"Are we sure the threat is credible?" Woolsey asked.

Sheppard leaned back in the office chair. Only him and Woolsey were in the office, while his team waited in the ready room for further orders. "The whole town was empty, with candles lit and food left in place like everyone just got up and left."

Woolsey rested his elbows on the desk and put his head down, eyes resting on his knuckles. "So what are Michael's demands?"

"Give him a sample of his original DNA." Sheppard said.

"Obviously we can't allow that." Woolsey said, a hint of fear in his voice. He knew what it would mean for Michael to return in full force.

"No," Sheppard said. "But tricking him is going to raise the stakes, possibly endangering an entire town's worth of people."

"Can we send a jumper?" Woolsey asked. "Does it have the capability of finding the people?"

"Maybe," Sheppard said. "I think it might just be possible to send one through undetected, but it's risky."

Woolsey nodded. "Saving the town is obviously the first priority." He shifted in his seat. "We don't know if there's a way to reverse what's been done to Beckett, so we should prepare ourselves for the possibility that—we can't save him."

Sheppard grimaced. "I know that, but we need to give Beckett every chance. I won't give up on him just yet."

"What do you need to mount your rescue?"

Sheppard glanced to his hands, enumerating things with his fingers. "Well, I'll need two jumpers, one other SG team, and I also need to get Todd's help with this."

Woolsey jolted a little. "Why do you need Todd?"

"I don't have the manpower or the weaponry to take down those creatures, but Todd does. If he wants that device half as bad as he says he does, he'll help us hunt them down."

Woolsey blinked heavily. "You can ask, but I can't say for sure that he'll go for it."

"That's a given," Sheppard conceded. "One more thing, I think McKay is going to be important to bring along."

"McKay?" Woolsey asked. The burden of these demands affected Woolsey greatly. "What do you need him to do?"

(0)

McKay wandered around the landing pad on the pier, idling around and biding his time. The Lanteans had built a place for their ships to land on one of Atlantis's piers. The landing pads were far larger than the Daedalus needed, and so it created a huge amount of empty space on the pier. McKay had started to feel restless, and requested to be allowed to roam outside. He liked to run from one end to the other, which made him feel less confined.

There had been guards assigned to him, but after awhile, Woolsey decided on just having a two of them watch him to report where he went. He was only allowed in certain areas of the city, but that worked fine for him, since he'd rather be outside anyway.

McKay caught Sheppard's scent on the wind, and he turned and bounded up to the man happily. If he ever became human again, he'd probably feel ridiculous for acting so enthusiastic, but for now, it felt natural.

"Hello to you too McKay," Sheppard said, clearly impressed by his enthusiasm. "I've got a question for you. Did Michael say anything about how many of you he wanted to make?"

McKay had to think about it for a second. Michael hadn't said anything explicitly, but McKay remembered that the machine had fairly low power levels, meaning that he couldn't have created too many more. Given that Michael wanted to use the machine for himself, he might not risk creating any more at all.

"Machine low power, not many more," McKay communicated.

"Low power," Sheppard said. "So what, three more?"

McKay nodded up and down. He really couldn't say exactly, but that was in the ballpark.

Sheppard scratched his head. "Hey, this is going to sound like a weird question, but do you think you could track down Beckett just by smelling him?"

McKay nodded up and down. He had been smelling familiar people all day long. He had known when Sheppard left through the stargate, and when he returned. Just by smell, he had a vague idea of where everyone was right now.

"I want you to come with us on the mission." Sheppard said. "We're going to track down Beckett and bring him back. I want you to help us do that."

McKay didn't answer right away. He feared Michael's ability to control his mind. He remembered feeling Michael's influence immediately after being transformed, and how hard it was to resist. Still, McKay had been able to break free of the influence on his own when he saw his own people. He remained tentatively confident he could resist.

"It's risky though," Sheppard said. "There are other creatures like you there. And Michael is probably holding people hostage in order to coerce us. Aceso is likely among them. Knowing that, do you still want to risk going?"

McKay nodded up and down. Saving Beckett remained a high priority for him, and his guilt about his treatment of Aceso compelled him to help her.

"Okay, good. Now I want you to come with me to our briefing. I'll need you to pay attention to the plan so you'll be on the same page as everyone."

