Gads! I'm so sorry for being tardy to update! I never intended to leave that cliffie so long, but I got tied up with a trip for my parent's 50th anniversary and then got sick. sigh Anyway, cliffie resolved! ;) Thanks so much for the reviews, I'm flattered at them for sure! Thanks for reading and reviewing! It's good to know that there are some people actually reading my story and actually liking it. ;)

--

Hide!

It was the first thought that went through Lorne's mind as the Jumper rematerialized and shot from the wormhole into the bright sunlight. But he knew, as he felt stun blasts hit the hull, it hadn't been quick enough. Banking hard, he used their invisibility to his advantage and flew away from the Wraith guards who still blindly fired into the air.

"Damn it!" Lorne shook his head.

"Couldn't have cloaked it any faster, sir," Lieutenant Simms commented quietly. "We didn't have a whole lot of choices. A MALP on recon would've only told them we were coming."

"I know," Lorne admitted. For a moment he damned the efficiency of the Ancient cloaking technology; so efficient that a Jumper couldn't cloak before entering a wormhole. They'd tried it with an unmanned one, and found themselves one Jumper short. The cloaking technology was so complete that nothing rematerialized on the other side. How the Jumper de-materialized in the first place, McKay had no idea. But, it didn't really matter. The whole point was they had to be uncloaked to enter a wormhole… something of a disadvantage when stealth was your trump card. But then again, Lorne concluded, the Ancients probably didn't do a hell of a lot of recon in Jumpers. There was some evidence of recon missions in the Ancients' past, but not a lot. With superior technology, they could win any all out fight. Why risk it?

Lorne pulled his thoughts back to the task on hand. "That settles it then," he muttered. "There's no going back for reinforcements. All that'll do is let the Wraith either reinforce their position, or just plain leave, taking our people with them or…" he left the unpleasant alternative unvoiced.

"Yes, sir," Simms nodded before turning to the team waiting tensely in the back of the Jumper. "Get ready."

Lorne activated the HUD and scrutinized the life form readings. Wraith were everywhere, but that was expected. What surprised him was the high concentration of humans in a relatively small area. Lorne shook his head. "No signal from their sub-q transmitters." Not that he was surprised. The Wraith surely would've deactivated or removed them long before now. "Looks like we find them the old fashioned way." Lorne turned the Jumper towards the highest concentration of human life signs and urged her into overdrive.

--

For the second time that day, John felt the oppressive force of the queen's mind on his and in spite of his best efforts, his knees buckled. Not that he was able to put up much of a fight in the first place, hell, his legs had be threatening to betray him on their own accord anyway.

"John!"

John managed to turn his head in time to see McKay, his entire body rigid, fall to his knees under the control of another queen. Past him, Ronon met the same fate at the hands of a third queen and Teyla fell to the fourth.

John returned his attention to the white haired queen as she walked up to him and looked down. Slowly, her gaze passed over his body, lingering on his mangled arm. Her eyes once more met his and her expression turned eager.

"Your wounds are severe, human." She hissed quietly. "You will not survive them in the Pit."

John's stomach did summersaults and he knew it was from more than her mental connection. He was bleeding badly and its effects were settling into his undernourished body rapidly. Still, he found strength in his blunt stubbornness; something that had got him into trouble more than once, but at times like this, he embraced it. "Care to… take a bet… on that?" He managed as he fought her control.

The queen lightly fingered the spikes of hair on his crown. "You are strong." She dropped her hand. "Still, you will not survive your wounds without care… and I am not inclined to give it to you."

"Why am I not… surprised?" John shot back.

She turned and looked at Ronon, who fought the control of the black haired queen. For several moments, the two queens silently locked gazes apparently communicating before the white haired one looked back to John. "Your companion is weakened by fever and wounds. He will not survive either."

"Still strong enough… to kill …you…" Ronon managed through clenched teeth.

She ignored him, her attention centered on John. "It is best to deal quickly with those weakened by fever."

John felt his body tremble uncontrollably under her control but still, he fought. "Is that what… you did to… Della? Dealt with… her?"

The queen's gaze narrowed and instantly, John felt her mind press harder against his before it retreated slightly and the queen nodded in understanding.

