"Why aren't the lights turning back on?" Sheppard demanded, shining his flashlight in Dr. Lee's round, mortified face. "They're supposed to sense that we're here."

Lee quivered under his gaze, squinting in the bright light. "Well, you see, I think there might have been a problem–"

"Might have been?"

"Yes, well, there was a problem with Rodney's ZPM regeneration system. I think when he tied it into Atlantis' main system, he didn't account for the fact that everything in the city would be looped into it. So, when the ZPM overloaded…"

"You're telling me that we have no power at all? Not even backup power?"

"No. I mean, yes. No, we don't have power. What you're saying is correct. So, yes. I think…"

"Dr. Lee, I don't have time for this. We can't dial out, we have no shields and no weapons. This city is completely defenseless."

Lee nodded and said hastily, "I know, I know, but we have a bigger problem." At Sheppard's expectantly raised eyebrows, Lee seemed to deflate. "Life support."

Sheppard grimaced, a hand involuntarily reaching out to smack the wall beside him. "How long?"

"I don't know," Dr. Lee shook his head, his pudgy fingers gesturing frenetically. "Each segment of the city is compartmentalized, separated from all the other parts. Like the lights, life support is only activated when there's actually life there to support. Currently we're only occupying a few small portions of the city, which means that less oxygen has been released. According to the cubic feet and default flow per minute, factoring in the number of people here–"

"The point, please?" Sheppard interrupted impatiently, his posture tense and restless.

Lee pursed his lips in annoyance. "Six hours, maybe eight if we're lucky."

"Six hours? This city is huge! How can we only have six hours of oxygen?"

"When the ZPM overloaded, the city started fire suppression protocol, but the explosion triggered a leak in the bromochlorodiflouromethane system."

"The what?"

"Halon. Fire extinguisher stuff."

"OK, so what's the problem?"

"The failsafe program didn't have time to cordon off the affected area before the power was cut." He paused and shook his head gravely. "Colonel, halon is toxic. It's already polluted most of the oxygen stores. There's nothing I can do."

Sheppard sighed and tapped his radio on. "Attention all personnel, this is Sheppard. We've got a problem."

"I already told you," Rodney snapped, tinkering with a black, disc-shaped device. "I've been changing the frequencies. I don't know why it's not working."

He and Major Lorne, alone at the table of a deserted Agoran home, glanced edgily at the Marines hovering by the window. "Well," Lorne said, "you'd better figure something out soon. That Prior's not just going to hang around and wait for us to spring our people out. Eventually he's going to want to take them back with him somewhere."

Rodney merely continued working on the anti-Prior device. "God, I wish Radek were here," he muttered to himself.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Lorne asked incredulously, a wry smile on his face.

"Nothing!"

"No, I heard you. You just said you wished Radek Zelenka –"

"Yes, I know what I said, thank you, Major McObvious."

Lorne nodded, still grinning. "I'm going to tell him you said that?"

"You can't do that!"

"Says who? You?"

"Well… yes."

Lorne paused for a moment. "Sanford, are we clear yet?"

"No, sir," answered one of the soldiers by the window. "No clear path to the gate just yet. The Prior's soldiers are still guarding it."

Lorne nodded. "I'll tell you what," he said as he turned back to Rodney. "You fix this, get us out of here, and maybe – maybe – I'll consider not saying anything."

Rodney rolled his eyes, mumbling indiscernibly under his breath as he fidgeted with the device.

Teyla frowned as she entered the dark gate room, her knife raised. The wormhole disengaged behind here, leaving the empty room unlit. A hand extended, she bent down to find the stairs and felt her way up to the Atlantis control room. Eyes now adjusted to the dark, she pressed a few buttons experimentally. No response. Tapping her radio, she spoke. "Colonel Sheppard?" Hearing no response, she hailed him again. "Colonel Sheppard, please respond. Atlantis, this is Teyla."

Finally, a ragged voice answered. "Teyla, what are you doing here?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I did tell you I would be arriving today to assist. I found it strange that the shield was not raised when I dialed in, but I can see now that there is a situation."

Sheppard rubbed a hand over his face. "Listen, our life support is polluted. Most of us are down by the infirmary, trying to pry open the doors to get to the extra oxygen tanks."

"How did this happen?"