McKay balked at that idea. He really didn't want to be in the public view.

Sheppard turned and started walking, but he stopped when McKay didn't follow.

"Are you coming?"

McKay hesitated, but then started tiptoeing forward. There were things more important than himself at stake here. Besides that, his only chance to turn back to a human remained with Michael.

(0)

Aceso tried to rest inside the storage closet, but it was difficult. The overall dampness seeping through the walls prevented her from getting comfortable. To be fair, she did like humid air, but this place was simply wet. The best she could manage was a shallow meditation, which helped her to keep her panic minimal.

Jarin continued to fidget with pebbles on the ground. "What is going to happen to me—to us?"

"Michael thinks he can use us for leverage, but the Atlanteans won't let him escape. Even now, they are devising a plan to rescue us, and to capture Michael." She didn't know that for a fact, but she knew Colonel Sheppard wouldn't let Michael go unchallenged.

"I hope so," Jarin said. "And if they do, I will retract every bad thing I said about them."

"Tell me about yourself." Aceso said, trying to distract him.

Jarin stuttered a little before gaining his confidence. "I am on the ruling council of Eritas. I have lived here all my life." He shook his head. "We've had wraith cullings before, but nothing like this has ever happened."

"Do you have a family?" she asked.

Jarin nodded. "My children, all grown now."

"You are fortunate to have them."

"I am," he said, although they are being held hostage along with everyone else now."

Quite suddenly, she could feel the alarming presence of other wraith, distant still. She didn't quite know what to make of it, and so kept it silent. They weren't here to cull, but for something else. On a whim, she observed the thoughts of the advancing wraith, exposing herself just enough to get the information she needed. With a pang of disappointment and disgust, she recognized the arrogant, conniving mind of Todd.

There was another mind vying for her attention. She brushed up against it, and felt the familiar presence of Teyla. She connected briefly, letting Teyla know she was here and alive. If Teyla was here, then Sheppard was too.

Knowing this gave her hope that a rescue was forthcoming.

"Those creatures," Jarin said. "Michael calls them sentinels, but to us they are called anathem. When our people first settled this world hundreds of years ago, we hunted down those creatures to extinction. Now they have come to claim their revenge."

Aceso looked to the ground. "This isn't the fault of your people. You can't blame yourself for this."

"I can," Jarin said. "This Michael, I welcomed him into the village when he gave us the promise of technology and power, but instead he brought destruction."

She sat silently unsure how to help. Jarin had withheld this information to this point. That tactic fit with Michael's personality, and everything she'd read about him.

Now it seemed Jarin would pay the price of ambition. Still, he deserved some leniency. "You had no way to know," Aceso said.

Jarin put his face in his hands.

Aceso wanted to distract him, and to build rapport. She noticed a timepiece on his wrist. It was a similar concept to the Atlanteans and their wristwatches. She recognized the design, having seen these sold on Irinak before.

"That is a nice timepiece," she said. "Where is it made?"

He turned his wrist to examine the face. "This is from Irinak," he said. "It was a gift."

Her face lit up. "That is where I am from," she answered.

Jarin seemed intrigued. "Does no one notice you living there?"

She laughed. "Normally I would have a holographic cloak that makes me appear human, however it was damaged recently."

"You lived there among humans?" Jarin asked.

"Don't seem so surprised," Aceso said. "I have many years of practice in how to act human."

Jarin chuckled. "And I suppose you became adept at hiding bodies too?"

Aceso's mood dropped. Of course he would believe that she fed to survive, an easy mistake to make. "I do not feed on anyone."

Jarin seemed flummoxed. "Very well then, I apologize."

"It's okay," she said. "I know how I appear to others." It was a sad fact that her appearance would make others assume terrible things about her. Those assumptions were hard earned by the actions of the others of her kind. There was little she could do to stop it from happening.

"Are there others like you?" Jarin asked.

Aceso sighed. "There are perhaps a few, but not many. I certainly haven't met them."

"Well then, perhaps I am very lucky to have met you," Jarin said. "The one wraith in the whole galaxy who would be kind to me."

Aceso forced a smile as a long-muted longing rose in her heart. What she wouldn't give to meet another like her.

