Author's Note: Thank you to all who are enjoying this story so far. I apologize for the evil cliffhanger in the last chapter, but things are starting to amp up ...

Teyla knew Sheppard's rescue attempt was doomed the minute he showed up on the bridge. The man was swaying, barely on his feet, and with the amount of blood soaking his uniform and the side of his head she wondered at how he was even able to walk.

But this was also John Sheppard, and he would never walk into the enemy's lair without a plan.

She and McKay had been shoved into a corner when he entered the bridge, and she continued working on her bonds with the distraction. After Sheppard's taunting, Teyla watched for her move and was given it when Kolya hauled her over to Sheppard, shoving her to her knees and pressing the gun against her head.

She was not afraid. She put all her trust in Sheppard, seeing the wink he had thrown McKay's way. When Sheppard made his move, she was ready. She threw herself out of the way as he slashed upward at Kolya with his hidden knife and just as quickly dropped it into her waiting hands.

But before she could start to cut through her bonds, she realized she needed to palm the knife and save it for later. Sheppard was almost immediately tackled by Kolya's men. And the men on the bridge were quicker to think and act than the men Kolya had stationed outside.

Less than a minute after Sheppard's attack, he was down. Teyla watched as the soldiers pulled his unresisting body from the floor, securing him with more ropes and propping him in a corner away from McKay and Teyla. His dark head hung limp and Teyla could not see even a twitch of consciousness.

Kolya and his men were breathing heavily. Kolya kicked Sheppard's leg in anger while gripping his now bloodied arm.

"Didn't you check him?" he roared at the soldiers.

"Nika and Helo should have," one responded.

Teyla tried to hide her surprise at the names and shot a look at McKay. The man didn't seem to recognize the names as she did. Was this Sheppard's backup plan? Were these the same men who had helped him escape from Jenar?

Kolya stormed over to the bridge door, looking out the window. "They're gone." Gesturing to two of the men in the room with him, he ordered, "Go find them. They might be in on this."

"Or maybe, sir, the Satedan —"

Kolya cut the man off angrily. "Find them!" he roared.

Teyla perked up at the soldier's remark. Was Ronon alive? Perhaps the situation wasn't as hopeless as it appeared. Perhaps Sheppard had meant to be captured and this was all part of the plan. She nudged McKay and shuffled closer to Sheppard's limp form. McKay nervously moved with her.

"John has a plan," she murmured to Rodney. "I am sure of it."

"You know these guys Kolya mentioned?" Rodney whispered back.

"They aided the Colonel when he was missing for severals months last year," she replied. "They were part of a Genii resistance."

McKay's eyes went round as he realized who she was talking about. "So maybe they're working together?"

Kolya noticed their whispering and stalked over, so Teyla did not reply.

"Dr. McKay, I need you to get those engines up and running," Kolya said tightly. He hauled McKay to his feet, shoving him back in the chair.

Rodney swallowed, looked back at Teyla and Sheppard, then at the console.

"I can't do anything," he said. "There are definitely missing components and it isn't just this one crystal. I can't get anything up and running. Just the bare minimum like lights and doors. Oh, and I guess now we're locked into the ship since you had me seal everything up," he added, sarcastically.

Kolya cursed savagely and McKay cringed back in his chair. Striding over to Sheppard, Kolya grabbed the man by the vest and shook him. Sheppard's body was entirely limp, his head lolling. Kolya slapped him, and then Sheppard finally stirred, lifting his head and looking around the room. When he finally realized it was Kolya who had him by the lapels, he jerked back, brought up short by the wall.

"Where are the missing crystals, Colonel?" Kolya demanded.

Teyla noted that Sheppard did not look alert at all, his eyes foggy and movements sluggish.

"No idea what you're talking about."

Kolya backhanded him, leaving Sheppard reeling, only able to stay up because of the wall at his side and Kolya holding him by his vest.

"Really? Let's just make his concussion worse so he actually doesn't remember what he did with them," McKay finally snapped.

Kolya whirled on him, dropping Sheppard, but McKay stood his ground. Teyla moved closer to where Sheppard had hit the ground, listing to the side.

"I'm serious," McKay snapped. "You can clearly see he's concussed. Probably first from when you threw him off that cliff, and now you're just making it worse. Don't you know memory loss is one of the main side effects of head injuries?"

"I think that Colonel Sheppard is stronger than you are giving him credit for," Kolya retorted, "as beautifully demonstrated the last time he was with me."

McKay paled and Teyla felt her heart drop as they remembered when Kolya had last captured Sheppard. The man had spent weeks with the Genii being tortured as Kolya demanded Atlantis hand over Ladin Radim. *

Teyla knew now that even if Sheppard did remember what he had done with the missing pieces to the ship he would never tell Kolya where they were. She could read it in the dark eyes he now flashed at Kolya.

But Sheppard had one weakness. His team.

And as Kolya looked from Sheppard to Teyla, she knew that the Genii would get what he wanted unless she did something — and soon.

* Please refer to my short story "Unbreakable" for the backstory behind this reference. Advance warning for scenes of torture, angst, and lots and lots and lots of Shep whump ...