CHAPTER 129
EPISODE…………………..THE KINDRED
It was morning, with noon a couple hours away, and Sam was working in her office since she got up, dealing with paperwork and stuff along those lines, only seeing a few people that day. She heard some people outside the office talking, in a joyful way, and it made her stop, listen more closely and wonder what could be happening that was making people happy from the sounds of it. No one came through the gate, and if it was someone coming to the planet or a message sent to them, she would have been informed already. Looking up, she saw Ford walking towards the office with a covered plate in his hands, making her think while smiling since it was for her he was bringing something. As he entered, wearing a brown suit, she could instantly smell what was on the plate.
"Ooooh, brownies." Carter said reaching for the plate he was still holding while standing in front of the desk. "And you're not giving them to me for what reason?"
"I remembered something yesterday from when I was in that Captain's Bar a month or so back, or was it two? Anyway, it occurred to me, despite the many times I have time traveled, that I should have done this before." Ford said lifting the towel from the plate.
"Three? I can eat a whole pan…" Carter said insulted. "Though I pay for it later. But it is so worth it….."
"These are the same, yet different. I ate five and my body said no more." Ford said seeing her thinking while being extremely confused. "Remember, I said Captain's…."
"You went back to then!" Carter exclaimed with excitement.
"Very good dear! If you can handle three, I'll get more. But seeing as it was hard for you to even eat that half I had brought you then, I doubt you'll eat more than this." Ford said while putting the plate in front of her and pulling a bottle of milk from his pocket.
After smelling the delectable aroma of the one he said to try, she ate it and barely got to chew it before her eyes watered and she was coughing after swallowing.
"Good isn't it?" Ford asked not moving other than to sit on the edge of the desk as she took a drink.
"Damn. I forgot how strong that was." Carter said hitting her chest lightly. "Please tell me you can make more of these still? Wait, that was a stupid question."
"Yes, but I can make cakes, coco, frosting. To name few." Ford said tilting his hand back and forth. "I think Daniel is going to kill me though. Assuming the brownie doesn't kill him first."
"You made some with his favorite coffee? Is it one of these?" Carter asked looking at the two with obvious hope.
"All three are different and made with that special chocolate. That one you ate was made from my famous brownie mix. This darker one, is the Daniel type. And the last one, is a richer chocolate base. That I would try last because it literally dropped me to my knees. Rebecca and Shelly downed four before they quit."
Ford only shook his head when she took that one instead and was now going through what he did before, but much worse. And at least she was already sitting, but had to hold the desk to keep from falling out of it.
"Holy crap! I think my teeth went past rotting to trying to jump out." Carter said downing the whole bottle seconds later and wiped her mouth with the towel. "Oh God. That concludes my sugar intake for the week. I'll need to stick to salads and running a lot to work that off."
"Going to eat that one too?" Ford asked while raising an eyebrow and smiling.
"Hell no. I'm buzzing on just those two and they haven't even digested. I hope to God I don't become diabetic from this." Carter said shaking her head. "Leave that there, I'll have it later."
Ford put it back and then put the towel over it with a chuckle.
"I informed Keller of what I made in case anyone comes in or needs to go to the infirmary for whatever reactions that might take place." Ford said.
"Good. If I ate that now, I'd need a infirmary visit to ensure my body didn't shut down or knock me out from the over stimulation." Carter said rubbing her eyes dry. "Damn Ford, you really know how to make killer desserts."
"Well, I do have a really big sweet tooth." Ford said sitting down in the chair.
"I bet Chevy is sick right now. Or was and got over it already…" Carter said.
"Yeah, she does eat more of it than I do. And has more leeway with what she can do with chocolate." Ford said.
"You know, you should write a book." Carter said.
"A book? Where did this come from?" Ford asked a bit confused. "A cook book? Those things are a dime a dozen. Not worth the effort. I will never tell the general public or many others my secret to the brownies. I have my recipes wrote down and K-9 knows them, but a book wouldn't be worth the effort."
"Not cook book. Something of scientific value. Or a paper. Something along those lines. I'd like to see something from you, on paper. All the other scientist have wrote something of intense value and it does give insight to how they think." Carter said. "You could do it on a computer obviously, but I want to be able to read it on paper."
"You're worried about me and my views on my value?" Ford asked bewildered.
"Beyond family and friends." Carter said with a roll of her eyes. "You might gain more respect, instead of the fear you installed in the I.O.A. and all those others on the hill. I don't know what you have heard, or even know, but I have been told that a lot of those people think you use me to make yourself look like a accomplished scientist. If they knew you had a T.A.R.D.I.S., I don't think they'd know that. But, considering a lot of people keep that sort of thing a secret…"
"You did teach me the fundamentals of everything. I'm just glad I was able to quell the rumors that I, screwed my way to my position, before they went to far." Ford said noticing her eyebrows raise as a hint of a smile was on her face. "I don't even have any idea of what I would write about."
"Hey, what are you two talking about?" Rodney asked as he walked into her office and got a look from the two of them. "General O'Neill sent me a few emails, asking about you two and stuff. He also warned me what to watch out for. In this case, you two obviously aren't talking about something personal because anyone could walk in."
"He has a point." Ford said getting up from the chair as Carter muttered something about getting back at Jack as she shook her head. "Your office at the SGC gave us better privacy to talk on more personal levels."
"I miss those days." Carter said with a sigh. "What do you want Rodney?"
"Just turning in a report." Rodney said setting it on her desk.
"A report?" Carter asked with confusion and surprise.
"You asked for it last night, because it was due yesterday. Normally I'm not late, I just got distracted on another project…." Rodney said trailing off as she nodded in remembrance. "So, what paper were you talking about?"
"Sam wants me to write something." Ford said with a shrug.
"You should." Rodney stated.
"Okay, what's your reason?" Ford asked curious.
"You and Sam are brilliant. In some ways, not as great as I am and better in others." Rodney said ignoring their eye rolls. "A scientist paper helps give insight into how they think. I would love to see what you came up with. I read everything Sam wrote, though it didn't help me like I hoped it would."
"Now you're treading into dangerous territory." Ford warned.
"And don't dare say you can dream." Carter stated while shaking a finger.
"I gave that up long ago." Rodney said waving a hand, and either oblivious to the warning looks or not caring at all. "But seriously, you should consider writing something. Even if it is classified, I know I'd be able to read it."
The two watched him leave and then Ford rubbed his chin in thought.
"He has a point. Besides, despite all this time we've been together, I would like to see what you could come up with." Carter said.
"I think I have an idea then." Ford said walking out with a smile.
"Can you clue me in?!" Carter asked.
"And blow the surprise." Ford yelled back while he kept walking.
"Well, a good surprise is better than no surprise. He better remember to include me in the byline since I gave him the idea." Carter said going back to work.
The rest of the day went rather well, with no missions that went bad. Teyla, now showing much more than before, was getting tired more quicker at night. She went to bed early, as she had been for the last few weeks and slept rather peacefully. That was until a dream that had two of her people, Sheppard, Rodney, and both Carter's.
Kanaan was dead and placed on a wooden pile that was built as part of their funeral. The other two Athosians were standing with fire poles at each end of the small group. Everyone said sorry to her about her loss, which bothered her greatly because she wasn't sure why Ford didn't just go back and save him and the rest of her people. Even with the confusion, she steeled herself for what was to come as she told them she was ready. Being given one of the wooden sticks on fire, she lit the large pile. As it began burning all the way through, Kanaan woke up and started yelling for her to help. Instead of being able to save him, much less knowing deep down Ford could, he only said sorry as Sheppard held her back as the fire continued.
Teyla awoke and glanced around, sweat covering her body as she realized it was a dream. Holding back tears, she got out of bed, got a drink of water, used the bathroom and then, after wiping herself off with a damp washcloth, she laid back down while thinking on the dream.
The next morning came and she awoke, still disturbed, but felt better knowing it was only a dream. However, she felt it had a deeper meaning as well that she was still thinking on. Getting breakfast, she found the rest of her team also eating before they went off on a mission, minus Ronan since there was no possible battles to be that day.
"How far did you get?" Carter asked.
"On what?" Ford asked as they walked down the corridor.
"The book, or paper? What are you writing anyway?" Carter asked in hopes of getting some small detail.
"Sorry, it would blow the surprise. And if I gave you a hint, you'd figure it out rather quickly." Ford said squeezing her hand. "But I got up to near a hundred pages."
"That's a lot. It is about cars and fast abilities?" Carter asked thinking she could get some idea.
"Maybe, but it is not the main idea." Ford said as she groaned.
"Any idea of when you will get it done?" Carter asked.
"Probably pretty soon. Before I went to bed with you, I left in the T.A.R.D.I.S. to continue working on it like I did earlier that day." Ford said smiling. "The ideas kept flowing and then I had to go over it to remove a few things."
"K-9 did say that the T.A.R.D.I.S. left for five seconds and then returned." Carter said.
"Who else could it have been?" Ford asked.
"Last night was interesting. The seduction was not surprising, but you saying you were drugging me into arousal by feeding me chocolate was new to me." Carter said.
"I even showed you the medical studies on it later too." Ford said as they entered the infirmary.
"General and General." Keller said as they walked up. "Something special going on, perhaps later?"
"What do you mean?" Carter asked.
"You are both holding hands and were doing so when you walked in. Not to mention he was really smiling." Keller said with a suggestive tone.
"So, many couples hold hands." Ford said kissing the back of Sam's before letting go.
"Besides, the special stuff happened last night. Sitting most of the day in that chair made my back ache. He gives the greatest back massage. Wait, that's why I fell asleep so quick." Carter stated.