"I saw what you did for me," Jarin said. "You went into that device because Michael threatened to harm me."

Aceso shook her head. "It's not your fault. With any luck, he didn't cause harm to me."

"Still," Jarin said. "I believe thanks are in order."

Aceso gave a shallow bow with just her head. "You are welcome."

Noise echoed through the caves, Michael's panic preceding him.

Michael rounded the corner in a panic. Even his highly disciplined mind couldn't hide his fear. One of his sentinels followed him.

Michael opened the door to the closet. "Come with me, both of you." he said hurriedly.

"Problems?" she asked innocently, standing up and stepping forward. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that the chamber they entered was separated from the tunnel by a large steel door equipped with a deadbolt actuated by a lever. Her intuition told her that doorway led straight to the prisoners.

Michael pushed her along, then Jarin. "Plans have changed."

Aceso knew she couldn't compete with the beast, but she wouldn't have to. In one swift action, she pushed Jarin out of the way, simultaneously using her mind to force Beckett to sleep. Jarin stumbled along out the door, and Michael stumbled to the ground, falling face forward onto the dirt in that chamber.

The beast sensed its master succumbing to an attack, and whipped around, baring its teeth in preparation to attack.

The plan worked, and she managed to push Jarin through the doorway and seal it behind her just before the beast smacked into it with a thunk. She knew the beast was smart enough to push on the lever on the other side, so she mustered all the strength she could to bend the lever out of shape. She strained and gritted her teeth as the thick steel succumbed and bent. She forced the end of the lever to catch on the frame, thus preventing the bolts from retracting. The beast threw its weight against the door, causing the frame to creak under the strain, but the door held.

"Praise the ancestors," Jarin said. "How did you do that?"

Aceso panted slightly from the exertion, feeling annoyed at Jarin's commentary. The Ancients certainly had nothing to do with that. That was all her.

"Lead the way to the prisoners," Aceso said, pointing. "We're going to free them."

Jarin wheezed a little in surprise. "Right, we should go." He turned away and led them down a mine shaft to a large circular cavern that formed a large natural pit. At the bottom of the pit, people milled about, looking dirty and destitute. There were hundreds present, likely the whole town.

Aceso spotted a large metal ladder, and she aimed to pick it up and lower it down into the pit.

"Here let me help," Jarin said. She accepted his help as he picked up the other end of the ladder, and helped lower it down into the cavern.

The moment the ladder touched the ground people started climbing it.

"You should lead them out of here," Aceso said. "The Atlanteans are here, and they will try to rescue you."

As the people climbed out, they seemed to completely ignore her, paying attention only to their own escape.

"The cave exit is straight that way," Jarin said, directing everyone through the largest tunnel.

(0)

McKay felt awkward in the back of the jumper with Major Lorne's team. One of the men kept staring worriedly at him, making him self-conscious.

The briefing hadn't been much better. He stuck out like a giant monster in the middle of an office—the literal description of what happened.

Lorne noticed the staring and silently urged the team member to stop.

Sheppard and his team were going ahead of them on foot to conceal the fact that the jumper would follow right behind them and cloak immediately.

Todd had been contacted, and agreed to send troops just as soon as they could get a fix on Michael's location. Todd had emphasized the risk he took by sending them, as the jurisdiction among wraith remained a bit murky. Apparently his hive remained on friendly terms with the wraith who controlled that planet, but they didn't have an official agreement. Through much finagling and arguing on his end, Todd eventually convinced the other wraith to allow him to send a few small ships down.

"We're about to enter the gate," Lorne called from the pilot's chair. The trip through felt painless and was over in a flash of blue light.

"All right, I'm scanning now for anything unusual." Lorne said.

McKay wished he could help, but his face couldn't reach the cockpit. He had decided to back up into the jumper this time to allow a quick exit. Turning around was not possible.

"We've got a concentration of life signs emanating from a cave system. I can't get a fix on how many it is, but there's a lot. I'm going to land nearby so we can investigate. I see three large life signs in the forest around the cave entrance. I think those are the creatures."

McKay wished he could see.

"I'm transmitting coordinates to Sheppard."

McKay felt the jumper settle down, and the door opened in front of him. The night air rushed to meet him, and he could instantly smell the night air, as well as the people concealed in the caves nearby.

