The first time they encountered a Kolya clone inside the compound, TK pretended to have captured Sheppard and Rodney, then clobbered the clone when he turned his back. They had dragged him into a nearby storage area and moved on. They repeated this tactic several times, and Rodney began to boggle at the sheer number of storage areas present in the place.

"Shouldn't we be running into Ronon sometime soon?" Rodney asked irritably. Crutching around on a covert op was no fun whatsoever, and he didn't care if crutching wasn't really a verb. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the plan was for him to get inside, find Teyla, then meet up with us and get the hell out."

"Keep your voice down," Sheppard hissed.

"I'm just worried that he may have gotten sidetracked by the temptation to barrel through the place knocking down clones like bowling pins, and let's face it, we can't afford—"

"He'll find us when he's secured Teyla. The man does his job."

"This way," TK said, slipping into a room.

"Was that your way of implying that I don't do my job?" Rodney demanded in a harsh whisper. He stopped talking and gaped at the sight before him.

There were five metal-based elongated pods covered with glassy domes. Each one contained Teyla. He was sure that his momentary breathing trouble was due to the shock of discovering she'd been cloned, and not because each of the clones was naked.

"This console controls the process," TK was saying. "I don't know how it works, but I know it can destroy clones as well as create them."

"Wait!" cried Rodney. "We can't just… I mean… these are Teyla."

"Yeah," Sheppard said uneasily. "I'm not sure we can just… kill 'em."

"Gentlemen, these are copies of Teyla's body, but her consciousness, her memories, haven't been duplicated yet. Kolya will alter them in a way that suits his needs. At best, these women will be perversions of the Teyla you know. And in any case, they are not yet viable."

"You mean, they're not alive yet?"

"That's right."

"Well, that's different," Rodney said, frowning. "I guess."

There was a moment of silence, then Sheppard said sharply, "Well? Get to it!"

"Get to what, exactly?"

"Get to that console and figure out how to… you know, make them… unusable."

"Oh, right, forgot about that new addition to my job description: 'abortionist.'" Rodney stepped up to the console and began to decipher how it worked.

TK walked back toward the door. "I'll patrol the hallway and try to prevent interruptions."

Sheppard joined Rodney at the console, looking over his shoulder. "Figured it out yet?"

"Yes, because it's just that simple! Destroy a human clone in three easy steps."

"Take it easy. I was just asking."

Rodney sighed. "My apologies, Dr. Jekyll. Anyway, I think I do have some idea how this is set up." He indicated various knobs and buttons as he spoke. "This initiates the scanning of the original organism, this processes the data, this initiates the creation sequence. And I think that this button here is the failsafe, the button you press when the results aren't quite what you were aiming for."

"And that will destroy the clones?"

"Presumably, yes." Rodney bit his lip, glanced up at the pods, then looked back down. He'd do it, yes he would. Any minute now. He almost jumped when Sheppard put a hand on his shoulder.

"Rodney, I don't think Teyla would want copies of herself running around the galaxy. Especially perverted copies created by Kolya."

"You're right. She wouldn't. Right. So." Rodney briefly pondered the concept of perverted Teylas before taking a deep breath and pressing the failsafe button.

A great deal of nothing at all changed in the pods. "Nothing's happening," reported Sheppard.

"Yes, thanks, I can see that. Next you'll be explaining that the ceiling is 'up' and the floor is 'down.'"

"You said it would work."

"I said 'presumably.' I've only just seen this thing for the first time! It's not like I can..."

They each looked at the pods, which were now filling with some kind of white smoke.

"Ah, yes, there. I was right. It's working." He clapped his hands together and said, "Now," and knelt beside the console as he started prying a panel loose.

"Now what are you doing?"

"Sabotage. I want to make sure this thing can't produce any more clones." Pulling the panel free, Rodney began to pull crystals from the interior of the console.

"Good thinking." Sheppard glanced at the door, then crouched beside Rodney. "Look, when we get to the gate, I want you to handle the dialing."

"I always handle the dialing. It's like you think the smartest person in the group has to be the one to dial the gate."

"Yeah, but this time... I don't want you to dial Atlantis."

Rodney stopped what he was doing momentarily. "You're going to double-cross him."

"I'm protecting the city, and the Athosians, from a very real potential threat. We have no way of knowing what this guy's motives really are. All we have is his word."

"And all he had was yours." Rodney was shoving crystals into pockets in his tac vest. "I guess the fact that you actually said, 'It's a deal' is irrelevant."

"I know it sucks, but there's a lot more at stake here than my honor. If it turns out he's just playing us, people will die. I can't take that chance."

"Well, what's one more mortal enemy in a whole galaxy full of them? Besides, this is practically official SGC procedure by now. Where do you want me to send him?"

"Any uninhabited planet will do. We'll send him through first, then shut down the wormhole behind him and dial Atlantis. Just choose a place that won't, you know, kill him the minute he steps out of the gate."

"Oh, okay, thanks." Rodney had stood up and was shoving the remaining crystals into the pockets of his BDUs. "See, I probably would've sent him to his death if you hadn't said something."

At that moment, TK made an unexpected and uncontrolled entrance into the cloning room, apparently not by choice. Ronon, who was carrying an unconscious Teyla as well as TK's weapon followed him.

Ronon nodded toward TK. "This guy was about to ambush you."

"Actually," Sheppard said, a little sheepishly, "he was being our lookout." He quickly explained the situation, then turned his concern to Teyla. "How's she doing?"

"They treated her wound, but she's feverish and talking out of her head. She needs to be in the infirmary."

"She's been talking?" Rodney couldn't help asking. All he'd seen from her the entire mission was eyebrowspeak.

TK looked at the pods. The white smoke was dissipating, leaving the clones inside covered in a white residue. "I see you found the means to destroy them."

"Yes, turns out smoking really is bad for your health, even if you're not technically alive yet."