"The female," she concluded. "Yes." She looked away for a moment, almost as if she was bored. "Her death was… swifter then I would've liked."

For a moment, John's wounds were forgotten as he felt a surge of strength, driven by anger. He lifted himself slightly, but it was a brief victory as the queen glared at him and snarled, her mind weighing on him like an anvil. John grunted loudly. "You… bitch!" he choked.

But, the white haired queen seemed distracted. Her eyes narrowed in anger before she hissed loudly. She glared down at John. "Your people come for you!"

In spite of her control, John managed a humorless smile. "Told… you…"

The queen's eyes bore into him and suddenly pain ripped through his injured arm. A strangled cry escaped his lips and the queen smiled in response, before the pain redoubled.

John could feel the sweat trickling down his face as he struggled to even breathe. Somehow, the queen was augmenting the pain from his injuries, elevating it to near excruciating levels.

The queen's smile was triumphant. Poised over him, she raised her feeding hand.

--

At first, Lorne couldn't quite believe his eyes. Of all the human life signs they'd detected, the chances of easily spotting their people had been next to none. But right in front of him, he saw all four. Surprise gave way to urgency as his mind registered what he was seeing. "Queens!"

"Sir!" Simms piped in, "the Colonel!"

Lorne's eyes widened. "Damn it!" Poised over Sheppard, the queen was too close for a drone. Lorne closed his eyes briefly and commanded the Jumper to disengage the cloak.

The moment of surprise was apparently all that Ronon needed. As Lorne lowered the Jumper quickly towards the ground he watched as the Satedan, freed of the control by a distracted black haired queen, leapt up and grabbed her head, snapping her neck instantly.

Hovering a couple feet above ground, Lorne figured he was close enough. "Go!" he shouted to the Marines as he smacked the hatch release. "Take out the queens first if you can!" He nodded to Simms as the lieutenant sprang from his chair and grabbed his P-90. Every fiber in Lorne's body wanted to go with him, but he forced himself to stay in the seat. Their surprise attack would undoubtedly bring reinforcements and he could help the team much more by using the Jumper's drones to stop them.

As Simms and the last of the Marines jumped from the back of the Jumper, Lorne closed the hatch and ascended. Watching the HUD closely, he chose his first set of targets; a large group of Wraith moving towards their position.

--

John felt his death approaching, but, as was his nature, he met the prospect with his eyes open, and a blunt determination to survive. He pushed back against her control, against the pain and held onto a thin strand of hope.

"You're optimistic to the point of nauseating, Sheppard."

For a moment, the memory of the hellhole that passed for an Afghan prison invaded his thoughts.

John stared at his copilot. "Yep. They'll come for us."

He'd gotten out of there alive, even if his teammate hadn't. Briefly, John wondered if this time, his luck had run out.

Pulling himself back to the present, John stared defiantly at the queen and struggled to bite back his grunts of pain. His whole body shook with the effort, but he refused to back down.

Movement from the corner of his eye coincided with the fire of pain ebbing in his body. It was still there, still considerable, but it was almost blissfully non-existent compared to the queen's manipulation. He turned his head and caught sight of a Jumper appearing from nowhere. Abruptly, the queen's mind left his. Pushed beyond what his injured body could take, the void left by the queen's consciousness was filled with blackness and helplessly, John succumbed to it.

--

Ronon embraced the moment of vengeful pleasure he felt as the queen's body go limp in his grip. With a growl of his own he dropped her body and started towards the queen that held Sheppard in her grasp. The warrior within him wanted nothing more than to run her down and kill her, but as she turned away from Sheppard, loyalty to his friend took over within Ronon as he watched Sheppard collapse.

Running to the body of a dead Malnek, Ronon never broke stride as he grabbed his sword and forcefully yanked it from the carcass, before he turned towards his friend. Staggering to a stop next to Sheppard, Ronon tightly gripped the sword with both hands. A cold, half smile turned up one side of his mouth, as he silently dared any Wraith to come within striking distance of him.

--

She wouldn't leave Rodney's side, no matter what happened. Abruptly, as the queens retreated under the attack of the Lanteans, she found herself with the option to actually move, and she chose to stay at Rodney's side.

