When Weir sent her report to the IOA she wasn't sure they were going to believe her. Sheppard's team managed to fill in the blanks where his memory had failed but even so, it was an incredible story.

John Sheppard had been shot and pushed over a cliff, hunted down his team's captors, taken out nearly an entire squad of Kolya's soldiers single-handedly, and somehow survived it all. Ronon added the small detail that Sheppard was right-handed and somehow was able to shoot accurately enough with his left hand that it didn't hold him back in the least. Weir knew he had his Black Ops training to thank for that.

Beckett and Heightmeyer performed a joint assessment of Sheppard's memory, physical, and mental health post-concussion. He had been concussed before, but this time his memory of events post being flung over a cliff were spotty enough that Heightmeyer wanted to make sure he was fine after healing. Sheppard had been particularly worried about this assessment, but apparently passed it with flying colors. Everyone knew the consequences of not passing.

What Weir knew the IOA would be particularly interested in, however, was the ship that was the center of Kolya's attention. McKay had assured her it was damaged so badly it would never fly again, but the influence it seemed to have on Sheppard had been puzzling. McKay theorized that the ship was programmed to only allow pilots to fly it as a safety precaution. It seemed to be like no other ship they had encountered in the Ancient database — smaller, probably faster, and possibly some sort of scout ship, spy craft, or prototype that hadn't made it into Atlantis' records.

She sighed with frustration as she saved the report, knowing that although Sheppard deserved recognition for his heroic deeds there was still the fact that long ago he had pissed someone off high enough up that he was continually overlooked for promotion. Sure, they promoted him to Lt. Colonel, just high enough to serve as military commander of Atlantis in an official capacity, but he deserved more. If it were up to her he would have been showered in medals long ago, but she also knew he would have been completely embarrassed and annoyed at her if she would have tried something.


One month after Weir contacted Ladin Radim to share the official news about Kolya, he paid Atlantis a visit. He had brought the Genii version of a medal of valor to present to Sheppard. Technically still off duty until he finished going through PT, Sheppard had dressed up in his military blues to accept the medal. He hoped Ladin wouldn't notice the cuts and bruises that were still healing as he shook the man's hand.

Embarrassed about the attention, Sheppard had later tucked the small metallic sphere into a corner of his desk. Ladin reiterated that without their help in finally bringing down Kolya, the Genii homeworld faced long years of terrorist threats. Hopefully now they could breathe a little easier and focus their efforts on fighting the Wraith and creating allies instead of fighting amongst themselves.

Weir had sent Lorne back to M3X-P32 a few days after Sheppard's team had returned. They discovered the bodies of the Genii had been buried in a neat row outside of the ship but found nothing else.

Two months after their first visit, Sheppard and his team revisited the planet. They were there to scout out the ship one last time before sending a team of scientists and engineers to pick over the remains and see if there was anything else they could salvage.

Although the headaches had subsided, Sheppard still felt sore in the ribs. He'd managed to crack four in the fall and the subsequent gunfight with Kolya, but besides feeling a bit stiff when breathing he was otherwise on the mend and had returned to duty. Ribs were notoriously difficult to recover from as there was no way to bind them. He would probably be in physical therapy for another month or so to make sure there were no other complications.

Ronon stuck to Sheppard's side like a burr as they walked from the 'gate to the cliff where everything had initially gone to hell. McKay wanted to check out the secondary signal they had discovered on their first visit.

Peering over the cliff, Sheppard was hit with the memory of tumbling through the air and pushed the image aside to focus on what the physicist was saying.

"It's a much fainter signal," McKay said. "My guess is that it's just part of the ship that got disconnected in the crash. But we can't be too sure."

Setting up a drone he sent it over the cliff, carefully watching the video feed. Sheppard looked around, breathing in the fall air that was starting to turn even more crisp. There was a hint of frost to the air and most of the leaves had fallen from the trees. The sky above was as brilliant blue as before, however, and the sun felt warm on his face.

"There," McKay stabbed a finger at the screen. Sheppard peered over his shoulder. "Definitely a piece of the ship." After a few moments, McKay sighed. "Nothing we can use. Damn."

"Ok, let's head to the ship," Sheppard ordered.

As they walked back to the tree line, Sheppard felt the fresh scars on his head start to itch, and the memory of Kolya holding Teyla and McKay at gunpoint in the trees hit him hard. Once again, he pushed it down and kept moving. Ronon glanced at him and Sheppard forced himself to keep from scratching at the scars. He was trying to break the habit, knowing that it was a nervous tick he had developed.

Sheppard was also sure he was not the only one having unpleasant flashbacks as he looked at McKay and Teyla's grim faces. He didn't have to ask to know that their trek to the ship had probably been just as unpleasant as his climb up the cliff face. Both of them had been roughed up, but it had been nothing to both of them after thinking that Sheppard had been killed in front of their eyes. Ronon thankfully didn't remember the trek at all as he had been out cold from the Wraith stunner.

As they approached the ship, Teyla suddenly stopped, raising her P90. "Someone is there," she whispered.

Sheppard waved McKay down and Ronon flanked the physicist instinctively. They all froze, listening.

Ahead, they could hear voices in the clearing where the ship had crashed. Shouts, laughter, raised and soft voices. No one was trying to be quiet.

Sheppard waved everyone ahead and they moved slowly through the long grass, the trees providing less cover without their fall leaves. They all crouched down as they crested the hill that surrounded the ship and saw what appeared to be a Genii science team already set up in the clearing, with men and women moving in and out of the ship with supplies. It appeared they were loading a few vehicles outside of the main doors with equipment from the ship.

