"Holloway, on the line."

Max rose from her bunk and shrugged into the arms of her coverall, zipped it up and stood on the line painted in front of the cell door. A distant buzzer squawked and the door clunked and opened, outside it stood a very large very fast guard named Billy. Billy was in his forties, smart, cunning, and fair.

Max liked Billy he couldn't be bought but he was fair minded. He didn't like that she was housed with men but had stopped trying to protect her four years ago when she kicked the shit out of the block bad ass and got away without a scratch. That had been a set up and Billy had personally walked out the dumbass that thought he could get away with leaving a violent prisoner unattended.

"Hi Billy."

"Holloway."

"Too early for chow."

"You have a visitor."

Max blinked but followed behind Billy in perfect step with him. She didn't get visitors. She was in solitary, she did everything alone, eat, shit, shower – everything. She only talked to Billy and the other guards when they needed her to do something.

Her silence had bothered Billy he thought she had been hurt somehow or was afraid. She put him at ease on that matter one afternoon during her first month in the lock up.

"Cat got your tongue prisoner?"

"No sir, I don't have much to say."

Billy looked at her faded shoulder tattoo, took in her bearing and nodded.

"Military?"

"After a fashion sir."

"Classified?"

"A little."

"How'd you end up in here Holloway?"

"I took lives that weren't mine to take sir, here to do my time and try to make amends."

"An honest con."

"No sir, an honest killer."

Now years later Billy didn't mind her silence at all. He liked to be near her, something about her just oozed calm and confidence. It was relaxing. Maybe he realized she would never make a move to hurt him or his people. Maybe he realized her shit kicking life taking days were done. Maybe he just liked her. But after she put paid to the tier asshole he did what he could to make things easier for her.

"Do you know who the visitor is Billy?"

"Nope just got the call. When it comes to you Max I don't ask questions."

Max let herself smile at that. No, Billy didn't ask questions. He didn't wonder too hard about why she was there, why she never talked about her past, why she still looked fresh faced and healthy instead of haggard or half crazed like the other solitary prisoners. No, Billy didn't ask.

Billy lead her in to an area that was new to her. It looked like administrative offices they passed a break room with one startled occupant and stopped at a closed steel door. Billy gestured for her to wait and knocked on the door, waited then opened it and gestured for her to enter.

She did so cautiously. It was an office after all. A large desk sat at the opposite end with what seemed to be law books behind it. Tomes on criminal justice and psychology scattered among them. A woman sat at the desk, Max assumed she was the warden. Next to the warden stood a figure in a blue uniform, light from a window behind the figure drowned out details.

"Holloway." The woman said. Max's eyes locked on to her while keeping the stranger in peripheral view.

"Ma'am."

"You have one half hour to spend with our guest. At the conclusion of that half hour you'll be returned to your cell."

"Yes Ma'am." Max said. The warden stood and walked toward Max. Max stepped aside clearing access to the door. As the woman passed Max caught a heady mixture of now foreign scents, expensive shampoo, face powder, lipstick, perfume, clean sweat, heavy linen and…worry.

"Why do you make the Warden worry?" She asked the figure.

"I apologize for all the cloak and dagger Sergeant."

"I'm not enlisted anymore."

"My name is Major Evan Lorne. I'm here on behalf of the SGC." The figure said stepping away from the window. Max blinked and let her eyes adjust and take him in. His uniform and rank were right, he moved confidently and sounded like he was telling the truth.

"I'm a convicted murderer Major, mass murderer, what the hell do you want with me?"

"The situation at the SGC has changed in the past few years Sergeant –"

"I told you, I'm not enlisted. I was discharged."

"Can we start over?" The Major asked.

He was a little taller than Max, not quite short but under average height. He had sparkling dark eyes and came across as competent and intelligent. He moved like someone used to physicality and wasn't a bullshitter. Or he was an amazing liar.

"How do I know you're who you say you are? You could be NID."

"General O'Neill said to tell you he still hates deserts."

