CHAPTER 117

EPISODE…………………..THE SEER

(A.N. The actor who plays Davos in this episode also played a character in one of the Doctor Who episodes with Colin Baker as the Doctor and Peri as his companion.)

After a month of finding out little else on her people and Ford being even less helpful because he had already tampered with time enough, Teyla came up with an idea of how to find and or get help. Both Carter's and Sheppard's team were in Sam's office as she told them about the idea.

"The people are called the Vadeenans. I have known about them all my life, but I have never met them." Teyla said while pacing.

The rest of Sheppard's team was sitting in the comfy chairs in the office while Sam, in her leather SGA outfit, was in the massage chair from the SGC they brought with them when they came, behind her desk. Ford was sitting on the edge of Carter's desk in a brown suit with his arms crossed.

"You've heard of them Ford?" Carter asked in surprise as she saw him stroke his chin.

"Um….the name sounds familiar." Ford said with a look of concentration.

"I seriously doubt these people were around when the Ancients left the city in this galaxy." Rodney said. "They aren't even in the database."

"The name is familiar only, like I have heard it before. I doubt I know the people at all. Go on please Teyla." Ford said waving a hand.

"Is it possible that you do know them? There is a man among them, who I wish to see and speak to, who has been able to see the future all his life." Teyla said.

"Interesting." Ford said very fascinated. "Unfortunately, it doesn't ring any bells."

"It sort of seems familiar to me to." Carter muttered. "Like I've heard that name before as well from somewhere."

"Must be something we heard in one of our adventures in the T.A.R.D.I.S." Ford said.

"Maybe. Sorry Teyla, none of this is helping. What else can you tell us?" Carter asked.

"They are a simple people, who do trade with others in the galaxy, but for the most part, they keep to themselves. Their leader, Davos, is widely known as a great seer, because he sees the future. I am unsure of how he does so or if he is able to do anything else, but from what I have heard, he has seen the future for many people." Teyla stated.

"It's not possible." Rodney stated with complete disbelief..

"Rodney, I think many things are possible. If Daniel…Doctor Jackson was here, he'd probably say the man has a connection with some ascended being or maybe came close to ascension and came back. We have no idea the full extent of what ascended beings can do, but seeing as they can bring people back from the dead, I think seeing the future is something more than likely possible." Ford stated.

"Didn't save the Ori, not that we wanted…" Rodney started.

"The Ori were confined to their galaxy. If they could see the future, they probably were to busy doing other things to try." Carter said. "Obviously, the ascended beings in our galaxy saw the future because Merlin came back to stop the Ori since he saw them for the threat they were. With everything I have seen lately, especially with Ford becoming what is considering by most a TV show figure, something like this doesn't surprise me. Not to mention, SG-1 went to a planet that had the history wrote out where we came and saved them from a Goa'uld because a Ancient saw the future and went back and wrote that future."

"Which is how we have the Puddle Jumper with time travel ability." Ford said.

"Well, when you put it that way…" Rodney began.

"We are going to go see Davos then?" Teyla asked.

"I don't see why not. I have no reason to doubt your story either Teyla." Carter said nodding. "We've got little intel since learning that the Wraith took your people, and since Ford can't do any more time traveling in that time period, I can only hope that this man can give you and all of us some answers. Besides, I think he wants to see this Davos anyway."

"If he has ascended powers, then I do want to talk to him. Beyond his seer ability, I find it interesting that the Wraith haven't found him already. Then again, seeing the future…." Ford said as he trailed off.

"They'd always know when to go into hiding." Sheppard said as he stood with the others. "Can't wait to see him myself."

"Keep me informed. Either through him or calling back by the gate." Carter said as she stood. "I need to go talk to Radek about the final weapon placement on the tower here. Something having to do with trouble with the placement itself."

"I'll catch up. Teyla, can you stay a moment? You as well Sam." Ford said.

The three men looked at each other and then walked off to get ready as Teyla turned to the two.

"I know this may seem…" Teyla began.

Ford raised a hand as Sam looked at Teyla and him in confusion.

"What's going on?" Carter asked.

"We are still going Teyla, that is not what I had us stay for." Ford stated as he turned to Sam. "Teyla's pregnant."

"What?" Carter asked surprised.

"How did you…." Teyla began and then narrowed her eyes. "Doctor Keller…"

"Never said anything to me or anyone else. I've been around a few pregnant women and was there the entire time Sam was as well. There are certain signs that made it easy to see. I do have good observation skills. Plus, I did come in that day when you two were talking. It was none of my business so I said nothing. I am only bringing it up now because you are wanting to go off world. Your people probably have had more experience with going to other worlds while pregnant, but it is not safe after a certain point." Ford said.

"It's true. When I became pregnant, I was restricted from using the gate after a certain point. Doctor Keller will eventually tell you when to stop gate travel until your child is born. Is there a personal reason why you are keeping it secret, or is because you didn't want to be pulled from the team?" Carter asked.

"I am only a month or so along with child, and many of the females of my people have done more work than I do now for many months before they eventually stopped. Even gate traveling to help with trade or carrying supplies. I have read the book your people have made on the protocols for this situation and I did not and do not want Colonel Sheppard to make me stay on Atlantis for the next several months to ensure I do not have, a miscarriage. I am very capable of handling myself and will listen to Doctor Keller when the time comes. Until then, I would rather not be put on medical leave." Teyla stated.

"Until Doctor Keller steps in, I will leave it in her hands. However, if you are seriously injured in any way, then I am pulling you off the team until he or she is born to prevent any further risk. And I want to talk to Doctor Keller about this. Is that all right?" Carter asked.

"Yes. However, I would like to keep this a secret for the time being."

"We will." Ford said as Carter also nodded. "That's all I wanted to address. Just in case anything does happen, we already know so it won't be a surprise to you later."

"I understand." Teyla said.

"What do you think they are talking about?" Rodney asked as they left.

"Probably about not getting her hopes up. I do hope that this guy can tell us something, but if he can't, it could only depress Teyla further." Sheppard said.

"And if he does tell her something that will help?" Ronan asked.

"Obviously we will use that information to find her people." Sheppard said.

"What if this future thing only works in a way where she sees it and we don't?" Ronan asked.

"Then….we'll cross the bridge when we get there." Sheppard said.

Seeing as they weren't going to a planet to fight, Ford didn't bring his Heavy Arms rifle with him, instead just going with his coat, suit and cane, plus the four guns he always carried around. The other's went in their normal off world attire, just in case. McKay had his pack with him to scan around and to scan the leader for signs of anything. Carter mentioned she hated the fact she couldn't go with, but seeing as she would have Sally to keep her company since he wouldn't, she wasn't as envious of him leaving to explore.

"So, everything okay?" Sheppard asked the team came together at the gate.

"What makes you think that it is not?" Teyla asked a bit more concerned than she normally did.

"I figured the General's were giving you a pep talk about how we might not find anything and to not loose hope." Sheppard said.

"Ah. I can assure you John, I am just fine." Teyla stated with relief.

"We ready to go?" Ford asked as he came up from the command center.

"Looks like it." Sheppard said as he glanced at the others. "Let's be on our best behavior."

They stepped through the gate onto a very nice planet. The DHD was a few feet away, the area was rather open and well kept, sort of looking like early fall on Earth, the weather was really nice and there was quite a few people standing in front of them.

"Hello." a young blonde, slightly curly haired woman said, that was in a grayish coat/skirt combo with faded black pants. "You must be the people from Atlantis."

"Wow. This Davos guy must have the power to see the future or we just stepped into the Twilight Zone." Ford muttered.

"I was thinking the same thing." Sheppard said. "Are we sure we didn't tell them that we were coming?"

"I have had no prior contact with these people." Teyla said.

"We didn't dial this planet until just a moment ago. Otherwise, no gate activity has happened in the last five hours." Ford said.

"My name is Linnar." the woman said.

"Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard. And…"

"We know who you people are. We know all of you. You've been expected for some time now." she said with a warming smile.

"Okay, now I am feeling creeped out." Rodney muttered.

"I think it is kinda cool myself." Ford said.

Sam came down about an hour after they left as the gate opened from Midway Station.

"Mr. Woolsey. How was your trip?" Carter asked as he walked up with a small suitcase that had a handle and wheels.

"Oh, not to bad. Spending a day at Midway Station is better than a three week trip on the Daedalus. Where is your husband?"

"Off world with Sheppard's team."

"Interesting. I expected him to be with you or somewhere in his T.A.R.D.I.S. Actually, to be perfectly honest, I am surprised to find you here at all. I was sure that I would come here and learn that you two were off in some other universe and hadn't came back yet." Woolsey said glancing around for the T.A.R.D.I.S. seeing as he heard it was usually in the command center.

"We don't do that very often. Or so it seems to everyone else. Going to bed at night in the T.A.R.D.I.S. doesn't always mean that we've been here every night. Makes it so much easier to sleep in sometimes and go other places for awhile if we feel up to it." Carter said with a happy smile.

