"Where am I?" Stevenson asked after waking up from another blackout, still speaking in Ancient.

"They've moved you into confinement," Daniel said from his side.

"Why?"

"A little something to do with the fact that you admitted to intentionally sticking your head in the…head sucker."

"Neural Interface," Stevenson corrected.

"Right, well it seems you and all SGC exploratory teams were given specific instructions in your indoctrination not to mess with an Ancient Repository if you ever ran across one," Daniel reminded him. "So why did you do it?"

"Certain death isn't very appealing," he said sarcastically, though Daniel didn't pick up on that intricacy. His knowledge of the Ancient language was tolerable, but Stevenson was speaking it as if he'd done so his entire life.

"You mean you'd rather take a chance on a long shot instead of waiting around to die from a genetic disease?"

Stevenson stared at him. "You know about that?"

Daniel nodded. "They only told me after they brought me in to translate. No one else knows. Actually it's really a moot point now. Dr. Lam says the physical alterations taking place inside you are changing your DNA and have wiped out your disease in the process. It seems your long shot paid off…if you survive the transformation process."

Stevenson blew out a relieved breath. "Good. I was wondering about that. You can tell Lam that I'm past the worst of it. Each time I black out I'm experiencing an upgrade that requires my body and mind to shut down temporarily."

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "You know that for a fact, or just guessing?"

"I know."

"Really…what else do you know?"

"What do you mean?" Stevenson asked.

"Come on, you've got the entire Ancient library stored in your mind. Do you have access to any of the good stuff yet?"

"Like what?"

"What about Ancient history? Can you tell me anything new?"

Stevenson started to say something then stopped short. "Maybe later, Dr. Jackson. I'm still fighting a monster migraine and it requires something of a conscious effort to hold it in check."

"Alright," Daniel said unconvinced as he stood to leave. "I'll be back to check on you later."

Stevenson waved to him as he left, but followed him with his mind. He felt him stop a few meters outside.

"His physical health is improving and his mind seems stable," Dr. Jackson said to someone in the corridor. Stevenson could feel the other mind but couldn't identify the person.

"But?" the other said. Stevenson heard the voice through Jackson's ears and knew it was familiar…Landry. It was General Landry checking up on him.

"But," Jackson continued, "I think he's holding back."

"Holding back what?" Landry asked.

"I don't know," Daniel admitted. "I'm still impressed by the fact that he's survived this long. When Merlin upgraded me he had to install a failsafe in order to prevent an overload that would eventually kill me. I have no idea how his body is going to be able to stabilize the changes that are happening to him, but he seems confident that he'll make it through."

"Oh he does, does he," Landry said. "It might turn out better for him if he doesn't."

"Meaning what?" Daniel asked.

"The I.O.A.," Landry said simply.

"Oh, not again," Daniel said exasperated.

"I'm afraid so. And there's the little fact that he disobeyed standing orders, which is what created this mess in the first place."

Stevenson released his tenuous mental link. His new abilities were intermittent and unreliable, but he'd been able to hear enough. He knew he was going to have to escape the SGC…but he wasn't ready yet. He was too weak and continuing to black out. A few more days and he might be able to risk it. He'd only get one chance before they realized what he was capable of and implemented additional security measures.

"Patience," he reminded himself.

Sheppard left the hearing demoralized and disillusioned. Good men, men he had respected and trusted in the past had, one by one, sided against him and his actions and fell in line with the I.O.A.'s assertion that what happened in Pegasus didn't matter to Earth and that he had had no right to interfere.

General O'Neill had spoken up on his behalf, suggesting that he be given some leniency since his plans to destroy the Wraith shipyard had actually succeeded and therefore aided the I.O.A.'s plans to withdraw from the Pegasus galaxy. By eliminating four partially grown ships that could have been used to attack Atlantis and hinder the evacuation ships as they hauled technology too big to fit through the stargate back to Earth, the odds of the Wraith succeeding in capturing Atlantis before the pullout had been reduced significantly.

The I.O.A. hadn't bought it and had thoroughly raked Sheppard over the coals. He had argued with them for over four hours but in the end they were going to get what they wanted regardless of the truth. He would be moved onto court martial and the far-off Atlantis command that had always been outside of their comfortable reach would be disbanded and destroyed…after they had ransacked the city for any and all valuable technology.

Sheppard was returned to his cell and dropped unceremoniously to the ground. He pulled his back up against the claustrophobic wall and cradled his head in his hands. He was screwed and he knew it. The SGC and his country were going to sacrifice him and the Pegasus galaxy to the corrupt whims of the I.O.A. for whatever deluded or twisted reasons they had.

Sheppard had dodged the bureaucratic bullet many times before, but not this time. He wasn't about to give up, but with his options being what they were, his thoughts were sliding more towards jail-break rather than the defense at his upcoming court martial.

"How are you feeling, son?" O'Neill asked Stevenson.

The Captain blinked his eyes open. "Headache."

"Don't bother talking, Stevenson," O'Neill said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I don't speak Ancient anymore, and I don't feel like dragging Daniel in here, so just listen."

Stevenson nodded.

"I've deactivated the cameras so this will be a private conversation between the two of us," O'Neill said ominously, which drew a raised eyebrow from Stevenson.

"You're in hot water with the I.O.A., and I'm not sure if we'll be able to protect you. They look at you as a combination guinea pig/data file more valuable than…well, than anything they've come across to date, and in my opinion they're not going to give you up."

"I need to know if your head is as scrambled as mine was, or if you have control of the knowledge in your mind."

Stevenson raised his hands and smirked quizzically as if saying 'why.'

"If I can feed the I.O.A. some intel on my terms I can move you out of their reach to one of our more discrete offworld bases and dig my political heels in. So long as the information is flowing back to us I think I can protect you."

Stevenson shook his head 'no.'

"You don't have control?" O'Neill asked, disappointed but not really surprised. It had been a long shot idea from the beginning ten minutes ago in the commissary.

Stevenson shook his head 'yes.'

"Yes you agree with the 'no' or yes you can?" O'Neill asked confused.

Stevenson gritted his teeth then made a snap decision to trust O'Neill. He motioned for him to come closer.

O'Neill moved his chair up next to the head of his bed and leaned forward. "What?"

Stevenson reached out and touched O'Neill gently on the right temple. Stevenson's eyes glassed over and a host of images flooded into O'Neill's mind…and suddenly he understood.

Stevenson released the mental link and O'Neill sat up straight.

"Take Sheppard with you. He's in a holding cell down the hall. You've got two more days before he's taken away for court martial. Will that be long enough or do I need to buy you some more time?"

Stevenson gave him a 'thumbs up.'

O'Neill nodded and quickly left the room. He reactivated the security cameras and other recording devices then headed back to the commissary for an extra dessert. He found himself in a much better mood than before, with a hankering for banana pudding.