Max relaxed.

"General?"

"I'm sorry there's a lot to cover and we only have… twenty-five minutes." Lorne said looking at the clock on the Warden's desk.

"Shoot." Max said.

"Shortly after you were incarcerated the lost city of Atlantis was located and colonized by an international team. It is overseen by an international oversight committee and has an international staff including some trusted persons native to the Pegasus galaxy."

"I think I'm with you so far." Max said frowning.

"When the city was first activated it was on the bottom of an ocean, the exploratory team's presence set off a chain reaction of power failures which triggered a failsafe and raised the city from the ocean floor. They tried to find a way back to Earth; the idea was to use the Atlantean technology to help defend Earth. A scouting party was captured; in the process of rescuing the captured personnel and some friendly locals a new enemy was discovered. They're called wraith."

"Keep going Major." Max said not reacting to his tale just yet.

"The wraith feed on other living beings, animals if they have to but they prefer humans. They're almost unstoppable and don't age at the same rate we do. The people of the Pegasus galaxy have existed as livestock for the wraith for thousands of years. We woke the wraith early so there aren't enough people in Pegasus to feed them. They hibernate between periods of culling the populace."

Max held up a hand. "So they want Earth and we can't really stop them?"

"We have so far but really only because they don't know where Earth is."

"So why are you here again?" She asked folding her arms across her chest and shifting her weight from foot to foot.

"Colonel Carter requested that I explain the situation to you and give you this."

Lorne pulled an envelope out of the inside pocket of his uniform jacket. Max took it and opened it. Inside was a typed letter.

Max, Major Lorne is telling the truth but only the broad strokes. We need your help, the wraith can and will decimate Earth.

Sam.

Max read the letter twice then tucked it in to her pocket.

"Okay. What's next?" She asked calmly.

"You change out of that uniform and I have a conversation with he Warden." Lorne said, Max thought she heard relief in his voice. To be fair pre-jail Max Holloway would have been a lot more suspicious and argumentative.

"Change?" She asked. He nodded behind her and she turned to follow the gesture. A dry cleaning bag hung from the Warden's door. Max partially unzipped it to reveal a set of blues with a nametag, Holloway.

"Warden!" Major Lorne said loudly enough to beckon the woman back in. Max stepped behind her and freed the clothing from the door, stripped and began to get dressed. Lorne's eyes widened then locked on to the Warden with laser intensity.

"You have the pardon?"

"Yes, and I've verified it. I'll admit Major I'll be happy to have Ms. Holloway out of my prison. This is a dangerous place as it is."

Max finished dressing and folded her prison uniform neatly along with the boots hesitated, then kept the boots and handed the coverall to the Warden.

"Ma'am."

"Holloway, I don't know where you're going or what you're going to do but…be careful and don't do anything rash."

"No Ma'am." Max agreed then looked at Lorne for direction. He was blushing slightly but met her eyes and walked to the door.

"Eyes front and down Holloway, let's go." She complied and didn't lift her gaze until she was in a sedan with government plates and the prison was fading behind them.

"You okay?" Lorne asked several minutes later. Max was looking out the window, drinking in the scenery and colors.

"I'll be fine Major. When do we head to Atlantis?"

"Uh tomorrow."

"Can I ask a question?" She asked still watching the lively colorful world unfold around them.

"Yeah of course."

"You said the wraith feed on living things, presumably it's more than just slaughter and cooking?"

"Uh yeah, sorry I couldn't be more specific. They sort of uh eat your life force; they have this sucker on their hand. It's…disturbing." He sounded self-conscious about the description, fully aware of how absurdly horrifying it was.

"Space vampires." She muttered and sighed then finally turned from the view.

"Does it sound like a good idea to take someone like me to meet that?"

"Someone like you?" Lorne asked confused. Something flickered across Max's face and she sighed again.

"Can I ask another question?"

He nodded and carefully changed lanes.

"What, exactly, did Colonel Carter tell you about me?"