Ronon stormed out of the saloon, barely paying attention to where he was going, and stopped short when Teyla grabbed his arm.

"Perhaps we should follow the walkway to the edge of town," she suggested.

Ronon gave her a puzzled frown, and she nodded at the road. Even though the rain had slowed from a downpour to a shower, the dirt road through the middle of town had turned to muddy soup. Ronon grimaced and glanced along the boardwalk on both sides of the road.

The lights strung along the awning, while dim, were bright enough Ronon was able to make out a few men either leaning against the awning supports or sitting on the benches in front of a few of the storefronts on the other side of the road. All of the men were armed, and they appeared to be focused on watching the foothills behind the town.

Ezra sauntered out of the sheriff's office carrying a rifle and paused to talk to a few of the men. One of the men pointed at a spot above the town, and Ezra nodded, studying the same area. He said something else Ronon couldn't hear over the sound of the rain hitting the awning, then looked up at the sky, turned, and walked toward the end of town near the mountains south of town.

Where were Sheppard and McKay? Ronon wondered, peering across the road at the stone building with the bars on the windows. He saw movement inside the building and loosened the particle weapon in its holster. Someone was still inside, he realised and glanced at the men posted along the boardwalk. Could he break Sheppard and McKay out of whatever cell they were in, and they could all make a run for the 'gate?

Ronon was ready to take his chances and confront Logan again when Teyla tapped his arm.

"We must hurry," she said, bobbing her head toward the edge of town. "It will take several hours to reach the stargate."

Ronon grunted, still staring at the building.

"Ronon?" Teyla said. "We must go."

"Yeah," Ronon growled. After one last long look at the building with the bars, he followed Teyla down the boardwalk.

Once they were out of town, Teyla turned on the barrel light for her P-90. Ronon found the switch for the light on Sheppard's P-90 and played the tiny beam of light over the ground in front of them. The rain prevented the beams of light from penetrating very far ahead of them, but the flashlights, along with the occasional flash of lightning, were enough to keep the muddy path in view.

They reached the low, flat hills bordering the valley north of the town, and Teyla paused as she played the light over the muddy hillside.

"Perhaps there is another way around," she suggested, highlighting the deep rills cut into the hillside by the rain with the barrel light. "The rain has softened the slope. Climbing will be difficult."

"No time," Ronon replied. He switched off the light, adjusted the P-90 so it hung down his back, and started up the hill.

The rain made the climb treacherous, but Ronon persevered. He nearly tumbled down the hill twice but eventually reached the top and turned on the barrel light to check Teyla's progress. She stretched for a handhold, missed, and slid several feet back down the hill.

"Try over there," Ronon said, pointing the beam of light to a part of the hill with more vegetation.

Teyla nodded and grasped the low scrub as she reclimbed the hill. Once she was within reach, Ronon grabbed her outstretched hand and pulled her the rest of the way up the hill. Teyla nodded her thanks and looked down at her muddy clothes.

"Perhaps it is just as well Doctor McKay is not here," she said, trying and failing to brush off the mud.

Ronon imagined the stream of complaints McKay would have about the weather, the mud, the climb up the hill in the dark, and grunted. He was about to turn and lead the way back to the 'gate when he saw a flash of lightning reflecting off something in the mountains across the valley.

"Ronon?" Teyla asked, stopping next to him as thunder rumbled overhead.

"Did you see that?" Ronon stepped to the hill's edge and stared at a flat ridge overlooking the town.

He squinted at the spot where he'd seen the flash and waited for it to repeat. Whatever it was, it wasn't naturally occurring, of that he was certain. The cannon? he wondered.

Teyla peered across the valley. "I do not see anything."

Ronon shook his head and pointed. "Something is moving along that ridge."

Teyla gave him a startled glance and studied the mountains again.

Another flash of lightning, and Ronon was sure he saw dark shapes moving along the ridge.

"We need to go back," he said and made to slide down the hillside.

"We cannot," Teyla replied.

Ronon started to argue but stopped when he saw her anxious expression. She doesn't want to leave either, he realised.

"Colonel Sheppard is counting on us to bring back reinforcements," Teyla continued, turning her back on the town. "That is the best way we can help them right now."

Ronon growled low in his throat, chafing under the imposed delay.

