A/N: Hooray! I finally updated! Sorry for taking so long, but I lost my muse there for a while. Hopefully this extra long chapter will mollify anyone who was actually waiting to read more of the story.

Elizabeth stared at the charred remains of the MALP's control panel with a mixture of shock and disbelief. The earlier narrative had left her confused and a little frightened. To be honest, the Ontarish' actions made no sense to her; the fact that Magus wouldn't trade her for supplies that would better his people's lives was puzzling at best. When the reality hit that she was only there so the Chancellor could carry out some twisted version of revenge, she'd almost lost her nerve. They didn't really care about keeping her alive; they cared about pushing her to the limit and then disposing of her when she was no longer of any use to them. In fact, they might grow tired of her sooner than that and kill her anyway. The game had suddenly become much more dangerous.

Magus waved a hand in her general direction, "Take her back to her cell, but don't give her any food; she didn't work hard enough to deserve something to eat today."

Elizabeth's jaw dropped and Tamesis chuckled, "You'd best close your mouth before someone does it for you."

She glared at him as he grabbed her wrist and hauled her along behind him. She was really starting to get sick of being manhandled; and she really hated being treated like a common criminal and second-hand slave. But Magus' words made her nervous, and she knew she was going to have to call on all of her diplomatic training if she wanted a chance at surviving this. She entered her cell quietly, ignoring the prison guard when he tried to goad her into saying something rash. When Tamesis tired of harassing her, he stomped back the way they'd come, shoving Umi to the ground as the young girl entered the room.

Elizabeth gritted her teeth angrily, "Are you all right?" Her dry throat made her voice sound especially harsh as it echoed off the stone walls.

Umi started as though she hadn't realized Elizabeth was there. She quickly recovered, picking herself up and bowing politely, "I am fine," then she frowned, "Aren't you usually in the fields at this time?"

Elizabeth smiled wryly, "I got in trouble because my people tried to negotiate for my release."

Umi's blue eyes filled with confusion. "Nego-shee-ay-te," she tried out the strange sounding word.

"It means they tried to talk Magus into letting me go," Elizabeth smiled for real.

Comprehension dawned on the little girl's face and she suddenly turned very serious. "That wouldn't work; the Chancellor doesn't let people go," she sounded very sure of herself.

Elizabeth grimaced slightly, "So it would seem; Magus doesn't seem like a very forgiving man."

Umi nodded sagely, "The ones who captured me and brought me to this world owed the Chancellor money, so he killed them and made me work here. He told me I would have to work to pay off their debt."

Elizabeth could certainly relate to that. "How long have you been here?"

The girl scrunched up her forehead, "Almost three years."

Elizabeth's eyes widened, "How old are you?"

Umi shyly held up eight fingers.

It was Elizabeth's turn to be surprised; she would have wagered a guess that the young blond was closer to her pre-teen years. Umi seemed very mature for her age, but she supposed growing up as a prison slave would be enough to destroy anyone's carefree innocence.

"Did they capture you too?" Umi's quiet question shook Elizabeth out of her thoughts.

"Yes, but they didn't take me from another planet. My people and I came to this world."

Umi's nose wrinkled in disgust, "You came here? Why would anyone want to come to Ontarik?"

Elizabeth had to laugh, "We're explorers. We came through the stargate looking for people with whom we could become trading partners."

The little girl looked perplexed, "The stargate?"

"You may know it as the Astria Porta," Elizabeth explained.

Umi nodded, "Ah yes, the travel ring," then she frowned, "But you said 'we;' what happened to the others who were with you?"

Elizabeth exhaled, relief once again flooding through her soul, "They're safe. We were being held in a different area, one with larger cells. They wanted to use my friend to kill the people who live in the hills around here," she paused, a pained expression on her face, "They beat him, and the rest of us to some extent. My friend needed medical help so I created a distraction that would allow my team to escape."

Umi's eyes had grown wider with every word, "What did you do?"

Elizabeth looked at her hands, "I uh…I set one of the store houses on fire."

The little girl stared in disbelief, "How did you do that?"

