A/N: Thanks Chelsie66 for yet another lovely review. I hope everyone enjoys the update

Ronon POV

I looked up as the door to our cell opened. The Rat was back, and if the taser he waved around in front of us was anything to go by, then he had bought a new toy with him.

"If it were up ta me, I'd leave the both of ya in chains like the dogs ya are," he sneered as he came towards us. I noticed with satisfaction that his right eye and cheek were bruised and painfully swollen – a colourful tribute from Erik. "Lucky fer yer," he went on, "the master seems ta think different. Now, if yer play nice, I won't have ta use ma friend here on yer," he stood over us and waved the taser in front of our eyes. "'Course, if yer wanna try yer luck…" he smirked, "…then be ma guest."

I watched him from behind hooded eyes. Taser or not, he was still not stupid come to our cell alone. Behind him, Jidder lurked in the doorway with his gun poised and ready. I wondered if his reluctance to come inside was a sign he had learned a thing or two from his previous encounter. He need not have been so worried, because I offered no resistance as the Rat unlocked the cuff on my arm.

'Yer turn," the Rat reached for Erik.

Erik appeared to take his cue from me, because he too allowed himself to be un-cuffed without protest. As he finished however, the Rat suddenly thrust his hand towards him and connected the taser to his stomach. Erik immediately cried out and pitched forward onto the stone floor as his body jerked and convulsed.

"What the…" I turned on the Rat and he immediately touched the taser to me. For the second time that morning pain racked my body and I quickly found myself lying next to Erik on the stone floor. My leather vest seemed to provide better protection than the thin black tank he wore though, because although I was hit second, I was the first to recover. I pushed myself into a sitting position as Erik struggled to do the same.

The Rat grinned at us from the safety of the doorway. "That's for this mornin'," he said as he pulled the door to our cell closed. "Enjoy ya stay."

We watched him leave, our bodies so filled with loathing that it was almost a third presence in the small room. Before either of us could speak the elderly woman who had served us soup that morning appeared at the door.

"Lunch," she said as she thrust two bowls through the bars towards us.

I realized with a start that it was only mid-day. I met Erik's eyes and I could tell he was thinking the same thing. This couldn't go on. Somehow or other, we had to get out of here.

Sara POV

"What's your plan then?" Marcus handed the leather pouch with the vespers inside to Colonel Sheppard.

The Colonel inspected the pouch and pulled out one of the guns. "I'm thinking we get in, find out if this guy has Ronon and the others, and then take it from there." He tilted the vesper so that the light reflected off the silver shaft. "It's difficult to plan too far ahead when we don't really know what we're up against."

"We're going to need some kind of story to tell though," I broke in. "What if they ask where we're from?"

The Colonel replaced the gun inside the leather pouch. "McKay's located a small world on the far side of the Pegasus galaxy. He wants to call it Gotham…" he gave a wry smile, "…but I think Dantooine has a better ring to it. Anyway, if we say we're from Dantooine, hopefully they won't check-up. It's certainly in a remote enough location to play into the whole' too distant to trade from' story."

"And if they do check-up?" I asked. I hated leaving anything to chance, particularly with the lives of three men who meant so much to me at stake.

"Then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," he told me. "Right now, I'm hoping there's a chance we'll find our guys and bring them home with us today."

I nodded. "Me too."

He frowned and looked around the room. "Where's McKay?"

"Coming." Rodney's voice immediately echoed around the jumper bay. "Didn't mean to keep you all waiting. Preparations took a bit longer than I expected." He fumbled with the strap on his submachine gun as he tried to sling it over his shoulder. The three of us stared at him. It was not so much the sight of him in uncustomary leather jacket and pants that held our attention. It was the unidentified… thing that had appeared on the side of his neck.

"Nice tattoo," Colonel Sheppard was the first to find his voice.

