December 5th

"What's the plan today Sir?"

Lorne glanced over at Coughlin, the younger man's unfailing support and the implication that of course Evan would fix this was a pressure he didn't mind – it was his job to get them all back to Atlantis in one piece and it helped that his men didn't seem to have considered the 'what if' if he couldn't.

"More of the same Lieutenant," he told Nate, returning to his post beside their cell door. It wasn't exactly a cell as such – there were no bars on the windows and the door wasn't even locked, let along barred against their exit. They could leave whenever they wanted and walk around freely too. There'd be no point though – he'd made an agreement even though in hindsight that hadn't been one of his better decisions. As a consequence they were now the 'guests' of an unlikely host, on a mission to save an entire village of women, children and men whose struggle to survive the harsh conditions of the Pegasus galaxy was evident in their thin frames, tattered clothing, and general air of neediness. It hurt Evan's compassionate heart to look at them – how could he have said no when it was so obvious they needed help?

"The boys and I will continue the training then," Nate said.

"And I'll keep pushing for an agreement to bring in more help," Evan finished. How did he get them into this mess? Thinking back to day one of what was turning into a much longer away mission than anyone intended; Evan questioned his choices for the hundredth time.

- Three days ago -

"Are you going home this Christmas Sir?" Reed asked.

Team Lorne had just completed a successful trading mission with the people living closest to the gate on M5R-990. The Daedalus regular resupply missions gave Atlantis sufficient non-perishables but they still needed to bring in fresh supplies wherever possible. A mission to get agreement – the toing and froing involved in negotiating something both parties could agree to – wasn't Lorne's favourite kind of mission, but it was satisfying when it went as well as it had that day. Besides, these people were nice – they'd come back every six months to renegotiate and always treated the Atlantis team fairly and well. Lorne would be happy to come back soon, maybe bring Jennifer so she could run another clinic, give the villagers a leg up on getting through the upcoming winter.

"Not this year," Evan replied to Dan's question. He'd already approved leave for Coughlin and Chiang. Dan had taken his leave in the middle of the year – Christmas in July he'd called it, something his family did to allow some to attend who couldn't make it in December.

"Are we having an Atlantis tree this year?" Reed continued, as they cleared the trees and the Stargate came into view in front of them.

Aside from Evan himself, Lorne's team were all original expedition – they'd come in with Elizabeth and Colonel Sheppard on day one and signed on to stay for as long as they could. It had been tough on them, losing their leader, although at least they'd been in the city when it happened.

"Don't go there," he reminded himself, pushing aside his ongoing resentment over riding it out safely on the Apollo. "Colonel Carter already spoke to General O'Neill," he told Reed. "They'll send the tree through a couple of weeks before Christmas Eve." It was a large concession on the General's part – to take Earth's only ZPM and use it for what could be seen as a frivolous purpose. "Better start working on those decorations now," he quipped, a half smile playing over his lips.

"Got plenty of time Sir," Dan shrugged.

Lorne grinned. "That's what I thought last year. Ended up hanging mine early on Christmas Eve."

They'd made it to the clearing where the Stargate and DHD were located. Lorne dialled the gate himself, eager to get back to Atlantis. Glancing at his watch he smiled. "Right on time."

"Sending IDC," Nate reported as soon as the wormhole was established.

Evan hadn't even taken a step away from the DHD when abruptly the wormhole disappeared. "What the hell?" he frowned, reaching forward to try dialling again.

"D-don't bother M-m-major Lorne," a voice from trees drew their attention. "It w-won't work."

"Eldon?" Lorne looked on incredulously as the familiar figure walked towards them. He looked a little different, more together, but still had that hesitant posture that suggested he wasn't sure of his place.

"Hello M-major Lorne," Eldon smiled, acting like they'd just stumbled across each other in a busy market or something.

"Not that we aren't happy to see you," Evan glanced at his men to see them all watching Eldon with varying degrees of bemusement, "but what are you doing here?"

"L-l-looking for you," Eldon said simply.