"McKay's ZPM thing overloaded. I'm hoping the Daedalus or the Hammond is in the area to come pick us up."

"That is quite a long shot," she said skeptically.

"Just get down here," he snapped into the radio. "We could use an extra pair of hands."

"Wait!" she said suddenly as a ring of pinpoint lights appeared on the stargate. "Someone is dialing in." Having neither the Ancient gene nor the power needed to activate the shield, she hailed the traveler on the radio instead. "This is Atlantis. Identify yourself immediately."

"Teyla?" the voice said.

"Major Lorne," she responded. "The city has lost all power, including life support. I urge you to stay where you are."

"We've got a problem on our end too. The anti-Prior device didn't work and the Prior has Colonel Reynolds' team hostage. We're sitting ducks out here." He glanced quickly over his shoulder, relieved to find the field surrounding the stargate still empty of the Prior or his tagalong followers, at least for now.

"There is little we can do to help you. We cannot dial out, and no device that draws power from the city remains functional."

Lorne paused, lips pursed. "Right. We'll lay low and see if we can fix this on our end."

"Very well. Good luck."

"Teyla," he said before she could turn her radio off. "What are you guys doing to do?"

She shook her head, a sad smile forming. "I do not know, Major. Teyla out."

"What…" Rodney shrieked as the door to their hideout banged open. "Major! Jeez, I thought you were a Prior!"

"You'd better fix that thing, McKay," Lorne interrupted, resting both hands on his knees and panting for breath. "We can't go home."

"Wait, so we're just going to sit here?" Jennifer cried incredulously, her hands in the air. "Just wait for someone to fly by and figure out that we're in trouble? What are the odds of that happening?"

"Do you have any other ideas?" Sheppard demanded, wedging his fingers in the crack between the infirmary doors. "Obviously, if we can't get these doors open without power, we can't get any extra oxygen. The Daedalus is scheduled to be in the area this week." Groaning with the strain, he pulled his hands forcefully apart but failed in prying the doors open. "Chances are they'll pick up some intel for us. When they don't get any power readings, they'll figure out something's wrong and beam us up."

Jennifer laughed deprecatingly. "A week? You said we have six hours, and that was at least an hour ago."

Sheppard collapsed against the wall and slid down to the floor, raking a hand through his unruly black hair.

The small crowd sitting cross-legged outside the barricaded infirmary fell uneasily silent, and it was several minutes before someone spoke again. "Colonel," said Teyla tentatively, "there is another way."

He looked over, eyebrows raised, and gestured vaguely to continue.

"We are currently unable to communicate with either of the 304s in the area or to dial the stargate. However, there is another with whom it is possible to establish contact." She looked meaningfully at him, nodding for him to venture a guess.

"Oh, no," Sheppard said as it dawned on him. "No way, Teyla. We can't trust Todd with this."

"Todd?" Jennifer and Dr. Lee cried in unison.

Mr. Woolsey shook his head abruptly. "I urge you to reconsider, Teyla. This is not a safe course of action."

"Why?" she asked, pacing the corridor. "What have we to lose?"

"How do we know he won't turn on us?" Woolsey demanded. "He could hand us over to the other wraith without a second thought; there would be no turning back."

"That has never stopped us before."

"But then we didn't have any other options," Sheppard intervened, reluctantly taking Woolsey's side.

"And now?" Teyla raised her eyebrows expectantly.

Sheppard stared down the steely determination in her dark eyes and firmly set jaw, finally conceding. "Can you connect with one specific wraith?"

She shook her head. "I have never tried, but I think it is possible, especially since I am so familiar with him."

"This is ridiculous," Woolsey muttered under his breath.

Teyla turned sharply to him, her gaze belittling and almost intimidating at the same time. "You did not object to accepting Todd at his word when he informed us that the Ori were on the rise again," she retorted.

"Yes, but at that point –"

"It may be that my plan is unnecessary," Teyla said calmly. "But I would rather not wait until our six hours are over."

"But –"

"If we are granted access to his ship, you are free to remain here if you feel it is an acceptable risk," she snapped. "We must at least try."

Major Marks looked up from his station aboard the Daedalus. "Colonel Caldwell, I'm picking up a wraith dart entering the vicinity."

"Just one?" Caldwell replied as he walked over to the bridge window. Squinting, he could barely see a small speck hovering against the starry sky. "What can one dart do? Is it scanning us?"