"Yeah, I didn't expect that. I must admit, I was hoping for more. When you were deep asleep, I went back to that book and then came to bed later, where we had some fun. Later for me anyway." Ford said.
"God, I can't remember the last time I had sex." Keller muttered. "You two are so lucky."
"I know." Carter said with a smile. "I managed to convince him to write a book. Or it's a paper?"
"Oh. Rodney told me something about that and that he is looking forward to reading it. Is it a help book on how to treat a lady?" Keller asked.
"Um, no. I'm not sure that would go over very big." Ford said unsure as he looked embarrassed.
"Why not?" Carter asked. "We rarely argue and other than that incident back in the SGC where I blew up, there has been no fighting. You've helped Jack better his marriage and quite a few other people at the SGC…"
She stopped as he spoke something in her ear that made her face start to blush.
"Yeah, I agree. Bad idea on that book idea." Carter said quickly.
"Great, now I'm feeling beyond jealous and envious. I wish I was immortal to see how your boy turns out that you two want later. If he ends up being half the man you are…" Keller said trailing off.
"I know." Ford said shaking his head. "I just have to keep him from Jack's advice."
"We don't even have another child yet. But we have been thinking about it. I would be more worried about Sally. She's turning out like both of us, which means finding a guy like you is going to be almost impossible." Carter said while crossing her arms. "I'd rather her not wait until her thirties to find someone like I did."
"I wonder, assuming I ever get to that point, would I make a great mother?" Keller wondered.
"Oh yeah. You have all the right qualities, just missing the right guy." Ford said.
"He'll come along one day." Carter said.
"Hopefully soon, unlike you two, I age normally." Keller said with a small smile. "What is with the orange suit? It's, rather flashy."
"Felt like a orange day." Ford said.
"You determine what suit you wear each day by the roll of those red dice." Carter said.
"True." Ford said with a small shrug. "Unless it is a special day and I need to wear something else."
"So, beyond all this chatting, why are you two here? The medical equipment in your T.A.R.D.I.S. is better than what we have here, considering both of your physiology." Keller said.
"You called us here. Well, more me. He just tagged along like a love sick puppy." Carter said with a chuckle.
"A very obedient puppy." Keller said as the two girls laughed.
"Very little training was required." Carter said as Ford shook his head at their antics.
"At least I'm being laughed at for a good cause." Ford muttered.
"Well, that was fun." Keller said as she wiped her eyes like Sam was. "Give me a moment to think. Oh yeah, there is a medical reason, thankfully no one here is behind it or the cause though."
Walking to a plasma monitor on a moving cart, she punched up a screen that showed them a couple pictures and info in various boxes.
"There has been a new sickness here in the Pegasus Galaxy. Which I have told you about before." Keller said as Sam nodded. "Unfortunately, we have no idea of where or when it started, but it is now up to seven planets instead of the two I told you about some months back."
"Right. This is that strange illness that even has K-9 stumped." Ford said. "And that is rare."
"Well, in K-9's defense, he isn't programmed to really understand medical technology. We really need to build a medical version of him. Janet did mention the idea to begin with." Carter said.
"True. I still think the name, K-Med is…too weird. A blue looking K-9 isn't a bad idea though." Ford said.
"How about one with a more female personality? You could call her K nine eleven. Like the 911 emergency call." Keller said.
"Not bad. But with the September 11th thing that happened…" Carter said trailing off. "Then again, since only certain people would know about him, or in this case, her as you said, it would work pretty well."
"The laser could be modified to treat injuries instead of causing damage." Ford said. "Janet did want one of her own, if possible."
"We could make one for Atlantis, which would be K-911 and one for Janet, K-Med." Carter said.
"I don't like that name though." Ford said.
"It would be her dog and she liked the name." Carter said.
"Give us till the end of the week. We should have something by then." Ford said.
"Cool. Can't wait to talk to a computer that will talk back." Keller said. "Can you put a red cross on the other side?"
"We can do something like that." Carter said. "Just let us know the color you want."
"Blue and red. The cross being red." Keller said.
"Same as Janet." Ford said.
"Hey, we got another planet with whatever this illness is." Sheppard said as he came in and sat on a bed.
"Another one? This is getting out of hand." Carter said while rubbing her forehead.
"That makes it eight then." Keller said. "What planet did you just return from?"
"447." Rodney said as he came in and used a antibacterial plus cream on his hands that was on a cart. "Just like the others, it starts with respiratory problems that soon leads to fatal organ failure."
"We just came back from bio-screen Rodney. And we were wearing hazmat suits." Sheppard said as he watched Rodney rub his hands together.
"I'd rather be safe than sorry." Rodney stated.
"We know the Wraith aren't behind this. Doing so kills off their food supply." Ford muttered in thought.
"Somehow, I don't think the Replicators are behind this either. Even though they were different from the ones we dealt with in the Milky Way, killing people off with a disease seems…" Carter said.
"Like something they would do? Doesn't sound like their M.O." Sheppard said.
"Plus, what we've been able to tell about the people we've checked out infected and those who have died, there is no indication of nanites involved." Keller said. "K-9 confirmed it along with me."
"Unfortunately, we have no idea if this is something someone is behind or if it is something that happened because of a mutated virus or other illness." Ford said. "We've went over the database, but nothing really comes close to what this is. There is too many things missing from the other illness that would give us a heads up on what it could have originally been."
"If it is something that mutated." Keller said.
"Do we have any idea of how this is spreading?" Carter asked.
"No. Out of these eight planets, other than a few doing some trading and other things that make them come into contact with each other, some of the others have no contact with the rest. And the ones that do have contact with other planets, have been to planets that are still completely unaffected and show no signs of this mysterious illness. Whatever this is, I haven't found anything to figure out how and where it all started." Keller said.
"Can you give a estimate or guess of how bad this is going to get?" Carter asked.
"Given what happened on MR1-992, I'd say that this sickness does have a time span to it. No new cases or symptoms of this illness has been present on that planet for some time. Unfortunately, the sickness there killed almost over 30% of their population. If that continues on these other eight planets, there is going to be over 200,000 people dead by the time this sickness runs its course." Keller said with worry and sadness towards the last part.
"And, baring unforeseen luck and a miracle, it's only a matter of time before Atlantis gets hit with whatever this is." Carter said.
"We are checking everyone that comes through the gate and all items on them before allowing them to go anywhere." Keller said.
"Which is why we had to wait almost an hour to be able to come here." Sheppard said.
"I'm just lucky that the T.A.R.D.I.S. keeps me safe, for the most part." Ford said. "Aside from giving up my clothes, K-9 has been able to tell if anything on me is infected."
"You haven't even left the city, by Stargate anyway, for awhile." Sheppard said.
"True. Thankfully K-9 is helping the medical team and doing intensive scans to help get off world teams back to work quickly." Carter said. "We really need to get on building a medical dog so K-9 can help me, Sally or whoever with things he's more programmed for."
"I'll get started on some plans and bring them to you later." Ford said. "Then we can go over it more together."
Teyla was sitting in the commissary alone and drinking some tea as she thought. She knew that Sheppard and Rodney were back from their mission, but she hadn't seen them yet since they went to the infirmary after the bio-screening. Where they went after that, she wasn't sure. At the moment, she was thinking about her dream and her people. She looked up as someone now stood in front of her.
"Oh, hello Rodney." Teyla said.
"Hi." Rodney said waving one free hand.
"Has Doctor Keller made any progress with her investigation?" Teyla asked.
"She still hasn't figured out what is causing the illness or how to stop it, but she is still on top of it. Sheppard and I thankfully got a clean bill of health." Rodney said with a smile.
"That is good news. What are you hiding behind your back?" Teyla asked.
"Um, well. With everything that has been happening and being so busy, I have been meaning to give this to you." Rodney said as he put the small wrapped package with pink bow on the table before her.
"Rodney, you did not have to do this." Teyla said opening it anyway.
"Well, think of it as a kinda of pre-baby present." Rodney said with a smile. "Back on Earth, there is a company that produces recordings specifically for the fetus. They say that if the unborn child listens to, say, great composes of musical talent, it will make the child grow up with a natural predisposition for musical ability. It seemed to have worked rather well for Sam and Ford and their child Sally, so I figured it would help your child to understand science better."
"I see." Teyla said pulling a IPOD out that had special leads attached to it.
"I recorded some of my ground breaking theories and other ideas. A couple hours worth." Rodney said.
"You shouldn't not gone through some much trouble." Teyla said with a smile as she put it back in the box.
"Oh, don't worry. It wasn't any trouble at all." Rodney said with a small wave.
Seeing a look on her face that he knew, from pass experience with her, it was easy to tell she had something weighing heavily on her mind.
"Hey, is something wrong?" Rodney asked worried.
"Um…" Teyla said glancing around. "I have been debating on telling someone or not."
"Okay." Rodney said sitting down and putting his arms on the table.
"I believe I had a vision last night." Teyla said.
"A vision?" Rodney asked a bit skeptical at the idea.
"Yes. I believe I saw Kanaan last night. The father of my child. I believe he was sending me a message. That he is alive and that I should not abandon my search for him and the rest of my people." Teyla said, still feeling the fears of the dream.
"And this happened while you were sleeping?" Rodney asked.
"Yes. But I believe it was much more. To many things that shouldn't have happened, did happen. It was more of a nightmare, but I know it was not one at the same time. It didn't feel like a dream either."
"Hmm…" Rodney said.
"I knew you would doubt me. I should not have said anything." Teyla said turning away as she grabbed her drink.
