It had been an interesting few weeks, to say the least. McKay getting trapped several thousand feet under water while testing the repairs on a jumper had been scary. Sheppard, Teyla and Xander had managed to save him, with the help of a huge fish whale. Sam was not going to be happy when she found out that he hallucinated her wearing not a whole lot. Sheppard and Elizabeth becoming the latest victims of possession, when two pilots who didn't know that their war was over, took possession of their bodies and gave them, McKay and Xander new nightmares to deal with. Cordelia patiently held Xander when he woke up in the night from those nightmares. The kiss between Sheppard and Weir, made Xander wonder if maybe they'd finally do something about their mutual interest, or just continue to dance around each other. Xander had given Sheppard a nudge back when Sheppard nearly mutated into a human araitis. Maybe Cordy would be willing to nudge Elizabeth, he'd have to talk to her about that.

Their truce with the Genii becoming shaky because Cowen proved to be power hungry really didn't come as a surprise. Helping Ladon Radin overthrow Cowen may help Atlantis in the long run. Ladon was sympathetic toward Atlantis and cared about things other then power. His sister, for instance. Beckett helping her with the cancer she'd developed because of the Genii's unsafe shielding of their nuclear weapons went a long way towards that. Xander had some comments to make before Ladin departed for the Genii homeworld.

"The Genii were the first to sign on to a united effort against the Wraith 10,000 years ago. They had the courage to try something new. So do you. Unlike Cowen and Kolya, who acted without Honor, you seemed to have an understanding of it. You're trying to make things better, not harder. I think your people have made a good choice in choosing you to replace Cowen. I imagine, you might have been one of the louder voices calling for approval of Lex and Cor's plan."

"Lex and Cor? So you heard about them? I've always wondered about them. Where did they come from? There's so much we don't know about them, from before, I mean. Our history tells us alot about their life after they appeared on the Genii homeworld, but nothing from before. I would have liked to have met them."

Xander just smiled and wished him luck.

And then a request from the IOA came. They wanted to talk to Xander in person, in regards to his comments and concerns about the retrovirus.

"I knew they wouldn't let it go." Xander said, when Elizabeth told him about their request.

"You can't really blame them. They thought they had a tidy way of dealing with the Wraith. Your questions and concerns have upset them."

"They're politicians who are so isolated from reality that they probably think we're a TV show." Xander said drying. "They have no idea about what life on Earth, let alone out in the universe is like. They never stop to think of the after effects of something because they're isolated from it. I guarantee if they met a Wraith or a Goa'uld in person, it would wake them up to reality real fast."

Once back on Earth, Xander was asked to explain the experiment unwilling done on him by the swim coach and the unknown proteins he now coded for.

"And you think just killing the Wraith in their entirety is a better solution?"

"In the short term, yes. I've been unwillingly experimented on. I can tell you from experience how they will react. With fear and confusion. Without their strength, they will feel vulnerable and angry. They will want to lash out at those they feel are responsible for their new condition. And since we will be safe behind Atlantis' shield, they'll strike out at the vulnerable human populations of Pegasus. I am not advocating using this method to kill them all. We may be able to kill a significant number of them and bring them to the bargaining table, at which point we could offer the retrovirus. But I maintain that killing them is cleaner then raping their sense of self. Because altering their DNA will only change their bodies, it will not change their minds, their way of thinking, of seeing the universe. The current method of just defending ourselves every time they attack, is the same strategy the Ancients used. It cost them a century of war and an entire galaxy was lost to them. 10,000 years ago, Pegasus had advanced human cultures. The Wraith have reduced them to hunter gatherers and subsistence farmers, constantly on the run, just trying to survive. We need a radical solution, yes, but the retrovirus isn't it. In the short term, it will only make things worse. Another option would be to eliminate their need to feed as they do. Both that and a retrovirus could be secondary plans. But not primary, either of those, would just lead to retaliatory action on the Wraith's part."

"You make some interesting points, Captain Harris. You may be right that Dr. Beckett's retrovirus could cause more harm then good. The Wraith are essentially a type of hybrid, part human, part bug and have been for a long time. Just making them human, won't change how the bug part has shaped them. We will consider your testimony, Captain Harris. In the meantime time, you can return to your duty."

"Thank you for hearing me out."

Xander returned to Atlantis, hopeful that the IOA would truly consider his concerns and make a different choice. Once again, only time would tell.

The better news, though, was that Cordy agreed to nudge Elizabeth in her interest in Sheppard. Like many happy couples, they wanted to see their friends happy as well.