"We will return as quickly as possible," Teyla promised.

Ronon stared at the town for a few seconds, then turned on his heel and led the way down the muddy path. They were halfway back to the stone bridge when the rain stopped, and the water-starved ground quickly absorbed the remaining moisture. Ronon heard animals scuttling nearby and, remembering the binchatka they had seen earlier in the day, loosened the particle weapon in its holster.

"I thought one of the concessions Ladon Radim made to Doctor Weir was that he would recall those wanted posters," Teyla said into the silence as they walked.

Ronon shrugged. "Maybe he did. Those people just didn't get the message."

"Perhaps," Teyla replied.

Ronon stopped and turned. "You think it's more than that?"

Teyla grimaced. "As Rodney pointed out, the Genii tend to renege on deals they do not like. Perhaps Ladon has plans of his own and is -" She stopped speaking when an eerily familiar whine whispered from the direction of the town, followed by a distant flash of light.

Teyla turned to Ronon wide-eyed. "That was not lightning."

Ronon spun on his heel and unholstered the particle weapon. "No. That was Wraith," he growled. "Reinforcements will have to wait. Sheppard needs help now."

Teyla blew out a breath and nodded. "Let's go."

Ronon didn't need telling twice. He turned and ran back toward the town with Teyla on his heels.

~*~*~*~ SGA ~*~*~*~

John walked out of the saloon and stood at the edge of the boardwalk, watching the rain puddle in the muddy road.

"I don't suppose where we're going is on this side," Rodney muttered, staring at the mud pit in front of them.

"Move," Logan ordered. "Cross the road and down three buildings."

"Guess not," John said to McKay. He squinted at the clouds, stepped off the boardwalk, and grimaced as mud squelched beneath his boots.

"Great," Rodney grumbled as he followed John. "Just what I needed to top off my day. Getting soaking wet while waiting for the Genii to show up."

"Quit your bellyachin'," Ezra said, pushing Rodney from behind.

Rodney slid in the mud and made a desperate grab for John.

John caught one of Rodney's flailing arms and held on until McKay found his balance.

"Thanks," Rodney said as he let go of John's arm. "Wet is bad enough. Wet and mud-caked would have been worse."

John felt rain trickling down his collar and silently agreed.

"Ezra," Logan said. "Go on ahead. Grab one of the rifles from the office and check on the lookouts."

Ezra glowered at John and Rodney, then gave Logan a stiff nod. He hurried down the boardwalk and disappeared inside the building with the bars on the windows.

John followed in Ezra's wake, and once on the other side of the road, he paused long enough to scrape some of the mud off his boots.

"I'm never going to get these clean," Rodney grumbled, scraping the soles of his boots on the edge of the boardwalk.

John smiled to himself and stepped up onto the slightly less muddy boardwalk.

"Anything?" Logan asked one of the men leaning against an awning support watching the mountains through a spyglass.

The man shook his head. "Saw some movement earlier, but it might have been animals."

Logan glanced in the direction of the mountains. "There are reports they've been stealin' horses. That what you saw?"

The man lowered the spyglass. "Hard to say with the rain and the dark."

Logan pursed his lips and stared at the mountains.

"You folks are clearly afraid of something," John said to Logan. "Maybe we can help."

Logan glanced at him, and John thought he might have been getting through to the sheriff when Rodney spoke up.

"You do remember they are arresting us," Rodney grumbled. "I don't think they want our help."

Logan's expression shifted back to a scowl. "Move," he ordered and pointed down the boardwalk.

"Thanks a lot, McKay," John said with a glare.

"What?" Rodney retorted.

John shook his head and walked down the boardwalk.

"Inside," Logan ordered when they reached the building with the bars on the windows.

John pushed open the door and stepped inside the sheriff's office. The room wasn't very big. Two wooden desks stood on opposite sides of the door, filling most of the space. A gun rack hung on the wall behind one of the desks. A barred window behind the other desk looked out onto an alley. A second door at the back of the room was open, and John caught a glimpse of a barred cell through the open crack.

Ezra stood at the gun rack holding a rifle in one hand while he relocked the rack with the other.

"You going to be okay alone with them?" Ezra asked, jerking a thumb in John's direction.