"I didn't say anything about doubting you. I was just thinking. Look at me, I've been cocooned inside a alien space craft, had another person living inside of me, which was a woman, met two versions of myself from other realities. Not to mention our head boss is that last remaining Ancient and a Time Lord with a time machine that shouldn't exist. Having a vision isn't a far fetched idea. If you say it was a vision, then I believe it was a vision." Rodney stated.
"Thank you. I believe I need to go talk to Jennifer about getting a scheduled check up on my son." Teyla said.
"Okay, good luck." Rodney said waving.
Finding Sheppard in the hallways, Rodney followed along while talking to him.
"Despite everything, I don't think it was a vision." Rodney stated.
"She's had them before." Sheppard stated.
"She's had remote contact with the Wraith, but never with a human. The Athosians have been missing for what, six months now? Do you really think they are still alive?" Rodney asked.
"The General does and so does Teyla. That's enough for me. Would you want to tell Teyla to give up hope?" Sheppard asked, ready to tear into Rodney if he said otherwise.
"At some point, if we don't get or hear anything new, we may not have a choice." Rodney said.
Late that night, with heavy cloud cover over the city, everyone else for the normal day shift was in bed for the night. Ford and Carter were both working on two new K-9 units with K-9 helping, but it was going to be a good week before they got them finished, mostly because of programming issues. Sally was watching, listening as they told her what as happening and even had her help on different spots. After an hour of that, the three went to bed for the night.
Teyla did turn in early, but was still happy to hear that her child was perfectly healthy after the medical check. She managed to fall asleep with little trouble, only to wake up as a bright light surrounded her. Looking around, she found herself still in her bed, but Atlantis was gone, with her and her bed in some forest where the sun was shinning down brightly in the peaceful and tranquil area. Tossing her sheets aside, she sat up and looked around, feeling the soft ground under her feet. As she was about to stand, several small glowing lights appeared and then formed into Kanaan, wearing a black leather coat like thing as she last saw him.
"Kanaan…" Teyla said.
"Teyla?" Kanaan said with a loving smile as she got up and he saw her belly. "Oh…"
She smiled as she held her belly, much to his surprise as he looked at her while rubbing his hand across his mouth with a smile.
"You must help us." Kanaan said.
"How?" Teyla asked as he turned much more serious.
"Save us." Kanaan stated.
"Where are you? Where are our people?" Teyla asked urgently.
He reached into his shirt and pulled out a hand made medallion, pulling it off his neck breaking the leather string.
"You bought me this." Kanaan said.
"Yes." Teyla said.
"Do you remember where?" Kanaan asked.
"The village of Croya. Is that where you are?" Teyla asked as hope filled her.
"Come find me." Kanaan said putting it into her hands.
Giving her a warm smile, everything faded away in a bright light. She found herself standing in her room and her hand out, holding nothing that she could swear was just holding his pendant, which also felt like it had been just there too. Earlier that morning, she talked to Sheppard about it and he said he'd talk to Carter.
"So, she says the pendant in her vision is the same one that she gave to Kanaan." Sheppard stated as he finished the story to the two.
"She let me run my Sonic Screwdriver over her and even let K-9 do a scan. In the end, we found small traces of physic energy, but where it came from and who…" Ford said trailing off. "But she genuinely believes it is from him and I have no reason to doubt that."
"We've seen and experienced things that no one else would believe." Carter said from behind her desk. "Part of me wants to say, it's probably her motherly instincts and other worries that made her think of him in her dreams. Especially since she is getting close to her due date."
"And the other part?" Sheppard asked.
"Says she is telling the truth and did have a vision. We already know the Wraith have a telepathic ability and that Teyla has the ability to not only interact with their technology, but to talk to the Wraith in their heads and take over one of them if she has to." Carter said.
"That incident with that Queen still amazes me." Ford said while crossing his arms in the chair beside Sheppard.
"What are we going to do though?" Sheppard asked.
"You talked to her. What does she want to do?" Carter asked.
"Well, in her vision she was told to go to the village on M2S-181 where she bought the pendant from and, despite knowing that we want to restrict her gate travel, she really wants to go check it out." Sheppard said.
"That's just a peaceful trading community. I seriously doubt they had anything to do with the Athosians disappearance. Besides that, we checked that planet out back when we started investigating." Carter said.
"I told her that we'd probably not find anything and that that planet and its people had been ruled out, but she wants to check it out anyway." Sheppard said.
"We're spread pretty thin at the moment, because of this plague. Any second we could need you here for whatever emergency comes up. Plus, we got people going and coming through the gate constantly." Carter said while thinking. "What do you think of all of this?"
"We owe her, big time. We should do this, not only for that reason, but because having a pregnant woman is a bad thing, not only for us but we don't want her to end up having her child early because she was upset." Sheppard said.
"I can understand that very well. Ford did everything to make sure I worried about nothing the entire time I was with Sally. You and her go, and try to get back as soon as you can." Carter said.
"I have a better idea. Since the gate is busy and we'd rather her not have any complications using the gate, I can take her there in the T.A.R.D.I.S. with Sheppard. I did go to that planet with the T.A.R.D.I.S. before. And the moment you need us, we can get back in and be here within seconds of the call." Ford said.
"We haven't had any Wraith come close to this system over the last few weeks. Even if they tried to come, we have enough power to defend ourselves until you return. Try to get back soon anyway. And call if anything happens." Carter said.
"Got it dear." Ford said as he got up with Sheppard and left.
"I purchased the pendant from an artisan in Croya." Teyla said.
Rodney was asking questions about the T.A.R.D.I.S. as Ford was working on the console. Ronan was standing by the chair that Teyla was sitting in, leaning back against the wall in boredom as Sheppard was pacing around the room. Ford changed into a black suit while Ronan was in his dark vest and leather pants. Sheppard and Rodney were in their off world outfits, plus guns. Teyla was in a outfit of her own, mostly black. The coat was very open and near her feet, the pants a lot like slacks and a long sleeved black shirt that clung to her frame. The coat was closed over her breast, leaving the rest of it open to not push on her abdomen.
"I doubt the village has changed that much, so we'll land just outside the village in the forest. Better that we don't get a lot of attention on the ship." Ford said while pulling a lever.
"Are you going to change it to look like a tree?" Rodney asked.
"The T.A.R.D.I.S. is not an it, and she is going to stay in the phone booth look. I think most people will look at her with little interest as long as I keep her from the crowds. Landing in one minute." Ford said flipping another switch.
"We'll look around and ask questions, in hopes of getting some new intel." Sheppard said before turning to her from near the console. "Teyla, the moment you feel danger, I want you to find the General or make for the T.A.R.D.I.S."
"If she is not there I shall go straight for the Stargate." Teyla said.
"I don't plan on doing much, so I'll keep a watch on you from a distance. I stand out rather well in this galaxy, so just look for me or give me some signal." Ford said as they landed.
Entering the village, it was very obvious that they all stood out. Even with the new clothes for sale in a few various stalls, they were not shiny clean like what they had on, or as new looking. The village was rather well cramp together, leaving enough room for a few people to walk between the various huts, but a serious danger if people panicked and tried to run. The sun was high in the sky, no clouds, but the part of the village they were in had big roofs that blocked a lot of the sunlight. Not enough to make things very dark, but enough you had little chance of getting sunburned. People moved around, going about their daily business, giving them looks but leaving the alone for the most part. Sheppard kept his sunglasses on like Ford did as Teyla walked up to one of the vendor stalls that sold weaved baskets of various sizes. The entire place reminded those from Earth, of close together flee market stands.
"Excuse me, but can you tell me about the artisan that used to occupy this space?" Teyla asked. "He specialized in hand crafted jewelry, necklaces, pendants, chains…"
The slightly heavy set black woman in a dress got down from stacking a few baskets and turned to her.
"He's gone." the lady said.
"Where did he go?" Teyla asked glancing around.
"He left when the sickness passed through this village several weeks ago. Him and some forty others passed on. I'm sorry child, but he's dead." she said solemnly, not seeing Teyla's hopes get crushed.
"Hey Jennifer. You called and said you had something to show me." Carter said as she came into the infirmary.
"Yeah." Keller said nodding slowly. "I finally found out what is making everyone sick. K-9 agreed with my assessment and that's when I called you."
Carter looked at a plasma screen as Keller brought it up.
"It's a unique protein that was originally created by the inhabitants of a planet called Hoff. It was designed to interfere with the Wraiths feeding mechanism, making them immune to the feeding process." Keller said pointing at certain things on the screen.
"This is the same thing that killed the Wraith and a lot of the people who took the drug." Carter said.
"The same, but slightly altered if you look hard enough. The fact remains it is still a very dangerous drug with deadly results. Someone is behind this, but I have no idea who. And whoever they are, they are doing this without carrying about the fact they are committing mass murder." Keller said.
The group split up and went around the village, asking everyone they could for a good hour or more. Teyla just got talking to one man as Sheppard walked up.
"I think it is time we get out of here." Sheppard said.
"But we haven't found anything yet." Teyla stated.
"We've been over this village twice now, maybe even three times, and no one has said anything yet. I don't think we're going to get anywhere here." Sheppard said waving a hand.
"I feel otherwise. There must be someone who knows something. I believe I was led here and that the answers I need are here." Teyla said.
"Look Teyla, we are helping you in every way we can and even helped talk to people, but we have got nothing. With everything that has been going on lately, it is possible that the stress and your situation, both of your baby and your people have been getting to you, emotionally and otherwise." Sheppard said.
"Are you questioning my interpretation of my vision or the vision itself?" Teyla asked raising an eyebrow.
