Season 1 Episode 3

2011

Continued selection by John Sheppard:

"Right in the middle of the fray is our other major concern. Ritha Guider, one of our youngest and low-profile, but very accomplished med-scientists, hardly has any CIA ranking but she responded positively to ATA. So far, the effects aren't wearing off. She hasn't been required to awaken any tech, and is known for feeling more of a connection to wraith biotech than the Lantean type. She was a self-taught biologist back on Earth before taking professional training and ending up in Cheyenne Mountain as an assistant lab tech. Teyla and Beckett have assured us a million times that Ritha is not wraith-kin. That was something we sort of considered after she started interacting with biotech like she owned it. Rodney squawked at us that a Milky Way Galaxy human isn't likely to be an heir of those Ancient experiments.

Out of the blue, not long before we started butting heads with Morrtra, Ritha proposed the fundamentals for a brand-new wraith-altering formula. She didn't take the retrovirus route this time, and nor is it gene therapy. Dr. Keller finally gave up on the gene therapy, and started accompanying Rodney on missions as lead medical assistant to mass immigrations of planetary inhabitants, especially those affected by Morrtra. She still works in the field, but returns to Atlantis on occasion. Carson is now back where he used to be. Or, I should say, where he belongs.

When Ritha gave Woolsey an update on her invention, he freaked (ok, he didn't actually do it the way Rodney does) and ordered her to work on the information privately until the war was over. In fact, he won't even allow her to leave the city on the moon mission with Rodney. There's no way we're risking a leak of her intel with the Genii once again interacting with us and while there are so many chances for betrayal.

This new material of Ritha's design is supposedly going to allow humans to survive the feeding process while still giving the wraith what they need to live. Do I believe it can work? Maybe. Do I hope it will? Obviously. Has it been successful yet? Nope. To be honest, it's weird to consider that a breakthrough like this could actually happen.

It never once crossed my mind that something so huge would eventually come out of Ritha's long studies of the wraith. Keller mentioned that Ritha is one of those detail-oriented scientists that can't resist questioning everything, even the impossible. It aggravates Rodney. Like he once said during a long conversation: "That's it, I'm giving Jeannie a call, RIGHT after we finish Morrtra. You can't force a square circle to exist."

She just looked at him. "That's because you aren't thinking outside the square. Your sister would say the same thing just to watch you squirm."

McKay has many variations of "Colonel Carter" to attempt to foil.

Ritha has this fixation with the wraiths' gift of life ability being the key to an alteration in anatomical interactions. Beckett informed us that she's really onto something. In order for the alterations to succeed, both races have to work together. I want to believe that. It's still kind of against my instincts, but anything is better than having to fight the wraith for the rest of our natural lives. Besides, I hate it when they win."

And so concludes John Sheppard's personal log for the time being.

We now move on to a key incident as seen from Richard Woolsey's perspective.

2011
Location: Atlantis, Aldeni

The illuminations that flooded the command center were mercifully extinguished by the automatic shades rolled over every survey window. Soft footfalls and their steadiness rested in the sheen of the central headquarters' flooring.

Like spilled wine, semi-dark diode reflections glimmered, interrupted occasionally as Commander Woolsey slowly made his way around the room. His right hand did not know what his left was doing. Multiple decorations and mementos felt an absent caress. Some were handled and only a few were returned to their original places.

The transmission screen had been silent and empty for hours, and the last words he heard from the wraith commander on the other side echoed: "Remain in Aldeni, Mr. Woolsey. You will never see Earth alive if you do not follow instructions. I will return."

Amidst the scramble to halt passage from the system, if the balm of silence had not been available to sooth the disbelief Woolsey allowed himself to process hour after hour that fateful day on Atlantis, he might have considered that he was no longer equal to the task of leading the City, much less defending Earth.

But that was not how the former IOA agent handled being thrust into astonishing situations. Nothing, of course, could have prepared him for the challenge of a second, galaxy-wide war with the wraith, save his years of experience walking on eggshells around Todd and company, and blasting hive ships to ribbons with the City's defenses after Carter was relieved of command.

Woolsey adjusted his glasses, and the points of light in the lenses moved dramatically. His dark eyes took in the expanse on one of the Ancient displays. One of Atlantis' piers reached out into the star-sprinkled space of the Aldeni system like an aisle into an endless hall of mystery.

Woolsey finally convinced himself to settle in his chair without getting up again, and it took even longer for him to pick up his tablet.

The one directory he did not feel much like opening was titled, "Operation Vytrin."