Evan hadn't lied, he was glad to see Eldon again. The young man lived in Atlantis for a few months after they'd rescued him from Olesia's penal colony island - he'd been so wide eyed and uncertain Evan had taken him under his wing, seeing him settled into quarters and making sure he had people to talk to and help finding his way. When Eldon decided he didn't like living in the confines of a city in the middle of an ocean - something he'd been adamant he wanted when he'd first arrived in Atlantis – Evan had been supportive. His team were the ones assigned to accompany Eldon to a friendly planet still welcoming refugees from Wraith attacks elsewhere in the galaxy. They'd been eager for Eldon to settle with them once his genius with machinery became apparent but it was Lorne's decision to leave Eldon there when he'd requested it. Atlantis kept regular contact, provided assistance where they could, until they'd been forced to cut ties as part of the move to another planet. It was a tough decision to make, not informing many of their old contacts of their new location, but Colonel Carter felt it necessary until they could assure themselves the Asurans wouldn't easily find them through one of those alternative sources.

"How'd you find us?"

"I-I remembered your sh-schedule," Eldon explained. "Th-this is when you w-w-were due to return to M5R-990."

"Clever," Evan allowed. The other man had a photographic memory – it wasn't inconceivable he'd have been shown their off world schedule although it was more likely he'd hacked the system and looked himself. Eldon had a level of curiosity that seemed to drive him – he'd gotten himself into trouble more than once getting into places he then couldn't get out of. Lorne himself had rescued the younger man from the outskirts of the city a handful of times.

"You shut down the gate?" he demanded, his expression grim.

"Y-yes," Eldon owned up, a hint of defiance in his manner. Whatever his purpose it was clear he was committed to this course of action.

"Why?" Evan questioned bluntly.

"I need your help." It was the first thing Eldon said that wasn't stuttered out – said in a low, heartfelt tone it carried more power than if he'd shouted.

"And you couldn't just come out of the trees and ask?"

"I tried d-dialling Atlantis m-months ago," Eldon began.

"but it didn't' work," Evan finished, rubbing a hand to the back of his neck, guilt surfacing. "Listen, something happened and we had to move the city. We'd have gotten back in touch eventually but the higher ups decided to play it cautious to start. I'm sorry we weren't there for you when you needed us."

"It d-d-doesn't matter," Eldon rushed out. "I-I know h-how you do things. Th-th-the kind of help I need y-you c-can't give … not willingly."

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that? Tell me what you need," Lorne kept his tone pleasant and easy going. "We'll dial Atlantis – I'm sure Colonel Carter will be glad to lend whatever assistance you require."

"Sh-she will give us weapons, teach us how to fight?" Eldon shot back. "Will she kill Torrell and his men?"

"Torrell?" Evan frowned. "What does he have to do with all this?"

"I-I'll tell you everything M-major, when we get to Olesia," Eldon moved towards the DHD.

"Olesia? Last time I checked you were living with the people on 723!" Lorne narrowed his eyes at Eldon, his frustration and impatience apparent.

"I h-had to n-n-know," Eldon stuttered.

"So the whole 'I can't live in the city anymore' thing was a ruse?" Lorne should have seen it – Eldon has been in love with everything to do with Atlantis until that day he'd requested the move – Evan should have realised how unlikely that was. Because while they'd happily found Eldon a new home, no way would they have assisted him to go back to Olesia.

"I'm s-s-sorry," Eldon looked down at the ground, guilt hovering over him like a cloud. He'd abused Lorne's goodwill but Evan couldn't hold it against him. In the same place the need to know the fate of his home planet would drive Lorne just as much.

"We're not going to Olesia," Lorne stated firmly, resting his hand on his P-90. No way would he actually use it on Eldon – but hopefully the kid wouldn't know that.

"P-please," Eldon begged. He looked around the clearing, visibly agitated; Lorne guessed because he knew the longer they hung around the more likely it was that Atlantis would dial in.

