Chapter Eight

Teyla felt a cold shiver pass down her spine, and it had nothing to do with the damp chill in the late evening air. The black shadow that drifted lazily over the deep recesses of her mind took her back to the very first time that she had sensed the Wraith, a time of joy in her life, a time of happiness when her father had still lived.

She remembered the first time that it had happened.

She had been so young and so full of a wild, childish exuberance. She had been running through the woods with her best friends, her wild, un-brushed red hair streaming back across her shoulders as she jumped across moss covered fallen trees, laughing as they had pretended to run and hide from an unseen enemy. Their lives were full then; they had wanted for nothing that couldn't be provided by trade, or by hunting and fishing in the surrounding forests and streams. Her father, being head of the community, had had deep responsibilities to fulfil with regard to providing for his people and he had fulfilled those duties well, they had seldom wanted for anything.

Teyla had grown up with a deep love and respect for her father. He had been a fair and honourable man; a man who had shouldered the responsibilities of his position with ease. Teyla had used to watch sometimes in awe as he negotiated for supplies with outsiders. The subtlety and grace that he employed during his negotiations had always seemed to leave his suppliers thinking that they had ended up with the better end of the deal, but Teyla had seen more than they did; she had seen the tricks that her father employed and the games that he played, and she remembered smiling as he shook hands on those deals. Her father had always encouraged her to listen in to his trade negotiations; she had always seen it as a privilege, but he had seen it as grooming her for her future role as leader of her people. He had let her follow him as he went about his everyday role in the camps, settling disputes and laughing with his people.

As Teyla had ran through the woods all those years ago, the laughter had once more broken through her lips and she remembered turning to pull faces at those trailing behind her as she pulled ahead of them over the dry forest floor. She remembered the shouts of her friends as they had fallen behind, and she remembered the forest canopy becoming darker as she travelled further into the depths of the dense tree line. It was hard to pinpoint the exact moment that she had become aware that something changed, but she remembered distinctly the feeling that had begun to creep into her thoughts, the darkness that had had nothing to do with the setting sun. She could remember slowing down and coming to a stop as the dark fingers of fear plucked at her thoughts and she remembered her inability to comprehend why she should feel that way in such familiar surroundings. It hadn't been until she had heard the unfamiliar droning whine above the trees that she had grown concerned for the safety of her friends and her father back in the camps and she had turned back towards the clearing where her people had made camp. She hadn't even reached the camp before she had heard the screams of panic and terror flooding her senses, and she had been suddenly afraid to run through the last of the trees and out into the open. The screeching whine above her had made her fall to the ground in terror, she had never heard such a noise before and it was then that she had also seen for the first time the swirling figures in the trees, the ghostly bodies that broke up and reforming as they drifted around her. She had run through the tree line into the clearing, her eyes searching for familiar figures. A screeching noises had drawn her attention up into the air and she had seen the darts for the first time, their long noses sweeping through the air as they started strafing runs along the paths through the village. Teyla could still remember the look of terror on the faces of the villagers who were caught in the beam to vanish into thin air, and she remembered her fathers face so vividly as he watched the attack, his eyes full of sadness and helplessness…

"Teyla!" Rodney's voice ploughed into her reverie, and she shook her head slightly as she once more focused on the scientist's concerned features.

"I am sorry, I…"

"You said Michael," Ronon stated matter of factly, "Are you sure Teyla, could you be wrong?"

"I am sure," Teyla's focus was once more on the situation at hand, "He is here, I felt his presence ..it is a little different, but it is definitely him.."

"And what would 'bug boy' be doing here, that is, unless he's got another lab here somewhere!... Oh god, that's it, he's building another bug army here, he must be..!"

"Rodney, the life sign detector only has one signal, he would not be alone if he were building his army here, he would be accompanied by his.. 'soldiers'.."

"What," Rodney looked down once more at the LSD in his hand, "oh, right yes, only one hit registering on the sensor, but if he's alone then what's he doing here?!"

"It's got to be Sheppard." Ronon stared at the shocked expressions on his team mates faces, "Think about it. Why else would Sheppard have been attacked, why else would Michael be here, there can be no other reason, it's too much of a coincidence."

"What, revenge!.. are you joking. Why risk coming here on your own just for revenge! I know Sheppard can be as annoying as hell, but what possible reason would Michael have for ……oh, oh yes, "Rodney suddenly 'got' where Ronon was coming from, "the retrovirus, he's still pissed at Sheppard for that isn't he, well almost as much as he was at Beckett anyway…. and then there's the whole 'lets destroy Michael's lab' thing as well.…so yes, I suppose he has got a few reasons to not like Sheppard very much at the moment, but …that means he's probably here for us as well! Oh great, maybe we're next on the list…"

"Rodney, we have no way of knowing why Michael has come here, but we do know that we need to help the Colonel, so we should concentrate our energies on that at the moment."