"We haven't found anything, not even a small clue. We came and tried, and thankfully, there was no danger. We are going home." Sheppard said leaving her no room to argue.
She sighed in reluctance as he turned and spoke into his earpiece to Ronan and Rodney that it was time to head back.
"I'll run a scan of the village, planet and surrounding space before we leave. If I learn anything of interest, I'll let you know." Ford said as he walked up. "I asked everyone I could, even paying for information, but got nowhere. Sorry."
"We did try and I thank you for that chance." Teyla said nodding.
Once back at Atlantis, the group split up and Sam called Ford over to talk to him about something. Less than a hour later, they were in the conference room, minus Teyla and Ronan, as Keller was filling them in on what she learned.
"Are you sure it is the same protein?" Rodney asked while looking at the large plasma from the seat he was in with the rest of them.
"Yes. I ran a side by side comparison, three times to make sure and even had K-9 do a check. He didn't find it before because it wasn't part of the check. It is the protein the Hoff people made, with some differences." Keller said walking away from the plasma.
"Some differences?" Rodney asked.
"The Hoffen drug killed about 50% of their inhabitants, this variation, that we have no idea who is behind, kills about 30%." Keller said while looking at the tablet in her hand.
"How could eight planets inhabitants get inoculated and not know about it?" Rodney asked puzzled.
"It's easy when you put it into peoples food and water supplies. Unlike this city, which runs test on the water supply to check for contaminants and warns us, most of the other inhabitants of this galaxy aren't really up to very technological levels, where they can test their food and water." Ford said.
"That would be the best way to get it passed around." Keller said. "We are currently running test to make sure. I wondered if the Hoffen were behind this, but K-9 said that was pretty much impossible."
"Yeah, the Wraith came and practically destroyed their civilization when they found out about it." Rodney said.
"K-9 said that." Keller said.
"Perhaps some of them are still alive and are doing this to enact retribution or revenge." Sheppard said.
"I doubt it. Unless Larrin and her people are behind this, there is too few technologically advanced planets capable of this. Even if they were hiding underground, they couldn't have done all of this without planning it ahead of time, which I don't think they did." Ford said.
"I agree. Whoever is behind this has this planned out very well. All these planets that have been infected are far apart, but not far enough that they are in different quadrants of the Pegasus Galaxy. In some ways, the planets seem randomly picked, but if you look closely enough, you'll see a pattern. This is somebody or a bunch of someone's who are intent at getting back at the Wraith." Carter said. "The way this looks makes me think it is done so that the Wraith have no idea which planets, that they watch to cull, are infected."
"Having to watch their food because it could kill them is going to make the Wraith very hungry and cranky." Rodney said.
"Might make them start making critical errors and major mistakes." Ford said.
"We can hope. Since we have no starting place or clue of who is really behind this, I want Hoff to be checked out again. See if there is anything left that might give us a clue. Hopefully we'll get some answer before more planets start having people drop dead and we have no cure for it." Carter said and then looked at Ford on her left. "What are you thinking?"
"Whoever is behind this knows how the Wraith live and think. Beyond what is common knowledge. Seeing as we know and have seen that all the Wraith aren't getting along, it is possible that a faction or a Queen, maybe even just a ship or ships, are behind all of this. They would know where it was safe to go and where not, leaving the tainted people for other Wraith to go after so they die, thinning out the civil war." Ford said.
"If that was true, then those Wraith are only causing their inevitable demise on a slow scale. Even if they got all the other Wraith to die off, they'd be in trouble because a lot of planets would be infected." Rodney said.
"Unless, if it is Wraith that are behind it, they managed to not only create this changed protein, but also had a cure for it that they kept to themselves." Carter said.
"Doesn't sound farfetched. We know they will kill each other." Sheppard said. "Even if this is true, it doesn't really bring us closer to solving the problem."
"Gives us something to go on." Carter said as she stood with everyone following seconds later. "Until we learn more, or hopefully something from Hoff, we'll stay with that possibility and keep checking on other ideas. Dismissed."
Teyla was in her room as they were in the short meeting with Keller. Sitting on her bed cross legged, she had her eyes closed in meditation with her hands on her knees. Since it was still day time, she had none of her candles lit. Her eyes fluttered as her meditation deepened and then she opened her eyes to find herself in the forest once again, sitting on the ground in her mediation state and Kanaan before her just like before.
"Kanaan…" Teyla said.
"Teyla." Kanaan said.
"Where are you?" Teyla asked.
"I don't know." Kanaan said unsure.
"Who took you?" Teyla asked.
"I don't know." Kanaan said with the same unsure look.
"Where can I go to find you?" Teyla asked.
"You already know where to go to find the answers." Kanaan stated.
"The village." Teyla stated.
"But you stopped looking before you found the answer." Kanaan said.
"I was there, and found nothing." Teyla stated.
"You were so close. Please Teyla, our time is running short. We need you." Kanaan said practically begging.
She looked at his outstretched hand and took it, waking from her dream and seeing her hand reaching for his. Holding it close to her body, she then got up and left quickly while calling Sam to tell she needed to see her. Arriving at the command center, she found both Carter's there and quickly told them what happened as Ford ran his Sonic Screwdriver over her head while she talked.
"Well, these readings indicate elevated physic levels like before. Much higher than before too, but not by a lot." Ford said. "Can't say where they came from though."
"Were you sleeping?" Carter asked.
"No, I was in a meditated state." Teyla said as they went into her office. "But I was most definitely awake. I have no doubts, this was very real."
Sitting down in the chair, she sat in the one beside her as Ford sat on the arm beside Sam.
"We believe you Teyla, but we really have nothing to go on. After I did that scan of the village, planet and surrounding space, I didn't find anything that could help us. And there didn't seem to be any sighs of Wraith activity either." Ford said.
"Is there anything you can think of or tell us that might help us find any clues? Short of trying to monitor you in hopes of another vision happening soon, I can't thinking of anything we could try." Carter said.
"I have not spoken of it before, but Kanaan has the same gift I do. Among our people, it is considered a gift, but it also sets us apart. Because he had the gift, he could understand what I had." Teyla said.
"Which made your relationship much easier since you had something very in common besides being the same people." Ford said as Teyla nodded.
"Has this ability allowed you to communicate with each other or any of your people, or anyone else for that matter before?" Carter asked.
"No." Teyla said shaking her head.
"I can take her back. Sheppards team is still off world and most of the rest of the teams are busy…" Ford said.
"Lorne's team is still here." Carter said.
"I think I am more than capable of watching her. And you can call me for the T.A.R.D.I.S. at a moments notice if there is a problem." Ford said. "If a problem comes up here, then Lorne's about your only backup."
"I'm not sure, but it wouldn't surprise me if the reason you didn't find anything before was because there was too many people, our people, there. Either scaring the populous or who knows. Hopefully you'll get better answers." Carter said.
"I hope so as well." Teyla said.
"I'll inform Sheppard when they get back. Be careful, both of you." Carter said.
Teyla changed into something less revealing and then they took off, landing in the same place as before.
Sheppards team was checking various buildings. Rodney was in a burned and very damaged building that was either a library at one point or a records keeping building. There was papers everywhere along with many books on the shelves and floor.
"Rodney, come in." Sheppard said.
"Yeah." Rodney said back as he stepped over a object in his way.
"You find anything?" Sheppard asked.
"Just a bunch of junk, you?" Rodney said as he kept looking.
"No. The Wraith really did a number on this place." Sheppard said while looking around outside as the sun was past noon on the planet.
"Well the Wraith did more than just that. It's more than just random destruction. This location was the suppository of all the Hoff knowledge. I'd say a lot of it is just missing." Rodney said as some noise suddenly caught his attention. "Who's there?"
"Rodney, what's going on?" Sheppard asked.
"I heard something." Rodney said while looking around with his gun.
"Relax Rodney, it's probably just a bunch of rats or some other vermin." Sheppard said.
"Rats?" Rodney asked with worry and fear.
Hearing more movement, he walked around and past a few knocked over bookshelves.
"Who ever is there, you better come out. I'm not kidding." Rodney stated, trying to hide his fear while trying to also make whoever or whatever was there fear him.
The rattling continued as he moved forward slowly towards the wall that had a lot of fallen debris and other junk lying around. He was really surprised when a bunch of kids of various ages suddenly came out of different hiding spots and ran past him and into him. He tried telling them to stop but they managed to make it away and out of the building, luckily not knocking him over. One teenage started out but Rodney got in the way quickly with his arms held out.
"Look, I'm not going to harm you. I just need to ask you some questions. Who are you and why are you here?" Rodney asked.
The kid looked around nervously trying to find a way past him or out.
"Okay, I'm just here looking for some things. Medical equipment, books, notes, that sort of thing." Rodney said.
"I don't know anything about that stuff. We're just picking through what is left." the kid said.
He nodded and then touched his earpiece calling Sheppard. The kid quickly ran past him and out as Rodney's attention was elsewhere.
"It looks like we aren't the only ones here." Rodney said.
"What do you got?" Sheppard asked.
"A bunch of kids just ran out of the place. They were probably looking for food and water." Rodney said.
"Ah, scavengers. Do you think they got what we are looking for?" Sheppard asked.
"No. The Hoffen research wouldn't have meant anything to them. But one thing is for sure, whoever it was, they knew exactly what they were looking for." Rodney said glancing around again.