"No, I think we'll just chill here for a while," Evan smiled. "Colonel Sheppard will be happy to see you, Rodney too."

"N-no one will dial in," Eldon held up an odd looking machine, cobbled together from what looked like parts of an ancient device and the remnants of his GDO. "The gate won't w-work at all … not until you a-agree to c-come with me."

"Look, we'll send a team to Olesia, okay?" Lorne promised, sure he could convince Colonel Carter of the necessity. "Just let me check in with Atlantis first."

Eldon hesitated for a moment and then shook his head emphatically. "N-no … you- you- you're sneaky Major L-lorne. Th-this is the o-only way."

"Sneaky?" Lorne exchanged a glance with Coughlin, amused at that assessment. "Am I sneaky Lieutenant?"

"Only when the situation calls for it Sir," Nate replied briskly.

"Right," Evan said it blandly, his words nothing more than a way for him to buy some thinking time. Eldon was determined and at this point it didn't seem likely he'd change his mind. If they wanted to move forward they were going to have to do it in the direction Eldon wanted, for the time being. Once they were on Olesia Lorne might have a better chance of convincing Eldon to bring Atlantis into his solution.

"So why us then, if you're so worried we'll trick you?"

"N-not trick," Eldon seemed offended they'd think he had that opinion of them. "S-s-smart. We n-n-need that now. Y-you helped m-me Major L-lorne, when I f-first lived on A-Atlantis. You f-found me a n-new home and you d-didn't l-leave until you n-n-knew I'd be okay. I-I trust you."

"You trust me?" Evan's brows rose sharply.

"Y-yes," Eldon said earnestly, his expression such a mix of hope and despair Evan had to look away.

The ground around the DHD was mostly gravel – a dull cream colour with a few darker pebbles showing through – as he looked at it an idea occurred to him, by no means as good as he'd like, but better than doing nothing. "Okay," he told Eldon abruptly, half his attention on the younger man, the rest on the ground beneath his feet. "We'll come with you but there are conditions."

"W-what conditions?"

"First, we're not your prisoners," Lorne said firmly. He kept the movement of his right boot to a minimum, carefully pushing pebbles across the surface, glancing down as little as possible while still making his message readable. "No restraints, no prison cells. We move around freely or it's no deal."

"Olesia no l-longer has a pr-pr-ison," Eldon revealed. "I-if you agree to h-help us, we-we'll work w-w-with you."

"Good," Evan said approvingly. "Second, we keep our weapons."

That one should cause Eldon to pause. Glancing down quickly, Evan widened his stance, accessing the last few darker pebbles nearby to complete his message. It was a long shot anyone would even notice it, even more of a long shot they'd show Jennifer and she would know what it meant. Since he didn't have any other options it was the best he could do.

"W-why?" Eldon frowned worriedly.

"From the sounds of it you have trouble of the armed variety," Lorne pointed out. "No way can I take my team into that kind of situation un-armed. You say you trust me – if that's true you know I wouldn't condone using our weapons against anyone undefended."

Eldon assessed Lorne for a few moments, reading the truth of his statements, and then gave a jerky nod.

"Last condition," Lorne nodded his head towards his team mates. "We stay together. No using my men to get me to do what you want. I'll assess your situation in good faith and then decide how best to help you."

"B-but-," Eldon began.

"I wasn't finished," Lorne said firmly. "You've gone to a lot of trouble to get my help Eldon. You should know that I won't be a puppet for you or anyone. If you're not going to listen to my recommendations there's no point in going any further."

"I n-need to b-be a part of this," Eldon stuttered.

"We won't shut you out," Lorne promised.

"Okay," Eldon seemed satisfied.

Evan briefly considered making reporting to Atlantis a condition too but knew he'd pushed Eldon as far as he could. It might not be apparent from his appearance but when Eldon dug in his heels he dug them in deep - Lorne could wait it out on 990 but that could take days and find them still no closer to a solution. "Then dial the gate," he stepped away from the DHD a small amount, covering some of his pebble message just in case Eldon noticed and realised what he'd done.