"I see." Woolsey said picking his case up as he followed her up the stairs, where they stopped to look out over the city a moment. "How is your daughter doing? And the rest of your family since coming here?"

"Very well. Sally seems to understand why we are here and that we can go back to Earth at about any time, which we do at least once or twice a week. Mostly to get our mail, otherwise that's about it. Dad and mom are just happy to be by us, and our enjoying themselves as well. Mom helps in the botanical department sometimes. Sometimes they even stay on Earth with Sally for awhile and we come back at night, here, do a few things and then all come back to work when we need to. The time travel thing helps greatly."

"Makes sense. So, you do know why I am here?" Woolsey asked as they went back in.

"My three month evaluation I think. Technically, time wise, I have been here much longer, but not physically. Ford has only had to take over once because of that flu incident, and a few other times when I just had to get away from staring a papers, which usually I was only gone for a couple hours, doing whatever I felt like to get my mind off paperwork, and then came back, otherwise, everyone else seems to be handling my leadership of everything and everyone without any problems. With all the reports you've obviously read, what do you think?" Carter asked curious as she signed off on a tablet she was given.

"That is why I was sent here. I plan on being an observer only. The I.O.A. has realized that bureaucratic interference in Atlantis isn't always as beneficial as we hope." Woolsey said as they entered her office. "And, on a personal note, it has been brought to my attention that in my own performance evaluations, I have been a bit of a busy body."

"I can't deny that. Did the I.O.A. send you personally for any specific reasons…"

"It's that obvious?"

"Yeah, pretty much. The other members of the I.O.A. haven't really done anything that has got Ford on their good side." Carter said as she sat down and waved at the chair.

"I still find it shocking that your husband even has respect for me, despite the problems I have caused in the past." Woolsey said as he sat down in front of her desk.

"I think that bug thing off world was the turning point."

"Because I saw just one of the things you people go through when missions go bad."

"Yeah." Carter said nodding. "And in a lot of ways, that mission was actually a rather easy one considering we're used to being shot at with the intent of being killed or captured, instead of running from bugs. If anything, Ford was the one most freaked out by what was happening, but he held his fear at bay very well."

"I did notice. I'm quite sure though if it had been spiders, I don't think we would have had his help as greatly as it was."

"I don't doubt that for a second." Carter said with a small chuckle.

"Unscheduled off world activation!"

"And duty calls. Excuse me." Carter said getting up quickly.

She entered the control room as he followed along.

"Who is it?"

"We are receiving a signal now General. It's Captain Roberts on M2R 441."

"Ah. They are delivering medical supplies and food to a planet that was recently culled." Carter said seeing Woolsey nearby. "Put him through. Captain, this is General Sam Carter, please report."

"We've had a bit of a development here General. According to the locals, a few days after the culling, another Wraith showed up. This time however, they left a message with the surviving people." Roberts said over the com.

"A message?" Carter asked confused. "That's extremely strange."

"Perhaps they have realized what a threat we are and want to make a treaty or something." Woolsey stated.

"I don't know about that. All I know is that this particular Wraith said he wanted to meet with Colonel Sheppard."

"Okay." Carter said slowly. "Um, we'll pass the message along shortly then and get right back to you Captain. Stay sharp until then."

"We'll be waiting then General and hope to hear from you soon. Roberts out."

The group was walking through the serene and tranquil grassy meadow that cut through an area of the forest going to the village. The various people from the village walked several feet behind the team and Linnar that was leading them.

"So, I take it that Davos knew we were coming?" Sheppard asked.

"He had a vision of your arrival. Before I take you to see him, there is something you should know." Linnar said. "He is very ill, our healers have done all they can, but it is not enough. Some of us were hoping that, since you came from the city of the ancestors…"

"That we may be able to help him?" Sheppard asked.

"I think we can. Once we know what the ailment is, finding a cure should be pretty simple." Ford said.

"We would be forever in your debt if you can save him." Linnar said.

"I can say we will try." Ford said.

"Thank you." Linnar said with a small bow.

"He must be very important to you." Teyla said.

"We own him our lives. Two years ago, he had a vision that the Wraith were coming. We had time to gather our provisions and escape to the northern hills. Even from deep underground, we could hear their ships searching for us. Eventually they went away and never returned. Not a single Vadeenan was taken." Linnar said proudly.

"Impressive." Sheppard said.

"But for me, he is much more than that. He is my father." Linnar said with love and worry.

"That explains the different way you talk about him. I expected him to be family of some sort." Ford said. "I promise we'll do our best."

They arrived in the village and were taken to a big tent.

"Father, the people of Atlantis are here to see you."

"Yes. Yes, please come in." Davos said as they all entered.

The inside of the tent was well lit even though there was few small burning pans of fire on stick poles. Because of the lightness of the tent walls, sunlight was able to get through but not touch the inside. The man was in a wooden chair made from various branches, as were the tent poles holding it up along with the wall post.

"I have been expecting you, and I know why you are here." Davos said with a friendly smile.

Sheppard smiled at the man as Ronan stood nearby, just glancing around. Teyla stood nearby Sheppard as Linnar stayed by her fathers side. Rodney was looking at the man skeptically while Ford was thinking very hard about something.

"You have seen me before, yet, we have never met." Davos said.

"Yes." Ford said extremely confused. "I'm trying to think where. Though I can travel through time, I know I have never been here or seen you before until today, even though I have seen your face before."

"Oh please." Rodney muttered.

"You have much doubt in your heart." Davos said looking at Rodney without offense.

"Anybody with common sense could read my body language said that, besides the fact of what I just said." Rodney said.

"But I have seen this man before." Ford muttered while rubbing his head in agitation. "In a uniform…somewhere. Bah, it will come to me eventually."

"Perhaps very soon, though I must say, until this day, we have never met. You however, I can help dispel some or perhaps all of your doubts." Davos said while holding out his hand to Rodney. "Among my gifts, is the ability to show others what I can see."

"No thanks." Rodney said while shaking his head.

"Go ahead Rodney. You're the one who doesn't believe. What harm can it do?" Sheppard said.

"Rodney, how can you not believe?" Ford asked.

"Seeing the future from the present and time traveling are two different things." Rodney stated.

"Just get up there." Sheppard ordered.

"Oh, very well." Rodney said stepping forward.

When he took the mans hand, Davos closed his eyes and then Rodney gasped. He saw himself in a forest near the Stargate with the others, and broken ancient ruins of some sort scattered around. As they approached an opening where there was a lot of ruins around, Wraith started surrounding them quickly.

"Whoa.." Rodney said as he wobbled on his feet after letting go.

"What happened?" Sheppard asked as Davos sat back.

"I…just saw a vision. Of us, being captured by the Wraith." Rodney said fearfully.

"Was I there?" Ford asked.

"I, think so." Rodney said a bit unsure.

"I'd be skeptic of that vision since the Wraith can't harm me, but I guess it is possible. What did you see?" Ford asked.

Rodney told them what he saw briefly.

"Well, you didn't say any weapons were fired, yet." Ford said.

"True." Rodney said.

"I have to see this." Ford said while stepping forward.

"Wait, is can be very draining on him." Linnar said caringly as she moved somewhat between them.

"No, it is…" Davos began.

"It's okay. I can wait. I have a lot of time and she did say you were sick. Let's see about getting you checked out before anymore seeing of the future." Ford said. "I'd rather not have you condition aggravated anymore than it is.

"We need to report back to Carter General." Sheppard said.

"I need to look at something in the T.A.R.D.I.S as well." Ford said as he thought he remembered something.

Back at Atlantis, they were all in the conference room with Woolsey. Ford had went to the T.A.R.D.I.S. as the rest of them were being checked out in the infirmary. Since he was unable to get sick or catch anything, he was able to forgo any evaluations. All he had to do was give them his clothes to be checked and give a blood sample. So, now he was in red with black striped suit and was twisting his cane on the floor slowly as Rodney recounted his vision to Sam.

"You say it is a forested planet, misty and ancient ruins lying around?" Carter asked.

"Yes." Rodney said. "What's that look for?"

"Something happened while we were gone didn't it? I knew you looked worried about something." Ford said.

"I didn't feel like repeating it, even though it is not bad news. It's not really urgent either so…" Carter said trailing off. "The team on M2R-441 contacted us shortly after Woolsey arrived. A Wraith came to the village and gave the people a message. And from the facial markings they described, it sounds a lot like the Wraith that helped you escaped the Genii last year John."

"My old buddy?" Sheppard asked as he pointed at himself and then noticed a scowl on the General's face.

"Yes. Apparently, there is a matter of great importance that he wants to discuss with you." Carter said not seeing the look on Ford's face. "We already sent a team to the address he wants for the rendezvous. The interesting thing is, the area sounds exactly like the place Rodney just described."

"Are we really believing this now?" Ronan asked.

"Davos did know we were coming." Teyla stated.