"Oh?" Rodney tried to appear casual. "You mean this?" he pointed to the dark criss-cross lines that peeked out from the collar of his leather jacket and finished up just below his right ear. "Cool huh? I had Teyla draw it for me. It's kind of my George Clooney look… You know, Dusk Till Dawn?"

The Colonel raised his eyebrows. "Uh huh…" he drawled.

Marcus and I looked at each other. Neither of us had the faintest idea of what Rodney was referring to. "It looks kind of… badass," I said.

Rodney beamed, and I knew that unintentionally I had said the right thing. "Thank you, Sara," he said. "Badass is exactly the look I was going for."

"How long did that thing take to draw on?" the Colonel asked. He approached Rodney for a closer look.

"Oh, about an hour. Give or take," Rodney shrugged.

I stifled a smile. It was obvious he was trying to appear nonchalant, but I could tell he was bursting for the colonel to show even the slightest bit of envy.

"So, what do you think?" he eventually prompted.

Colonel Sheppard gave a reluctant nod. "So long as you don't sweat it off and blow our cover."

Rodney pointed his finger at him. "You know, I actually thought of that exact same thing," he said, "And I'm happy to tell you that the ink Teyla used is un-sweatable."

The Colonel smiled. "Un-sweatable, huh? Is that even a real word?"

"Oh. Come on." Rodney sighed. "Can't you just admit that I look cool, and be done with it?"

"Okay." The Colonel smiled. "You look cool… and I wish I had thought of your idea myself. Is that good enough?"

"It will suffice," Rodney tilted his chin. "Now, are we ready to go or not?"

"Almost," the Colonel replied. "I just need to have a quick word with Sara first." He looked from Rodney to Marcus, "If the two of you don't mind."

Surprised, I let him guide me towards the edge of the bay so that we were out of earshot from the others. "How are you holding up?" he asked.

"So-so," I admitted. "It's the not knowing that's getting to me."

He nodded. "I understand. And I plan for us to get us underway in just a minute." He ran his hand through the spikes of his hair. "First though, I wanna apologize for last night. I didn't mean to be so hard on you. I guess after what Teyla said, I was just concerned for your safety."

"It's okay," I told him. "It's nice of you to care.

He folded his arms across his chest. "My friend," he said, "he thinks the world of you. It really would destroy him if anything ever happened to you."

"I know," I nodded. "I feel the same way about him."

He smiled. "Okay. Just so long as we're clear. No hard feelings then?"

"Not at all," I assured him.

We turned to re-join the others just as Teyla entered the bay.

"Hey there," the Colonel said as he saw her. "I hear you're changing profession… Almost didn't recognize you without your ink set."

Teyla smiled. "If you are referring to the tattoo upon Doctor McKay's neck, then please know that I do not intend to repeat the process. Work such as that requires an extended amount of time, of which I sadly do not have."

The Colonel looked at Rodney. "Guess you'll have to forgo that rose design for your butt then, huh?"

"Oh, very funny," Rodney replied. "Kindly concern yourself with your own posterior, and leave mine out of the conversation."

The Colonel smiled and Teyla grabbed the chance to guide the conversation back on track. "I was hoping to catch you all before you left," she said. "Doctor Weir asks me to wish you all luck, and also to inform you that if she has not heard back from you by 19.00hours, then she will send Lorne and his team out to scout for you."

"Sounds good," The Colonel replied. "Keep the intercom turned on. We'll try and stay in touch as much as possible." He turned as Marcus and I began to walk towards the jumper. "Oh," he put out his hand to stop me once again, "One last thing…" He gently turned my wrist to expose the ring on my left hand. "Where we're going, you don't want to risk taking this there with you."

I stared at the dark green solitaire. It was impossible to see it and not recall the moment Ronon had given it to me. Right now, the last thing I wanted to do was to take it off.

"I'm serious," the Colonel continued. "I don't know how much this thing is worth in the Pegasus galaxy, but the comment from Earth was that you could buy yourself a nice beach condo – probably next door to the likes of Oprah Winfrey – if you ever decide to sell it.