Eldon messed with his makeshift device and then started pressing buttons on the DHD. The gate burst into life, settling into watery stillness.

"M-major," he turned to Evan hesitantly, doubting when it came to the crux that the Atlantis team would actually go through with their agreement.

"Let's go," Lorne nodded to Coughlin to lead the way, Reed and Chiang following their team mate through the event horizon. "After you," he told Eldon.

"No. To-to-together," Eldon countered, some of his newer found confidence showing through.

Evan pursed his lips, took a deep breath, and with one backward glanced, stepped through to Olesia, Eldon at his side.

Olesia wasn't the place it had been when Lorne escorted Doctor Weir there just a few months after he'd first arrived in the Pegasus galaxy. Things were grim – Lorne and his team could see that straight up. The survivors lived on the island now in a makeshift village of sorts, an irony not lost on Evan. Access to the gate was crucial to their survival even if it could also be the source of their problems. It was a common theme – any one of a hundred worlds could bury their gate to stop Wraith darts coming through to cull – none did because they were too reliant on gate travel for escape and to find supplies when the Wraith destroyed their villages and their crops.

Olesia had one advantage – the Wraith had trashed their city so heavily, culling a large proportion of the population first, that it would be a while before they'd think to come back and see if there were survivors enough to make culling again worthwhile. Lorne found out later that parts of the city were still standing after the Wraith attack – that enough of the people had survived to begin building a fairer community. Against all the odds Eldon's family had been one of those to survive – they'd welcomed Eldon back into the fold with open emotion. He'd found his place then – his brains and his ability to improvise a godsend to helping Olesia on the road back to something they could be proud of. That was until new problems had emerged to halt their progress.

Lorne let Eldon escort them to a small hut.

"Y-you can stay here," Eldon announced, opening the door to a dusty, primitive interior.

"Right, sure, this is great," Lorne quipped, glancing inside before turning back to Eldon. "So, you were going to explain Torrell."

"L-later," Eldon backed away. "Th-the village leaders w-will want to sp-speak to you f-first. I'll g-go and g-g-get them n-now." His stuttering was more pronounced and before Lorne could question why, Eldon had scampered off, leaving Evan and his team to their own devices.

"This is … different," Lorne glanced around, noting the surrounding huts all similar to theirs. The atmosphere was bleak … there were people around but none of them seemed to care about the four new arrivals in their midst.

"They look starved," Nate commented.

"They do," Lorne agreed grimly.

"What now Sir?" Like Evan, since they were there now, Nate wanted to do something.

"Take Jimmy back to the gate and see if you can dial out," Lorne ordered. "It's unlikely you can but we need to confirm it."

"And if we can't, what then?" Nate persisted.

"I left Colonel Sheppard a message back on 990," Lorne revealed in a low tone. "It might take a while for them to work it out and it won't lead them here directly but they'll know we're okay. It'll prompt the Colonel to strip all the last addresses from the DHD too."

"If they see Olesia in the list it'll stand out," Coughlin concluded.

"Hopefully," Evan agreed. "Like I said, it's a long shot. Eldon's device means they won't be able to dial in so we're looking at the Daedalus bringing them here."

"What was the message Sir?" Nate asked curiously.

"Sixteen," Lorne shrugged ruefully. "It was all I could think of – Jennifer will know what to do, assuming she sees it."

"Sixteen," Nate repeated, no better informed than before he'd asked.

"Don't worry about it Nate," Lorne slapped a hand to the other man's shoulder. "Go check out the gate. We'll work out a strategy once we know where we stand."

"Yes Sir," Nate motioned for Chiang to fall in beside him, the two men striding quickly back the way they'd come.

"What about me Sir?" Reed asked.

"Let's start talking to some of these people," Lorne suggested. "Find out what's been going on around here."

Reed nodded, moving to Evan's side as they approached the closest of the locals.

