Chapter 35: Frenzy

Sheppard had been glad when he had been put back into the cell with Jack and O'Neil, the few days without being put in the tank had been a very welcome break but he hadn't been able to rest and relax in the other cell, constantly worrying about what the woman might try to do while he was asleep.

He had been awake when the group of non-gene carriers had been bought back and was very worried by the lack of Ronon and Dave. He had decided it was time to think about getting out of here and for that reason when O'Neil tried to get him to eat he accepted as much of the food that he could manage. He was aware of how much weight he had lost and knew that his ribs could now be seen standing out against his pale, bruised and scarred torso but he still wasn't really hungry. He also knew that if he had been returned to his cell it was likely it wouldn't be long until they took him to the power chamber and a plan began to form in his mind.

He wasn't wrong about the power chamber and had to stop himself from smiling as he saw Pietor. The front of the cell slid open but he made no effort to get up, he wasn't going to make it easy for them. The two normal guards came in to pick him up and he winced as his shoulder pulled painfully. Sheppard resisted the temptation to pull his feet under him to support his own weight, he needed the element of surprise on his side if he was going to make this work.

The two guards carrying him paused in the corridor as Pietor approached "I'm told you refuse to breed, no worries we have other methods of acquiring the samples we need for that..."

Sheppard chose this moment to act. Pulling his legs underneath him and, surging forward, he took the guards by surprise and they weren't able to hold on to him. Continuing his trajectory he rammed into Pietor slamming his fists, elbows and knees into every part of the man, who was now beneath him, that he could reach. The guards stood stunned for several seconds allowing Sheppard to achieve what he had set out to do.

Finally Pietor managed to get in a blow of his own to Sheppard's' temple sending him sprawling across the corridor. Although slightly stunned Sheppard had managed to angle himself so that he was facing the cell containing Mitchell, he grabbed the bars with one hand whilst with the other he shoved the device he had been holding into Mitchell's prepared hands whilst making it look like he was trying to use the bars to pull himself up.

He managed to get one foot underneath him before he heard Pietor say "We don't need your legs to be functioning for you to be useful"

As he said this Sheppard felt a foot slam down on his leg midway between his knee and his ankle and he howled in pain as a loud snap resounded through the corridor and his leg buckled beneath him as both bones snapped cleanly at the point of impact. As he fell back to the floor the offending foot slammed into his other leg at ankle level and another, duller crack was heard.

Sheppard couldn't stop the sobs that wracked his body as he was once more hefted up, one of his legs hung loosely beneath him the leg swaying disconcertingly despite the fact that he was holding it as still as possible. Trying to put weight on his other leg he stopped quickly when red hot pain shot up his leg from his ankle.

Pietor wiped the blood from his nose and the cut above his eye before spitting the blood out of his mouth and, with no warning, backhanded Sheppard viciously. Satisfied for the moment he moved off, the small group of guards and prisoner following behind leaving a shocked group of people, peering out of their cells to see what the commotion had been about, in their wake.

The journey to the power chamber seemed to take an eternity as Sheppard desperately tried to hold his leg in a way that would stop it being jostled but no matter how he held his leg the bottom half of it still hung straight down, he didn't dare look too closely at it as he was scared of what he would see. When they did reach the power chamber the guards dropped Sheppard unceremoniously on the floor and he almost passed out from the pain that the jarring movement sent through his body.

He was slightly disappointed when he realised he was still conscious and had to force his eyes open as he sensed movement above him. What he saw caused his heart rate to jump even higher than it already was to the point where he thought it may well explode out of his chest. Pietor was bent over him a knife clutched in one hand. "My technicians tell me that your anatomy is very similar to ours is so this shouldn't kill you" Sheppard barely had time to register this comment before he felt the knife slide through the skin on his stomach and into his gut. This wasn't a frenzied stabbing but slow and controlled, evidence that this was not the first time Pietor had done this. After Pietor stabbed him for are the second time Sheppard blissfully succumbed to unconsciousness.

Harvey looked on concerned; he had observed Pietor becoming ever more violent and unpredictable in the last few months but this was the first time he had done something that could negatively impact the entire population of the ship if he went too far with this provider. It appeared for the time being he was finished and Harvey looked at the blood pooling on the floor of the power chamber. He was surprised when Pietor indicated to the guard's that they should initiate change over.

"Pietor, do not think we should treat it before putting it in the chamber?" He decided to call the individual bleeding on the floor it to placate Pietor, he didn't know what would set off the unstable man.

"No need, it will survive this. Don't worry Harvey I have done this before" that statement didn't comfort Harvey at all but he decided it was probably prudent to remain quiet for the time being. The power change went as smoothly as usual and soon Harvey had to go to arrange for the arrival of the second lot providers in as many days. Their scans had indicated that the population on the planet was relatively small with only a couple of hundred people clustered in a small area. It was a pity that the population was so small as it had an unusually high percentage of providers. Regardless he had asked the technicians and they had assured him they would not receive more than 30 to 40 individuals. So he would allocate people for the transition as appropriate, he shouldn't think he would need more than 30 armed guards.

A/N: More to come, i found dictation software on my computer so if i can get it working things should move a little faster