I frowned. "Oprah who?"

He smiled. "Just trust me on this. Leave the ring behind." He glanced over his shoulder to where Teyla was standing. "Teyla can take care of it until you get back."

Reluctantly, I withdrew my hand and slipped the ring off my finger. It was still warm from my skin as I dropped it in into Teyla's outstretched palm. "Look after it," I told her.

"I assure you, it will be quite safe with me during your absence," she said as she closed her fingers around it. For just a second I glimpsed something on the inside the band, and then it was gone. Anxious to get going, I turned from Teyla and boarded the puddle jumper alongside the others. They dialled the gate and a moment later we flew out into open space and began to pick up speed.

"We're gonna take the round-about route," Colonel Sheppard called over his shoulder. "In case they have some way of tracking where we came through from." He and Rodney proceeded to guide the jumper in and out of a series of gates until I myself had no idea of where we were. "I think that should do it," the Colonel said at last. "Next stop, Danisine."

I leaned forward in my seat as we exited the gate for the final time. My first impression of Danisine was of a barren waste land, full of sand and tumbleweed. Other than a group of buildings not far from where we had come through, there was very little else to see. The most disturbing discovery was that we had not flown out of the gate into the open as expected, but rather into a huge iron-bared cage. Two other aircraft were already settled on the sand below and the Colonel and Rodney guided the jumper down a short distance away from them.

"Friendly lot," The colonel said as two armed guards gestured from behind a locked gate for us to disembark.

"How are we going to play this?" Marcus asked. "We go out there fully armed, they might get defensive."

Colonel Sheppard thought over this for a moment. "I doubt many people show up here without weapons of some kind. If we go locked and loaded at least we'll project a strong image." He looked at me. "In saying that, I've got a suggestion to run past Sara…"

"What did you have in mind?" I turned to him.

"It's unlikely the people here will expect a woman who can handle herself to your capabilities. If we downplay your position, it could give us an element of surprise to fall back on."

"What are you suggesting?" Marcus asked. "That we send her out there unarmed?"

"If it comes to it, she's good enough to spring an attack without a gun." He gestured to the men who waited by the gate outside. "There's a high chance those guys are not gonna let us through with our weapons anyway. "

I nodded as I caught on to what he was saying. Colonel Sheppard had a tendency to be both quick thinking and intuitive, and I respected him for both. I added my own thoughts to his idea. "If they do let us through with our guns, then Marcus is carrying a spare pistol. I can always grab it from his hip if I need to."

The Colonel nodded. "Good thinking. You're not seen to be carrying, but we still go through the gates with four guns and four people."

Marcus looked at me. "Much as I hate to say it, the idea has its merits. So long as you agree to stay next to me, I'll go with it."

I nodded. I knew the risks and I had no desire to be any more than arms reach from both gun and protection.

"Alright then," the Colonel approached the door of the Jumper. "We go in, take a look around, see what we can find. Seeing as there's four of us, if the chance comes up we can always split into two teams."

The men checked their guns while I shrugged out of my leather jacket and set my hair free from my pony tail. In a place like this, femininity might be seen as a weakness, but I hoped to turn mine into a strength. I stepped out of the jumper into the dry, desert-like heat to find Marcus waiting. Colonel Sheppard was already in discussion with the guards and we went over to join him.

"The boss-man doesn't see just anyone," one of the guards replied to whatever the Colonel had said.

"Trust me on this," the Colonel replied, his words slow and precise. "He's going to want to see us. We have a sample here of some very unusual handguns…There's a lot of money on offer for the person who can help distribute them for us."

The guard sighed. "Well, let's see them."

The colonel reached into his vest and pulled out the pouch that held the vespers. A moment passed as he removed one and passed it to the guard for inspection. The guard turned it over in his hand a couple of times, but it quickly became obvious that he was impressed with our offering. He unhooked an intercom unit from the front of his coat and announced our presence, asking for someone from beyond the gates to come and escort us inside the complex. As he hung up, he held onto the vespers and turned back to us. "No guns past the gate."