"Dammit," Sheppard whispered angrily. "Didn't Elizabeth talk with Ladin about who had dibs on the ship?"

"Yes," McKay answered, just as pissed. "Apparently he was noncommittal and said they could discuss it over their annual talks — which are taking place in two months."

"Leaving the ship up for grabs in the meantime." Sheppard shook his head. "Alright. Let's see who's in charge of this operation."

Scanning the area for any soldiers guarding the Genii gutting the ship, Sheppard slowly stood, lowered his gun, and sauntered down the hill, followed closely by his team.

Quickly, four Genii soldiers closed in on them, also keeping their guns lowered, but hands ready. Sheppard grinned when he recognized two of them.

"Nika, Helo. What's up?"

"Sheppard," the two men stepped forward. "We didn't think we'd ever see you back here," Nika said.

Sheppard shrugged. "Duty and all that. Plus the fact that it seems our people didn't communicate whose ship this is."

"We have our orders," Helo said. "Don't know what yours are, but we've been here the past two weeks."

"So … what are you doing, then?" Sheppard indicated towards the ship.

"Salvaging. Bringing stuff back for our scientists. Not a lot there, honestly. You guys aren't missing much."

McKay sputtered as he pointed towards one of the vehicles. "Aren't missing much? You have four truckloads of Ancient hardware — at least!"

"Hey, I'm not a scientist," Nika held up his hand. "I have no idea what they found. I just know we're almost done and you can have the rest when we leave."

Sheppard pressed his lips together in a firm line. "Ok. We'll head back and let Doctor Weir know what's going on. Apparently, there's been a miscommunication."

"Miscommunication my a—"

"Shut it, McKay," Sheppard ordered sharply. He tipped his head towards Nika and Helo. "Good to see you guys again. Just wish it was under different circumstances."

"You're always welcome to my place," Helo said. "My wife is an amazing cook."

"Thanks," Sheppard replied. "We'll … keep you posted." He did a quick once-over scan of the ship, making a mental note on how many Genii were milling about and what equipment he could see. Elizabeth would want to know for whatever communication she might want to make with Ladin.

As they walked away from the ship and back into the trees, McKay grabbed Sheppard's arm.

"We're not seriously just going to leave, are we?" he demanded. "That ship could be a treasure trove of information!"

"This is an extremely delicate situation," Sheppard hissed. "We're finally on good terms with the Genii, Kolya's gone, and I'm not going to risk a diplomatic fumble over a crashed ship. We leave this sort of mess up to Elizabeth."

McKay fumed silently and Sheppard raised an eyebrow, continuing the trek back to the 'gate. "You know I'm right, McKay. Let's just hope that Ladin is happy to share ideas versus turn into a dictator like Kolya might have."

"There's no 'might' about it," McKay retorted. "He would have been a dictator. The Genii have no idea how much they owe us."

"No need to get cocky," Sheppard shook his head as he strode through the trees. "Not every mission has a happy ending, you know."

McKay seethed. He knew. And he was livid that Sheppard might even bring something like that up. "You know we almost lost you the last time we saw Kolya." He couldn't seem to keep his mouth shut when he was angry. "That wasn't quite a happy ending."

"No." Sheppard whirled on him angrily, stopping abruptly. "But I'm still here, aren't I?"

McKay refused to shrink back under Sheppard's fiery eyes. "You very nearly weren't!"

Teyla swiftly stepped between the two men, a gentle hand on their arms to connect them all. "I think what Dr. McKay is trying to say, Colonel Sheppard," she began, "is that he is upset we came so close to losing you once again to Kolya."

McKay looked away, glad Teyla was there to calm tempers between him and Sheppard but unwilling to back off.

"We are all glad that this mission has had a happy ending," she added gently.

"Not so happy when the Genii go behind our backs to steal all the equipment off that Ancient ship," McKay muttered.

"Rodney." Teyla's sharp reprimand caused him to snap his mouth shut. "This could have ended very badly. Colonel Sheppard's hands — and all of our hands — are tied in a situation such as this."

"Well, Sheppard's lucky he's even here to have his hands tied in the first place!"

McKay abruptly realized how cutting his words were when Sheppard's eyes went steely.

"You're lucky you're here, too, McKay," Ronon growled. "If it wasn't for Sheppard …"

He didn't need to finish his sentence. Each and every one of the team knew they owed the man their lives. And Sheppard owed them his. It was a constant dance between them all, and McKay was feeling frustrated.

"I'd just as soon get off this planet and never come back," McKay finally said, his voice quieter.

Sheppard's shoulders relaxed a bit. This was McKay's version of an apology. He didn't always say the literal words, "I'm sorry," but Sheppard knew exactly when he meant it.

"I'd also like to never come back," he said softly. He patted Teyla's hand on his arm and started walking again.

"But …" McKay trotted to catch Sheppard, "aren't you a little bit curious about the ship's AI?"

"Nope."

"Not even —"

"Rodney. That ship was messed up. I don't care what kind of a genius you are, no one should be allowed to use the AI, nor would I ever go back to sit in that chair. It's broken. No one is fixing it."

"What if the Genii have some tech genius who can hack the AI and Ladin starts to use it as a weapon?"

Sheppard raised an eyebrow. "You really think the Genii have someone who's more of a genius than you?"

McKay sputtered. Ronon and Teyla laughed. Sheppard smiled (but hid it from McKay because he was a Lieutenant Colonel, of course).


Author's Note: I'm always a little sad when a story comes to an end, but I hope that you all enjoyed this one as much as I did writing it. Thank you to my loyal readers for your patience when I wasn't uploading regularly! I love reading your reviews and thoughts, and hope that I can continue to entertain for a long while to come.