Both Ford and Teyla had been walking through the streets, her in her outfit from before and him in a white suit, which even though drew attention, mostly people giving him looks only, was being worn to make sure she could see him if they got to far apart. They'd been there for near a half hour and found nothing so far, even though they had talked to a few people and got nothing either. Ford did call on the half hour telling Carter of their situation so far and after finding out she and city were doing fine, he said they'd keep at it and he'd call back in another half hour.
"I really hope we find something soon. Not because I don't mind if we stay all day until night falls and probably need to come back tomorrow, or if Sam calls at some point, but because I am hoping we find some piece of information soon. Though I am sure these visions are real, even if you have a dozen more, unless we get a helpful sign, all this is going to eventually lead to is more stress upon you than their needs to be. Know what I am saying?" Ford asked.
"Yes. You are hoping that we learn something that will help me feel more relaxed and happy, even if it is a small detail to go on, instead of more tense and depressed which could do harm to me and my child, if not induce early labor." Teyla said.
"I wonder if we could communicate on a telepathic level? If I really concentrate real hard, while staring into Sam's eyes, I am able to give her a idea of what I am thinking about or trying to say. It doesn't work very well and is more straining than anything. If I ever see the Doctor again, which is highly unlikely, I plan on getting a good crash course on everything a Time Lord can do." Ford said rubbing his forehead.
"I think, as I once heard Sheppard say, fortune has decided to look upon us today." Teyla said pulling her knife from her belt.
"Whoa there." Ford said grabbing her hand as she glared at him. "You want to interrogate someone, let me do the physical work. Need to watch that stress level and not have the rest of everyone attack us because we started the trouble. Now who is it?"
"That man." Teyla said looking at a vendor with blonde hair as he was talking to some customer.
The customer bought some ring and then they walked up. Since they had already talked before walking up, she waited patiently until he told her to go ahead.
"How can I help you today? Ah, I see your wife…" the man began.
Ford shook his head while pulling one of his energy pistols and pointing it at the guy discreetly.
"She's just a friend who is looking for her husband. Now, we can do this the easy way and you answer her questions, or we can do it the hard way. This gun can kill or stun. And if we have to resort to stun, we will take you into the forest, string you up and I'll let her do whatever it takes to get what she needs to know, which can include having your balls cut off with a dull knife, understand?" Ford said calmly.
"Very much." he said fearfully while looking at the gun.
"Good. Trust me, pissing off a pregnant woman is a very bad idea. I have a wife who went through it." Ford said.
"This pendant." Teyla said picking it off the counter. "Where did you get it?"
"From a passing trader. If you want it that bad, you can keep it if it keeps me from harm." he said holding his hands up.
"I guess that is your husbands." Ford asked.
"Yes, this is the exact one I gave him. Tell me, what else did you get from that trader?" Teyla asked while holding the pendant.
"You try anything funny, I will shoot you in the back." Ford said.
"I am not even going to sneeze." he said turning slowly to grab a bag nearby.
"This necklace belonged to Ballara. It was a gift from her parents to mark her coming of age." Teyla said.
"Both items have Athosian DNA on them." Ford said waving his Sonic Screwdriver over them with his free hand.
"This ring belonged to Holand." Teyla said.
"Same reading. Okay dude, where did this trader go or say he got these things from?" Ford asked.
"He dropped this stuff off several days ago. He comes through here regularly. He may even show up today." the man said.
"Good, you can point him out to us when you see him." Ford said.
Putting his gun away as Teyla took the small bag that had other items she recognized, Ford pulled a inch thick by five inch long and two inch wide gold bar out.
"Thank you for being so cooperative. Hopefully this will be more than enough to pay for your troubles. I assume gold is a money here?" Ford asked.
"We call it something else, but yes." he said taking it happily. "I will let you know the moment the trader shows up."
The team just came back recently and went straight to the command center first.
"Hey, you find anything?" Carter asked.
"No, the place was cleared out." Sheppard said.
"Is that what I think it is?" Rodney asked while looking at a screen.
"It is getting to be a rather familiar sight." Carter said.
"What is it?" Ronan asked.
"A Wraith subspace tracking device." Carter said.
"Great, Todd again." Rodney muttered.
"He may just want to talk again or he could be trying to lead us into another ambush." Carter said. "I'm thinking talk."
"Won't know until we get there. Where's the General?" Sheppard asked.
"Back on that planet with the village helping Teyla look around again. I called him recently and found out that Teyla learned something. They are waiting for some trader to arrive so they can question them. Once they get back, if we are still picking up this subspace tracking device, Ford will drop in right away." Carter said.
"And if they learn about a planet or location of Kanaan and or her people?" Sheppard asked.
"I might send Major Lorne's team to check things out or send a UAV instead. Just depends on what intel they come back with. Knowing Ford, he'll come to you and see what's going on and then depending on what is happening with Todd, he'll go check out the planet or wherever the intel tells them, assuming he can get there by the T.A.R.D.I.S. If it is her people, he'll need you guys as back up if it turns into a battle field." Carter said.
"Even though he's incredible hard to kill." Sheppard said.
"He's one man and trying to protect a bunch of people from getting shot while escaping is hard enough." Carter said as Sheppard nodded in understanding.
"We'll hope for the best then, both for them and for us and whatever Todd is planning. Let's go Rodney." Sheppard said.
"But we just got back and I am hungry." Rodney whined.
"Eat your power bars then." Sheppard said.
Carter chuckled and shook her head as they headed back to the gate with Rodney still whining.
"And to think, Jack was the one usually whining about wanting to get home and eat. Okay Chuck, dial it up. I'm going to my office to call Ford back and get back on other work." Carter said.
"Yes ma'am." Chuck said.
They were sitting in a couple of wooden chairs nearby, both feeling rather well about finally getting some intel and hoping for even better information if the trader showed up. Ford ate a cereal bar as did she and then he also had a Hershey bar as they continued to wait.
"At least we were able to get these chairs." Ford said.
"Yes. As much as I hate waiting, standing all this time would have been too much after awhile." Teyla said.
"Sam had that problem too. I rubbed her feet at the end of the day almost every time while she was pregnant. In the beginning of the pregnancy, it lead to, well…" Ford said trailing off as Teyla smiled knowing where he had been going. "Later, we had little choice but to wait until she had Sally before we could go back to, you know."
"I do." Teyla said with a small smile. "You and Sam are most fortunate to have each other."
"I often wonder how things would have turned out if I had been there back when the SGC started. I think a lot of our enemies would have been defeated much earlier, more of our friends and allies alive. Atlantis probably in better condition and the Wraith maybe destroyed already. I already know for a fact we could have saved that planet that had the Stargate and most of their research facility on that volcano." Ford said.
"As I have heard from many people on Atlantis, I believe the expression is, there is a but in there." Teyla said.
"I think I would still be the same person I was before the experiment that made me into what I am now. The Asguard would be dead and the fight with the Ori could have been worse. Not having the T.A.R.D.I.S. to help with everything that has happened, a lot more lives could have been lost. Even with all that thinking of what could have been, I am happy with what has happened till now. I have a very happy and stable family, which is what most people really hope for in life." Ford said with a smile.
"I only hope that the same is possible for me." Teyla said with a sigh.
"Looks like we're about to find out. He's signaling us." Ford said getting up and then helping her.
She looked to see the guy looking at them with a nod of his head. They looked to their right and saw a very tanned with just more than a five o'clock shadow walking up to his store with a bag over his shoulder. They got up and walked over slowly as the man set his bag on the counter.
"Hi." Ford said sounding friendly.
"Hey." the guy said before turning back to the store vendor.
"We have some questions for you. Such as where you got some of the things that your buyer here is selling." Teyla said.
He looked at them and then at the store owner. She saw the man grip the bag and start to turn, knowing he was trying to attack or run away. Even with her fast reflexes, it surprised her when the man had barely turned and then was shoved face first into the counter and the barrel of Fords personal cannon in his face.
"You answer our questions, hers actually, truthfully, you can walk away with your life. If not, I can assure you, you'll wish the Wraith had you instead of me." Ford growled.
A lot of people, including the store owner, backed up or ran away as they saw trouble starting. When the man nodded, Ford pulled him up and held onto him by the back of his shirt as they lead him out of the town and into the forest. Tying him to a tree near the T.A.R.D.I.S., Ford finished his talk with Sam again as Teyla began questioning the man.
"Where did you get these things?" Teyla asked while showing a small wooden box that had the items of her people. "Believe me when I say, my patience is gone and I will use torture to get my answers."
"She'll use that knife, which is a bit dull on one side, to slowly cut your balls off." Ford said with his scary stare. "Done properly, you won't die, but life won't be as pleasing as it once was."
"You're the people from Atlantis. Do-gooders of the galaxy. You won't harm me." the man said.
"Most of the time we are very nice people and try to get along with everyone. But when we are threaten or attacked, well…" Ford said trialing off.
The man cried out in pain as the side of his leg burned from the glancing hit his leg took from the blast of the energy pistol Ford shot into the tree behind him.
"You'll live from that, but we can do much worse, if you want to lie or not say anything at all. We'd rather you just tell us what we want to know, so we can get on our way and you can go back to yours." Ford said putting his gun away as she pulled her knife.
"Alright, alright! There's a planet that is being used as a dumping ground. I go and take things off the corpses there and then go to various vendors to sell them." he said quickly as she started waving her knife.
"And these items?" Teyla asked shaking the box lightly. "You removed them from dead people?"
"No, not those. When I was on that planet some time ago, I came across a freshly dug grave. I dug it up in hopes of finding valuable items. In it was that box with those things." the man said as he kept a watch on her knife.
"What's the address?" Ford asked while pulling out a pad and pen. "Trust me, if you dare give us the wrong address, we can and will find you very quickly."