I tried to appear calm as the Colonel and the others surrendered their guns to the guards for safe keeping. Thankfully, they did not appear to be so concerned with knives, and Marcus passed through the gate with his hunting knife sheathed openly upon his lower leg. I pressed my hand to the small pocket knife I carried in my pants pocket and hoped that Colonel Sheppard and Rodney were similarly well equipped. As the new guard arrived, the first guard passed the vespers to him and he promptly locked them inside a small carry box.

"This way," he gestured back in the direction he had come and then followed as we began to walk. A concrete path took us towards the small settlement I had seen earlier, and the guard motioned towards double doors on the side an imposing looking stone building. We passed through them into a cool interior – a relief after the intense heat outside – and found ourselves guided through a foyer towards yet another door. Two life-sized granite statues of naked, muscle-bound men stood on either side. Anatomically correct in detail, they each wielded a formidable looking axe as they stood frozen in battle stance. Much like the iron cage that surrounded the stargate outside, their presence made me feel distinctly uneasy.

"Rydan's expecting you," the guard said as he passed the locked box with the vespers back to Colonel Sheppard. He then stood to one side and I realized that he did not intend to accompany us through the door.

We entered the room in single file, and at once I found myself in awe. An abundance of wealth, the likes of which I had never seen before, surrounded us on every side. Lavish red drapes, twin chandlers, stone pillars studded with rare gemstones…even the floor had flecks of what I suspected to be real gold pressed into its tiles. A lone guard stood at one of the rooms three side doors, while in front of us, at the far end of an enormous stone table sat a man in a kingly, high-backed chair. The chair was positioned slightly off-centre so that its occupant – Rydan, I assumed– was not actually looking at us but towards the wall to our left. There was an odd tension in his frame and he sat in his chair slightly slumped down with his head tilted back. As we approached, he did not look at us, but instead lifted his hand from where it rested outstretched on the table and gestured for us to stop. Curious, I inched a little closer.

"Wait," Marcus whispered as he put out his hand to stop me. He looked vaguely uncomfortable, and as I glanced at Colonel Sheppard, I noticed that he too appeared to be similarly ill at ease. Beside me, Rodney stared around the room in wonder, oblivious to the tension of his two companions. My attention was drawn back to the far end of the table as the man there clenched his hand into a fist and gave a short groan. A moment later he sank back into his chair and the tension left his frame. Beside me, Marcus was now engrossed with the stitching on his jacket sleeve while the Colonel seemed equally fascinated by a window seat off to the far left. What was going on, I wondered? And then a, moment later, everything dropped into place as a woman suddenly appeared from beneath the table. The man reached down and fumbled with his trousers before he stood up. Shocked, I could not keep from staring.

"Stay," the man commanded the woman, as with a flourish of the black cloak around his shoulders, he approached us. I continued to stare, unable to drag my eyes away from the sight of him. He – Rydan – was quite possibly one of the most startlingly attractive men I had ever seen. Although of only average height and build, his tousled copper hair, high cheek bones and square, stubble cover jaw more than compensated for any lack of stature. And his eyes… I sucked in my breath as I got my first glimpse of his near-black pupils and long, feminine lashes. How could a man, so god-like in appearance, be associated with the lewd act I had just witnessed? Quickly, I tore my gaze away.

"My man tells me you have something for me of interest," he said as he came to a standstill in front of us. Unable to stop myself, I looked at him again, only this time I discovered his dark gaze was trained upon me. "For once, I tend to agree," he said as he eyed me with lazy appraisal.

My pulse quickened and I realized that, despite his allure, this was not a man from who I wanted to draw attention. To my relief, Marcus took a step forward to partially block me from Rydan's view.

"Sara's with me."