"Just go check the lookouts," Logan replied. John thought he sounded as tired of Ezra's attitude as John did. "I'll get them locked up and come meet you. Jace thought he saw movement in the mountains. Be sure to pass that along to the teams."

Ezra scowled at John for a moment, then nodded to Logan and left.

John waited until Ezra was gone, then glanced at the clutter of papers on one of the desks. He did a double-take when he saw more pictures of Atlantis personnel scattered across its surface.

Lorne.

Stackhouse.

Resnik.

Valdés.

"Damn it," John muttered under his breath.

He nudged Rodney, who stood staring at the rest of the room and jerked his chin at the pictures.

Rodney glanced at the desk, and his eyes widened in surprise. "What is going on?" he whispered to John.

"Not sure," John replied, "but I'm starting to get a good idea."

"I'll have any other weapons you're carryin' and those vests you're wearin'," Logan said.

Rodney glanced at John.

John grimaced but nodded to Rodney. He pulled his combat knife from its sheath at the small of his back and set it on the nearest desk. He removed a second knife from his boot, laid it next to the first, and unzipped the tac-vest.

Rodney unclipped his backpack, set it on the desk then shrugged out of his tac-vest.

Logan studied them, then holstered his weapon, picked up a boxy device, and pointed at the back door. "Through there."

John walked into the back room and saw two barred cells with a narrow walkway from the door to the cells. Two barred windows, one for each cell, were cut into the back wall. Other than the bars, the windows were open to the elements. A gust of wind blew through the window bringing with it a misting of rain. Rodney shivered, and John grimaced as a second damp breeze hit them.

Logan unlocked one of the cell doors and stood back. "Inside."

John stopped and turned to Logan. "There's something you should probably know about those pictures."

"I know everything I need to know," Logan told him. "The Genii want you two for some reason, and they are willin' to pay a pretty penny to get you."

"You're making a big mistake," John tried again.

Logan snorted. "I'm sure you think so. Now, no more stallin'. Get in there. Both of you." He shoved Rodney through the open cell door.

"Do you mind?" Rodney retorted as he stumbled into the cell.

"You too, 'Colonel'," Logan said.

John shook his head and stepped into the cell.

Logan closed the cell door, locked it, and held up the boxy device. "I'll be callin' the Genii now. They should be here in the next day or two to collect you."

John shook his head and watched Logan leave without a backward glance, closing the door to the outer room behind him.

"That went well," Rodney grumbled.

John gave him a crooked smile and studied their cell. Other than the two benches, the only amenities were a rudimentary sink and a toilet in the corner. He walked over to the back wall and glanced out the barred window.

Rodney sat on the nearest bench and zipped his coat to his chin when another gust of wind blew through the windows. "Now what?"

John ignored the question as he stared out the window. It was too dark to see much. No strings of lights lit the area behind the buildings, but John saw the outline of a few houses and heard the lowing of the animals in one of the paddocks. He cocked his head to the left and glimpsed the darker silhouette of the mountains looming behind the town.

If a bandit army was planning to attack the town, he and McKay would be completely defenseless, John grumbled to himself. Maybe he shouldn't have been so quick to send Teyla and Ronon back to the 'gate.

John stepped back and studied the window. Could they escape through the window and make a run for that old stone mill? Hide out there until the weather improved, then head back to the 'gate?

He tugged on one of the bars and heard Rodney snort behind him.

"Digging the bars out of the mortar only works in those Westerns you watched as a kid," Rodney said as another gust of wind blew more rain and the smell of mud into the cell.

John wiped the moisture off his face with his jacket sleeve and gave another of the bars an experimental tug.

"Besides, even if you could get the bars out, the window is too small for either of us to fit through." Rodney leaned against the bars separating their cell from the next and crossed his arms over his chest.

John grudgingly realised Rodney was right and stepped back from the window.

"Worth a try," he replied. He sat on the other bench with his elbows resting on his knees and listened as the rain dwindled and eventually stopped.

"So," Rodney said into the silence a few minutes later.

"So?" John parroted and glanced at McKay.

"You said you had an idea what was going on with the Genii. Care to share?"

John sat back, resting his back against the stone wall. "You remember Ladon Radim's little coup a few months ago?"