"And I did find out why he looked familiar. There is an actor on Earth who looks like him." Ford said casually as everyone gave him looks. "Don't ask."

"Okay." Carter said with a tone and look that Ford meant she wanted to know later anyway. "Where you able to ask him about your people Teyla?"

"After he showed Rodney the vision, he fell ill." Teyla said.

"They were hoping that we could help him." Sheppard said.

"I said we could try." Ford said.

"I'll have a team go with Doctor Keller." Carter said.

"In the meantime, I think we should go to this rendezvous, check it out and see what this Wraith has to say." Sheppard said.

"I'm going with." Ford stated.

"I expected that." Carter said. "Rodney said you were there in the vision."

As they all started to stand, Woolsey coughed lightly.

"You have something to add Mr. Woolsey?" Carter asked.

"As I said, I am here strictly as an observer…" Woolsey began.

"Yet you want to say something anyway, otherwise you wouldn't have faked that cough." Ford stated while standing.

"Very well. I have to ask, is this a wise course of action? Even if this vision does or does not come to pass, there is no way this Wraith can be trusted." Woolsey said.

"No Wraith can be trusted." Ford stated.

"I agree." Ronan said.

"This is obviously a trap, and you want to walk right into it?" Woolsey asked.

"That is it exactly." Sheppard stated.

Woolsey looked at the two Generals with a questioning look. Carter shrugged as she stood with the others.

"Wraith stunners don't work on me. If the rest of the team ends up getting stunned, I'll just kill all the Wraith easily. I'll be right back to join you Sheppard." Ford said.

"I have an idea in mind Colonel. Go get ready first, and have Lorne's team do the same." Carter said.

Sheppard nodded and headed out with his team. Woolsey wrote something on his open pad before following them out.

Rodney was walking through the forest and glanced around the location they were in as he was now seeing the area he saw earlier in his vision. The rest were following behind him as they walked through the misty forest.

"This is a real bad idea." Rodney said.

"I guess we are in the area you saw in the vision?" Ford asked.

"Yeah. Really creepy." Rodney said.

"This is coming from the man who doesn't believe the future can be seen." Ronan stated.

"Short of going into it to look that is." Ford said.

"Besides that." Sheppard said.

"Obviously besides that fact. Having a time machine takes everything out of the equation. Maybe you should have went ahead…" Rodney began.

"Crossing into my own timeline, that close, is not a good idea. Just trying to find Teyla's people was dangerous enough." Ford said. "How much further is this area?"

"Not too far. The vision was rather short, in some ways." Rodney said as they came off a small but steep trail.

They exited the forest and saw the remains of ancient stone ruins all around them. One archway was still intact while the others were in pieces or barely standing enough to identify what was once a arched area.

"Hold on. This is the place, this is where it happens." Rodney said.

"Weapons ready then." Ford said as he lifted the Heavy Arms rifle to his shoulder. "Don't make me have to yell duck a second time if I say it, understand?"

"Yes." they said.

They instantly pulled up their weapons the next second as several of the masked Wraith suddenly came out from behind hiding places.

"Quick word of advice to you." Ford said with a growl as the five masked Wraith began circling them. "Your weapons can't stun me, so I will be able to kill you rather quickly. And trying to feed off me isn't a good idea either…"

"So, you are that warrior." the Wraith that was with Sheppard said as he walked out from behind a pillar. "Sheppard, you were suppose to come unarmed. And I didn't think you'd bring him. Though I am not really surprised to see the rest of your team."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Sheppard said while pointing his P-90 at the Wraith talking to him. "We haven't had very good receptions or relations with you guys. You know how it is?"

"Hmm." the Wraith stated with a grunt.

"Besides that, we brought in a little extra back up." Ford said while snapping his fingers in the air.

Two Jumpers uncloaked nearby with their weapons at ready. The Wraith looked at them and then back at Sheppard, who was smiling rather happily.

"So, let's talk." Sheppard said as he lowered his gun.

"Doctor Keller, what have you found out?" Carter asked over the com unit as the gate was open to the planet.

"Well, he seems to be suffering from some sort of lymphatic cancer." Keller said over her earpiece as she walked up and looked out the tent. "There is not a lot I can do for him here. I need to bring him to Atlantis to do a more through check and to see if I am even able to treat him."

"I see no problem with that." Carter said.

"Have you found any anomalies that could be the source of his visions?" Woolsey asked suddenly. When Carter turned and looked at him. "Sorry, force of habit."

"It's a good question though. Do you have anything yet to that Doctor?" Carter asked.

"No. I don't have that equipment here to make that kind of analysis yet." Keller said.

"Bring him in then. And his daughter if she wants to come." Carter said.

"I should be calling back soon then. Um, just to be clear, are we bringing him in to save him or study him?" Keller asked.

"Both." Carter said. "But it will be nothing invasive. You will be performing all the test Doctor and until Ford gets back, we'll wait to see if he can help with anything."

"Understood. I don't see why K-9 can't do a scan since he doesn't even really have to touch the man." Keller said.

"True. We'll be waiting with a medical team at the gate for you. Carter out."

The team came back with the Wraith in question, leaving the other masked Wraith behind. He was taken to the brig area as the team was getting checked out. Wearing a purple suit now, and Keller being back and in the infirmary with Davos and his daughter, Ford thought about going to see the man after Carter gave him an update. Seeing as Keller was still busy and didn't really want to be disturbed, after Carter called down to ask, Ford decided to go with Sheppard and Ronan to see the Wraith. It really took a lot of restraint on his part to not pull his gun and blow the Wraiths head off. K-9 was still with Keller and helping her out so, Ford was at least glad that they were trying to, other than save the man, find out why he had this vision ability.

The three walked around the corner and got saluted by the guard, who opened the door, letting them enter the brig area.

"So much for trust." the Wraith said while sitting on a bench inside the brig.

"You look at us as food. How can there ever be trust?" Ford asked sarcastically. "Besides the fact that your kind almost destroyed my people, do you actually think we'd not be hostile?"

"He makes a good point." Sheppard said while casually putting his hands into his pockets.

"And you tried to ambush us when we got there." Ronan stated with his arms crossed.

"I had no intention of causing you harm." the Wraith said as Ford snorted. "But I could not guarantee your cooperation simply by, throwing myself at your mercy."

He stood slowly as Ronan began pacing around the cell.

"My intention was to have this discussion on neutral ground."

"What discussion?" Sheppard asked.

"My reason for contacting you. I require, your help." the Wraith said.

"Now this is different. And very interesting." Ford said amazed. "I really want to hear this."

"I have to admit, it does sound interesting." Sheppard said. "Go on."

"We worked together once before." the Wraith stated.

"Yes, but it doesn't mean I want to again. But for the sake of interest, what is it you want to work with me on?" Sheppard asked.

"As you know, we are at war. I think you refer to our enemies as, the Replicators."

"Nasty pieces of work." Ford said with a smile. "If it wasn't for the fact they want us wiped out as well, I'd be trying to get on their good side and make a peace treaty with them. Actually, I tried sending a message to them, but they turned me down."

"No surprise there General. So, what about the Replicators?" Sheppard asked.

"We have a weapon, that caused them to reset their directive, causing them to stand down and return to their home planet. At present, it is not working." the Wraith said.

"We know this already." Ford said.

"Why should we care about this?" Sheppard asked.

"It is well known that Doctor McKay is responsible for changes to the Replicator base code. It has allowed them to alter their own programming. Well, knowingly or not, they have since repaired the virus we input into them. Which means, in order to get it working again, I need to know the changes Doctor McKay made."

"I really have to say this, but are you stupid? McKay changed things on purpose because he saw that program in their…." Ford said, trailing off a moment as he waved his hand in thought. "Program. He did something that reactivated the attack program on your people because, quite frankly, we can't protect the entire galaxy from being culled. So, in a sense, the Replicators are helping us get rid of your kind because you are a blight to the universe."

"That's a bit harsh." Sheppard said and then getting a hard glare from the other two. "But considering what they do, I can see why you two want to commit genocide on them…"

"Obviously, you didn't know we were behind the reactivation of the attack code." Ford said while turning back to the Wraith. "Seeing as you haven't told us anything relevant, I'm beginning to think there is no reason to let you live anymore."

"That must mean that you are unaware of the new tactic that they have implemented." the Wraith said with a arrogant smile as he realized he knew something important that they didn't.

"New tactic?" Sheppard asked curious.

"They have realized that we have a certain, vulnerability." the Wraith said with a small smile. "Our food supply."

The three looked at each other, thinking a moment as the Wraith walked closer to the cage wall.

"They have begun annihilating worlds with people on them, to ensure the Wraith have less food to survive."

"Dammit! That explains why a lot of the surveillance computers on several of those worlds have gone silent." Ford said with fury.

