Thanks again for the reviews, and I'm glad you've enjoyed the change of direction as much as I have. There are a couple of vague spoilers for "Poisoning the Well" and later Season Two episodes, but nothing too specific. Enjoy!

OoOoO

Part of the walls of their prison, suddenly seemed to dissolve. In the gap that was left, two of the guards appeared, an unconscious Carson between them.

The stepped forward, and then pushed his unresisting body forward. As his body hit the ground, he let out a groan. The guards, their faces impassive, simply stepped back, and the walls to their prison were again complete.

The rest of the team rushed over to Carson, anxious to see how he was. Teyla lifted his head gently from the ground, and cradled it in her lap. His eyes struggled open, and he looked up at his friends.

"How are you, Carson?" Teyla asked, gently brushing back his hair from his face.

"I've been better," the doctor admitted, struggling to try to sit up.

"Take it easy, Doc," John said, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"What did they do to you?" Ronon asked, cutting to the chase as usual.

"They wanted me to manipulate their DNA to make them stronger," Carson confirmed their earlier thoughts. "When I refused, they didn't like it very much."

With the help of Ronon and Rodney, Carson managed to get his feet, although he looked very unsteady.

Before they could ask Carson any more questions, the walls of the prison again disappeared, this time to reveal Ria. Ronon immediately reacted with aggression. He moved towards the small woman, his need for vengeance very clear in his body language. But before he reached her, he was again stopped by an invisible wall.

"What do you want?" John asked, no longer trying to hide his reaction to her. "Have you come to gloat?"

Ria looked at him, a deep sadness in her eyes. "I want to try to explain . . . " she started. But before she could get any further, Rodney interrupted.

"Explain what?" he asked. "Why you tricked us into coming here? Why you want Carson here to turn you into super-sonic-mind-controlling-bully-boys? Why you just about killed him when he refused? Yes, I think that we would all be interested to hear how you can possibly explain all of that away, without making you sound the monsters that you obviously already are."

"Rodney," John admonished. "Stop trying to be so nice."

"Look," Ria said, a note of desperation entering her voice. "I admit I didn't tell you the whole truth, but the fact is we desperately need your help. And I thought, obviously wrongly, that you would welcome a chance to defeat the Wraith."

"Don't get me wrong," John said in response. "We certainly want to defeat the Wraith. But not at any cost. Not by creating another monster to take their place."

"We are not monsters!" Ria said.

"You could have fooled me," John said.

"Carson," Ria said, turning to the doctor with an appeal in her eyes. "You must understand. My people need you. Without your help, we will die off, not just from Wraith attacks, but from the hatred of ordinary people."

"No, Ria," Carson replied. "You're the one who should understand. I told you about the Hoffans, and you listened as if you understood. You gave me sympathy when we talked about Michael, and the retrovirus. And yet now you want me to change you to make you more powerful than anyone in the galaxy. I think not."

"But, Carson," she said. "You have the power to save us. You have the chance to do good, to use your skills to help us, to allow us to survive. My people are getting weaker, our mental power is lessening in each generation. But the hatred, the distrust, the people show us is getting stronger."

"And you don't think your behaviour has anything to do with this?" John interjected. "Nothing you've done since we got here has exactly won our trust."

"We are desperate," Ria admitted. "And we don't have time for social niceties."

"It is not just social niceties that you are lacking," Teyla join the conversation. "It is basic human kindness. If you had asked, explained to us your position, we might have been able to help you. But we do not react well to threats and intimidation."

"So," Ria said, looking at Carson. "You will not help us willingly?"

"Sorry, lass," he replied quietly. "I cannae."

"I'm sorry, Carson," she said, a deep sadness in her eyes as she looked into his.

With that, she went over to the wall and a sudden gap appeared. Through that gap, a group of men appeared. Ria stood to the side as they approached the team. Once again, there was an invisible wall holding them back, all except for Carson. The men approached him, and suddenly he found his hands were bound behind his back.

"What are you going to do with him?" John asked. At first, no one answered.

"Ria," John said, appealing to the woman. "Please, tell me what you're going to do to him."

"Don't talk!" One of the men ordered. "You are not involved in this."

"The hell I'm not!" John said moving towards the invisible barrier. "He's one of my team, he's a friend, tell me!"

The man looked towards Ria. She nodded, sadly.

"You did ask," the man said. "We need the information, the knowledge, the skills your 'friend' possesses. If he won't help us, then we will take the information from him."

"So your voodoo mind doctors can steal ideas," Rodney said, discussed in his voice. "Very moral. Very high-minded of you. You make a good match for the Wraith. You're both equally as evil." Rodney sarcasm could not hide anxiety he felt for his friend. It was there, very obviously, in his eyes.

It was a fear that was shared by the rest of the team. And it was Teyla who finally put a voice to those fears.

"What will it do to Dr Beckett?" she asked.

"That's a very good question," the man replied. "How long was it that the last poor soul survived?" he asked, turning to one of the other men.

"A week, wasn't it?" the other man replied. "If you could call what was left of him, living."

" Ria!" John said, turning to them and silently standing at the doorway. "Are you just going to stand there and let them do that Carson? You claimed to be his friend at one time."

"There's nothing I can do," Ria said, her voice full of sadness. "The choice is not mine to make." As she said this, she looked directly at Carson, allowing him to see the pain she was feeling.

The doctor met her eyes, but then deliberately turned and looked away.

"Carson," she said, almost crying. "I'm sorry."

"Yes, lass," Carson replied, a touch of bitterness in his voice. "So am I."