Teyla saw John collapse, unconscious but not fed upon and she saw Ronon charge to his defense.

"We have to get the hell out of here!" Rodney insisted as he pointed towards another entrance on the far side of the Round, where at least a dozen Wraith were running towards them. "Before they get in range!"

Teyla grabbed his arm and started running towards the Marines laying down cover fire. "Run, Rodney!" Grateful she didn't have to ask more than once, Teyla restricted her stride to match Rodney's and stayed with him as they headed towards the Marines, who were rapidly circling Ronon and Sheppard.

--

"Oh, no you don't," Lorne muttered aloud as he watched the Wraith race towards his people. Briefly closing his eyes, Lorne sent three drones directly at them. He smiled as the drones, far enough from his people not to hurt them, impacted, consuming the Wraith in a flash of orange and yellow. Lorne smacked his headset. "Simms! High tail it! It's not going to take them long to come at us again!"

Concentrating on the HUD, Lorne landed the Jumper and opened the hatch, all the while keeping an eye out for his next target.

--

Ronon lowered his sword as the constant gunfire from the Marines took out the remaining Wraith with only one soldier going down to stunner fire. Another Marine grabbed the stunned soldier as Ronon dropped to Sheppard's side, turning his friend on his back and frowning at his pale skin. Ronon fought back his fatigue and lightheadedness as one of the soldiers, Lieutenant Simms he recalled, stopped in front of him.

"You okay?"

"Been better," Ronon answered quietly.

"Anderson! Reeves! The Colonel!" Simms ordered.

The two Marines ran up to Sheppard and carefully picked him up as mindful of his wounds as they could be.

Ronon watched them for a moment before begrudgingly admitting to himself that he probably didn't have the strength to carry his injured friend. He took a moment to look at Teyla and Rodney as they joined the group. Fatigue made Ronon's legs heavy, but he forced them to move as they headed to the Jumper while the remaining Marines covered their six.

--

Every part of Rodney's body shook as he dropped into a seat in the back of the Jumper. His gaze focused on Sheppard's unconscious form as two Marines laid him on the floor before another closed the hatch.

"Hang on!" Lorne's order sounded from the cockpit and Rodney felt himself rocked to his left as the Jumper lurched off the ground. Reaching out to steady himself, he inadvertently bumped into Ronon who sat next to him. Rodney looked up, meeting the Satedan's gaze. Ronon's eyes were bloodshot, his face was pale and if it was anyone else, Rodney would've sworn he looked weak… something he'd never voice to Ronon. But, in that silent moment Rodney was sure one thought passed between them.

We're alive.

Rodney nodded slightly before pulling in a deep breath and standing. He wormed his way through a couple Marines and came up behind Lorne's chair. "Wraith at the gate?"

"Not that I can tell yet," Lorne answered. He chanced a glance at Rodney. "Could be a bumpy ride, McKay. Better sit down."

"Yes, thank you Dad," Rodney snapped, but the effort to even snark at Lorne was almost too much. He staggered, before quickly grabbing the back of Lorne's chair. He wasn't sporting the injuries Sheppard and Ronon were, but dehydration, malnourishment and exhaustion were taking their toll on him, in spite of the adrenaline all of them had relied on to survive the fight.

"That wasn't a request, Doc," Lorne added, his tone hardening slightly while his gaze never left the HUD.

Ten different snappy comebacks flashed through Rodney's head, but he lacked the strength to voice even one of them. Stumbling backwards, he felt one of the Marine's hands on his shoulders before he was guided to a seat. Rodney leaned back heavily and turned his head slightly, focusing on Sheppard. One of the Marines was rapidly applying field dressings and pressure bandages to the Colonel's injuries, while another reached for his neck and palpated a pulse. Rodney looked up, meeting the concerned gazes of Ronon and Teyla. If I look as bad as they do… He swallowed against a raspy throat and focused on one of the Marines attending Sheppard. "Is he okay?" He croaked.

The Marine looked at him for a moment, his expression grim, before returning his attention to Sheppard.

"Wraith all around the gate," Lorne commented to no one in particular. "This'll be tricky."