Turning quickly on his heel, Ford walked out of the room fast. As Sheppard and Ronan left to go get Rodney to fill him in before going to Carter with the info, Ford went back to the computers where Sheppard and Rodney thought they were playing a game once, and checked out a lot of the places he was working on. Several of the places he was staying in touch with were now silent, but the one with the Star Trek references was still functioning and safe. Telling them to work on making a powerful energy source and to try and build a planetary shield system, plus to build defenses in case the Wraith ever did show up, he left going to Sam.

Carter was in her office, looking over some papers and files on a tablet as Sally was sitting on the couch nearby with her laptop, doing school work.

"Hey there princess." Ford said kissing her forehead.

"Hey daddy." Sally said hugging him briefly as he was still kneeling. "Can we play?"

"I wish we could. I'll try to find time later like I always do." Ford said while rubbing her head gently.

She pouted but said okay since either or both of them did try each day to spend time with her for an hour or more, playing games or doing something with her other than school work.

"You're worried about something." Carter said.

"That Wraith just told us about what the Replicators are doing now. Seeing that look on your face, I guess Sheppard hasn't told you yet." Ford said.

"We were just about to." Sheppard said as he and Rodney entered. "The Wraith are attacking planets with people on them to get rid of the Wraith quicker because we are food."

"That's horrible!" Carter exclaimed.

"A lot of the different planets with those computers I was monitoring have became silent. What ones I have been working on that are left and a few others, I contacted with messages to be careful and some other ideas. The.." Ford said while using his fingers as quotes. "Star Trek planet as I call it, is still safe for the moment. I gave them better instructions and some other ideas in hopes that the Wraith and the Replicators never find them."

"I doubt that this Wraith is lying, seeing as it makes sense that the Replicators would use that tactic. Do we have any proof other than those computers coming up silent?" Carter asked.

"He gave us a gate address to go check out." Sheppard said.

"Is it in the database?" Carter asked.

"Yes, M5S 768. We went there last year and it is or was a thriving pre-industrial society." Rodney said.

"Send a M.A.L.P." Carter ordered.

The two nodded and left quickly. Woolsey was standing by on the upper balcony as the M.A.L.P. was headed for the open gate. There was a small metal box on the top of the right side that had a blinking light that Ford place there recently. Currently, he was down in the T.A.R.D.I.S. waiting for the M.A.L.P. to go through so he could go retrieve it with the T.A.R.D.I.S. after getting the coordinate data back after it went through. Woolsey walked over to the desk nearby in the control room where Rodney was sitting and working the M.A.L.P. remotely with Carter and the rest of Sheppard's team standing behind Rodney watching the laptop screen.

"Receiving the M.A.L.P.'s telemetry." Rodney said typing away. "And, here we go."

The screen came on showing a dark sky and many destroyed ruins around in the view of the camera.

"Oh god, there is no life signs." Rodney said.

"How do we know the Wraith didn't do this?" Woolsey asked.

"We're picking up residual radiation. It is consistent with Replicator energy weapons. He was telling the truth." Rodney said sadly and with horror.

"How many people lived on that planet?" Teyla asked.

"It was estimated somewhere between 50,00 and 75,000." Rodney said slowly. "This is beyond tragic."

They looked at the screen again as they heard a winding and grinding noise.

"And, there is the General now." Sheppard said as they saw the T.A.R.D.I.S. appear.

"Ford, do you pick up any life signs?" Carter said as the door opened.

"No." Ford said a moment later with a remorseful tone. "Not even the ground is fertile enough to grow weeds anymore. They didn't just kill everything, they leveled the planet. Nothing is ever going to grow here again, not for a very long time. I'll be back soon with the M.A.L.P."

Signing off, Rodney shut the link with the M.A.L.P. down to allow Ford remote access to bring it home.

Keller was still working on Davos as his daughter stood nearby and watched.

"What are you doing now?" Linnar asked.

"This machine will scans the cells in his body and hopefully, report any anomalous readings." Keller said as the scanner was going back and forth over him. "Hopefully, it will help us find out exactly what is wrong with him."

"And then you will be able to cure him?" Linnar asked.

"I'll do my best." Keller said as the machine finished and moved past his feet.

"You'll have to forgive her doctor. She is not used to, uncertainty." Davos said as he sat up and turned to let his legs dangle over the side. "I may have spoiled her in that regard."

"Yeah, I heard about your gift. It is remarkable." Keller said impressed.

"I can see many things." Davos said with a small smile that went away. "But unfortunately, my own fate is hidden from me."

"Well, we are trying our best to figure out what is making you sick and we'll do everything in our power to fix whatever this is." Keller said with a reassuring tone.

"I am quite sure that you will." Davos said with a smile.

"I'm going to go look at the results and hopefully will have some good news for you soon." Keller said with hope. "K-9, are you still going over the results?"

"Affirmative." K-9 said from her computer that she was walking up to. "I have the results of his blood test finished if you wish to look at them now doctor."

Rodney was in his lab with Sheppard as Carter and Ford were in her office talking about something seeing as he got back shortly after getting the M.A.L.P. retrieved. After hearing that Keller was pretty much finished with her testing and was waiting on the results, the two were going to go down and talk to the man shortly.

"If we didn't deactivate the attack code, this wouldn't have ever happened." Rodney stated while partially sulking on his chair.

"It was my call, even though the General was also behind it too." Sheppard said.

"But it was my idea. We had the ZPM, could have just gotten another one, still had, I mean could have Elizabeth now and all we had to do was just leave. But I opened my big mouth."

"You had no idea it was going to go this way." Sheppard said.

"You don't know that for sure. Look, you know that nano-virus that caused the fatal aneurisms. I always suspected that the Replicators were behind it." Rodney stated.

"Yeah, but you never proved it."

"You know how they feel about us human, they think we are a mistake. The point is, we should have seen something like this coming."

"I hate to say this, but we should have." Ford said as Carter and Woolsey also entered the lab.

"I know this is hard for everyone to accept right now, but we need to focus on some sort of solution to the problem." Carter said.

"I think the most obvious solution would to be to just shut down the attack command again." Rodney stated.

"Can we do that?" Woolsey asked.

"It's been done before, just not by us." Rodney said.

"No, we can't." Ford stated.

"Pardon?" Carter asked.

"It would be possible. That Wraith says he has the original virus and knowing what I know and knowing what he knows…" Rodney began.

"No. I hate to say this, but we have to look at the bigger picture here. The Replicators want to see us and this city destroyed along with all humans. However, their current program of importance is to destroy the Wraith. We get rid of that code, they will turn their attention to finding us if they haven't already learned of our position. As bad as this sounds, we are more important than everyone else out there in this galaxy." Ford said as they gave him varied looks, except Carter who already understood what he was saying. "Look, we shut down the code, the Wraith go back to culling everyone and the Replicators and Wraith will pretty much leave each other alone or possibly make a limited treaty between each other to eradicate all the humanoids in the universe. Which means that we will be fighting against two strong forces that we would eventually loose to. With that code on, unfortunately, many people will end up dying like they have been, but we will still be here to do everything we can to keep this galaxy from being completed taken over by either enemy and Earth safe from being attacked or gotten to by the gate. The attack code stays on, my orders. Do you understand?"

From the looks on their faces and the slow nods, they understood the situation all to well.

"I agree with him." Carter said.

"I need to contact my superiors." Woolsey stated.

"If they have any problems, have them contact me." Ford said.

Later that night, the city was all lit up as the skies overhead were cloudy, making it impossible to see the stars. It did make the city stand out since she was alone in the ocean, but since no ships had came around or even nearby the solar system they were in, they were all safe. Keller was still looking over the results and other test she did while everyone else was working on something or asleep. Both Carter's were looking at a screen in her office that showed two planets that blipped slowly. Sheppard came in as they were talking about personal stuff.

"We've confirmed two more planets have been destroyed. That makes three so far." Carter said.

"Eight total then. We didn't go to the other planets that I was monitoring on those computers." Ford said.

"How many lives have been lost?" Carter asked.

"Well, the estimate is…" Sheppard began.

"Full total, including the other planets we didn't personally check." Carter demanded.

"Around 150,000 with the three we checked." Sheppard stated.

"That makes it near 500,000 with the five planets I have lost contact with." Ford said slowly. "We need to do something, other than shutting that code off."

"Rodney is thinking and working. He had an idea to see about making a code that, if we could upload it into the Replicators, we could make it so that they leave humans alone and only attack the Wraith. K-9 is helping him on that at the moment." Sheppard said.

"It's a good idea. Just the uploading part…" Ford muttered.

"Is the hard part. Yeah, he has K-9 with him to see about using the T.A.R.D.I.S. in some way to accomplish this task." Sheppard said.

"I hope they get something soon." Carter said.

"Anything from Woolsey yet?" Sheppard asked, changing the subject quickly.

"Other than he contacted the I.O.A. and they are taking whatever he told them under advisement, we haven't got anything back yet." Carter said sitting behind her desk tiredly.

"They are very good at all that debating and bickering. However, they will do what they did with Elizabeth, at the end of the day, they left her holding the bag and waited to see what she did so they could do what they do best to point out her mistakes and failures to avoid getting themselves in any trouble." Sheppard said.

