spotted his scanner, all the effort had been worth it. Radek anxiously picked it up, hoping that it hadn't been damaged in the fall.

For a moment, he thought his worst fears had come true, when the display of the scanner remained dark, but then, it lit up again. The joy of finding the scanner didn't last long, because seconds after he had picked it up, the mechanical howl announced a Dart making a pass over the forest.

Radek slammed down on the ground, not sure if that was going to help. Less than twenty feet away, he saw a blue transporters beam sweep of forest floor. He could only hope that he wasn't caught in the next beam.

oOo

Carson didn't bother to get dressed. He grabbed a bathrobe from the infirmary's stack and then made his way to Elizabeth's office. He could have called her on the radio, but he doubted the she would believe him. In fact, he wasn't sure she would believe him in person. He had no idea how to explain what he knew. Telling Elizabeth the truth didn't seem like a very good idea, but Carson didn't have any better idea at the moment.

He ignored the looks as he made his way through the control room dressed the way he was and knocked on the door to Elizabeth's office. She answered, and he stepped in.

"Dr. Beckett, shouldn't you be in the infirmary?" Elizabeth asked and got up.

"I know, but there is something that cannot wait." Carson said and closed the door. He sat down, glad to be off his feet. "You have to recall the team from Athos."

"I'm not sure I'm hearing this right." Elizabeth said. "Recovering the plant from Athos is the only thing that can save Teyla and the major. You confirmed this yourself."

"I know and this is true. But Athos is a trapped. The Wraith have set up camp there. The team doesn't stand a chance there. Maybe it is not too late to warn them. We will find the plant somewhere else, but we will only lose more people on Athos." Carson pleaded.

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "And how to you know this, Dr. Beckett?"

"I don't think you will believe this." Carson said evasively.

"Try me. This one I want to hear."

Carson shifted in his seat nervously. "John told me."

"John as in Major Sheppard. I thought he was still being evaluated. I wasn't aware that he is conscious."

"He isn't." Carson admitted. "I'm not sure what to call it. You could say it was a vision."

"Let me get this straight. Major Sheppard appeared to you in a vision and told you to tell me to recall the team from Athos." Elizabeth wasn't sure whether she should laugh or cry.

"Something like that." Carson mumbled. "It wasn't the first time, though."

"He has appeared to you before?" Elizabeth couldn't believe it.

"Once, on the planet where his team had crashed." Carson had a feeling that things were not going well.

"I don't believe it." Elizabeth closed her eyes. "I need a stiff drink."

"Please, Dr. Weir, it is urgent."

"I suppose it can't hurt to check in with Sergeant Bates." Elizabeth agreed. "But you belong back in the infirmary."

Carson nodded.

"You know that if you are right, I can't risk any more men on this, Sergeant Bates and his team are on their own."

"I know. I should talk with one of the engineers who have studied the stasis chambers we found in the City. We might need them for Teyla and the major." Carson said.

"Let one of your staff do that." Elizabeth said, but she knew that Carson would want to be there. "Are you sure that is what they would want? It might be a long time before we find the cure."

"I can talk to Teyla, she should be lucid. For John, we will have to make the decision."

Elizabeth sighed. It would be an impossible choice.

"How long do have before we have to decide?"

"The sooner the better. The better his condition when we place him into stasis the better his chances to survive the revival process."

"All right. I will make the call. Send Dr. Biro to my office."

oOo

Elizabeth stepped out into the control room.

"Dr. Grodin, dial Athos and call Sergeant Bates on his radio." Elizabeth ordered.

The Gate seemed to dial at a crawling pace. Finally, they had opened the Gate to Athos.

"Sergeant Bates, please come in." Dr. Grodin asked. Static was the only reply. "Sergeant Bates, please come in." They received no reply.

"Try the rest of the team." Elizabeth ordered. She had the sinking feeling that Carson had been right. She might have sent three men to die.

Neither Radek nor Halling replied. Elizabeth left Grodin with instructions to retry every half hour for the next six hours. She wasn't sure what she was going to do after that. Sending more men wasn't an option. All she could do was wait. Elizabeth went back to her office. There was something else that she had to take care off and that she had avoided ever since the teams had come back.

Rodney had not returned with the team and from what she had been able to piece together from what Teyla and Ford had told Carson, they had lost him on some nameless alien planet, days ago. She hated to think it, but Rodney wasn't coming back. While she waited for Dr. Biro, she could as well take care of another dreaded task.

oOo

Carson sat down in the chair next to Teyla's bed. She was lying on her side, eyes closed. Her pained expression told Carson that she was awake. Sleep would have been a blessing right now. Teyla was faring far better than the major; she had only been subjected to a small dosage of the Wraith toxin. But she knew what was coming, and the burden of the knowledge was weighing down on her.

"Teyla?" Carson whispered softly.

Teyla opened her eyes, but the lack of focus told Carson that she was still blind.

"Dr. Beckett?" Teyla asked, closing her eyes again.

"Yes, it's me."

"I still cannot see." Teyla tried to hide it, but Carson could sense the fear in her voice. Teyla had grown up strong and independent, losing her sight would mean losing her independence.

"I know. But it's most likely temporary. Your vision should start to return in the 48 hours. Don't worry." Carson squeezed her hand. "Are you in pain, Teyla?" Car

"A little." She admitted. "But it is all right."

"I have been talking to Dr. Weir. There have been problems with the mission to Athos." Carson explained.

"I don't understand." Teyla was confused.

"Sergeant Bates, Halling and Dr. Zelenka went to Athos to retrieve the Therasia plant, to help you and Major Sheppard. But now we can't reach them, we think they may have run into the Wraith." Carson was honest with Teyla.

"It will be too late for Major Sheppard."

"I'm thinking of both of you right now. I have a proposal that will buy you some time. I want you to listen to me and let me know what you think about it. You can take your time. No matter what you decided, we're all going to be with you all the way." Carson reassured her. He knew the decision wouldn't come easy for her. He didn't know what he would do faced with the same dilemma.

"What are you suggesting?"

"We found a few stasis pods in the City. Dr. Zelenka and the other engineers have checked them out and are sure that they are fully functional. By placing you and the major in stasis, we will have enough time to find the plant and manufacture the cure. But, I have to tell you, that it could take a while, until we find the plant on another planet."

TBC