"All right, put it on McKay." Lorne said, squeezing by him to speak face to face. McKay's large tail rested on the control room floor, and Lorne stepped on it as he walked by. McKay barely felt it.

"Sorry," Lorne said, moving by him to address him face to face. McKay saw the fluorescent orange cloth and balked at it.

McKay shook his head back and forth vigorously. He was NOT going to wear something so ridiculous.

"Look, any large creature seen out there today not wearing this is going to get shot,"

Dr. Keller, upon hearing what Sheppard had planned for him immediately worried that he would get mistaken for one of the other creatures. She took an old, bright orange blanket she had in her closet and quickly cut and sewed it into a collar.

McKay didn't want to get shot. He had hoped that the signal from his locator beacon would be enough to distinguish him, but seeing the team with their guns ready convinced him otherwise. He really needed a visual identifier.

He bobbed his head reluctantly.

"All right then," Lorne said, tying the collar around his neck and situating it to be maximally visible.

Lorne stepped back, and grinned. "You look annoyed," he laughed.

McKay had no idea how his emotion could translate visually on this face, but apparently it did.

"We're going to wait for Todd's signal that he's located the creatures and subdued them." Lorne said.

(0)

Sheppard walked through the stargate on foot, his senses on full alert. He had to make it appear that he was alone, even though two jumpers containing his team and Lorne's were coming through right behind him. They both were set to cloak right after he cleared the gate's threshold.

Sheppard held up a vial with a genetic sample inside of it. It had been made to look like extracted and separated DNA, but instead of coming from Michael, it came from an apple he'd grabbed from the mess hall earlier that day.

Barring the emergence of some kind of franken-apple creature, Sheppard felt confident that the sample would prove to be harmless.

One of Michael's sentinels emerged silently from the shadows and walked alongside him, escorting him to the inn. The gate snapped off, meaning that the whole team had reached their positions.

Sheppard walked nonchalantly into the inn. The sentinel creature stopped at the threshold and sat, waiting for him, all four eyes firmly affixed in gaze to him. Sheppard set the vial down on the bar.

He paused, expecting someone or something to emerge from the shadows, but no one did.

Sheppard backed up a little, then turned around and exited the inn. He took three steps when a sudden rush of noise overcame him. A bright flash of light caused the sentinel to disappear.

The wraith dart flew vertically into the sky, having just activated its culling beam, sweeping the sentinel creature away.

Sheppard keyed his radio. "Guys, pick me up, we have to get to the hostages. Things are moving fast now."

"Just walk forward," Teyla responded. "We're cloaked right in front of you."

Sheppard walked forward, and the interior of the jumper appeared in front of him.

Major Adams controlled the ship.

"My turn," Sheppard said as he entered the control room.

Adams surrendered the controls and Sheppard took off, bringing up the life signs detector on the HUD.

"There they are," he said, pointing to a collection of life signs collected together in the forest just outside of town.

He also saw the darts on the scanners, moving swiftly over the forest. He observed them chase down several large life signs which were moving swiftly toward the town. One by one, they disappeared until there were none left.

"The sentinels are taken care of," Sheppard said cheerfully. "Now we just need to find Michael."

(0)

The sky gradually became lighter, making it slightly easier for everyone to see. Dense fog remained suspended in the morning air, blocking the view of trees which were only meters ahead of them.

The sound of darts carried over the forest. "That'll be Todd's darts picking up the monsters." Lorne said. "We need to wait for the all-clear before going out."

It occurred to McKay that they were insane to be walking into a dense foggy forest when they knew there were wraith, big monsters, and a mad scientist wandering around out there.

It genuinely scared McKay, and he shivered involuntarily. He had grown out of the habit over the years of stargate travel, except when something truly threatening occurred.

"You okay?" Lorne asked.

McKay tapped out a message. "Nervous."

Lorne chuckled. "What? You're a huge, scary beast, and you're still nervous?"

McKay glanced at him with annoyance. It was true. It didn't matter how big and powerful he was, this situation scared him. He couldn't be sure what would happen when it came time to confront Michael. What would happen if he had to fight off more of his kind?

