A/N: Okay, after carefully considering some feedback from my beta and others, I've decided to gut a good chunk of this chapter. As much as I hate to see some of the parts I've removed go, I'm hoping that the tragic loss will make this a better story overall. It's certainly more solemn and darker this way.

But Carson must tell his story somehow, and I must still offer my apologies to Scots everywhere for my pathetic attempt at imitating Carson's Scottish speech.

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I stood for some time at the foot of that secret entrance after I shut it behind Carson, unsure of what I could do to help. It occurred to me after a few minutes that, without him in tow behind me, I could move about the city relatively freely so long as I wasn't recognized by any of the guards standing watch. But where would I go? To the front gate, I decided. Do you all remember Chuli'Ana? She was supposed to be on watch in the palace the night before, but was sick.

Chuli is Lota's older (and more responsible) sister, at that time a strategically gifted and a very talented Lieutenant of the city guard, and was also a friend to Drae'Naya. I knew her well, well enough to know that she would listen to me before taking me into custody; that is, if I could manage to reach her unmolested by any of the other guards that would also be on watch at the front gate. There was not much else I could do except try to solicit more help to our cause, and perhaps save Carson some trouble if and when he managed to escape upon completing his task. If it could save even one person from dying needlessly in a bloody battle, I had to at least try.

Wading through the massive crowd of folks gathered in the square was not easy, but at least my face and cloak blended in with the hundreds of others that packed the small center of commotion in the city. But as I made my way through the crowd and closer to the front guard post, I heard ahead of me the unmistakable sound of the Well of the Ancients being activated. Looking above me at the position of the sun, I realized that it was later in the afternoon than I had thought. Sheppard's team was returning!

Pushing through the crowd with a renewed sense of urgency, I began to climb the wooden stair and banister that led up to the posts overlooking the gate, only to be stopped about three-quarters of the way up by an insistent hand on my shoulder. My body tensed; I was ready to bolt up the remaining steps if the situation called for it.

"Where are you going?" the woman's voice sounded suspiciously behind me. "And what business do you have at this outpost?"

Upon hearing the soft screech of a sword being drawn from a scabbard, I knew that my moment of pretense was at an end. I turned slowly and pushed the hood of the cloak away from my head. She gasped with shock at seeing my face.

"Lady Ky'Lae!" she stammered, replacing her sword in its scabbard. "I'm sorry, Ma'am, but there is a warrant posted on the boards for your arrest. You'll have to come with me."

"I demand that you take me to Chuli'Ana at once," I demanded regally.

The guard was taken aback. "The order for your arrest was signed by the queen herself. It specifically states that you are to be escorted to the palace immediately for questioning."

I gave her a cold and authoritative look, stepping close and staring at her with an unwavering gaze. "Then take me to the palace afterward, if you wish. But I am going to see Chuli'Ana whether you allow it or not."

She seemed to ponder this suspiciously, but I was just a single unarmed person. Calling for assistance from a few others who were patrolling the area in front of the main gate, she instructed them to watch me carefully, but did not hinder my efforts to reach Chuli further. My gamble had paid off, and it was all I needed.

I strode determinedly into the Lieutenant's small office that was adjacent to the guard post, and there I found the woman I had been searching for. The poor woman's desk was practically buried underneath a mountain of paperwork, and she seemed to be trying to futilely sort through it for something in particular. When she looked up at me as I entered her office, I saw the look of recognition in her eyes.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, pushing back a stray lock of dark blonde hair from her eyes. "You do realize that you are a wanted woman, do you not?"

"Yes, I do," I confirmed. "But before I'm hauled off to the palace for questioning, I need to speak with you."

"Then speak quickly," she said kindly, but firmly. "We may soon be under attack by those off-worlders that visited a few days ago, and the queen has ordered that I repel them."

I had suspected as much. "I know who murdered Drae'Naya."

"Illegal slave traders, all of them rogue smugglers," she stated with aggravation. "They are of no more concern to the city."

"No, my friend," I corrected her firmly. "It was not them."

Her eyes narrowed sternly, her face taking on a look of seriousness, annoyance, and suspicion. "Are you trying to tell me that I arranged the execution of six innocent people?"

"I don't know if they were innocent or not," I spoke honestly. "But they were not the ones who murdered Drae'Naya. You may not believe me right now, but I speak the truth."

"Then who?" she demanded coolly, folding her arms over her chest in quite a similar manner to her sister. Lota must have picked it up from her over the years.

"It was the queen's doing." She scoffed at my reply, but I continued staring directly at her in order to emphasize the seriousness of my claim.

