A/N: Carson's in some serious trouble, people. I just couldn't resist the urge to whump him utterly in this chapter, and he's going to be in a lot more trouble in chapter 6. Thanks go to Alpha Pegasi, too, for giving me an idea to 'whip' him into shape. ;) And as always, thanks to my beta, Miyth, for being so supportive!

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He watched me intently the entire time he had been strapped down on that cot. Not only did I feel bad about frightening him, but I was hardly able to concentrate on my work. The crude microscope that I had been using to study the blood samples had revealed nothing to me, nor had any of the chemical analyses that I'd run. Rubbing my temples in a futile attempt to drive away the tension headache that had plagued me the last few hours, I sat back in my chair and looked over at him. It occurred to me then that, while we did not understand the process of activating the Ancient technology, his people might understand it better.

The queen was a very impatient person who always required immediate answers, and I knew that neither he nor I would be permitted to leave the lab until I had discovered something of value to report to her. Rising to my feet, I walked over and stood at his side, steeling myself against a pang of guilt as he shrank back as far as his restraints allowed. Terror was etched on his face.

Kneeling down beside him, I whispered softly after slipping the gag down and off his mouth. "The queen won't let you go until I find out what it is that is so special about us. You do know of this ability I'm referring to, do you not?"

He remained steadfastly silent.

My frustration was nagging at me. I held up an odd device in my hand, one that I had found in a lab of the Ancient outpost, and he watched with mild surprise as it came to life in my hand. "How, Carson? Why is it that the queen and I have this ability when no one else does? If you tell me, you won't have to stay strapped to that cot any longer."

His eyes darted for a few moments while he considered what I said, before a look of resignation washed over his gentle features. "It's because of a gene."

"A gene," I repeated, not familiar with the term. "What is it?"

"It's a marker in your cells," he tried to explain.

"I saw no such marker in the cells of your blood under my microscope," I stated firmly.

"The gene is encoded in our DNA, in the nucleus of our cells," he insisted fervently. He absolutely did not want to be strapped down to that cot any more. "You can't see DNA under a microscope. All of the Ancients' technology is designed to recognize and work only for the people that have this gene."

His gaze faltered when he realized that I still did not understand. Instead, his eyes shifted to something behind me, and as I turned to see what he was looking at, the queen took a few steps forward. She had apparently been watching, and had also likely witnessed the entire conversation. I stepped back, embarrassed.

"You are a foolish male," the queen spat with disgust. "I don't know why Ky still seems to like you, especially after such a pitiful attempt to lie to her."

Carson began to shiver uncontrollably as the queen motioned for the guards to remove him from the cot, his accent becoming thicker and more difficult to understand through his stress. "It was'nae a lie! I found it doin' the same research me'self!"

"Liar," the queen hissed. "You dare to insult my intelligence? Men do not have the patience to be capable of such tasks."

"Are ye daft, woman?" Carson was frustrated and astonished, and it made him brazen. "I'm a doctor! I do research like that all the time!"

The queen seethed with anger.

He was forcefully dragged over to a support beam in the middle of the room and his hands were bound around it, placing him in an undignified position. His gag was replaced, and everyone else in the room took a step back. I watched helplessly as one of the guards pulled out a whip that had been looped on her belt and unwound it behind him.

"I tolerate neither disobedience nor lies from obstinate men like you, especially when they are my prisoners," she said, giving the guard holding the whip a curt nod of approval. "The punishment is ten lashes."

With a flinch each time the whip was drawn back, I did not dare to close my eyes against the spatters of blood that flew in every direction with each strike. By the sixth strike, Carson had fallen to his knees, only to be hauled back up to his feet by the other guards. I could see his eyes clenched tightly shut, and could see the rippling of muscles on the sides of his face as he ground his teeth together on the gag. It was horrifying.

When all was said and done, the guards dragged his barely conscious form toward the door, intending to return him to his cell. I followed closely behind, never before having felt so grateful to be out of the queen's presence. I was still engrossed in my thoughts when suddenly, Carson jumped up to his feet, startling the two guards that were dragging him. With a quick jerk, he pulled himself free of their grasp, lashing out with his feet and knees before they could react, then head-butted the third.

I was too shocked to react at first, but that faded quickly as he began to flee the scene and was about to disappear from of my field of view. Rushing forward in an effort to keep up, I was hopeful that he'd actually be able to make an escape on his own, but those hopes were dashed away when I saw her suddenly appear in his path. My heart sunk as she shoved him, causing him to fell backward; and because his hands were again bound behind him, he was unable to catch himself, landing hard on the floor. He did manage to prop himself up against the wall, though.

Her name was unknown to me at the time, but I had later discovered that her name was Pel'Ara. She had been born into one of the poorer families that lived in the city, as I had already noticed by the manner in which she spoke. Her life had been harsh, and the fact was made that much more obvious from her solid and imposingly heavy-built body as well as from the jagged scars on her hands, arms, and legs. If she hadn't been such a cruel person, I might have pitied her, and with just a simple and kindly smile, she would have been immensely beautiful despite the nasty scars. But she stood over Carson with an eerily impassive expression on her face, looking down at him as if he were a piece of meat.