Rydan fingered the stubble on his jaw and shifted a little so that he could see me again. "A pity," he said, as his eyes fell from my face and skimmed my breasts and exposed midriff. My skin, already sensitive to his every look, no longer tingled but began to crawl as he met my eyes again. When he spoke, it was to me and not Marcus. "I would have enjoyed the sound of my name, screamed from your lips as I took you in every possible way."

Repulsed, I dragged my eyes away. The man was both vile and sadistic, and the longer he stared at me, the more uncomfortable I felt. Colonel Sheppard came to my rescue as he held up his hand and attempted a smile.

"The woman belongs to my friend," he said to Rydan. "She's new, and he's quite possessive of her. How 'bout you and I get down to more pressing matters, like the real reason for us being here?"

Rydan shrugged and turned from me, and just like that I lost his interest. My legs went weak with relief, and I did not object when Marcus backed up the Colonel's words by tugging me to him in a bold display of ownership. As the Colonel and Rodney presented the vespers to Rydan, I l took a moment to recover and then found myself looking at the woman who stood at the end of the table. Embarrassed by the way she had been used in front of us, I felt even more keenly for her now as I saw how scantily she was clothed. A gown of transparent pink muslin draped across her back and shoulders, pinched together with a silver broach at a single point just below her navel. Although the gown fell to her feet, the open neckline displayed her naked breasts to the point where her nipples were barely covered. From this distance I could not see if she was as naked below the waist as she appeared above, but I feared that she most probably was. The only part of her body that appeared to be adequately covered was her lower legs, which were encased to the knee in soft, light tan leather boots.

"Poor thing," Marcus whispered, and I realized that he was also looking at her. He took a deep breath and shook his head slowly. "She's… stunning."

I had to agree. Despite the circumstances, it was impossible to ignore the woman's beauty. Her slim waist and generous breasts were complimented by fair skin and a thick mane of dark hair that tumbled down her shoulders to skim the tops of her thighs. Where I was tall and lean, she stood somewhere around a meagre 5ft 3" and did not appear to have a straight line upon her extremely feminine body.

"I wish there was something we could do for her," I whispered.

Marcus was silent for a moment and then pretended to nuzzle my ear. "I might have an idea."

Before I could respond, Colonel Sheppard's voice cut through the air. "If you're done making out," he said to Marcus, "then you might be pleased to learn that we've come to a deal with Rydan over the distribution of our weapons."

Apparently, the pretence about my position within the group was now in full swing as he did not bother to include me in the conversation. Although I was pleased to learn that Rydan had fallen for our ruse, it would really only count for anything if it turned out that he had Ronon and the others here somewhere. What we desperately needed was an opportunity to take a look around, to see if–

My thoughts broke off as Rydan turned to face me. The movement had disturbed the long coat he wore beneath his cape and for the first time I noticed that he carried a gun. I stared at it in shock. The gun was as distinctive to me as the man who owned it – the same man who I knew would not have been parted from it willingly – Ronon. Any relief I felt over the unexpected turn of events quickly evaporated as I envisioned how Ronon could have become separated from his primary weapon. Caught up in my fears, I jumped as Marcus suddenly clapped his hand to my arse.

"I'm never done making out," he said as he gave my cheek a squeeze. I flinched, which was probably the most convincing reaction I could have had, given that I was apparently his (unwilling?) subservient. I stared at him, open mouthed as I tried to drag my mind from the discovery of Ronon's gun to focus on whatever he was trying to do. He jerked his head towards the head of the table. "How much for the woman?"

Rydan raised an eyebrow, and once again I felt the intensity of his gaze turn towards me. "You want the woman, then consider her yours…" he said. "…A straight swap for the flame-haired vixen on your arm."

My heart pounded. Suddenly I felt like I was on very dangerous ground. What the hell was Marcus thinking?

"You miss my point," Marcus shook his head. "I want her," he nodded in the woman's direction, "And mine… together."

Rydan gave him a wry smile. "You lust for my woman, yet you refuse to share your own?"