"Well, I noticed the first time we were taken to see Magus that we passed a long row of what looked like little houses; and when I glanced inside one, I could see bags and bags of flour," Elizabeth gave a little shrug, "The next time Magus wanted to see me I pretended to trip in front of that building and 'accidentally' knocked the guard over. All members of my team carry these," she paused and pulled out a tiny box of matches from her worn jacket pocket, "We use them to start fires." At Umi's nod of understanding she continued, "While the guard was recovering I quickly lit a match and then stuck it back in its box so it would light all the others; then I threw it into the store house. I took my friend's box just in case it didn't work the first time…but as it turned out, I didn't need to worry."

Elizabeth took a deep breath and a ghost of a smile graced her lips, "We were almost to the Council House when the whole thing went up in flames behind us."

Umi cocked her head, "But how did your friends escape?"

Elizabeth chuckled, "Let's just say they're very resourceful."

The girl just stared at her for a few long seconds before breaking her silence, "You must care for these people a whole lot to have made such a sacrifice."

Umi's words struck a chord and Elizabeth felt a sharp pang resonate in her heart.

She got a distant look in her eyes, "Yes, they mean a great deal to me."

"Hey girl!" Tamesis loud voice came from down the hall, interrupting their little heart-to-heart.

Umi visibly jumped and turned in the direction of the prison guard's shouting. She glanced back at Elizabeth and made a face, "I'm sorry, but I must go before he catches me not doing my work." She quickly brushed herself off, then gave Elizabeth one last reassuring smile, "I am sure you will see your friends again."

Elizabeth watched her go, wishing she had as much confidence and optimism as her new acquaintance.

SGASGASGASGASGASGASGASGASGASGASGASGASGA

"All right, I have a plan!" McKay's enthusiastic proclamation jolted Teyla awake, sending the book she'd fallen asleep on crashing to the floor.

"What do you mean you have a plan?" Radek countered, raising an eyebrow.

"Well yes, I suppose Zelenka helped a little," Rodney amended with an eye roll.

Teyla blinked rapidly in an attempt to clear the gritty feeling from her eyes as McKay plopped his handheld computer down in front of her.

"As you know, M4X-825 is one of three moons circling a giant gas planet," the astrophysicist drew a simple diagram using his stylus, "And as you also know, neither the planet nor any of the other moons have stargates; if they did we wouldn't be having this problem. Now the closest planet with a stargate is out here," he paused and drew a circle in the upper left corner, "and as we already mentioned, it's too far away for a direct flight in a Puddlejumper. However, we might, and I stress the might, be able to modify the Jumper's controls enough to get us to one of Ontarik's sister moons."

Teyla frowned, "But how will that help us get to Ontarik itself?"

Rodney grinned excitedly, "We're going to attempt to build up enough velocity on our way over that we'll be able slingshot around this moon," he sketched a line going from the far planet to one of the smaller circles orbiting the gas giant in the bottom left corner and circled around it once before drawing an arrow toward M4X-825.

Zelenka beamed, "It is much like what they did in 'Apollo 13.'"

The Czech's comment was met with a blank stare from the Athosian woman.

Rodney shook his head, "Radek, you're an idiot."

Zelenka spread his hands out, "What? Isn't it?"

Teyla ignored the two scientists and concentrated on the diagram in front of her, "All right, so this will get us to Ontarik; but what do we do once we get there?"

McKay held up a finger, "Ah yes; that will be the tricky part. In order to rescue Elizabeth we'd either have to attempt to quietly infiltrate the city and wander around trying to find her or we could go with a more direct approach…which would require us to have the ability to neutralize the hundreds of soldiers who will be trying to make sure Elizabeth stays where she is."

Teyla only had to think for a fraction of a second before the answer popped into her head, "The chair."

Rodney snapped his fingers, "Exactly."

Her lips stretching into a smile, Teyla released a deep breath, "And who were you thinking would operate it?"

Zelenka cleared his throat, "Well, with the only two people who've ever used a control chair injured and…gone, we were thinking that perhaps Major Lorne would be a good candidate."

The Athosian leader nodded once, "Very well; I believe we should head to the infirmary and inform Ronon and Colonel Sheppard of our decision."

"I bet this bit of information will put the Colonel in a good mood," Radek commented, looking a bit relieved himself.