"Dial!" Rodney managed. "Elizabeth will keep the shield up until she hears from us."

"I like that idea," Lorne replied. "They'll either go through the gate and meet the shield, or we'll have time to assemble a strike team and they'll take 'em out." Lorne nodded to Simms who sat in the co-pilot seat. "Dial."

Rodney blinked hard and rolled his head right, forcing his double vision to focus on a single HUD image. As soon as the gate was active, Lorne opened a channel to Atlantis.

"Atlantis this is Lorne. We have Colonel Sheppard's team, but are coming in hot. Estimate 25 Wraith at the gate with more on the way. Keep the shield up and get an assault team in the gate room immediately!"

"Major, this is Weir. Copy that. Team on their way."

"Acknowledged, ma'am. Have Beckett and a medical team standing by in the Jumper bay. We have injuries."

"Major!"

Rodney quickly turned his head towards the voice, instantly regretting the quick motion. One of the Marines tending Sheppard stood, pulled a large case from the overhead storage and hastily propped Sheppard's legs up on it, before carefully lifting his arm. "The Colonel's bleeding badly. He needs medical attention ASAP."

"Workin' on it, Corporal." Lorne's voice was even, but still held a note of tension.

Rodney forced his attention to focus on the HUD again as half the Wraith life signs disappeared. He blinked hard, hoping it wasn't his vision playing tricks on him.

"Half went through the gate," Lorne confirmed. "Atlantis, please tell me you still have the shield up?"

"Affirmative, Major," Weir answered. "We just saw several impacts on the shield."

"Half the bad guys," Lorne replied.

"Good to hear." Weir's voice was dryly cynical. "Assault team assembled."

"Copy that, we're almost to the gate. ETA: 15 seconds."

"Lowering the shield," Weir answered. "We'll clear the floor for you. Come home."

"Acknowledged." Lorne squinted as the remaining dozen or so Wraith disappeared through the gate. "Wraith soldiers inbound!"

Rodney could feel the vibration of the drive pods retracting as they raced towards the event horizon and in the next second, he felt the familiar tingling of wormhole transport. Emerging in Atlantis' gate room, the next thing Rodney was aware of was distinct thuds on the hull of the Jumper as they bowled over several Wraith.

"Remind me to stay off the road when you're driving, sir," Simms quipped.

Machine gun fire echoed as Lorne activated the radio.

"Dr. Weir?"

"Gate room is secure, Major. Beckett and a team are in the Jumper bay. What are the injuries?"

Rodney could feel the Jumper ascend as Lorne replied. "Colonel Sheppard is unconscious and bleeding badly and his whole team could use some time in the infirmary."

"Copy that, I'll meet you in the Jumper Bay. Weir out."

Rodney looked down at one of the Marines kneeling next to Sheppard and watched as the soldier shook his head in frustration.

"Come on, sir," the soldier muttered, his hand never leaving Sheppard's neck.

Rodney couldn't lift his head as the Jumper settled into place in the bay and the back hatch slowly lowered. He didn't have to open his eyes to know Carson was there.

"Good Lord!" Beckett's voice preceded fast footsteps as the Marines vacated the Jumper and the medical team entered.

--

"Colonel? Son, can ye hear me?"

Carson peeled back the pressure bandaged from Sheppard's arm and winced before pressing a gloved hand over a section still bleeding heavily. Most of his medical career he'd spent in the city. First in Edinburgh, then London, but he could still recognize an animal attack when he saw one. He'd seen dog attacks in London, but they were nothing compared to this. The colonel's arm was savaged in several places and would need extensive repair. Bleeding, not spurting… Carson mentally compared the symptoms to anatomy. "Looks like it missed the artery, thankfully, but he's still bleeding heavily. Caught the brachial vein from the looks of it. Someone get me a clamp, now." He looked up at his medic, Carolyn Lansing, who pulled a stethoscope from her ears.

"BP is 90/60, pulse 110," Carolyn reported.

He nodded. "Start an IV, Ringers, wide open. We've got to get his volume up… and get him on oxygen." He shook his head. "What the bloody hell did this?"

"Malnek," Ronon immediately answered.

"A what?" Carson questioned.

"Pit Bull on steroids," Rodney supplied.