"No, sir," Marks shook his head, brows furrowing. "But it's sending a radio signal."

Caldwell frowned, watching the speck grow slightly larger. "Put it through." He folded his hands behind his back and spoke into the radio, still staring out the window. "This is Colonel Steven Caldwell, commander of the Earth ship Daedalus. Identify yourself."

"I have a special delivery for you," said the wraith from inside the dart. "I suggest you open the bay doors."

"Who am I speaking to?"

"Your people refer to me as Todd."

"And how do I know that if I don't open the 302 bay for you, you won't drop a bomb or a wraith attack crew?" Caldwell glanced uncomfortably back at Major Marks, who shrugged.

Todd chuckled. "Please, Colonel. Why would I bother with the pomp and circumstance?"

Caldwell scoffed.

"My dart is unaccustomed to such a large load. So I suggest that you do as I ask very quickly."

When Caldwell remained stubbornly silent, Todd sighed dramatically. "Colonel Sheppard wishes me to inform you that on December 28, 1975, a game called 'foot ball' ensued between the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings, in which a famous pass was thrown by one Roger Staubach. I understand your people know of it as a Hail Mary." He paused, a grin forming on his dappled green face. "Now do you believe me?"

Caldwell sighed, his lips pursed in annoyance. "Very well. Major Marks, open the 302 bay. But I warn you, Todd. If you cross us this time, I will not hesitate to vent the 302 bay and blow you out of the sky."

"Understood," Todd chuckled again and maneuvered his ship towards the Daedalus.

The dart's transport beam materialized nearly fifty Atlantis personnel. Colonel Sheppard heaved a breath and leaned down, balancing his hands on his knees.

"Colonel," snapped Caldwell, marching forward as Sheppard regained his footing. "What's this all about?"

Looking back at the others, he shrugged. "Well, we had a bit of trouble… I hope you've got quarters free. We'll be here for a while."

Digging through his dreadlocks with meaty fingers, Ronon pulled out a small knife and began to sharpen it. He glanced over at Reynolds, who paced the length of metal bars on the opposite wall. The other walls were earthen, and through the bars they could see daylight and the Prior's sparkling white robes as he addressed the Agorans.

"You know," Daniel said, glancing down at Vala, "this never gets old."

Curled up against the wall with her head resting on his shoulder, she looked up at him lazily. "What? Getting captured?"

"Yup. It's really a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and yet here we are, experiencing it yet again."

"Daniel," she elbowed him halfheartedly. "They'll figure something out. Rodney's a smart little man."

"Little?" he scoffed, pulling the army green bandanna off his head and rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Don't let him hear you say that." When she looked away sharply, he nudged her. "Hey," he said gently, smiling as he tipped her face up with his thumb. "This will be nothing like the last time we dealt with the Ori. It'll be OK."

She smiled weakly. "Well, if this is what it takes to get you to cuddle, then by all means feel free to get us captured more often."

He rolled his eyes, but smiled a little anyway.

The clang of something solid hitting the cell bars diverted their attention. Reynolds scrambled up from his place sitting by Ronon, picking up a small stick curiously. A face appeared through the bushes just outside the cell. Sergeant Stackhouse made several signals with his hands and tossed a block of C4 into the cell. Molding it around the lock, Reynolds mouthed, "Prior?"

"Rodney," Stackhouse whispered with a thumbs-up.

Pulling Daniel and Vala into their feet, Ronon pushed his three companions into the farthest corner as Stackhouse counted down silently and detonated the charges.

The town was a flurry of activity; secrecy was no longer an issue once the charge exploded and the dust cleared. "Did you get the Prior?" Stackhouse shouted to Lorne as they ran for the gate, weapons at the ready.

"No!" Lorne yelled back as he and his team met them on the path. "McKay's anti-Prior device worked for a few minutes, but not long enough for us to get his staff."

"He must have adapted to the frequency faster than we thought," Rodney screeched as he ran for his life, still making adjustments on the device. "I must have tried a hundred frequencies before I found the one that worked, and the weird thing is that it's in the range of frequencies that the wraith use in their transmitters and radio signals, which is why I don't think to try it at first. For some reason this Prior was able to shift faster than any other Prior encountered, at least from what I've read in mission reports –"

"McKay!" Lorne bellowed, glancing behind him. "Can't we talk about this later?"

