"Teyla," it's not your fault," Sheppard said for the fifth time. "If you were with them, you'd have been taken too, or killed." His expression darkened at the thought of Teyla injured, and he shook his head to clear the image of the tiny Athosian held captive.

"Sheppard's right," Ronon rumbled, speaking for the first time since Teyla appeared in the gate room, armored and ready to go. "Amelia's a good fighter. Almost as good as you. If she was taken, there's nothing you could have done either."

"Still," Teyla replied, her voice thick with self-recrimination. "If I had been with them as I should have been, if Torren John hadn't taken ill... John, I was supposed to be there with them!"

"Stop," Sheppard ordered gently. He touched her shoulder awkwardly, afraid of displaying his feelings for her. She leaned into his touch, unaware of her friend's emotional turmoil. Beside them, McKay stared silently into the distance.

Mckay thought he'd never feel as helpless as he had when Katie Brown had fallen ill. He was wrong, he realized. This was so much worse. To find a woman he loved- truly loved- who, of all miracles, loved him back, and then face the possibility of losing her was too crushing a blow. He looked up at Ronon, who stood stone-faced beside him, and felt an uncharacteristic surge of fear for him. Ronon had already survived the loss of one lover; how deeply would Amelia's death wound him? No, he wouldn't consider the possibility of Jennifer and Amelia dying. They would find them, and they would bring them home safely. No other outcome was acceptable.

"Are you ready?" Woolsey asked, descending the stairs from his office. He eyed the soldiers enviously, wishing, not for the first time, that he could accompany them. He had few friends on Atlantis; he numbered both Amelia and Jennifer among them.

"On your go, sir," Sheppard replied.

"Good luck, then," Woolsey nodded. He looked up into Sheppard's eyes. "John, please bring them back."

"I will, sir," Sheppard promised. He waved his arm at the gathered troops. "Let's move out!"

On the other side of the gate, Sheppard and his troops fanned out, weapons at the ready. The tracks Halling had mentioned stood out in the dry dust of the earth surrounding the gate. Ronon pushed past Sheppard, and dropped to one knee.

"Twelve men," he noted. He brushed his fingers lightly over one of the foot prints. "Military issue boots." His lips drew back from his teeth. "Genii!"

"Ladon?" Teyla wondered aloud. Ronon snarled.

"I intend to ask him," he said grimly.

"Colonel Sheppard!" Major Lorne called. "I found something!"

Sheppard jogged to Lorne's side, his team close behind. Lorne reached under the gate dialer, and pulled out a canvas backpack. Sheppard took it carefully, and unzipped it, spilling a pile of clothes onto the ground. Ronon let out a soft sound, and picked up an intricately tooled leather bracelet from the dirt.

"It's Amelia's," he said, staring down at the twist of braided and etched leather in his hands. "I made this for her back on Earth." His voice caught, and he clutched the bracelet tightly. "She brought it with her," he said quietly. "I didn't think she would."

"What do you mean?" Teyla asked. Ronon shook his head and tucked the bracelet carefully in his pocket.

Sheppard rummaged through the t-shirts and jeans, silently apologizing to the absent Amelia as he pushed aside black lace panties. His hand touched something smooth, and he pulled a heavy envelope from the pile. He turned it over to find his name and a gate address printed in spiky, thin script.

"Huh," he said, his brow furrowed. "This can't be good." He tore open the envelope and found a clear plastic photo sheet, and a small recorder. "Damn. It's not."

He held the photo up, and McKay snatched it out of his hands.

"Jen," he moaned, staring at the picture of Keller and Amelia bound and caged.

"They hurt Amelia," Ronon rumbled. The photo was black and white, but the bruising and swelling under her eye was clear. "Play the recording Sheppard, so we know who we're going to kill."

Sheppard opened his mouth to argue, but Teyla touched his hand, shaking her head slightly. Instead, he pressed play and held the recorder up.

"Major Sheppard, we have two of your people, one of them being your chief medical doctor. If you want them back unharmed, you will bring ten boxes of medical supplies and twenty boxes of C-4 to the address provided. You will come on foot. If you attempt to cross us in any way, we will kill the women in ways you could not imagine. Do not test me."

The recorder clicked off, and Sheppard stared at it thoughtfully.

"That voice sounded awfully familiar," he mused.

"It is Sora," Teyla replied. "She was one of the Genii who invaded Atlantis several years ago."

"Oh, yeah," Sheppard said. "Pretty redhead, daddy issues. Tried to kill you. I remember her."

"This is a trap, you know," Ronon warned. McKay bristled.

'So what?" he snapped. "We have to go rescue them!"

"Obviously," Ronon shot back. "But there's no point in getting killed trying. So, it's a trap. How do we get around it?"

Sheppard grinned at his friend. "By going around it!"

oooOOOooo

Ladon Radim gestured his subcommander to leave him, and waited for the door to shut before sinking into his chair.

Damn all, Sora, he thought. What have you done?

He tapped his fingers absently on his desk, thinking hard. The information his spy had sent him was upsetting, to say the least. Kidnapping Atlantis personnel? Setting traps? Not to mention the ridiculous one-sided feud with Teyla Emmagen. Well, you've put me in a serious predicament, haven't you?

He looked down at the communiqué, and stifled the urge to slam his fist down on it. To inform Atlantis or not, that was his dilemma.

He and Sora had been close once. He had even planned on eventually asking for her hand. That was before the disastrous attack on Atlantis; there had been little time for romance after. His seizure of the Genii leadership had cemented the rift between them. He had offered Sora an honored place in his new command, but that had not been enough to soothe the sting of his betrayal of the man she idolized. She had fled with Kolya.

Ladon knew the planet Sora was intending to use for her ambush. He had her plans in his hands. So what to do? Betray, again, the woman he once loved? Turn his back on a fellow Genii, in favor of outsiders? Speak the words that would condemn Sora to death?

Ladon bowed his head, his heart heavy with grief. He knew the decision he would make. There was only one he could make. He stood and walked to his office window, and stared down at the lab below. A beautiful blond woman looked up and smiled warmly at him.

He would give Atlantis Sora's plans. He would give them anything. They had given his sister her life.