- Present -

What followed had explained Eldon's desperation. Torrell and a band of criminals – all the former residents of the island who'd earned their place there in the past – came to the village every few weeks. They'd ransack the village, knock the people around, before demanding all the crops and supplies available, leaving little behind. The Olesian's were too weak, defenceless against the aggression of hardened criminals. They saw no other choice but to give in, to give Torrell what he wanted, even though it left them to work even harder for the basic necessities.

What made it tougher was that Torrell wasn't using the gate – if it had been that easy Eldon's device would already have fixed their problems. No, somehow Torrell had acquired one of Olesia's former security vessels – the kind that saved Colonel Sheppard's team when they'd first arrived. Eldon thought they must have come back through the gate after the survivors first moved to the island, hiding out until they could take one of the boats used to transport everyone and return to the city. From there it would have been easy enough to locate the security terminal and just dumb luck to find a ship intact. The weaponry was formidable – Eldon's ingenuity, while impressive, was no match and so far he'd been unable to find a way to disable Torrell's ship like he had the stargate.

"It's A Bug's Life," Reed commented at the time. "They're the ants, Eldon is Flik, and Torrell is the grasshopper bad guy."

"If that makes us the circle people I'm not going for that analogy Airman," Lorne drawled, amused. He and Reed shared a common bond, both being Uncles to children young enough to enjoy every Disney movie on the market. Lorne has seen that particular movie more than once … secretly he had to admit Reed was spot on. They wouldn't be building a fake bird to fool Torrell, but surely there was something else they could do to help.

The elders of the village hadn't said it but Lorne knew they were all thinking it. Atlantis was indirectly responsible for their troubles – Colonel Sheppard gave the order to send all the convicts through the gate and Lorne himself had dialled one of the alpha site back up planets. They'd sent the good with the bad, unable to distinguish between them, inadvertently giving real criminals their freedom. Lorne felt they owed the Olesians help now to fix the problem they'd created. Plus, if Torrell was terrorising this village in all likelihood it wasn't the only one – Lorne didn't know for sure but he'd be surprised in the Olesian security vessel didn't have space flight capability. Short range maybe but they'd be able to get to nearby planets. Helping Eldon could help other villages as well, assuming they could eliminate the problem Torrell presented.

The elders wanted Lorne to use the weapons they'd brought with them to neutralise Torrell – translated Lorne assumed that meant stake out the village and ambush the man and his crew when they attacked next. Of course he'd refused.

"There's a big difference between killing someone when you're under attack," he'd said sternly, "and killing because it's an easy solution. Torrell should pay for his crimes. I'm willing to help capture him and see that happens. Anything else is out of the question."

They'd argued the point all through the first day and into the next until Lorne's stubborn determination to give no ground finally made it through their thick skulls.

Now, after three days with the Olesians, an alternative plan was starting to take shape. Coughlin, with help from Reed and Chiang, was training every able bodied person in the village. Not to fight for the sake of it but for the confidence it would lend them. They had to stand up to Torrell, something they just weren't capable of without some guidance and skills. Nate was concentrating on hand-to-hand to start with. Eldon thought they'd have at least a couple of weeks before Torrell and his criminal crew were due back.

Evan's job was harder – four men wasn't enough against the small army Torrell commanded, even without the added complication of the Olesian ship. Eldon wasn't completely sure given the confusion that usually reigned when the former criminals of Olesia paid a visit, but thought at least thirty men came every visit. Lorne needed Colonel Sheppard and a full complement of marines to stand up against those odds. A couple of jumpers fully stocked with drones wouldn't go astray either. Every day he argued the need for outside help and every day he was knocked back.

Standing in the empty hut, wondering what angle he should take today, Evan spared a thought for the people back on Atlantis.

"Time to bring in the calvary," he thought ruefully, hoping to hell Jennifer had found his message. She'd still be worried but at least she wouldn't be thinking the worst. "Day 5 Jenn," he murmured, recalling his advent message vividly and smiling as he imagined her reading it.

"There is no one more important to me than you."