Since his hands were free, he quickly wrote down the address. They left him tied to the tree and took the T.A.R.D.I.S. to the gate, dialed it up and then Ford tossed a small beacon device through. Going back in, they arrived on the planet finding the guy told the truth, so Ford went back and untied the man and then went back into the T.A.R.D.I.S. going back to the planet as he informed Sam of what they learned.
As they were looking around, checking the various bodies that weren't decaying yet, along with finding the hole the man talked about, they both looked up as they heard movement. Ford quickly pulled his personal cannons and started to shoot the Wraith as she went for the T.A.R.D.I.S. Several explosions happened around them as four darts passed over their position. Ford shot one down and started shooting another when one passed by with its beam running across the ground. It exploded and she stopped to watch it fall and explode nearby knocking her to the ground. Running forward while firing in the air, he clipped one and tumbled to the ground as a energy blast impacted the ground around him.
Shaking the effects off the best he could, he fired at the Wraith coming at him with one good eye. Spinning around quickly, he saw the two darts leaving and Teyla not anywhere in sight. The T.A.R.D.I.S. was still standing and nearby, but the door was out of his sight. Killing the seven or so masked Wraith left as he ran to the T.A.R.D.I.S., he yelled loudly in anger when he found she wasn't inside and saw that one of the darts managed hit her with the beam and then run off into space where a cruiser was waiting and had left a minute ago.
He quickly followed the hyperdrive trail only to find that the ship dropped out of hyperspace some light years away near another planet that had Wraith on it along with a few ships. There was gate activity on the planet and a lot of darts moving around, including from the ship he followed right after it dropped out of hyperspace. All three cruisers jumped into hyperspace as a bunch of darts attacked his position. The shields held, as expected, but it hampered his ability to determine where she could possibly be. He didn't have time to do a through scan of all the darts, which had to be a couple hundred, so he was unsure if she left the ship or not, and if she had left in one of the darts, was it to one of the other ships or to gate below that several darts went through before the gate was redialed and more darts went through during the five minute attack on his position in space. Tracking the three cruisers trail, he found one ship continued through hyperspace and the other two went to Wraith controlled planets, dropping off a bunch more darts, some going through the Stargate's on both planets.
Being unable to actually detect her specifically if she was in a dart, he could only go through time, several times over, being in the same timeline more than once, going to each planet and after the cruisers and following the darts the best he could. Scanning each area and keeping record of where he had been, he got a warning light and message from the T.A.R.D.I.S. as he had hit the twentieth time of being in the same ten minutes of traveling around. Even with all the scanning, he never came across any readings and suspected that she was still in a dart on her way to whoever and whatever.
Needless to say, he was very pissed that even with the T.A.R.D.I.S., he wasn't able to save her from being captured. After telling Sam everything he did, she understood, wasn't happy, but understood that he did try his best. Both agreed that someone knew he was there with Teyla and apparently what he was capable of in the time traveling sense.
Sheppard and his team made it to the planet with the signal, finding a large Wraith structure built in the middle of a dusty desert. Inside, the place was the same as usual Wraith buildings, dark and dreary. The only thing that was off about the place, other than not finding any life signs right away, was that the walls didn't have that wet look, but more dried out like everything was dying. They looked around carefully and then the two came to Ronan's position as he found something. Entering the room slowly, they found a small raised platform in the room and a few dead Wraith on the floor.
"Well, they are dead, but I can't find any marks on them." Ronan said after looking them over.
"That's because they were poisoned." Todd said.
All three raised their guns as Todd came out from a corridor in front of them.
"And I suspect you already know how." Todd said.
"Well, let me guess, it was something they ate." Sheppard said while lowering his gun.
"Many of my fellow Wraith have fallen victim to this attack on our food supply." Todd said.
"Crying shame, but really, it's not our problem." Sheppard stated with a shrug.
"From what we have been able to surmise, this blow against us have cost the lives of many humans. Something you would have made your problem in the past, unless of course you are behind this plague. In which case, you consider such losses an acceptable cause." Todd said goading him.
"Fair assessment, but in reality, that's not how we operate. Truth be told, you were at the top of the list of our suspects. What better way to rid yourself of the competition, especially if you had a cure to make you and your fellow Wraith immune." Sheppard stated.
"Effective yes." Todd said with a small chuckle. "And admittedly creative. But it is not me who is behind this and all the existing Wraith factions are effected by this plague. Our food supply has been so randomly tainted, we have no way of knowing if your next meal will be our last."
"Okay, admittedly, times are tough for you guys right now. Probably much tougher than when you were fighting the Ancients. Whatever the case, it doesn't explain why you wanted us here." Sheppard said.
"You are here, because I need you help. I am aware you helped the Hoffens refine this drug. I need all the research you have to synthesize a cure for my Hive and my Hive alone." Todd said.
"Do you really expect us to give you that? You should have know it ahead of time that we wouldn't give it up." Sheppard said. "Bedsides, after that attempted attack on Earth conquest, we aren't very trusting right now."
"I had no part in that." Todd said.
"Actually you did. When you took that information from Atlantis, it allowed the Wraith that got the intel you stole access to Midway Station." Rodney stated.
"He stole that information from me, so we are both victims of treachery." Todd stated.
"That seems to happen a lot lately with you guys." Sheppard stated.
"We can argue and insult each other at another time. I have a proposal I wish to make with you." Todd said.
"Well, it can't hurt to hear it." Sheppard said with a shrug.
"In exchange for the information of the research I want, I will give you the name of the individual responsible for the dead of both Wraith and human alike because of this plague." Todd said with confidence in his tone.
"Wow, and we just heard him tell us a moment ago that he thought we were behind this." Ronan said.
"There is only two parties who posses the ability, research and commodities to initiate such an attack on this galaxy. Since you have not claimed the attack, then by the simple process of elimination, there can be only one." Todd said.
Flying through hyperspace, a Wraith cruiser continued on its course and finally let Teyla out of the Dart when they were sure that they weren't being followed. She was gently, but quickly, taken to a cell and left there. She was so sure that Ford would have already gotten her and was still wondering why she was in the Wraith vessel when someone came up to the door. She stood slowly in surprise and backed away from the door when she saw who it was.
"Michael." Teyla said with anger and fear.
"Hello Teyla." Michael said with a smile.
Sheppard and his team made it back to Atlantis safely and, after being checked over, they went to Sam's office and told her what they learned. Keller was there with them listening, amongst other things.
"Since Todd isn't claiming it to be them or any other Wraith, who else could it be? We did have some brief contact with Larrin's people and they told us they didn't know who was behind it and since they didn't do business with the Hoffans, I'm pretty sure they aren't behind this." Carter said.
"I'm pretty who it is now." Sheppard said. "Unless there is some unknown enemy we have yet to come across, Michael is the only person who could do this."
"Considering how the Wraith treated him, it makes sense." Rodney said. "I'm surprise we didn't think of him being behind this to begin with."
"We have no idea where he is." Sheppard said.
"Is this the same Michael that Doctor Beckett made human from a Wraith?" Keller asked.
"It was a temporary change. Sort of a human Wraith hybrid thing." Rodney said while moving his hands.
"The Wraith didn't like him anymore after what we did, so he's been holding more than a grudge." Sheppard said.
"I don't know that much about this Michael, other than what I have read. Are you sure it is him?" Carter asked.
"We don't have any real proof, but it fits. Unless Todd is lying to us and is behind this, there is no one else." Rodney said.
"We can go back to Todd and see if he knows anything other than just Michaels name." Sheppard said.
"You'll probably have to. If we were in the Milky Way, there is so many other people who could be behind this." Carter said. "Allies or rogue members of the N.I.D. and or Trust if there is any of them left around. But being out here, pretty much away from corrupt politicians and such, our choices are pretty thin."
"We aren't seriously thinking of handing over the Hoffan research to him?" Keller asked.
"Why not?" Rodney asked.
"We'd be giving them a effect means to recreate and reproduce the drug, which they could easily turn around and infect millions of people…" Keller said.
"Theoretically yes, but highly unlikely." Rodney stated. "It wouldn't be in their best interest. All they'd end up doing is killing more of their food supply. They want it to find a way to reverse this protein to allow them to feed without the possibility of death. Considering we have made little progress on making the drug effective nor making a cure for those still sick, I don't think we have much to loose. In the end, even if they come up with a cure, Todd would most likely make a weapon of the protein and use it then, so he and his Wraith survive and the rest die."
"We'd be ending up with less Wraith to deal with." Sheppard said.
"But if they turn this into a weapon, it could kill millions." Carter said.
"I seriously doubt that they would launch the weapon unless it wouldn't kill us off. There is a lot of Wraith and in many ways, not a lot of us around. Todd doesn't strike me as someone who would kill his food to get at his enemies, namely other Wraith." Rodney said.
"You could be wrong." Carter said.
"On that, maybe. But we haven't gotten anywhere, either way. What chance do they really have?" Rodney asked.
"Alright, we can give him what he wants and hope that he has something very important for us in return." Carter said.
"I'll go get it…" Rodney said as he and Keller got up.
"I need you to all wait a moment. I have some bad news." Carter said.
They sat back down as she took a deep breath.
"Teyla didn't find anything did she?" Sheppard asked.
"Quite the opposite actually." Carter said.
"Her people are all dead." Rodney said.
"We don't think so. Just hear me out…" Carter said holding up a hand.
She could tell they were sad and angry as she told them all that Ford said and what all happened.