Behind them, the Prior was walking towards them slowly but decisively, his face expressionless. Staff raised, he began to speak. "Cursed is the child who betrays his father, for he shall not live to seek the truth. So too will those who betray their creators be destroyed. Hallowed are the Ori."

"Dr. Jackson," Reynolds ordered, "dial the gate!"

But just as the Prior brought down his staff to strike the ground, a single wraith dart flew over, catching the Prior in the transport beam.

Daniel turned and stopped dialing in mid-sequence. "Um… what just happened?"

Sheppard's voice sounded in their ears. "Good afternoon, gentlemen. I've been trying to radio you guys for an hour."

Rodney snapped his fingers. "The anti-Prior device must have disrupted the dart's radio!"

"Thank you very much, McKay. If you all will kindly remain stationary for a moment, we're prepared to beam you to the Daedalus."

"Right on time, Colonel," Lorne said, shaking his head happily as the dart swooped in front of the stargate again and flew away. "Right on time."

As the three recon teams were beamed into the Daedalus bridge, they were greeted by Colonel Caldwell, Colonel Sheppard, Dr. Lee, and Todd.

"Now," said Sheppard. "Are we all back in one piece?"

"Looks like it," Reynolds nodded. "Thank you, sir."

Sheppard waved him off. "Don't mention it. Actually it wasn't really my idea." He turned to Todd somewhat uncomfortably.

"Wait," Rodney said, "why is everybody here? Shouldn't you be in Atlantis?"

"Well," Dr. Lee cringed, "we had a slight problem with the, uh, ZPM system."

Rodney blinked. "Oh, no. What did you do?"

"Nothing!"

"I leave you for a couple hours and you can't even keep it together for that long? This is just another show of your supreme incompetence." Dr. Lee rolled his eyes, but Rodney continued. "You didn't even have to do anything! I just told you to watch for anomalous power fluctuations!"

"Well, that's what I was doing, but then –"

"What," Rodney scoffed. "Don't tell me the entire city shut down."

"Well…"

"Please, Bill, that would be impossible. The transitional interface would have to be in exactly the right modulation at the precise instant –" He stopped suddenly. "Oh, no. Please tell me…"

"Sorry, Rodney," Lee shrugged. "The ZPM overloaded. It was just too much strain on the system."

Colonel Caldwell cleared his throat. "I hate to rush you, Dr. McKay, but if you can't come up with a way to sidestep this problem, you're not going back to Atlantis."

"But," Sheppard interjected, "I think we've got other problems to worry about first."

"Victory!" McKay cried triumphantly as he ran into the Daedalus commissary. "Colonel Sheppard, I give you our first spoil of war. A Prior staff."

Sheppard blinked, setting down his coffee mug. "I thought we already had one for you to play with."

"Aha, we had a staff from Area 51," McKay wagged a finger, holding up a gnarled wooden staff topped with a shimmering blue crystal. "But this one – this is different."

"OK…"

"We managed to beam the Prior from M75-771 and his staff out of the dart separately by expanding on a mistake Dr. Lee made a while back at the SGC when he reintegrated a mouse without its tail… but anyway, we've been picking this thing apart. Give me your gun."

Sheppard choked on his coffee. "What?"

Rolling his eyes, McKay snapped his fingers impatiently. "Just give me something. I need a blunt object."

"Here." He downed the last of his coffee and handed him the mug instead.

McKay shrugged. "I guess I wouldn't give me a loaded firearm either." With a swift strike, he brought the mug down on the round blue crystal in the staff, sending the silvery shattered fragments to the floor.

"McKay, what are you doing?" Sheppard cried.

"Look inside the egg." At Sheppard's amused glance, he shrugged. "What, do you have a better name? It looks like an egg."

"And what am I looking for?" Sheppard asked, standing up and leaning over to peer in.

"We found something unusual with the control system. I wanted you to be the first to see." He tilted the staff further towards Sheppard.

There, in the inner workings of the staff, was something that looked like a microchip combined with an Ancient control crystal. But lining the edges and extending outward to the edges of the egg was a strange slimy, colorless, organic-looking filament. Sheppard's eyebrows knitted as he looked from the crystal to McKay and back.

"It's wraith."