There was no purpose in rereading the official babble of various SGC documents, funding, and IOA approval ratings. And least of all could anything incline Woolsey to pore over coding charts, the contents of which were understood only by people such as McKay and Carson Beckett. Woolsey proceeded to open the notes taken during one of the last conferences that took place not long before Atlantis fled for Aldeni. Colonel Carter had attempted to launch the new DSC battle-cruiser Cerberus to assist the Daedalus, but it was too late, and Colonel Sheppard blew up the second Midway foundation before Morrtra's forces discovered Lantea too early.

Woolsey idly tapped the icon, and began to read, skipping the introductory section. Daniel Jackson and Colonel Carter, now well accustomed to advisory rolls taking over a third of their chances to engage in off-world missions, had been assigned to review the next stages of the science teams' progress on Atlantis; and while Daniel had shown up looking slightly more heavy-set than Woolsey remembered him, the man seemed his usual self. His first quip to Sheppard was that Teal'c didn't want Daniel to grow a beard, for the simple reason that Teal'c was now allowing himself to grow a head full of hair and couldn't bear to be outdone. Carter claimed it was a story that O'Neill had pounded into Daniel's head, and the Lantean meeting got underway at last with many whispered retorts, paper shuffling, and laptop clicking. This is the transcribed portion that Woolsey revisited:

Ritha Guider: "We've finally found a way to stabilize the second biological emulator."

Carter: "How did you harmonize the core strands? I didn't expect to hear more than a breakthrough on the virtual construct."

Ritha: "It's fast, Colonel. It's very fast. It takes to the base molecules like never before; we appreciate your suggestion to fire them at low frequency. Dr. Beckett, third display, please. I do not call this a retrovirus because that is not what it is at all."

Beckett: "And nor is it anything like gene therapy."

Carter: "The blueprints certainly had me up at night. I gave the SGC an earful in case certain people accidentally shelved the idea of disrupting wraith DNA and forcing it to comply with our wishes. Like you have said from the beginning, and as certain people have a hard time grasping, why not simply use what is already available of shutting it down?

"Precisely," Ritha said. "I'm glad to hear your efforts take the cake over there. O'Neill sent us a special letter." She grinned. "By the way, so, the human supplement is now officially termed Vytrin I, and the wraith component is Vytrin II. Original, right? It's Wraith Ancient for "giving of life."

Sheppard: "I like it."

Ronan: "I don't."

Ritha: "For the benefit of all parties, I'll re-summarize. Vytrin I is basically comprised of a potent de-stressing agent, an age-block simulator, an inducer based on wraith hibernation, and an inhibitor that reacts when life force is being extricated. It separates the life force of the body as a whole from that of the most vulnerable and valuable organs, mainly the brain and the heart. If life force is extracted, the brain will let go to preserve itself. The trauma of having life-force drained is obviously where the destressing agent comes in. We want it to interact with the agents of Vytrin II in order to create a slow, gentle extrication, taking the body's conserved energy, as opposed to that which keeps our functions running in the first place."

Beckett: "We knew a booster might put too much strain on the human body. Zelenka came up with a replenishing agent after nearly blowing up the second labratory."

Zelenka: "You mean after the Iratus bug got loose and chased you because you tried to force it into hibernation…"

Dr. Jackson: "Um, 'scuse me…? Just how did that come about?"

Beckett: "It's off the record. So, we did end up preparing a booster test that combines with all forms of energy being extricated and stretches it to such a degree the wraith will hopefully be able to be sustained, making up the difference."

Ritha: "The replenishment's other purpose is to plant the seeds for humans' recovery. Now, we all know that a portion of the macrocnidea in the membrane base of a wraith's feeding organ deposits a mass in the victim, often resulting in the death of survivors. Part of Vytrin II is also being designed to prevent this mass from solidifying. It'll be allowed to separate on contact and melt, like sweat."

McKay: "Can you come up with a way to make it less icky-poo while you're at it?"

Sheppard: "It doesn't stink that bad once you get used to it."

Daniel: "Which takes a lifetime and a half…"

McKay: "V-II can hopefully be injected into both the wraith themselves and into an entire hive ship for the purpose of efficient spreading, but we need to test whether or not it can be safely combined with the hive fluid. The goal is for Vytrin II to cooperate with the enzyme glands in the feeding arm, allowing the wraith to inject an invigoration supplement from the macrocnidea in addition to the MT cells and a new type of auto-phage."

Sheppard: "We all understood that."

McKay: "It's not Aristotle."