"Now I know why you didn't want the job." Carter said.

"That and the paperwork is hell. What are we going to do with that Wraith though?" Sheppard asked.

"You know more about the Wraith than most of the people on Atlantis and have dealt with this one in particular. Ford figures we should just shoot him and get it over with, I have to agree it sounds like the best idea since we'd have one less to fight, but…" Carter said thinking a moment. "We did only bring him here to talk since he wanted to come only to talk and hasn't tried to fight back or cause trouble. Letting him go isn't the greatest idea, but I'd rather we not look like people who go back on their word, even if they are enemies."

"I know what you mean." Sheppard said. "Besides just killing him, do you have any ideas General?"

"Well, Rodney could work with him on trying to shut off the base code, just so we have an idea of how far the Wraith have came and maybe find out more about the Replicators code from them in order to hopefully finish or come up with something that helps with what Rodney is doing now. We just have to keep it very secret about that plan to make the Replicators only attack Wraith and no one else." Ford said.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll talk to Rodney. If that is okay…" Sheppard began.

"Yes, go ahead Colonel." she said.

"This is Doctor Keller to Sam, you and the General there?" Keller asked over the line as Sheppard stopped at the doorway.

"Yeah, we are both here." Carter said.

"Can you come down here, there is something I want to show you."

"We'll be right there." Carter said. "Go talk to Rodney Colonel."

The two entered the infirmary and saw her sitting at one of the various desk that had her laptop and a couple of the large plasma screens with various test results on them.

"So, how's he doing?" Carter asked as she glanced at the bed the man was in, in the next room with his daughter.

"Not good. He went into convulsions awhile ago. I had to give him a sedative. The truth is, we got him here too late." Keller said sadly.

"Anything in the T.A.R.D.I.S. that might help? Anything K-9 said that would either?" Ford asked.

"Other than mentioning that it was possible that Vala Mal Doran may be able to do something with that hand healing device, there is nothing I can do but help alleviate his symptoms. I do not expect him to live very much longer though." Keller said.

"I can go get her in a minute. What is it you wanted us to see?" Ford asked.

"I got the results of his brain scans." Keller said while punching a few keys. "He has an abnormally high synaptic activity. Very similar to what happened to Doctor McKay when he used that ascension device. Davos's case is different because it is not as extreme as McKay's got and his is not advancing. From what I can gather and from what K-9 and a few other test conclude, he's been this way his whole life." Keller said with fascination.

"He was born this way?" Carter asked.

"Pretty much. He's a genetic mistake. One in a million, or more. Um, if you didn't know already, Mr. Woolsey has already asked to have all the test results, made into copies for him and the I.O.A." Keller said unsure of what to do.

"That doesn't surprise me." Carter said. "The test results are important, and nothing invasive was done from everything you've reported."

"Doctor? He's awake." Linnar said as she came out.

"You…" Carter began.

"I'll go get Vala after seeing him." Ford said as they went into the next room.

"How are you feeling?" Keller asked as she went to his right side and felt his pulse.

"Much better, thank you." Davos said while sitting up.

"Hi, I am General Carter." Carter said.

"Ah, the other leader of these people, and the wife of this man."

"Yes." Carter said nodding with a smile.

"It is not an easy task, I imagine." Davos said with a small chuckle.

"Some days are worse than others. Being a mom at the same time does add to the stress, but we manage." Carter said noticing the man meant being a parent and a leader. "In the end, it is all worth it."

"I understand all to well then my dear. I was once in a position of authority myself once and am still being a parent at the same time. It is unfortunate that I have had to do it alone for sometime. Your child is very fortunate to have both of you still around." Davos said.

"Having the ability to see the future must have helped out a lot." Carter said.

"Not as much as you think. It is not easy when you are dealing with family and an entire village of people." Davos said tiredly.

"I can see where that would be very difficult." Carter said.

"Yes. I am quite sure you do." Davos said and then held out his hand. "There is something that you should see."

"Um, he really wanted to do it more than I and really, in your condition…" Carter began.

"I know I am not well. But this is very important…" Davos said still reaching.

"Go ahead Sam." Ford said giving her a light push.

She held out her hand as he grasped it and then closed his eyes. Ford resisted the urge to pull her away as she gasped and shook slightly for the five seconds he held her hand. Letting go, he leaned back into the bed as she backed away a step.

"Oh my god!" Carter gasped with fear and worry as she held her chest with one hand for a moment.

"What did you see?" Ford asked as he spun her around.

"Atlantis, being destroyed. There was an Atlantian ship over the city and it was bombarding the city. The main tower collapsed quickly as the rest of the city was being blown apart." Carter said rapidly.

"That….is very strange. The T.A.R.D.I.S. would pick up any ship coming at us, even in hyperspace." Ford said confused.

"Maybe it happens…no. The sky was clear and sunny and right now, it's nighttime." Carter said also confused. "Give me a moment to think…"

"I'll be right back. Count to thirty. By that time, the T.A.R.D.I.S. should arrive just outside the infirmary." Ford said and then quickly rushed out.

"Where is he going?" Linnar asked.

"To get help that should save your father." Carter said seeing the woman's face light up.

At thirty one seconds, Carter began to worried, but it went away as they heard the winding and grinding noise. Vala was in blue jeans and a blue blouse that was tight to her chest as she entered with Ford behind her.

"That was quick." Keller said as she moved to let Vala stand by the bed.

"Hey Vala." Carter said with a small wave.

"Hey Sam!" Vala said while putting the device over the mans chest. "So nice to see you two again. Daniel is still being a pain in ass as ever. Can't seem to see…"

"Vala…" Ford warned.

"Oh, very well. I need to concentrate anyway. Hmm, you are really sick." Vala said as she focused.

"I know." Davos said as she ran the device over his head and other areas of his body.

"Can you help him?" Keller asked.

"Going to take some time, but I think I can do it." Vala said.

"We'll come back later then. Keep us apprised doctor." Carter said.

"I am sorry." Davos said to Carter.

"The vision you gave Rodney helped us to keep from being captured. Knowing what you showed her, we'll be more prepared for the future attack. You actually helped us more than harmed. And, once she is done, you'll be able to go back home and live out the rest of your life without being sick anymore." Ford said. "Assuming it works."

"What about his ability?" Linnar asked.

"Um…" the two began.

"I don't know." Keller said as Vala was still working. "I'll have to see what the test results say when she is finished. But being able to live longer at the cost of losing his ability would be worth it. At least I think so."

"You're right. We will just have to adapted to not having his gift. If you could not have saved my father, we would have lost his ability anyway." Linnar said with thanks.

The next morning, Woolsey and Sheppard were in Carter's office and she told them both of what she saw. Vala was in a guest room sleeping from working for over an hour on Davos and from the test results Keller was getting, the man was going to live, even though he had lost his gift.

"We must stop trusting that Wraith and get rid of him, now!" Woolsey said.

"Hang on a minute…" Sheppard began.

"Now look Colonel, Doctor McKay's vision came true exactly as he saw it.." Woolsey began.

"And because we knew about it before hand, we were able to stop the capture he was sure about to happen. We've have a much better understanding of time travel and future things than anyone else on Earth. Well, besides Doc Brown, but I have no idea where he is." Ford said.

"The Replicators will not be destroying this city, especially if I have anything to say about it." Sheppard stated forcefully. "And now that Sam has had that vision, we can be more prepared for the attack. We can have around the clock scans taking place from the city sensors and from the T.A.R.D.I.S. to make sure that no one comes at us without knowing way ahead of time."

"Right. Just like McKay, we can implement measures to keep the city on alert to ensure that what I saw does not come to pass." Carter said.

"It is likely that the Replicators come and attack this city because we decided to side with the Wraith against them." Woolsey stated.

"We aren't siding with them. A little collaboration to help ourselves to information this Wraith has that we don't is all that is happening." Ford said.

"Yes, I have heard about this plan to change their codes once again. What if changing their codes is what makes them attack this city? Have you thought about that?" Woolsey asked.

"We have." Carter said. "We are looking at several different options and at the moment, we have people going around the city to double check to make sure we don't have some hidden device the Replicators left behind to monitor us or anything like that that is of a Replicator in nature. So far, other than the room where Replicator research and development that the Atlantians were doing at one time, we haven't found anything else."

"Sam, go over the vision once again and concentrate on the tower collapsing." Ford said while thinking. "What did you see exactly?"

"There was a Replicator ship above the city, it was a bright and sunny day. They were bombing us with drones in various areas. I had a few visions of seeing the inside of the city blowing up and people running around in mass panic."

"Anyone stand out?" Ford asked.
"I think I saw John. I saw Doctor Keller too."

"Focus on the tower again. Were we firing back at all?" Ford asked.

"Wait, we weren't firing back." Carter said with realization. "No weapons were firing back at all. In fact, there was no weapons platform on the tower at all!"

"Can you let the rest of us in on what you two are thinking?" Sheppard asked.