Carson furrowed his brows before again shaking his head. "Tell me later." He switched his attention to one of the physicians on his staff who was taking Ronon's BP. "Cole? Good lass. Get the vitals on Teyla and Rodney as well and triage their injuries. We need to know what we're dealing with here."

Cole glanced up at him and nodded slightly.

He looked at his nurse. "Susan, get me some sterile gauze, I need to see what I'm doing here, but we're not moving him one inch until this vein is clamped off."

"Carson?" Carolyn looked up at him. "IV started."

Carson nodded as he moved his hand and allowed the nurse to try to clear some blood and expose the lacerated vein. "Carolyn, take a look at the other wounds and let me know if any of them are as serious as this." He knew he was treading close to treating his medic like a doctor, but Carolyn Lansing had been on his staff from the beginning and he had nothing but trust and respect for her trauma skills, honed by years as a paramedic with the Chicago Fire Department.

"Good," Carson muttered to his nurse as he focused on Sheppard's arm. He shook his head. "Get me some damned light here!" He heard rustling behind him, before a beam of light focused on Sheppard's arm.

"Work, Doc?"

Carson glanced back for a second and gave a perfunctory nod to Lieutenant Simms who held a Xenon flashlight high over his head. "Perfect, Lieutenant." Carefully working his way into the wound, Carson found his target just as a quiet moan from Sheppard was followed immediately by weak movement. "Damn it," Carson looked up. "Colonel? Hold still. Can ye hear me lad?" Carson gritted his teeth and returned his attention to the task. He knew poking around in Sheppard's arm would be painful if the colonel woke, but the wound was still bleeding badly and from the look of Sheppard's vitals, the colonel had lost a considerable amount of blood. Combined with physical stress and what looked like dehydration, he was in no condition to be losing more. Carson didn't have time for local anesthetic or niceties. It was times like this when the first rule of medicine: Do No Harm, ran head-long into the reality of saving the patient's life.

Carson prodded the tissue and the colonel moaned again, this time louder. Once more, he found his target, took a deep breath and clamped it. "All right, that gets it. Immobilize the arm and let's get him onto a gurney and to the infirmary."

"Carson? The other wounds are deep but not critical. He'll probably need stitches, but the pressure bandages are working." Carolyn sat back.

"Good. We'll look at those when we get to the infirmary. Call ahead and have the OR prepped. I want to get this clamp off and that vein repaired as soon as possible. Get Peterson to scrub in. I want a vascular surgeon in on this."

Carolyn jumped to her feet. "Got it." She hurried out the back of the Jumper.

It was then that Carson saw Elizabeth, standing rigid but quiet at the foot of the ramp. Carefully keeping his expression neutral, he nodded once at her. "Okay, people," he looked down at his patient as Susan finished a quick splint to Sheppard's arm. "Too tight in here for a stretcher. Let's get the colonel on a backboard to get him out." With the assistance of his medics, Carson quickly got Sheppard out of the Jumper and onto a waiting stretcher.

"Ronon has a wound on his side that's infected. Looks like he'll need broad spectrum antibiotics and the wound will need to be debrided." Cole reported. "Other than that, they're all dehydrated and look to be malnourished. They're banged up and sporting what look like superficial wounds."

Carson nodded as he secured Sheppard to the stretcher. "Aye, thank you. Everyone goes to the infirmary for complete checkups." He took a second to glance at Ronon who stood at an awkward angle. "On the stretcher with ye." He pointed to the second stretcher and hardened his gaze as Ronon glared at him, his dark eyes all the more intense when contrasted against his pale face. "Don't you look at me that way," he scolded. "On the stretcher with ye!" Carson raised his voice. "Now!"

Ronon managed a slightly bemused look before he slowly settled onto a stretcher without a comment.

"Wait!"

Carson turned, halted by Rodney's unexpectedly strong voice. "Rodney?" His gaze narrowed at the borderline panicked look on Rodney's face.

"Transmitters!" Rodney reached over his shoulder, rubbing his back vigorously.

"What…" Elizabeth started only to be interrupted by Teyla.

"The Wraith implanted us with transmitters before they took us to the planet."