"Where do ya think yer goin', Pretty Boy?" she asked maliciously.

When I appeared beside them, I was quite concerned for Carson's well-being. Pel didn't look up as she spoke, keeping her eyes squarely transfixed on her prisoner. "Lose something?"

"Yes, thank you," I said, trying to make my words sound appreciative. "He just got away for a second."

"How careless," she whispered softly, reaching out a hand to run it through Carson's hair. He flinched at her touch. "Sometimes these prisoners just… slip through your fingers, don't they?"

"Leave him alone," I demanded coldly.

"Aw," she said with feigned disappointment, dragging Carson up to his feet with a feat of strength I have rarely seen a woman possess. "What's the matter? Ya don't like it when I touch him?"

"I am responsible for this prisoner, not you," I stated matter-of-factly, staying absolutely still in an effort to suppress my trembling. "And unless you intend to challenge my authority, you will leave him alone."

"Yes, Ma'am," she said softly, her words dripping with contempt and over-annunciating each word, "of course not, Ma'am."

I met her shifty eyes for a long moment, waiting for her to back down.

She gave me a wicked smile first, gripping Carson firmly by his neck. "Why don't I give ya a hand and escort this prisoner back to his cell?"

"Lead the way," I said feebly, allowing her to drag him past me toward the adjoining area where the prison cells were obviously located.

She nonchalantly tossed him inside and closed the heavy steel door, then took a seat in a chair in the corner to stand watch over that section of the prison. Leaning back casually, she gave me a quizzical look.

"You're still here?" she asked, sounding bored already.

I was astonished that she of all people had been placed on guard duty that night. "I thought Chuli'Ana was on the duty roster tonight."

"Well, sorry to disappoint ya, but she's sick," Pel sneered in response. "I got a double shift tonight because of her. But don't worry; I'll keep a very close eye on yer little friend here while you're gone."

The depraved grin she gave me next thoroughly terrified me, but there was nothing I could do about it. I left the cell block very quickly, determined to make the plan that was forming in my mind a reality tonight instead of waiting until tomorrow. I could not leave him like that for another night, and I knew that I had to get him out of there before something happened to him that was even more horrible than the lashing I had just witnessed.

I stopped by my lab to grab a sheet of paper, wrote a short note on it, then folded it carefully and placed it in my pocket. The inn was my next destination. Colonel Sheppard had to be warned.

-----

When I finally got back to the inn, it was well into the afternoon, and Colonel Sheppard was incensed. Lota was there, too. She had been trying to placate the visitors with an assurance that I would appear soon. She sighed with relief as I finally made my way inside to face the visitors' wrath.

"Where the hell have you been?" he asked firmly. "The guards refused to allow us to go out and look for Carson! And since diplomacy is pretty much out the window at this point, perhaps you'll understand when I say that I've just about had it up to here with the way men are treated around here!"

I did my best to keep my face unemotional and blank upon hearing him make his grievances known. "I've been occupied with urgent business for the queen."

"Urgent business?" he mocked. Teyla tried to put a hand on his arm in an effort to remind him to restrain his temper, but he yanked it away angrily. "Our friend has been missing for over a day now, and you've done nothing!"

Lota gave him a hard glare, seemingly ready to slap him. "She was out looking for your friend all night last night and most of the morning, you ungrateful dolt!"

I did my best to contain my anger, but upon hearing his livid words, it might have seeped through into my voice when I spoke. "He is gone. There is nothing more I can do."

Sheppard wasn't prepared to accept this. Not by a long shot. He took a deep breath to calm his haggard breathing, but said nothing more.

I extended my hand in the custom of their greeting, hoping to whatever deity I might soon choose to believe in that the guards had not seen the note that I had palmed. "You must leave immediately. The queen will no longer tolerate any more delay."

He looked directly at me, unblinking, but could not have missed it in his peripheral vision. Warily, he reached out and grasped my outstretched hand, expertly transferring the note into his own. "Please give me a moment to consult with my friends."

I took a moment to sigh with relief, and luckily it went unnoticed by the guards. Sheppard, Ronon, Teyla, and McKay huddled in the corner together, talking in whispers. They had to be reading the note. I recalled the words written on it in my mind:

Carson is being held prisoner in the palace. I have a plan to free him. But if I fail, you must return with help.

It would have been obvious then that the story they had been told, the one about a rogue band of slave traders, had been concocted. A moment later, their huddle was broken and Sheppard turned to face me once again.

"Alright," he sneered impatiently. "We'll go. But I will only allow it so long as I have your personal assurance that the search for Carson will be continuing."

"You have it," I assured him, giving him a discreet nod. "Perhaps you will return some day."

"One day, perhaps," he answered with a discreet nod of his own.

And then they were gone, Lota staying behind to speak with me. One day wouldn't normally have been a lot of time to prepare and plan to break someone out of the palace prisons, but I had already determined that I would do it tonight. Carson was waiting for me.