"You must be joking," she claimed with a small chuckle, but stopped when she saw that I was indeed not joking. "Do you realize what you are saying? Why would she do this?"

"It was all for the missing off-worlder," I explained slowly and in all seriousness. "I was called to the palace to perform experimentation on him."

"Ah," she said with a nod, finally understanding the meaning behind the warrant for my arrest. "So you are the sole purveyor of this knowledge, and that's why they issued the warrant? Then what is it you're doing here, seemingly turning yourself in?"

It was obvious that she didn't believe me. I was just going to have to convince her some other way. "The off-worlder's friends have come back for him. I told them that I saw him being held in the palace before they left."

"Your point being?" she demanded impatiently.

"I'm telling you that their friend is all that they want," I tried to explain, but I was becoming frustrated. "They'll leave once they have him back. There is no need to start a war with them if it can be avoided."

An out of breath guard suddenly burst into the room. She obviously had something important to report. "The off-worlders are at the gate, Lieutenant! They're demanding to speak with someone in authority!"

Chuli grabbed me by the back of my cloak and dragged me out of her office onto the plated platform that stood over the main gate. Before the huge gate, which was now closed, stood at least thirty uniformed men and women, all armed with deadly-looking advanced weaponry similar to what the visitors had been carrying before, among other types of weapons that I had never seen before. Sheppard and his friends were in the lead.

"We are prepared to blow this gate into smithereens if you don't open it up and at least talk with us," Sheppard shouted to no one in particular.

"I am in command of this outpost, Off-Worlder," Chuli shouted defiantly. "What do you want?"

"We want our friend back," he replied, right to the point. "And we already know he's being held prisoner in the palace, so don't try to tell me he's not here. If you return him to us, we are prepared to leave peacefully."

Chuli was shocked. It was just as I had told her, and she knew it. The significant risk to the city presented by the situation seemed to overwhelm her, but I knew that she was an honorable soldier. She would have to believe me now, and she certainly wasn't stupid enough to doubt their sincerity.

"They will kill us all if they destroy the gate!" I insisted softly.

"If you are not telling me the truth, I will see you executed for treason," she whispered to me threateningly. "Tell them to lower their weapons."

"Why?" I asked suspiciously. "What do you intend to do?"

She softened understandingly. "If they will lower their weapons, I will take them to the prisons to fetch their friend myself."

I breathed a heavy sigh of relief, giving her the most grateful smile I could manage. I felt as if a great weight had been removed from my shoulders.

"Colonel Sheppard!" I shouted eagerly, and saw him look up at me in response.

But before I could say more, the sky was suddenly washed out with the color of fire. The Blessing of the Ancients had been sent out from the Ancient structure against the off-worlders! Had Carson failed them?

He did tell me that part of the story when I asked, and I don't suppose he will mind if I share it with you now. I can still vividly hear his voice in my head, his words tinged with anxiety and emotion, and his accent once again became deeper and more pronounced. I can only hope that I do justice to him as I repeat it for you:

So, there I was, trying to make my way into the Ancient outpost from the secret entrance, slipping through shadows in the corridors, and tryin' hard not tae be heard. I did remember the way back to the laboratory, though, thank goodness. I managed tae get there unseen, as I suppose ye could safely assume that most o' the guards were out lookin' for us and were expectin' us to be somewhere outside of the palace, not inside. The chair room, which was right next to the laboratory, was'nae difficult tae find.

But sneakin' in was the easy part. It was sneakin' out after I'd stolen the Zero Point Module that was goin' tae be hard. The panels were all covered with dust, an' I was just about tae eject the ZPM from the power console when the door whooshed open. I ducked down behind the console. Luckily, I wasn't seen. It was the queen comin' in tae use the chair, an' she was accompanied by that awful woman that had me in her grip when Ky found me. There was a bandage on the side of her head, tough skull that one had, an' it seemed she had the dubious honor of bein' the queen's personal bodyguard for the day.

And it would've worked out and would'nae seen me until the queen sat down in the chair, and then began to call out the drones. I was worried for a while that I would'nae be able to stop it in time, too, but I did manage to yank out that ZPM, and just in the nick o' time too.

It was too late to worry about not bein' seen by then, though. When they realized what I'd done, the queen and that surly guard were sure pissed about it. I ran for my life when that brute of a woman drew her sword, and you'd better believe that she gave me a hell of a chase. She knew the layout of the palace and outpost much better than I did, and when I turned that last corner before I would'a been free an' out the secret tunnel, two more guards were blocking my path. I was terrified! They'd outmaneuvered me, and I was now back in that woman's evil clutches!