"And you didn't mention this before we returned to Atlantis?" Lorne interrupted hotly.

"I didn't… couldn't think," Rodney stammered.

"None of us did," Teyla insisted quietly.

Carson sighed. Pushed past their mental and physical limits it was a wonder any of them were standing, much less able to think properly. As much as he wanted to blame Rodney for forgetting, he simply could not.

"Carson, we have to get those out, now." Elizabeth fixed an intense gaze on him.

Carson looked down at Sheppard and shook his head. "You want me to cut into his back and remove that thing now? I can't. The Colonel isn't stable. It's bad enough that we have to perform necessary surgery on his arm!"

"They're not subspace! The Wraith would have to be close by to detect the signal!" The effort of his exclamation forced Rodney to latch onto the nearest medic, if only to keep from falling.

"We don't know that for sure, Rodney," Teyla insisted quietly.

"It's the only thing that makes sense," Rodney insisted.

"Whatever the type," Elizabeth interrupted insistently, "Atlantis' survival depends on the ruse that we destroyed the city. We can't take the chance of being detected."

Carson swallowed hard and nodded. As much as he hated it, he knew she was right… and knew Sheppard would want it this way. "Aye," he agreed quietly.

"Wait…" Rodney pushed himself away from the medic supporting him. "Dampening field." He blinked hard and took a deep breath. "Dampening field around the infirmary. The signal wouldn't escape. That would buy you time to wait and remove the transmitter from Sheppard." Rodney's eyes slid shut and he groaned, reaching blindly for the medic who quickly grabbed him.

"Rodney, sit down before you fall down," Carson insisted, glad that Rodney didn't put up a fight when the medic eased him down on the Jumper's open hatch.

In spite of his condition, Rodney still reached up and snatched the medic's radio off his ear. "Radek, its Rodney. I need a dampening field around the infirmary right away. It needs to block any sort of Wraith signal."

"Dampening field? What? Why?" Radek replied over the radio, his tone of voice clearly confused.

"No time for the play by play!" Rodney snapped with surprised intensity. "Just do it fast!"

"Quickly, Radek," Weir confirmed.

"Will take a few minutes but I'll do this immediately." Radek responded.

Carson shook his head as Rodney waved his hand impatiently at the medic.

"Help me up! The longer we sit here, the more risk we take that the signal from these transmitters will get picked up by your friendly neighborhood Hive!" Leaning heavily on the medic, Rodney slowly walked towards the Jumper Bay entrance.

"Right, let's move." Carson grabbed one side of Sheppard's stretcher as two other medics also took hold and they quickly wheeled Sheppard from the Jumper Bay just behind the rest of the group.

--

The faint vibration under his back confused him and so did the bright lights above; visible even through lidded eyes.

John inhaled. The air he took in was sweet with oxygen and after a brief struggle, he managed to open his eyes. Bright lights passed over his head and he suddenly realized whatever he was laying on, was moving. His whole body hurt. He felt like he'd been run over by a car… repeatedly. Turning his head slightly his mouth automatically turned up in the slightest of smile at the concerned face that greeted him. "…lizbth," he managed quietly.

There was no way she could cover her concern, although she tried to hide it behind a strained smile. "John. You're back on Atlantis. We're taking you to the infirmary. You're going to be just fine."

A strong sense of worry gnawed at him and he managed to furrow his brows.

"John?"

Elizabeth's question was worried. She must've noticed the change in his expression. "Rnon… Tyla… Rdny?" he slurred, the effort of speaking almost too much for him. He heard her sigh as her tense smile returned.

"They're all right, John. You're all going to the infirmary."

Urgency gripped him and in spite of his injuries, John tried to sit up. "Transmitters…" He felt a cool and gentle but firm hand on his chest.

"Zelenka has raised a dampening field around the infirmary," Elizabeth reassured. "We won't be detected before Carson can remove them. It's okay."

"Colonel?"

Another voice grabbed John's attention and he slowly turned his head towards it. Carson's strongly reassuring expression met his gaze.

"You'll be fine, son," Carson said gently.

John's eyelids felt heavy. He had no strength left to fight the warm darkness that surged through him. Closing his eyes, he succumbed.