"I've got a theory." Ford said quickly. "Remember that planet you went to where the people lived in a city like this one that was buried under the ground?"

"Yeah…" Sheppard said.

"K-9 already found out that there was more than one city like this one made. I forget the name of the one you and your team found, but there is a city named Athens out there, Olympus and a few other names." Carter said. "The database doesn't really say where the other cites are or ended up, but we have teams out and looking for those cities anyway. Because of the modifications we have made to this city, AKA, the weapon platforms that we have up and completely active, what I saw could have been another city we find in the future, perhaps in the next few months or in the next year, and while we are trying to get that one running again, the Replicators find it and attack it. For all we know, one of the cities could be in their territory. All the weapon placements are there and finished, so, unless we suddenly remove them, which is highly unlikely, then what I saw can't be this city."

"I could also be one of their cities on their planet that we managed to go and capture, which is a idea only being tossed around until we have better intel on the chance of it actually happening, only to fail once we have landed her on this planet or another planet." Ford said.

"I understand." Woolsey said. "The I.O.A. is still looking over the various proposals for what you want to do if you find any more of the cities out there. As for the capturing of one of their cities, we still think that is a very bad idea. The very fact the city is comprised of Replicator parts, even if they are not human form, is still too dangerous."

"I'm still working on details myself for that plan anyway." Ford said.

"I believe that the city I saw being attacked is not this one. I can't see any reason for taking the weapon platforms down anyway as I said. They have all been tested and everything worked out perfectly. And they are designed not to be able to hit the city nor are they even hooked up to the cities power grid. One part of the vision did show me looking at the city from away from it, and I didn't see the weapon platforms on the piers either. Besides, from what we understand, all the cities pretty much look the same anyway. Atlantis stands out from the others because of the various modifications." Carter said.

"This does change many things. I will need to inform the I.O.A. I did not see the visions myself, but if you are absolutely positive that the city you saw being attacked was not this one, then all we need to do is be very careful in the future, if and when we find another city." Woolsey said as Carter nodded. "In the meantime, continuing the work with the Wraith, whenever they finally start, isn't a great idea, but if it helps us get a better understanding of the Replicators, I see no reason to stop what Doctor McKay is doing. He is the only Wraith on the base so, we don't have to worry about him leaking any information at this moment. But I still want the extra security there to make sure he doesn't try to find out what are real motives are."

"I agree." Carter said.

"General.." a man said as he entered from the control room. "'s. Um, we've got a problem."

"What's it is?" Carter asked with worry as they followed him to a scanning station.

"As you know, we routinely track Wraith or any other ships that we can detect on our long range sensors. Most of them have stayed very far from this system and planet, or just pass through without ever knowing we are here. However, this one has changed its course." he said pointing at the amp on the screen. "It is headed here."

"They don't know we are here though." Woolsey said.

"They are not suppose to." Sheppard said.

"Go talk to that Wraith Colonel." Ford said as he headed out quickly. "I'm raising the shields on the T.A.R.D.I.S. just in case."

"Have K-9 go with you to monitor things in case we need you up here or something." Carter yelled.

"No problem!" Ford yelled from down a hallway he was running.

"What did you do?" Sheppard asked as he entered to brig room quickly.

"What are you referring to?" the Wraith asked.

"There is a ship on the way." Sheppard stated.

"Ah, they must have picked up my signal." the Wraith said while nodding.

"What signal?" Sheppard asked somewhat confused and also angry.

"Ask your Satedan friend, he is familiar with the technology." the Wraith said.

"A subspace tracking device." Sheppard growled.

"I had it implanted." the Wraith said casually.

"We should have detected it." Sheppard stated.

"I only activated it after you brought me here. The ship is necessary to help me complete my plan. The Replicator virus is contained within its databanks. Once it arrives, we can begin our work."

"When it gets here, we are going to blow it out of the skies." Sheppard said as he began to walk off.

"Now that would be unwise Sheppard. That Hive is loyal to me. And for the moment, are the only ones that know the location of Atlantis." he said and then got up as his voice got louder. "And if you attack them, they will broadcast this location to ever known Hive in the galaxy."

"All personal, repeat, all personal, the shield is now online around the city. Until further notice, there will be no traveling to the mainland, or anyone coming back for the moment. That is all." Carter said over the city wide speaker system.

"Hmm." the Wraith said while glancing up. "I see the shield does not take as much power as we thought. The lights never even dimmed."

"We've….made some modifications." Sheppard said offhandedly.

"It does not matter. We should not be at odds with each other John Sheppard. We need each other, even though we are technically enemies, being allies will suit us both. My ship will not attack unless provoked."

Rodney was in his lab working on a couple of laptops as he bit his fingers every so often.

"Rodney, can you turn off or modify the Replicators base code yet, or do you need to have the help of the Wraith?" Carter asked as she and Sheppard entered.

"I was doing better with K-9 helping."

"Really? I'm surprised to hear you say that about someone." Carter said.

"He's a machine, not…." Rodney said turning from his computer and seeing the scowl on her face.

"Who's a machine?" Ford asked as he entered.

"He's talking about K-9." Carter said.

"K-9 is a machine though." Ford stated with a frown.

"He meant it in a, bad way." Carter said giving Rodney a glare.

"I did not mean it like…look, the dog I can deal with being smarter, faster and better than me. He's a highly advanced computer that can make his own decisions and talk while making few if any mistakes. You two and Radek, I can't help but want to compete with on intelligence." Rodney said with distain.

"I can't tell if that was an insult or complement." Carter muttered.

"Okay, if you three are done….ego bashing each other, and the dog, we need to figure out what we are going to do before that Wraith ship arrives." Sheppard said even as he got looks. "Hey, I was about to say pissing contest…"

Carter shook her head and muttered something about immaturity as Ford and Rodney rolled their eyes.

"Where are you Rodney?" Carter asked.

"Here obvious…" Rodney said stopping quickly. "It was difficult, but not impossible to change what I did when I did back…anyway, K-9 and I were working on both ideas. Changing their code back so they don't attack the Wraith is difficult. Yes, I can do it, but not before that ship arrives. Once I see what information the Wraith has, I can give you a better idea. As for the idea on changing it so they only attack the Wraith and not go after humanoids anymore, that is going to take a bit more time since I have to do it alone and keep the Wraith from seeing that project going on with the two laptops over there."

"We can hide them or put them in another room nearby." Ford suggested.

"A temporary wall would work, that way if I come up with something, then I could put it into either laptop quickly while the Wraith is busy on a different one. Just have a few guards in here to keep watch so he doesn't go, wherever I put them and to ensure he doesn't eat me. If he does have the original virus, then it will help my progress on both projects." Rodney said.

"He said that the ship coming is only here to give the virus code to be worked on and that it won't give away our position to the rest of the Wraith as long as we don't attack it." Sheppard said.

"Do you believe him?" Carter asked.

"Yeah, at the moment, I think he is. Seeing as the Replicators are killing them and their food supply, shutting off the code would make the Replicators do something else other than attacking both sides. At least that is what I think he is thinking." Sheppard said.

"I'm keeping the shield up anyway and getting personnel to those weapon placements in case they do attack anyway." Ford said.

"Good idea. You get whatever you need ready Rodney, or set up in another lab or room while Sheppard gets the Wraith." Carter said. "Zelenka can work on that project, giving you a head start on it while working with the Wraith."

Davos was outside, overlooking the city from a balcony with a nurse nearby and his daughter, just in case. He was feeling much better, though sad that he lost his ability seeing as Teyla came to him shortly after hearing he was awake in hopes that he knew something. He did know why she came to see him and could only tell her that her people where alive, though shrouded in darkness. Which he only knew about somewhat back when they showed up the first time and he spoke to her for a brief moment. Beyond that, he was unsure of their future and was sorry he was unable to try harder since his gift was gone. He also knew she was with child and that she shouldn't be keeping the burden of her people bottled up so much because of being pregnant and that she should share this pleasure of life with others instead of keeping it a secret. After thanking him for what he could give her, she went to a meeting that was taking place in the conference room on the next hour.

"What is the plan, in case this Wraith decides to tell the rest of the Wraith in this galaxy about us shortly after the ship arrives?" Woolsey asked. "We have no assurance that this Wraith will keep his word like he did with you back then Colonel Sheppard."

"I know. Even if we help the Wraith and turn off the code, he could just as easily rat us out to the rest of his buddies and we'd have, possibly, the entire Wraith race attacking us by the end of the month." Sheppard said.

"Unfortunately, the Odyssey isn't here otherwise we could possibly set up a field to keep them from transmitting any signals outside this system." Rodney said.

"I could do it with the T.A.R.D.I.S., but that would mean doing so with her off the city, which places the city in danger." Ford said.

"We can't do that. General Carter, Samantha, may have seen another city destroyed in that vision, but that doesn't mean this city won't be attacked anytime after the Wraith ship arrives. I know that the I.O.A. and the U.S. government has no say so in what you do with that ship, but I do not approve of you using the T.A.R.D.I.S. for anything right now except keeping this city safe." Woolsey stated.