"Being gassed and nearly blown up with a nuclear bomb is not something I'm likely to forget any time soon."

John gave him a crooked smile. "You remember what Teyla told us after we got back? About the - I guess wanted posters would be the best way to describe them - she and Ronon found on 177 while investigating Lorne's 'death'?" He mimed the quote marks.

Rodney nodded. "Something about finding a stack of them and everyone on the posters had the ATA gene."

"Right," John said, glancing at the closed door. "It looks like Cowen has, or at least had, a few spies distributing those posters to the various towns around here too. Everyone on those posters," he nodded at the closed door, "was of one of our people with the gene."

Rodney dropped his arms and frowned. "So what you're telling me is Cowen put a hit out on anyone who can use Ancient technology?"

John shook his head. "Nothing that dramatic. Elizabeth thought Cowen wanted to kidnap any of our personnel who could use Ancient tech. Probably so they could figure out how to synthesise the gene." John glanced at the door leading back into the office. "After he found out Beckett had saved his sister's life, Ladon told Elizabeth he'd send people to collect the posters."

"Clearly that didn't happen." Rodney waved his hand at the closed door.

"The Genii must have missed a few," John agreed.

"Oh, that's just great," Rodney retorted. "How many of these things are still floating around in the galaxy? How many other innocuous planets out there will we be exploring and run into someone wanting to turn us over to the Genii for fun and/or profit?"

"Let's not -" John started to say.

"And what will Logan out there do to us when he finds out Cowen is dead and won't be paying his bounty on us?"

"Calm down," John said with a glance at the door. "Hopefully, we can explain things before it gets that far."

Rodney waved his hands in an all-encompassing gesture. "In case you haven't noticed, we are sitting in a jail cell, and Logan is calling the Genii as we speak."

"Teyla and Ronon will be back here sometime tomorrow with Thompson and a team of Marines to help convince Logan to let us go."

Rodney slouched against the bars behind him. "So it's a race to see who gets here first. Teyla and Ronon, or the Genii. Great. And that's assuming whatever Logan and these townspeople are so afraid of doesn't kill us before then."

John grimaced at the reminder. "Try and get some sleep," he replied. He laid down and tried to find a comfortable position on his bench. "We can't do anything else until Teyla and Ronon get back."

Rodney grumbled something under his breath as he squirmed around on the bench.

John waited until McKay settled, then let his eyes drift shut.

He wasn't sure how much later it was when he heard raised voices outside. John sat up, noted the door to the front office was still closed, then stood and shook Rodney awake.

"What?" Rodney grumbled and curled into a tighter ball.

"Get up. Something's going on," John replied.

McKay sat up with a groan. "What else can go wrong?"

There was more shouting, and John heard the crack of a rifle shot, followed by the pounding thump of galloping horses.

Rodney startled at the gunshot and jumped to his feet. "What was that?"

"I think the town is under attack," John replied with a grimace. And we're stuck in here like a pair of sitting ducks, he mentally added.

John gripped the bars on the window and saw several shadowy figures running past the houses near the fields.

A man on horseback galloped past their cell carrying a lit torch. John twisted around, trying to follow the path of the horseman and grimaced when he saw the man throw the burning torch into one of the houses near the fields.

"Move over," Rodney ordered.

John scooted over a few inches, letting Rodney crowd next to him and peer out the window.

More horsemen galloped past, some carrying torches, others brandishing weapons and yelling. John clenched the bars in a tighter grip when he saw the horsemen close on a woman and two small children running from one of the burning houses. The horsemen circled the woman and jeered as she screamed and tried to shield the children with her body.

John's knuckles turned white as he gripped the bars. They may not have been Atlantis personnel, but they were still innocents.

As he watched, three townsmen rushed the horsemen, firing their weapons into the air. Probably afraid of hitting one of the kids, John decided.

The horsemen wheeled on the men, giving the woman and children the hole they needed to run for the questionable safety of another of the houses. The men tried to hold off the horsemen, but John knew military tactics. Infantry had little defence against cavalry. The horsemen charged, and the townsmen scattered back into the darkness.

John heard a low whine, saw a flash of light above the town, and a moment later, one of the houses near the water mill caught fire.

"What the hell?" John muttered.