"Lorne, this is Sheppard," came the voice over the radio. "Todd says he's captured six big hairy beasts, and is retreating to the hive. We're handling the prisoners. They're moving out of the caves now, and Aceso is with Teyla now."

"Any sign of Beckett, er…Michael?" Lorne asked.

"Negative. Looks like he might have run away again. We've got the stargate blocked off. He won't get far."

"That's our cue." Lorne said. "Point us in the right direction McKay."

McKay stood up and stepped out of the jumper. He sniffed the air for signs. He detected a lot of humans gathered together nearby. Searching the air for Beckett, McKay finally detected him on the run not far from that place.

McKay set off at a run, but then slowed a bit to let Lorne and his team catch up. Michael, was running scared. He could catch the scent of his fear in the breeze.

McKay's footfalls landed lightly in the forest loam, making hardly any noise at all. Beckett had stopped now and was hiding somewhere.

He was close—very close, but one of the beasts was with him as well. McKay only just caught its scent getting stronger.

McKay slowed a bit, letting Lorne catch up.

"You find him?" Lorne panted through heavy breaths.

McKay nodded, and pointed with his nose toward their right. He kept moving until they were within a hundred meters of Michael's location, and then McKay abruptly stopped, just out of visual and hearing range. He smelled another of his kind.

"Beast," McKay tapped out on his communicator.

"How many?" Lorne asked.

"One."

Lorne sighed. "Okay, we're going to try to stun it, so stay with us until we get close enough to see them."

With the fog as it was, they would have to be very close indeed.

The team tiptoed forward for a bit until they reached a clearing. Michael stood on top of a rock, scanning the forest around him.

The one beast he had with him turned abruptly to face them, staring with all four blue eyes, and its teeth bared. It let out a low growl that McKay instantly interpreted as a signal to 'back off.'

Lorne and his team used stunners to open fire on the sentinel. It scrambled around, trying to get at them, but it quickly fell to the ground.

As this happened, McKay noticed that Michael ran off again, tearing through the woods.

Instinct set in, and McKay pursued, weaving through the trees and over rocks. Michael would not escape this time.

McKay overtook him in a few seconds, knocking him down to the ground with his body. Michael raised a stunner, but McKay grabbed the weapon with his mouth, and gently pulled it out of his grip, tossing it away. Michael lay there fully in fear.

"Let me go, I command you," he said.

Something about his voice, his smell, and everything compelled him to listen. McKay stood still, unsure what to do.

Michael stood up again, and made for the stunner.

McKay sat down with his mind conflicted.

Lorne's team steadily closed the gap behind him, and McKay didn't want to see them hurt or stunned.

McKay growled as Michael approached the stunner. Just before he touched it, McKay headbutted Michael, sending him flying onto his back.

"Get off of me! I am your master!"

"You're not anyone's master," Lorne said, finally catching up with them. Lorne fired one shot with the stunner, sending Michael—Beckett to the ground.

It was over. They had won.

Lorne and his team picked Beckett off the ground.

"Help us out here McKay," Lorne said. McKay knelt down and let them put Beckett onto his back. He didn't mind at all since he hardly felt the weight.

A dart flew overhead suddenly, and the stunned beast who had been laying on the ground disappeared in a flash.

"Oh wow," Lorne said. "I guess they got them all."

McKay kept his nose to the air, and he detected something out of place nearby. He walked cautiously in the direction of the smell, metallic and familiar.

"What is it boy?" Lorne said enthusiastically with a grin.

McKay turned and gave him a scathing look. He wasn't freaking Lassie.

"Ahem," Lorne said, clearly embarrassed. "Just a little joke there."

McKay ignored him and kept on the scent, pawing slowly along. He was sure he'd figured it out just as his nose touched the cold metal side of the cloaked jumper.

McKay saw Lorne walking full speed at the side of the jumper. McKay vocalized to try to warn him, but Lorne walked straight into it with a satisfying clang.

"I guess we found the missing jumper too," Lorne said, rubbing his forehead. He judged the distance between where they caught Michael, and the jumper.

"He was this close to getting away," Lorne said.

McKay knew the gravity of what that would have meant.

Lorne turned and entered the jumper to un-cloak it. "I'll call in another team to secure this ship. Let's focus on getting everyone home safely.