"I agree." Carter said. "There is too many people in this city to evacuate quickly and even though we have enough power to raise the shields, the less times we use them, the more power we have to use on other things."

"I won't be taking her anywhere until that ship has gone." Ford said.

"How about we just monitor the ship after it arrives, make sure they aren't sending any hidden signals to other ships as they send us the info on that virus, and once we have the information, we blow them up?" Sheppard asked.

"It would be possibly. We already know enough to listen to their transmissions, so tracing to see if they are double crossing us…" Rodney said.

"Rodney, can you figure out how to do either of our ideas, once we have the virus data, without having to use the Wraiths help?" Carter asked.

"Well yeah, especially if K-9 is helping. But the Wraith would only be helping on the shutting off of the code completely part…" Rodney said.

"Can you do both while making it seem like you are having trouble figuring out how to shut them off like the Wraith really want? The sooner we come up with a way to make it so the Replicators only attack the Wraith, the better. And hopefully before the Wraith and you figure out how to redo the original virus." Carter said.

"The longer that ship stays in orbit, the more likely we'll have either more Wraith or Replicators or both on our asses." Sheppard said.

"With K-9 hiding while helping, plus seeing the original virus, I'm pretty sure I can do it within a couple of hours." Rodney said. "Maybe less."

"Alright, we'll hope for the best and keep watch on the Wraith ship when it arrives. Rodney, you go back and keep working. The rest of you stay ready for anything. Woolsey, seeing as you want to make a through report on just about everything here, I am going to go talk to the Wraith before the ship arrives, are you coming?" Carter asked while standing.

"I, might as well. Like you once said General, unless you've been out there and seen what the enemy is, you have no idea what we are really fighting."

"Something like that." Ford said with a small smile. "Don't worry, he won't be getting loose on my watch."

The three were walking down the hallway to the brig and passed by several guards.

"I've only seen pictures and reports, but never seen a Wraith face to face before." Woolsey said.

"They aren't pretty at all. I hear the Queens are even less appealing too." Ford said.

The guard pushed some buttons and the door opened before them.

"I think I'll let you two enter first." Woolsey said as he waved them ahead.

They chuckled lightly as they entered with him behind them.

"Open it." Carter said.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Ford asked quickly as the guard stopped.

"We've got four guards in here and you. The Wraith need us a bit more than we need them right now." Carter said.

"Good point. Alright, if, and that is if, he does something and I don't stop him first, the rest of you don't hesitate." Ford said looking at the guards who nodded in understanding.

The shield dropped as the Wraith stood and the door opened.

"Him you already know. I am General Samantha Carter and this is Richard Woolsey." Carter said pointing them out.

"I see." the Wraith said nodding to Woolsey before turning back to her. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I understand that you are the leader of this city."

"Yes, I am. Now, from what I have been told about you, you want to work on a joint venture to stop the Replicators." Carter said crossing her arms with a defiant look.

"Yes."

"The last time we did this, things worked out very badly." Carter stated.

"You were betrayed, believe me, I can understand your reluctance. If it helps, I am surprised I have not already been killed." the Wraith said.

"We are a bit surprised that you haven't tried to attack or escape." Ford said.

"You and your people may be just our prey, but we know you aren't stupid, nor am I. It would be more than foolish to even try anything." the Wraith said.

"Before you two decide to go at it because of, genetics or ego.." Carter said getting their attention. "Here's the deal, your ship stays in orbit and we help you on our terms. You try anything or that ship moves in closer to tries anything we don't like, we blow it out of the sky."

"Fair enough." the Wraith said nodding.

"The program you have will be downloaded into one of our non networked computers in the lab. All research will be done in this city and you will remain under constant guard. And when it is done, we keep the virus." Carter said.

"It won't be easy to upload it into the Replicator network. Are you sure you are up to the task?" the Wraith asked.

"We've done it before, we can do it again." Carter stated. "And, despite how it sounds, we want the Replicators to stop killing us for better reasons that you do."

"Understandable argument General. Very well, I agree to your terms." the Wraith said bowing slightly.

"Once this is over, what are you going to do then?" Carter asked.

"During my time with the Genii as a prisoner, I lost my position within the Wraith. I still have loyal followers, but nothing like I once had."

"You want to use this to leverage your way back in?" Woolsey asked.

"In a manner of speaking." the Wraith said truthfully.

"Sooner or later, we are going to end up on opposite sides." Carter stated.

"Yes. But not today. Do we have an agreement?"

"We do." Carter said nodding.

"I believe it is customary to shake hands." the Wraith said lifting his hand.

The guards started to tense and aim when she waved her left hand while holding out her right, gripping his to his surprise. Woolsey looked at Ford, thinking he might try something, but was surprised the man was actually smiling.

"It is, but I should warn you, I am one of the humans that can't be fed on, so if you wish to try, you'll hurt me but kill yourself." Carter said with a fake sweet smile.

Letting go, he backed up as they left. The door closed and the shield came back on as they left the room and the door to the brig closed behind them.

"I really hope you know what you are doing. And that was very dangerous! He could have used you as a hostage…" Woolsey began.

"The moment he tried to feed, if he had succeeded, if the poison her blood gave him didn't kill him, my gun would have." Ford said.

"How is it that you are immune like him?" Woolsey asked.

"The heart transplant. I'm still human even though my blood is different if you know what to look for. I can't give blood to others and seeing as the infirmary visits after missions is bad enough…" Carter said trailing off. "On the plus side, the benefits greatly outweigh everything else."

A couple of hours later, the ship dropped out of hyperspace. The T.A.R.D.I.S. shield was currently down to allow the transmission, but was ready to go back up the instant they got what they needed. It was also able to surround the city faster than the cities would do for itself.

"They just dropped out of hyperspace General." Chuck said.

"Are they powering weapons?" Carter asked.

"Negative. They are sending a transmission."

"Rodney, you should be getting it now." Carter said into her earpiece.

"Yeah, I see it coming." Rodney said from inside the other lab nearby his that had several computers set up for him and the Wraith.

"That's it?" Ronan asked.

"What did you expect?" Rodney asked while looking over the info as it came in.

"A big gun."

"Sorry to disappoint." Rodney said with his usual sarcasm. "Sam, that's it, we've got it all."

"Okay Rodney, get to work then. Ford, we've got it." Carter said into her watch.

"Raising shield." Ford reported back.

No one saw or heard anything unless they looked at the water outside, which would look funny because the shield surrounded the city five feet from the structure. The water against the shield would look funny because the shield was showing, but otherwise, above the city, everything looked normal and open.

"I can go down and get in the chair, finish this all real quick." Sheppard said.

"Can't risk it. Besides, all the weapon platforms out there combined can hit the ship and blow it apart quicker if we have to, and a lot quicker than those drones can hit it in order to destroy the ship before it can send out a transmission." Carter said touching her earpiece again. "The Wraith can be taken to the lab now."

"The weapon platforms are all pointed at the ship already, right?" Sheppard asked.

"All powered up and ready to fire at a moments notice." Carter said as Sheppard nodded.

Sometime later, as evening was drawing near, the two were still working on the problem in the lab. Rodney was doing a pretty good job of making it look like he wasn't sure what he was doing while also having a good idea, even though the solution for both ideas wasn't finished. K-9 was still looking over the results while trying to come up with a program to make the Replicators attack only the Wraith as he also monitored the other two's work. The Wraith was unable to touch anything because his hands where chained to a strong leather belt around his waist to keep him from eating or touching or taking anything.

"No, no, no, this is all wrong." the Wraith said in aggravation.

"What do you mean?" Rodney asked while turning around from the laptop in front of him.

"You must iterate all values of the expression before you can aggregate the results."

"Are you kidding? We're better off using known data points and extrapolating." Rodney stated.

"You risk compounding errors. If my hands were free, I could help you." the Wraith said leaning into his face.

"No, it's fine. I can do it myself. Thanks." Rodney said backing away slightly.

"As you wish." he said walking away.

Rodney kept working the best he could while going slow about it like he had to, thinking heavily on the next part when he was really thinking on what K-9 gave him updates on in his ear. Seeing something looking wrong, he did a quick check and realized something was wrong with what he was reading.

"We've been watching carefully, but that ship has yet to send out any signal." Ford said.

"I know. They must have sent out a signal before they jumped into hyperspace for here or shortly after arriving here." Carter said. "They haven't realized we have a shield up have they?"

"Not that we have seen." Ford said.

"What do we do if the entire Wraith fleet comes here?" Woolsey asked.

"The shield would withstand the planet blowing up under it. I don't want to see this planet destroyed, but I can't risk the shield by enveloping the entire planet for a long period of time." Ford said.

"If they did come, we'd just use the new energy beam weapons we have to blow what ships we can away in hopes that they run off realizing they can't get through the shield." Carter said. "Hopefully, they won't show up though."