"Seeing as we have nothing to go on, whether you bring him along in case Todd tries anything is up to you. He's really in a bad mood because of failing to keep her protected and failing to find her. Over a dozen punching bags have been destroyed in his rage. I'm just thankful that he takes it out on stuff like that instead of people, unless they are enemies, and currently, we have little of those around." Carter said.
"Where is he?" Sheppard asked.
"Last I saw, he was still destroying punching bags in the T.A.R.D.I.S. It used to be a real hassle to clean them up at the base, but having the T.A.R.D.I.S. and the Asguard system that allows us to materialize practically anything we need or take something away…" Carter said trailing off. "He won't attack or do anything to you if you go talk to him, but I would avoid starting an argument. Despite the careful attitude he has most of the time, do remember that he is your superior officer and getting him upset can have some very bad consequences."
"What's he going to do? Send us to our rooms and leave us locked in their with food rations?" Rodney asked. "If it was something physical, I'd be worried."
"You know all those back marks from his driving around on the pier? Mine too, but I try not to burn the rubber off my motorcycle tires. For the most part, we let the weather or water from the sea wash it off. It's rubber, but some biodegradable type that isn't harmful to the environment, especially in that small amount. But it wouldn't surprise me if he sent you out there to clean it all off with a tooth brush." Carter said.
"That wouldn't go over well with Ronan." Sheppard said after cringing with Rodney.
"I suggest, if you go talk to him, don't do it with Ronan with you. If there is a problem, just call me. I can settle him down. He's never attacked anyone of us, SGC personnel or anyone here before and I don't think he will now." Carter said.
"Not unless he is provoked into doing so. Knowing Ronan, he'd do it just to see how much of a fight he could get out of him." Sheppard said.
"He'd loose, very quickly. And Ronan would be lucky if he lived." Carter said.
"We'll definitely leave Ronan out of this." Sheppard said. "I'll go talk to him myself while you get the info and tell Ronan to get ready as well."
"Are we going by gate or?" Rodney asked while rolling one hand.
"Probably by his ship." Sheppard said.
Sheppard did find him still in the gym, well one of them, but instead of still punching out bags, he was on his back, passed out from exhaustion. Only because K-9 told him the amount of bags that were lying around in pieces along with enough sand to be beach front property, did Sheppard realize just how dangerous Ford could be in a mass fit of rage. The blood from the mans hands was in many areas of the sand along with his gym clothes and parts of the sand bags that he could see as well. It made Sheppard cringe at the thought of the destructive nature his friend and superior officer had when extremely pissed off. Then again, Ronan had fits of rage that were similar, but with less destruction of punching bags.
"Why am I here? What do you want?" Teyla asked with anger and fear, mostly for her child. "Answer me!"
"I am disappointed." Michael said. "After all this work I had to do to arrange this reunion. Which took a lot more work than I had intended to do."
"What do you mean reunion?" Teyla asked as it hit her moments later. "You took my people!"
"Yes." Michael said.
"Where are they?!" Teyla yelled moving to grab the bars. "What have you done with them?!"
"They are alive and well. And they work for me for the common goal we all share." Michael said.
"What are you talking about?" Teyla asked with narrow eyes.
"The complete extermination of the Wraith of course." Michael said walking up to the bars. "What else would we be doing? Very soon, the army I am building will replace them as the dominant race in this galaxy."
"An army of monsters." Teyla said with distain.
"I will admit…" Michael said with a shrug. "My earlier attempts were a bit, crude. But I have refined the retrovirus to create the perfect balance, ability well beyond any normal human, and without the weakness that will be the Wraiths downfall."
She looked as he lifted his hand and showed no mouth on it.
"The need to feed is gone." Michael said.
"It was you. You're the one that is spreading the Hoffan drug." Teyla said.
"Consider it the opening salvo in a much broader assault." Michael said with a smile.
"How were you able to discover the drug?" Teyla asked as he smiled and began walking away. "How were you able to refine it?"
"I had help." Michael said looking at her over his shoulder.
"Wait, where are my people?!" Teyla yelled as he kept walking.
They landed nearby in a shadowed spot that Ford found after doing a scan from out in space above the planet. It could be considered a design flaw since it was a great place to hide three people trying to sneak in, even if a patrol came by because that patrol wouldn't see anything. Leaving the T.A.R.D.I.S. there and with the shields up so the Wraith couldn't try to take her away, they entered the facility and found no Wraith around. Ford didn't bring his Heavy Arms rifle, just his four guns on his person. Coming into the room they found Todd in, there was two masked Wraith dragging another normal Wraith away. Ronan and Sheppard held their guns on them and they stopped.
"Oh, don't mind them. They are only here for the clean up." Todd said entering the room from the corridor nearby. "Hmm, I see you brought him with you again."
"Teyla was busy." Sheppard fibbed while trying not to think about her situation.
The two Wraith left the room with the body as they lowered their weapons.
"I assume that you have agreed to my terms?" Todd asked.
"Not exactly." Sheppard said as he put his .45 back in its holster.
"You do not wish to know who is behind this plague then?" Todd said.
"We already know. Or at least a good idea." Rodney said.
"We call him Michael. Don't ask why." Sheppard said. "He used to be a Wraith, but now he's a….I don't know what the hell to call him."
"I believe I know who you speak of, and I believe you are correct." Todd said.
"Interesting. Confirmation without having to give anything up." Sheppard said with a nod.
"Obviously you have return to get more from me or else you would not be here." Todd said.
"I wish Teyla was actually busy. Despite my best efforts and almost causing a massive tear in the space time continuum, I was unable to track the Dart that took her as we were investigating something on another planet. Considering her people were all taken, and probably by Michael, its not that far fetched that he probably was behind her abduction." Ford growled. "Unless you have other intel that says otherwise. Because we don't have as much intel on you guys as we wish, we need your help in trying to find her. In exchange for the research we have on the Hoffan drug, you get us reliable intel."
"I see." Todd said impressed.
"We could just walk out of here and go around looking for Wraith until we learn where she is and you go on without knowing if your next meal, as you say, is your last." Sheppard said.
"I will see what I can find." Todd said.
"Good." Sheppard said as he nodded at Rodney.
Rodney pulled a tablet off his back and handed it over.
"There is a address for a off world relay station that you can leave a message for us on whatever intel you find. This also has information we have on the Hoffan drug." Rodney said.
"Ah." Todd said turning it on.
"There is just enough there to give you a head start or at least some help on the research you are doing. If you give us some valuable intel, we'll give you the rest." Sheppard said.
"Very well." Todd said nodding in agreement.
Sheppard nodded and then they left, getting back to the T.A.R.D.I.S. with no trouble.
Michaels ship was still in hyperdrive and she was still in the holding cell, hoping for rescue at any moment. She was sitting down and biding her time until she had a moments chance to escape. Unfortunately, since there was several big gaps in the organic cell bars, the few times, each being a different person, came to give her some food, she refused. Michael eventually came with a bowl in his hand and she turned to look at him with a murderous glare.
"I understand you are still refusing to eat. Despite what you may think, I did not go through all this trouble to capture you to turn around and kill you with poisoned food. It is perfectly safe to eat, if a little bland." Michael said.
Seeing her still giving the same glaring death look, he stuck his pinky finger into it, pulling some out to eat.
"See?" Micahel said as he walked up and reached through holding it out. "You need to keep your strength up."
She stood and smacked it out of his hand, knocking it back into his face. Instead of trying to grab his hand as he thought, she only continued to look at him the same way as he removed his hand with a sigh and wiped some off his face.
"Why in the hell would you care about my well being?" Teyla asked.
"I am not foolish enough to even begin to think we are anywhere close to being friends, we do have a history. And even though you have betrayed me repeatedly, you are still the only one who, whether human or Wraith, can even begin to understand what I have been through." Michael stated.
"Really?" Teyla asked with malice.
"We are not all that different Teyla. You are a human with Wraith DNA, a hybrid, just like I am." Michael said.
"I am not murderer like you are." Teyla said venomously.
"You kill to protect yourself and your own, just like I do. I just do it on a much larger scale, but the principle of it all is still the same." Michael said.
"You're insane." Teyla stated.
His face showed a sad look as he sighed lightly.
"You can spite me all you want, but do not do it at the expense of the child." Michael said.
"My child is no concern of yours." Teyla said with extreme malice.
"On the contrary, I have great plans for him." Michael stated.
This worried her greatly as he smiled lightly and walked away.
Ford was still pissed at himself even though Sam told him to stop it and that being enraged would only make it that much more difficult to think straight. Hanging with Sally for an hour helped lift his spirits since he had to hide his pain, and since Sam was also there, it helped even better. Sam still saw he was in conflict but hiding it very well, so much so Carter had trouble seeing it there sometimes. Having to get back to her job, she told him to go cook because, other than people were hungry, as was she, it did help him to relieve stress, short of taking it out on more punching bags or shooting a bunch of targets.
Others were eating in the commissary, but Sheppard and Ronan weren't in the mood, even though they were sitting at the table with Rodney and Ford. Rodney was going to town on a big pile of food as the two looked at him as Ford was staring off into space in deep thought.
"How can you eat at a time like this?" Ronan asked.
"Are you kidding me?" Rodney asked around a bite. "I haven't had a decent meal all day. Those power bars only work for a few hours. Besides, we can't help Teyla and all if we are starving ourselves. I suggest you three do the same."
"I ate while cooking. Got to taste the food to make sure it cooks right." Ford muttered while still staring off into space.
"Quit worrying about her Sheppard, we will find her." Ronan said seeing John looking more depressed than before.
"No matter how we find her, if she is dead, I'll go back in time and save her like I did for Sam's mom and several others." Ford said while closing his eyes and leaning his head back. His head sprung back up quickly making the three look at him.