………………………………………………………………………….

"What do you mean, 'no'," John's eyes glittered dangerously.

"You're far from being fully recovered," Dr. Keller reminded her patient sternly, "And there is absolutely no way I am going to clear you to go off-world while you're in this condition."

Sheppard was far from finished, "Look, I'm the most qualified person to go on this mission. I'm the only person still living who's used the chair before."

"Colonel, we believe Major Lorne would be adequately able to handle the controls," Teyla stepped in gracefully.

John shook his head, "But I'm still the obvious choice. I can handle this."

Rodney shifted uncomfortably, "Sheppard, I don't think…"

"Don't you get it?!" John ran a hand through his already messy hair, a mixture of anxiety, guilt and fear reflecting in his eyes, "It's my fault."

Teyla winced as his words echoed the same self-recrimination that had been plaguing her thoughts the past few days. Ronon must have noticed because he lightly brushed her fingers with his and said, "It's no one's fault but the Ontarish's."

John lowered his gaze, "My head knows that, but my heart? It won't accept that I'm not responsible for what happened."

Teyla could certainly relate to the military leader's feelings.

"If it wasn't for my ancient gene we wouldn't have even been in that predicament, "John continued, his voice soft and sad, "I was supposed to protect her…but I failed."

"Sheppard, this was Elizabeth's choice," Rodney emphasized, "She chose to stay behind. She wouldn't blame you; and none of us blame you either."

"I can't just stay behind and do nothing," John somehow managed to sound authoritative and pleading at the same time.

"Colonel Sheppard, I know how you feel…" Dr. Keller started, "Really I do, but…"

"With all due respect Doctor, I don't think you have the slightest idea how I feel," John shot back sharply.

Keller's eyes flashed in anger, "How dare you presume to know all about my life. You don't know anything!"

"I know you don't know how I feel. You know why? Because if you understood you'd let me go on this mission," John answered calmly.

The petite doctor visibly deflated, then hesitantly chewed her bottom lip. After a few moments she sighed, "Fine, you can go; but you're going to stay in the Jumper, understood?"

Rodney was quick on the uptake, "What, are you crazy?"

"Rodney!" Teyla's normally smooth voice had acquired a bit of an edge. She turned to the young doctor, "I shall do my best to make sure Colonel Sheppard acquiesces with your demands, Dr. Keller."

The other woman nodded, an indefinable emotion flashing across her features, "I hope you get her back; and I'll have a medical team awaiting your call. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other patients to attend to."

Teyla turned her attention to Atlantis' resident genius, "Rodney, how long will it take to make the necessary modifications to the Puddlejumper?"

McKay shook his head, "That will unfortunately take a bit of time. If everything goes according to plan, I'm thinking twenty-four hours minimum."

Sheppard, used to the scientist's blindingly fast ability to tweak technology, was more than a little surprised, "What kind of modifications are you planning to do?"

Rodney huffed in annoyance, "Remember the part where I'm not Superman?"

"All right, here is what we are going to do," Teyla easily took control of the situation, "Rodney? You and Dr. Zelenka should start working immediately; and Ronon? I would appreciate it if you would fill Major Lorne in on the details of the mission. I will start packing any supplies we might need. Is that all right with everyone?"

McKay didn't answer but left the infirmary in a hurry, already muttering calculations to himself.

Ronon grinned at her and briefly inclined his head in acknowledgement before he too left to fulfill his duties.

John waited for them to leave before speaking, "Thank you Teyla." His gratitude was heartfelt.

She smiled and shrugged, "I too know how you feel, Colonel Sheppard. In an instance much like this, when someone close to me was lost, you helped bring them back; and I know you would do so again. I thought I would return the favor."

His eyes shot up to meet hers, and Teyla knew he was surprised that she had chosen to disclose something so personal…and that he was trying to decipher what, exactly, she was implying.

She raised her eyebrows, daring him to contradict her, but Sheppard just gave a slight nod and slowly pushed himself out of the infirmary bed.

His eyes regained their usual fire and Teyla saw the same man that had made her choose to leave behind everything she knew to follow him years before.

John's voice deepened with a steely resolve, "Let's bring her back."