"It couldn't be," Rodney said and instinctively ducked as another shrill whine, followed almost instantly by a flash, hit one of the houses between the jail and the pasture.

John ducked away from the window as the wind carried the smoke through the bars.

"Lovely," Rodney said, stumbling away from the window as he started coughing. "We're going to die of smoke inhalation."

John pulled up his t-shirt and covered his nose and mouth. He waited for the smoke to clear, then gripped the bars and twisted his head, trying to see exactly where the flashes were coming from.

"What is that thing?" he demanded once Rodney stopped coughing.

Rodney wiped his streaming eyes, and John saw the combination of fascination and fear in his expression. "What these people thought was a cannon isn't a normal cannon," McKay said just as another flash hit one of the wooden buildings in town, setting it on fire. "I think it's a pulse cannon from a Wraith dart."

"You're kidding," John said. He turned and stared at the mountains behind the town. He thought he knew where the cannon had to be positioned and was waiting for another flash to confirm his guess.

"How are they powering it, though?" Rodney muttered behind him. "Did they scavenge the power cell from the dart, too, or did they jury-rig a different solution? What I wouldn't give to get a look at what they did. Could help with some research back in the city."

John ignored the muttering and concentrated on what was happening in the town. Another flash from the mountains hit one of the houses, and John nodded to himself. His suspicion was correct. The cannon was mounted above and to the east of Dakan.

Now all you have to do is convince Logan to let you out of this cell, John thought, and you can stop this.

Two more flashes lit the night, and John felt his heart leap into his throat.

"Down!" John shouted.

He had just enough time to tackle McKay, sending them both into a front corner of the cell before one of the flashes hit their building. The back wall of the neighboring cell vanished, and John tried to push them further into the corner as the roof collapsed around them.

~*~*~*~ SGA ~*~*~*~

Ronon ran back along the muddy trail, oblivious to the scurrying animals in the nearby scrub. Several more flashes appeared on the horizon in front of him, and Ronon growled low in his throat. He had known leaving Sheppard and McKay had been a mistake.

A few seconds later, Ronon heard the whine from the Wraith cannon, and ran faster.

Where had the Wraith come from? That was what he wanted to know. He hadn't heard any ships flying over them from the direction of the 'gate. He glanced up at the clearing clouds. A hive ship? he wondered.

"Ronon!" Teyla called from behind him.

Ronon turned with a glare. They needed to get back to Dakan. Why was he the only one who understood that? He turned to tell Teyla to hurry but slowed his pace when he realised how far she was behind him.

"We need to keep moving," Ronon said once Teyla caught up with him. "The Wraith -"

"I do not believe there are any Wraith," Teyla interrupted as she bent forward and tried to catch her breath.

Ronon heard the unmistakable sound of a Wraith particle cannon firing several more shots and shook his head. "That's weapon's fire from a Wraith ship."

"I agree. However, I do not believe a Wraith is flying the ship."

Ronon frowned. "You think someone on this planet could fly a dart?"

Teyla shook her head and stood straight. "I am unsure what to think," she replied. "But I do not sense any Wraith on the planet. Without knowing what is truly happening, we should be cautious in our approach to the town."

Ronon grimaced. Caution meant slow as far as he was concerned. The town was under attack. Whether by Wraith or someone else didn't matter. They didn't have time to waste.

"We cannot help them if we are captured or killed," Teyla said as if reading his mind.

Ronon growled low in his throat but jerked his chin in an abrupt nod. "Fine."

He turned, and instead of the ground-eating run he'd been moving at before, he maintained a quick jog. There was more than one definition of slow, he told himself.

If Teyla disagreed with him, she said nothing as she kept pace at his side.

Even with their quick pace, reaching the hill overlooking Dakan took more than an hour. The sun was just rising, and Ronon skidded to a stop, staring at the destruction below. He heard Teyla hiss in a breath as she stopped next to him.

Whatever had happened was already long over, Ronon realised as he stared at the devastation below.

Several buildings along the main road had partially or entirely collapsed. One or two others were still on fire, and the smell of smoke wafted up the hillside. More of the smaller houses on the outskirts of town were also destroyed or damaged. One of the fields of grain was little more than scorched stalks, and part of the fence enclosing the largest paddock was gone. Ronon saw the carcasses of several dead animals lying on the ground near the missing fence.