"You've got a brilliant idea!" Sheppard exclaimed.
"No, but I think we have some coming." Ford said looking over John's shoulder as Sam walked up behind him. "You're smiling so it must be something to lift our spirits."
"Yes it is. Or so I hope. Todd sent us a message through that relay station. There is some rumor going around amongst certain Wraith worshippers that heard that one of our people have been captured. We've got the coordinates and will be sending one of your beacons through to another planet, so you can get there by the T.A.R.D.I.S. and then be picked up by the Daedalus. The coordinates you are going to doesn't seem to have a Stargate on it." Carter said.
"Excellent timing dear." Ford said getting up and kissing her forehead. "I'll call if we learn anything special."
"And I wanted to finish this." Rodney grumbled as he got up.
"Bring it along. I want to scan the area, which will take some time." Ford said as Rodney grabbed his plate.
"We don't have time…" Sheppard began.
"I can drop us in one hour ago if I need to, or further. As long as it isn't, six hours ago because I think that was about the time Teyla was taken." Ford said as they walked the corridors. "Or was it eight? I can't remember. The T.A.R.D.I.S. will tell me. Besides, you want him complaining about being hungry?"
"Never mind." Sheppard said.
"The Daedalus will be in orbit still in case you need back up. If you have to travel back in time, call ahead first so the Daedalus can leave instead of hanging around." Carter said as she followed beside them.
"I got a question, what are the odds of ending up in another universe?" Sheppard asked.
"Very slim. We figured out how the T.A.R.D.I.S. jumps to another universe, for the most part. If I think about the possibility of going somewhere, we just leave this universe. Where we end up is something I haven't figured out because we never seem to end up where I wish we would. Since Teyla is the only big thing on my mind, I'm pretty sure we'll stay in this universe." Ford stated with a finger held up. "Besides, she usually does it just to give us or me a change of pace."
"She?" Sheppard asked.
"The T.A.R.D.I.S." Ford, Carter and Rodney said.
"So far, even with the trips we've done with him today, we've ended up in the right places." Rodney said as they arrived in the command center where the T.A.R.D.I.S. was currently sitting.
Teyla was sitting in the cell still and had been left alone for awhile now. She tried meditating, but couldn't achieve that state of mind as her thoughts kept coming back to what Michael said about her child and his future. Hearing movement, she looked to see who it was and did her best to ignore the feeling running through her that it might be Michael coming to do something with her and her baby. She was very surprised to see Kanaan standing on the other side, in the clothes she saw him in with the visions.
"Kanaan!" Teyla exclaimed while getting up and standing before the bars.
He didn't move and only stared straight ahead as she looked at him. She quickly noticed that even though she could see it was him, he also had changed to look a bit like a Wraith.
"Kanaan, what has he done to you?" Teyla asked worried, sad and with pity. Not getting and answer, she continued while trying to reach for him. "Kanaan, can't you see me? It's Teyla, I came as you asked."
"Like I asked." Michael said as he walked into view and she backed up, letting go of Kanaan's arm. "I was the one in your visions. Appropriately disguised of course."
"You're lying!" Teyla stated with venom as she looked between him and Kanaan.
"I reached across ten thousand light years of space to reach your mind. We have more of a bond between us than you know. Once the child is born, the bond will grow even stronger. Enjoy your reunion." Michael said with a small smile as he then walked away.
Watching him go, she reached up grabbing the bars and turned back to him.
"Kanaan, you must help me. You must help our child. Please Kanaan." Teyla pleaded as he looked at her.
"The child will serve the cause. Then, one day very soon, the galaxy will be ours." Kanaan stated and then walked away as she tried to say something and didn't as he walked out of view.
They did get on the Daedalus with no trouble and headed into hyperspace. As they were flying towards their destination, the other two ate something before coming back to the bridge as Colonel Caldwell informed them that they were arriving soon. Geared up and ready to move, Sheppard and his team watched as the ship jumped out of hyperspace near a planet that had a moon in the distance. They didn't find Teyla's subterraneous transmitter, figuring that Michael had already removed it. Major Lorne's team came unto the bridge and entered the T.A.R.D.I.S. with Sheppard and them as the ship stopped in high orbit.
"We'll stay and keep watch." Colonel Caldwell said.
"If we have to travel through time, you'll get the message quickly. Avoid fighting if a ship shows up and leave if that message comes, otherwise, keep it busy." Ford said before entering his ship.
Making a few quick scans before going to the planet, they found a bunch of life signs in some old building in a deserted city that had once been one of the planets that had life that the Replicators attacked. Walking out after landing a few corridors down from the various life signs they got, they spread out while seeing if they had been heard.
"Okay, we have life signs ahead this way and some this way." Sheppard said while pointing. "We'll check this way while you go that way. Keep in contact."
"Yes sir." Lorne said as he waved his team to move.
Ford lifted his Heavy Arms rifle to his shoulder as he followed next to Ronan in the lead with the other two behind them. Going down the different hallways that branched out at each turn, Sheppard quickly had them stop.
"What's wrong?" Ronan asked.
"We have someone coming up behind us." Sheppard said turning with the life signs detector in hand.
A guy did come around the corner and looked down the hallway and saw nothing. Holding his Wraith stun gun before him, swearing he saw something before, he slowly walked down. Ronan glanced out and moved back as a stun shot hit the wall where his head had been. Diving out into the open, he caught the guy in the shoulder with his energy pistol as he fired at them.
Major Lorne's team backed against a wall as a couple stun blast came at them as they were discovered. Giving a few signals, the three men nodded and two moved out as the other stayed with Lorne as he turned around the corner and fired off a couple burst.
Before they could check on the guy Ronan shot and question him, more guys came out and started firing at them as they stayed behind concrete square pillars for protection.
Up in space, Colonel Caldwell had the ship go to full alert as a Wraith Cruiser came out of hyperspace before them. It quickly started firing at them as it also veered away. They returned fire quickly in response.
"Daedalus to Sheppard's team, we have been engaged by a Wraith Cruiser." Caldwell said.
"How's it going?" Sheppard asked as he got back behind the pillar.
"Are you in the middle of a fire fight?" Caldwell asked.
"Affirmative. We're easily holding our own though." Sheppard said.
"Good. At the moment, we can hold our own as well. What do you want us to do Colonel?" Caldwell asked.
"What's going on?" Ford asked since he didn't have a earpiece in.
"A Wraith Cruiser just arrived and it attacking them." Sheppard said.
"You said it just arrived?" Ford asked.
"They started firing soon after they saw us. I think they knew we were coming." Caldwell said into Sheppards earpiece.
"Yeah, just arrived and started attacking. He thinks they knew it was coming." Sheppard said to Ford.
Ford made a few signals that Sheppard nodded to. Going out into the open, Ford fired off several burst, going through the pillars nearby that a few men were hiding around. They went down quickly as Ronan moved up and looked, then nodded back at them that it was safe for the moment.
"Hey, where's Teyla? We know she is here." Sheppard said as he knelt down and put his .45 to the man's chest.
"You're too early." he said with a laugh while holding his injured arm. "We were expecting him to arrive with her."
Hitting him across the head with the butt of his gun, Sheppard got up and touched his earpiece.
"Daedalus, this is Sheppard, do you ready?" Sheppard said with urgency.
"We read you." Caldwell said.
"Do not, I repeat, do not destroy that ship. Teyla is on it." Sheppard said.
"We got it." Colonel Caldwell said before turning to the lady next to him. "Can you cripple it?"
"It's possible sir. It's already sustained…" she said as a new reading came up. "They are jumping into hyperspace."
"Take out the engines, now!" Caldwell yelled.
The Wraith ship turned and jumped away as their weapons passed through the area where they had just been.
"Sheppard, this is Daedalus, the ship jumped into hyperspace before we could disable their engines." Caldwell reported.
"Damn it!" Sheppard exclaimed.
"What's wrong?" Ronan asked.
"There was a Wraith Cruiser that this guy said had Teyla on it. It had to be Michaels ship. It jumped into hyperspace before they could disable the engines." Sheppard stated.
"I'll go after them. Deal with this place and see what was going on here." Ford said and then ran off.
Quickly making it around a few corridors, he saw the T.A.R.D.I.S. and suddenly saw a bright light in his face followed by brief pain and then darkness shortly after.
Major Lorne's team continued to keep firing as Sheppard's team moved to back them up and told the Colonel to stay put since Ford was going to go after the Wraith. They came around a corner finding two men still firing some energy pistols, very different from Ronan's, at Lorne's position. Ronan quickly shot the two with his energy pistol and then looked around with the others to see if there was anyone else. Seeing no one on the life signs detector, Sheppard called all clear leaving Lorne's team to meet up with them outside a doorway that showed one person on the other side.
"Is that her sir?" Lorne asked quietly.
"No. A guard we shot told us that she was on the ship that attacked the Daedalus and then jumped into hyperspace. The General left to go after them while we checked this place out." Sheppard said.
"These men were keeping this door pretty well guarded. If it isn't her, who could it be?" Lorne asked.
"We're about to find out." Sheppard said signaling Ronan.
He walked up to the door and stood on one side as Sheppard took the other. The rest of them stayed on either side with their weapons ready in case of an attack. All of them were surprised when Sheppard opened the door after Ronan blasted the lock off and instead of a gun firing at them, a man they didn't expect to see stood up from a bed by the wall.
"Finally! It's about bloody damn time! What the hell took you all so long?!" Doctor Carson Beckett exclaimed loudly.
And, to Chapter 130………..