Marcus shrugged. "Two's better."

To my surprise, Rydan laughed. It was an alarming sound, calculating and without mirth. "Alright. Say I consider your suggestion," he narrowed his eyes. "What do you offer as trade?"

"There's a near new submachine gun back at the gate," Marcus said. "A reliable weapon, should the occasion arise."

Rydan shook his head. "Too common. A woman of such beauty commands a higher price."

I glanced at the women whose ownership was in negotiation. She stood straight, neither overly proud nor bowed by the discussion going on around her. I felt for her, but my need to find Ronon saw me silently will Marcus to hurry up with whatever it was he was doing. He leaned over and removed the knife he had strapped to the side of his lower leg. I recognized it as the one he had hand crafted a number of years ago. The blade was hardened steel, the handle shaped from the antler of a stag he had shot. Tiny, intricate designs adorned both handle and blade, each of them personal to him in some way. It was his most prized possession, and I was shocked to see him hand it to Rydan.

The man's dark eyes immediately lit up. "This is more like it," he said as he pressed his thumb to the blade to check the sharpness. "I'd say the two of us have a deal," he said. "The knife for the woman…"

Marcus nodded his acceptance, but Rydan continued to speak.

"…to be used as you wish, and then returned to me at the end of four days." He turned his black eyes upon Marcus. The words were issued as a challenge, an attempt to see if Marcus would try and back out of the deal he had instigated.

Tension in the room was heavy. If Marcus objected, it could jeopardise the arrangement we had made with the vespers – and nullify our reason to be here. If he accepted, it meant he had just traded his prized knife for little more than a few days of freedom for a woman who he did not know.

"Sure." He looked away from the knife as if it meant little more to him than the gun he had offered first. "Four days and I'll have had my fill."

As much as I felt for him, I was relieved to feel the tension in the air lift as Rydan tucked the knife into the belt he wore and clapped his hands together in pleasure.

"It's a deal then," he said, blatantly smug about the success of his little power play. "Now come," he said, as if we were all old friends. "I will show you all out onto the balcony. Let us have a drink to celebrate our new partnership."

I tried to hide my frustration. How could we take a look around if Rydan was right there with us every moment?

"Wait." Marcus held up his hand. "I'll pass on the drinks, thanks." He pulled me to him and cast a suggestive look towards the women he had just purchased. "I might get a head start on those four days…. Anywhere a man can get some privacy around here?"

Rydan hesitated. I could see he was reluctant to let Marcus out of his sights, but what could he do if he didn't want to lose face and back out of the conditions on his own deal? "You," he said to the woman, "take this man to your quarters. Entertain him – and the woman – in any way they see fit."

I exchanged glances with Colonel Sheppard and Rodney. This was the opportunity we had been waiting for. If the two of them kept Rydan busy for long enough, Marcus and I might be able to sneak a look around. With my spirits rising, we left the room as Rydan gestured for his guard to stand at the door we had exited through. This meant we could leave the compound without drawing attention, but right now leaving was the last thing any of us had in mind. As the door closed behind us, Marcus removed his hands from around my waist and stepped away from me.

"Thanks," I said to him. His performance in the hall had been so convincing that it made me question the talk we'd had only a few hours earlier, so his abrupt return to normality quickly put my fears to rest.

"It's probably better if you take it from here," he whispered as we followed the woman down a short hallway. I noticed that we passed a number of closed doors – some of which were locked from the outside – and it crossed my mind that Ronon and the others might be behind one of them. The only thing preventing us from taking a look was the woman in front of us. I watched her pause outside one of the doors and reach for the handle. She probably thought Marcus was some kind of sex-obsessed brute, and I nothing more than his unfortunate play thing. Had our situation not been so dire, I might have found the notion amusing. Instead, it seemed that everything now rode on my ability to earn this woman's trust in a very short space of time. As she opened the door and led Marcus and I into the room, I knew that the success or failure of our entire mission could depend on the next few moments.