"Teyla's right, if Michael is here for Sheppard, then we need to get him out of there…" Ronon pointed towards the silo that they had been watching, "We need to go now, before company arrives…"

"Oh, I think we're a bit too late for that already, look!" Rodney pointed towards the dark shadows that loomed across the dockside.

As they looked across the darkened loading bays where they were hidden, towards the towering grain storage silos, they got their first glimpse of the object of their discussion.

The long black coat that swept the floor was instantly recognisable as Wraith, as was the light pigmented skin, but it was the short spiked white hair that erupted over the high collar of the coat that immediately identified the figure as that of Michael, his hair having never grown back fully since the retrovirus changed him originally.

As they watched from their concealed spot, they could follow the imposing figure as he walked along the dockside, glancing about him as he proceeded, seemingly oblivious to the three sets of eyes that watched him from the shadows. As he approached the silo that they had been observing, he removed a small black box from his pocket and pressed the key pad. Taking a final look around him and satisfied that he was alone, he moved forwards through the now open doorway and disappeared, the door vanishing as the shield was once more initialised.

"Well that pretty much settles it doesn't it, he's here for Sheppard, he has to be. What do we do now?"

"We go over there," Ronon pointed to the hidden doorway, "and 'you' take a look at that door mechanism and see about getting us inside, that's what we do now."

"What with 'bug boy' inside there!! Are you joking!" Rodney took one look at Ronon's impassive face and knew the answer already, "you're not joking are you, you really expect me to go over there and find a way in don't you!"

"I do. Sheppard needs us McKay, we aren't going to let him down!"

"Right," Rodney glanced nervously down at the scanner, "so, do you have any more hidden weapons that you would care to share with us, or are we going to attack the place with two knives and a life signs detector!"

"Rodney, we are not going to attack anything yet," she looked towards Ronon, who merely shrugged, "we need to find out if the doorway is penetrable at all, if you can actually find the lock or disable the shield mechanism."

"Right. And if Michael comes out, what then!"

"Then we will do whatever it takes to make sure that he doesn't get any further, are you ready McKay?" Ronon's dead pan answer knocked back any further argument that Rodney had prepared and he found himself simply nodding nervously at the Satedan as they left their hiding place and headed across the moonlit loading bays towards the silo.

Ronon took point as they crept closer to their target, his eyes never still as he stayed alert to the possibility that Michael hadn't actually come alone and they could be pounced on at any moment. It was only the fact that Rodney was watching the LSD intently that gave then a feeling of safety meagre enough to allow them to continue. Teyla was deeply troubled by the fact that she could still 'sense' Michael as they proceeded. The black shroud of the Wraith presence that had settled over her mind was un-nerving and she found it harder to concentrate, especially knowing as she was sure she did, that her friend was in there with him, injured and alone. She felt the cold hand of dread on her heart as she considered the fact that Michael must have come alone to this world and her heart sank even further as she considered how much hatred it must have taken for that to happen; the possible ramifications for John were becoming worse by the minute.

"McKay, do your stuff." Ronon turned to Rodney as they reached the silo's towering bulk without incident, "I'll keep watch. Teyla watch his back." Teyla nodded as Ronon turned away, his back to the pair, his eyes now fixed on the shadow shrouded areas around them. Rodney nodded briefly to Teyla as he started to study the wall next to the site of the doorway. As he held the scanner up to the wall, the screen lit up and he had to stifle an exclamation of surprise.

"Well of course it had to be I suppose, "he whispered, "it's Wraith shielding technology. It seems that our friend in there has a deeper relationship with 'Michael' than we could have thought.."

"Can you break it McKay." Ronon hissed over his shoulder as he continued to watch the surrounding area for trouble.

"Yes, I believe that I can, with a little time and the right frequency…."

"Ronon, we cannot just open the door, we do not know what we will find inside. We know only that Michael is in there with another man, but we still do not know for sure that Colonel Sheppard is inside." Teyla needed to be cautious, it was in her nature to assess the situation before blindly charging in, unlike Ronon, who was used to using fists and blaster first and asking questions later.

"I think we do, look…" Ronon pointed to the ground in front of the door and there was no mistaking the trail of blood spatters that led towards and then stopped in front of the now shielded doorway.

"Ronon, we cannot just go in there blindly, I believe that Colonel Sheppard would want us to wait until the right opportunity arises, then we can be sure that we are ready for them, we will have the element of surprise."

"I suppose." Ronon reluctantly had to agree with Teyla, " they don't know that we're here; if we act quickly enough, it would be two of them against three of us!"

"Er, hello… a Wraith and an unidentified man who managed to attack Sheppard against the two of you and me!! I'm not sure that your logic quite pans out ..I make that officially two against two, but who am I to argue battle plans with Conon the 'destroyer'

"So, we wait then?" Ronon looked from Teyla to Rodney's faces and they both nodded their agreement

"Yes," Rodney's voice betrayed the concern that they all felt, "we wait, and god help us…and Sheppard"