"There are survivors," Teyla said, pointing to the townspeople picking through the rubble. "However, I do not see Rodney or Colonel Sheppard." She glanced at Ronon and added, "You do not believe -"

"No," Ronon said, cutting Teyla off before she could finish. "They're alive."

Teyla studied him for a moment, then nodded and followed as Ronon slipped and slid his way down the hill. They reached the edge of Dakan twenty minutes later, and Ronon felt his shoulder muscles tighten as he surveyed the town. The last of the fires were out, but Ronon still didn't see anyone wearing an Atlantis uniform amongst the dazed townspeople.

"There is Hyram," Teyla said, nodding at the woman standing in the middle of the muddy road directing the clean-up effort. "Perhaps she will know where we can find Colonel Sheppard and Rodney."

Teyla led the way into town, skirting the worst sections of the muddy road, and stopped short.

"Oh, no," she murmured.

Ronon followed her gaze and felt his blood run cold. The front half of the stone building was still standing, but the back half was little more than piles of stone with a jagged row of metal bars standing out in sharp relief against the rising sun.

Ronon clenched his hands into fists and glared up and down the dirt road. He would find Logan and he would kill him, he vowed. He didn't see Logan anywhere, but Hyram stood at the other end of the road near the saloon. He growled low in his throat and charged down the road.

"Ronon!" Teyla exclaimed behind him. "Wait!"

"Stack any usable materials behind the store," Hyram said to four men carrying lengths of wood down the street.

The men nodded, and lugged the wood down the road to the damaged general store.

Two other men helped a woman climb through the wreckage of another building. The woman's face was bloody, and she held her arm at an awkward angle.

"What about my boys?" the woman cried. She tried to turn back to the wreckage, but one of the men took her uninjured arm and pulled her away from the destroyed building.

"We'll find them, Sarah. Don't you fret none," the man reassured her and glanced at Hyram.

"Take her to the saloon," Hyram directed, pointing to one of the few undamaged buildings. "Doctor Mitchell has set up a medical aid station inside."

The man nodded and led a protesting Sarah down the boardwalk toward the saloon.

"No, no, my boys!" Sarah cried as she pulled against the hold on her arm.

"We're gonna find your boys, Sarah, I promise," the man replied. "You need to let Doc Mitchell check that arm. As soon as we find Jacob and Charlie, I'll bring 'em to you."

Sarah stared at the partially destroyed building for a few moments, then followed the man down the boardwalk to the saloon.

"Where's Sheppard," Ronon growled, stopping in front of Hyram.

Hyram looked Ronon up and down, then shook her head. "I'm sure I have no idea."

"Wrong answer," Ronon said with a scowl.

"I beg your pardon," Hyram replied. "I have dozens of people injured and several dead or missing. I don't have the time to worry about a couple of strangers."

"They were under your protection," Ronon told her.

"So were they." Hyram pointed to the men and women stumbling into the saloon, some with bloody makeshift bandages wrapped around their arms, legs, or heads.

Ronon clenched his hands into fists.

"Ronon, wait," Teyla said, laying a hand on Ronon's arm.

Ronon shook off the placating gesture.

"Hyram, please forgive us. We are concerned because Logan arrested Colonel Sheppard and Doctor McKay last evening." She nodded toward the partially destroyed jail. "We only wish to know if they are unharmed."

"What?" Hyram asked, glancing at Teyla. "Why would he … No, no. Leave that," she said to a pair of boys trying to lift one of the large grain sacks stacked inside the damaged building in front of them. "Go find Jace and see if he needs help with the animals."

"Yes, ma'am," the boys replied. They dropped the sack and ran toward the paddock behind the town.

"You were unaware that Logan arrested Colonel Sheppard and Doctor McKay?" Teyla asked once the boys were gone.

"I knew nothing about it." Hyram shook her head. "I thought all of you had done the smart thing and had left town." She looked at Teyla. "Why would Logan do something like that? Unless your people were causing some sort of ruckus?"

"They were not," Teyla replied. "There has been a misunderstanding."

Hyram studied Teyla for a moment, then waved her hand toward the partially destroyed stone building. "The last time I saw Logan, he was sorting through the debris with a few of the other men. You'll need to ask him about your friends."