"We got a problem. He is holding out on us." Rodney said as he came in. "Part of the virus is missing. There are minor subroutines missing, nothing that would be greatly affected by minor changes I made to the Replicator base code, but still, necessary to make it work, and quite possibly the other program as well. I wouldn't have noticed it, but….I'm really good at what I do."

"K-9 just informed us he realized the program was incomplete about ten minutes ago." Ford said.

"And you're now telling me?!" Rodney exclaimed.

"We've got another problem. Obviously, he is holding much more than the rest of the program. Sensors indicate that another Wraith ship is on the way here." Carter said. "We were talking about that when you came in."

Sheppard, Rodney, Ronan, and Ford went down to the lab with the Wraith, plus guards nearby. Ford didn't have his weapons out, but Ronan did and had it pointed at the Wraith.

"I swear I know nothing of this." the Wraith stated after hearing about the coming ship.

"Right, another Wraith ship is just coming for no other reason. You gave our position to another Hive ship." Sheppard stated.

"Why would I betray you now when we have begun to trust each other?" the Wraith said.

"We are not really, are we? You held back some of the virus." Rodney stated.

"Yes." the Wraith admitted. "A small portion, but not enough to keep us from completing our work. Once that is done, I will gladly transmit the rest of the virus."

"I say we kill him right now." Ronan stated.

"I agree." Sheppard said.

"We can't do that, as much as I want to." Ford said. "He needs us as much as we need him in order to keep more people from dying."

"I had no way of knowing that you wouldn't simply take the virus and then, kill me." the Wraith said.

"I'd be lying if we didn't let that idea cross our minds." Ford said. "However, we are trying to be as trusting as possible."

"The point here is, you lied. How do we know that you aren't lying about the other ship?" Ronan asked.

"The Wraith are divided into many camps. There is much suspicion and mistrust. The last thing I need is for another Hive to appear before I can complete my work." the Wraith stated.

"That's it. That is why the other ship is coming. They tracked a single ship, off on its own, in the middle of nowhere on a supposedly inhabited planet." Rodney said snapping his fingers. "That would raise a few eyebrows. Well, if you had eyebrows."

"I agree with Rodney. The Wraith aren't trustworthy, considering what we are to them, but something tells me this guy is really trying to help us and himself." Ford said. "Himself as to his people anyway. It makes sense considering the troubles they are in right now."

"Yeah, it does." Carter said nodding.

"There is only one solution. You must cloak the city to avoid detection." the Wraith said. "Once they are gone, we can start the work again."

"Cloaking the city means dropping the shield, leaving us vulnerable to attack. This is what he wanted all along. He's been playing us from the start!" Woolsey stated in her office where Sheppard and Ford were also.

"We'll be just fine." Ford said. "The city isn't using its shields, so we can cloak the city and still have the shields up at the same time. The only problem is that because the city is on the water, once we cloak, they may or may not notice something because of the disturbance in the water from the shield."

"We can do that? I didn't think it was possible to be cloaked and have a shield at the same time." Woolsey said.

"Normally, it is not." Carter said. "But the T.A.R.D.I.S. is not hooked up to the city, therefore, is can keep us protected while we are cloaked."

"And if it does attack or try to come down to see what is going on?" Woolsey asked.

"The other Hive may attack it, or leave or not do anything, or possibly come up with some bogus story that makes the other Hive leave or something else. It won't be here for another two hours and maybe by then, Rodney will be finished and the Wraith ship above us will hopefully be already gone by then." Sheppard said.

"If they attack, we'll just have to uncloak and fight back." Ford stated.

"If it comes down to that, I suggest we only attack the other vessel if it attacks us and the other leaves us alone." Carter said. "Yes, we can't trust this Wraith and he may well in fact be lying about the ship coming, but if he is telling the truth, his help will be a great help to us in the fight against the Replicators, so we are better off staying his ally for the moment."

"Considering the backing we have, both on offense and defense, I agree General." Sheppard said looking at Sam.

Later, as night was nearing, Sheppard was in the control room with several other people, including Carter. Zelenka was at the computer controls for various power distribution, which included cloaking and the city shields, plus activating the cities thrusters and other engines. Rodney was still down working on the program since Radek was more than capable of working the controls in the command center.

"The other Hive ship will be exited hyperspace in one minute General." Chuck said from a different console.

"Alright, Radek, activate the cloak." Carter said and then turned to the console with the com system. "Attention all personnel, this is General Carter. We are now activating the cloaking system. To help ensure that we keep from being noticed, all communications will be stopped until I say we are in the clear. For the moment, I'd like everyone to stop what they are doing, power wise, just in case. That is all."

"The city is cloaked." Radek reported.

"Are you sure you don't want me…" Sheppard began.

"We can save the drones for another time John. Ford?" Carter asked into her watch.

"The shield is still online. No problems or errors to report." Ford said.

"Okay, let's all go for radio silence until this is over, and hopefully soon." Carter said shutting off her earpiece. "Keep watch on both ships, but don't do anything that either of them might be able to trace."

"Yes ma'am." Chuck said.

"The second Hive just dropped out of hyperspace behind the other ship General." another man reported a few moments later.

She nodded and they all glanced around waiting.

"The first Hive is sending a transmission to the other Hive." Chuck reported.

"Let's hope it makes the other Hive leave." Woolsey muttered.

"Power spike General! Both ships just powered weapons!"

"Damn, that didn't take long." Carter muttered while putting her earpiece back in. "Ford, keep a watch on the shields. We're about to take a pounding from both ships."

"Great." Ford said sarcastically over the line.

"I hate to say this, but this is not going to look good in the report." Woolsey said.

"You know, that really isn't important…" Carter began.

"General, the two Hives are firing at each other. Not us." Chuck said surprised and confused.

"What?" several people in the control room asked.

"Are you sure?" Carter asked quickly.

"Absolutely General. All readings indicate they are blowing the hell out of each other. I guess the Wraith have even more problems with their own people than we thought." Chuck said while still watching the sensors with her over his shoulder. "The Hive that arrived just exploded. And the shockwave took the other out."

"Check the sensor logs for any transmissions. Was anything sent out of this system?" Carter asked quickly.

Several people looked over the logs quickly.

"The only transmissions we detected were between the two ships. Unless they communicated to other Hives by some way we can't detect, our location is still safe." Radek stated.

"Good." Carter said touching the com button. "Attention all personnel, the Wraith ships blew each other up, so as you were. Radek, drop the cloak. Woolsey, I think this should look real good in that report, ya think?"

"I think so too." Woolsey said proudly.

"John, you can call the people in from their post on the weapons outside. I think we are in the clear for now." Carter said.

"Dropping shield." Ford said over the com. "Unless we say otherwise later, it's safe to go play in the water and outside the city again."

Morning came for the city and everyone inside. Moral was up, not surprising since two more Hive ships were chalked up onto the destroyed board. Everyone was working without having any worries of an imminent attack so the only real worry was the fact there was a Wraith still in the city, but at least under heavy guard, and working in the lab that morning after Rodney got out of bed. Linnar and her father went back home, a bit fearful of the future because they didn't know what to expect since he couldn't see it, but were happy because he was alive, even though his gift was gone. Carter told them to just call if they needed anything and that someone or a group would come from the city from time to time to check on them otherwise. Giving them some medical supplies and food, they let them go with a team to help.

The Wraith was obviously unhappy about loosing his ship, but didn't say much about it, other than he was glad to see that the work was going to continue. Woolsey was finished and shook both of the Carter's hands, saying he had a interesting time and that they were doing a pretty good job considering that they also juggled having a family that was in the city as well. After telling them to keep up the good work and good luck, he went through the gate to Midway before going to Earth.

"Where's Woolsey?" Sheppard asked as he entered the gate room.

"He just left." Carter said.

"That's not fair. I didn't even get to say goodbye." Sheppard said as he followed the two out and down a corridor.

"Maybe next time." Ford said.

"McKay still working?" Carter asked.

"Yep. Despite loosing his ship, he still is happy to see we're working to finish the virus. Rodney is pretty sure he has a good idea of how the original virus is capable of being used again to do what the Wraith what him to do, but as for what we want, he and K-9 figure it might be a bit more time." Sheppard said.

"Seeing as we made a agreement with them on us keeping the virus, McKay could just finish it and then we can send this Wraith to some other planet. They don't need to know we have other plans." Carter said.

"Just in case this Wraith is coming up with some idea, say he can remember all the details of the program and puts it to use after it is finished and we send him packing, I have K-9 working on the other program to override this one the other two are working on." Ford said.

"That would explain why K-9 and McKay said the time limit had increased." Sheppard said. "Have you thought anymore about that vision you had?"

"Not really. Where ever this other city is that gets destroyed, I have no idea when or where it happens. All I can think of is that we will have to be very careful when we find another city, to ensure that the vision doesn't take place." Carter said.

"Considering all the things you two have been able to do for Atlantis and the SGC, anything is possible." Sheppard said.