"Thank you," Teyla said as Ronon turned on his heel and jogged over to the remains of the sheriff's office.

He glanced through the broken front window and saw more damage inside the room but no sign of Logan or, more importantly, Sheppard or McKay. Teyla followed as he marched around to the back of the building and stopped short when he found McKay sitting on a stone slab with his arm curled around his chest and blood dripping from a cut over his eye.

Logan and another man worked in tandem, sorting one of the piles of debris.

"Easy," Logan said as he bent and picked up one side of a stone slab. The other man nodded, and together they hefted the stone slab and dropped it onto the pile of debris.

"Rodney?" Teyla said softly and crouched in front of McKay. She touched his arm, and Ronon frowned when he saw McKay flinch and glance at her with a dazed expression.

"Teyla?" McKay muttered. "Thought you went back to 'gate." He looked back at the pile of rubble Logan was clearing, and Ronon felt a stab in his gut.

Teyla pursed her lips and opened one of her vest pockets, removing an antiseptic wipe and a bandage. She opened the wipe and started cleaning the blood off McKay's face.

McKay hissed and tried to jerk his head away. "Ow!"

"I am almost done," she said.

Teyla waited until McKay settled, then finished cleaning the cut over McKay's eye. She tossed the wipe to one side, then opened the self-adhesive bandage and pressed the bandage over the cut.

"Better?" she asked, and McKay nodded.

"Where's Sheppard?" Ronon asked as Teyla stuffed the bandage wrapper into a pocket and reached for McKay's bloody arm.

McKay glanced up at him and then shifted on the stone slab. "They're still trying to dig him out," he replied, his expression a mixture of anxiety and pain. "I tried to help, but, umm, his leg is trapped under," he waved his uninjured hand at the pile of stone a few paces away, "that."

Ronon turned toward Logan and the other man still digging through the rubble. "Stay with him," he said to Teyla.

"Rodney, where else are you injured?" Teyla asked as Ronon approached Logan.

"That one next," Logan said, pointing at another stone slab.

The man nodded and picked up one end of the indicated block while Logan picked up the other. They heaved the stone out of the way and dropped it onto the growing pile.

Ronon heard a distinct groan as the slab shifted and stopped at the edge of the rubble pile.

Sheppard lay twisted on his left side, with his lower leg trapped under a pile of stone.

"Sheppard?" Ronon asked, stepping closer.

"Careful," Logan said, grabbing Ronon's arm as several smaller chunks of stone tumbled into the shallow depression where Sheppard lay.

Ronon shook off the hold on his arm and stepped around to Sheppard's other side. "This is your fault," he snarled at Logan.

Logan glared in reply. "Now, you just hold on a minute. We're doin' our best here." He nodded to the man standing next to him.

"Ronon," Sheppard admonished with another groan. "Don't antagonise the people trying to help."

Ronon scowled as he bent and grasped another of the stones trapping Sheppard's leg.

"Where's Rodney?" Sheppard asked, his tone breathy as he tried not to groan.

"McKay's fine," Ronon replied, setting his feet. "Teyla's with him."

Sheppard nodded, then winced as Ronon picked up the stone. He heaved it to one side, then crouched next to Sheppard.

He studied the fall of stone for several moments and glanced up at Logan. "Take that one next." He pointed to one of the last large blocks. "I'll pull him out."

Logan pursed his lips but nodded to the man standing a few paces behind him. "Get that side, Cal," he said.

Cal nodded and, with a nervous glance at Ronon, stepped forward. He grasped the edge of the block, and Logan took the other.

Ronon moved behind Sheppard and grasped him under the arms. He looked over at Logan and nodded.

Logan turned to Cal. "One, two, three," Logan counted, and on three, they lifted the block.

Ronon pulled Sheppard from under the rubble, and Logan and Cal set the stone block on the ground.

Ronon ignored the fresh groans of pain as he pulled Sheppard clear of the debris. He wrapped his arm around Sheppard's waist, half-carried him clear of the rubble, and sat Sheppard on the ground next to McKay's stone slab. He waved off Logan and bent near Sheppard's bloody lower leg.

"How bad is it?" Teyla asked Ronon, kneeling on Sheppard's other side.

"Bad enough," Sheppard replied and glanced at McKay. "You all right?" he asked.

"Peachy," McKay grumbled, picking at the gauze wrapped around his hand and forearm. "Just cuts, scrapes, and bruises, according to Teyla."

Sheppard glanced at Teyla, who nodded, then smiled and patted McKay's leg, the only thing he could reach. "Told you we'd be okay."

McKay grunted. "You call that," he pointed at Sheppard's bloody trouser leg, "okay?"

"Could have been a lot worse," Sheppard replied, and McKay shuddered.

Ronon pulled a knife from his belt and slit the tattered and bloody trouser leg. "Need to get that boot off," he said to Teyla.

Teyla nodded and unlaced Sheppard's boot. "Ready," she asked with a glance at Sheppard. "I will be as gentle as possible."

Sheppard nodded and groaned as Teyla carefully pulled the boot from Sheppard's foot.

McKay winced, and Ronon saw him rubbing the back of his head.

Ronon stripped off the sock and held Sheppard's foot in one hand. "Can you move your foot?" he asked, focusing on Sheppard.

Sheppard squeezed his eyes shut, but Ronon was pleased to see his foot twitch and slowly move.

"Don't think it's broken," Ronon said, as much to Teyla as Sheppard. He pinched the nail of one of Sheppard's toes, watched the color change, and nodded. "Circulation seems all right. Leg might need stitches."

"Great," Sheppard muttered. "Do what you can. Beckett can deal with the rest of it once we get back to Atlantis."

"Your foot is swollen and deeply bruised," Teyla told Sheppard. "I do not believe you will be able to walk back to the stargate."

"You ain't goin' anywhere," Logan said, his tone gruff. "Not before the Genii have their say."

Ronon flexed his hands and stood.

"Ronon," Sheppard said and pushed against the stone block until he sat more upright.

Ronon continued to glare until Logan looked away, then stepped back.

"Commander Cowen isn't in any position to honor whatever deal you think you can make for us," Sheppard said to Logan.

"And you know that, how?"

Sheppard sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Because Cowen is dead," he replied. "There was a coup a few months ago. The new Genii leadership has no interest in us."

"We hope," McKay muttered under his breath, holding his head in his hands.

"The Genii aren't coming, Logan," Sheppard continued. "They can't help you." Sheppard paused and glanced at Ronon and then McKay and Teyla. "But maybe we can."

McKay startled upright. "What?" he exclaimed. "You have got to be kidding. After everything that's happened. Being arrested. Being buried alive." McKay shuddered. "Why would we help?"

"Because it is the right thing to do," Teyla replied.

McKay snorted.

"And we still need the seed and supplies Hyram was offering," Sheppard added and glanced at Logan. "So what's it to be? Are we going to work together to find a way to save your town?"

Logan took off his hat and wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief from his trouser pocket as he glanced over the remains of the town. He blew out a breath and looked down at Sheppard. "You can help?"

"We can try," Sheppard replied. "We need to know what we're dealing with first."

"Hyram has called a town meeting at the saloon," Logan replied. "I think she'll take any help you might be offerin'." He put his hat on and held out his open hand to Sheppard.

Sheppard shook it. "Let's go talk to Hyram."

Logan nodded at Sheppard's bloody leg. "The doc is there too. Might not be a bad idea to have him take a look at you."

"Not necessary," Ronon said.

He pulled an antiseptic wipe, several sterile bandages, and a roll of gauze from one of the duster's pockets. He quickly cleaned up the bloody lacerations as best he could, ignoring Sheppard's hisses of pain, and covered the cuts with sterile bandages and gauze.

"You should not be walking on that foot," Teyla admonished as Sheppard pulled on his sock and boot.

"Don't have much choice," Sheppard replied. He grimaced as he loosely tied the bootlaces. "We need to come up with a plan before those bandits attack the town again."

Teyla studied Sheppard for a moment, then opened one of her vest pockets. "Pain medication," she said and handed Sheppard and McKay several pills and her canteen.

"Help me up," Sheppard ordered after swallowing the pills.

Ronon pulled Sheppard to his feet and wrapped an arm around Sheppard's waist.

Sheppard hopped a few times on his good foot until he found his balance, then glanced at Logan. "Lead the way."