Woolsey: "Gentlemen…"

Ritha: "Excuse me. Now, all aspects of V-2 are being worked to sync with V-I, allowing the human to recharge, so to speak. The recovery process will require the person to eat well, and of course, rest. Obviously, a human must be well fed and healthy before being fed on. Life force is mined with the injection of one enzyme, and Vytrin I should also provide immunization to its addictive properties, ejecting it from the victim's system over a period of time after the feeding process. Feeding time will be greatly lengthened, allowing the enzyme enough time to target the life force of the less important, predesignated regions of the human in addition to allowing the Vytrin I to interact. A smooth, harmonic exchange, and bonus point, a far gentler process. The theory is that we can extend it from fifteen seconds or so to nearly three minutes."

Ronan: "Did you try taking the V-1 again or are you going to make one of us suffer and die?"

Ritha: "Coward. I took an injection."

Beckett: "About that..."

Ritha: "No side effects yet. It's been a few days. My blood samples came back looking well blended."

Daniel: "Would you like to consider the consequences of impulsivity the next time you feel like injecting yourself with...weird compounds?"

Ritha: "Maybe."

Beckett: "I didn't move fast enough, I prefer not to talk about it."

Carter: "No problem. I read your report before Daniel got here."

Ritha: "Now, Mr. Woolsey… besides the supplements and the subduing agents, the next step has got to be taken today, if possible. We've begun weaving a stable code based on a wraith's regenerative properties. That's where the human will largely benefit. But we dare not test such a thing without Todd's help. We absolutely need him to assist us with coding and feed on willing test subjects. People who have never been affected by Michael's version of the Hoffan drug, for starters. I'd like it if we had several wraith involved. This will have to be done multiple times, so…we'll need committed test subjects and willing wraith Todd can vouch for."

Dr. Jackson: "I think that's going to… take some time. Wraith don't want to be ruled and never will. You have to invite them."

McKay: "Grant them wine and cheese…"

Carter: "How efficiently the wraith can become reapers rather than feeders will depend on how long it takes to produce enough Vytrin for only one hive. Right, Rodney?"

McKay: "Come on, I've got the reins straightened out; just give me space. It also depends on how much is needed for one wraith depending on a variety of sizes and ages, and we need to determine if any of the Vytrin is lost or neutralized in the process of injections and feeding, whether it's put into hive veins or skin."

Woolsey: "Let's say it turns out well. It'll have to be distributed at an even rate to both races, strategically, and without a lot of publicity. I surely don't know what would happen if an unaffected wraith were to feed on a being injected with V-1, or if an affected wraith fed on an unaffected human."

Carter: "Very likely it would break the energy transference, and the results wouldn't look pretty. Also, we don't know yet at what rate the changes for both races will take hold or if immunity is possible."

Ritha: "One more thing. Vytrin cannot be internally produced by humans."

Woolsey nodded. "I'm not sorry to hear that."

Ronan: "I am."

Ritha: "I've laid off the idea of coercing an organ in a wraith's arm to "awaken" and start producing its own Vytrin. We don't need another cancerous affair. Injections of the Vytrin will have to take place on a regular basis and we'll need to show the wraith how to produce their own V-2."

Woolsey: "That will hopefully be Todd's department."

Sheppard: "If he agrees with all of this in the first place… which will, for starters, only imply that he thinks it can work." -

The polished stylus dropped from Woolsey's fingers to the desk surface, and he blinked. He didn't bother to read through the remainder of the document. No matter how he turned the issue in his mind, the best-option outcome was always the same. The leftover holes in the dyke of the Lantean defense had to be closed now, or never. Todd still had not been given any information about the Vytrin, and therefore Woolsey wouldn't have to deal with any of the wraith's potential drama over losing access to something that could stem the tide of Iratus once and for all. But Sheppard and Ritha would definitely protest. Woolsey didn't want to push the little switch that would carry his voice to the science labs. His lined face shone briefly in the dull blue light of his tablet. "Carson."

"Aye, sir."

"Send Guider up here."

"It's time?" Beckett exhaled slowly. "Ok. She's savoring the results of positive scans on Zelenka. Sir, his calorie intake increased by two and is holding so steady I'm almost worried."

"Bad news?"

"An accidental triumph," Beckett said. "Zelenka lasted thirty-six hours on the V-1 without a single trace of nausea. He's only slightly discolored this time."

Woolsey looked solemnly at the comm. "Well done. I need to see Ritha, we'll discuss this later."

Beckett paused. "She's on her way, sir."

Woolsey knew McKay would wildly object to the newest development with some fine-toothed and long-winded arguments. Woolsey was determined to shut doors and windows before the teams returned to the City. Somewhere out there, in the regions of the unfamiliar and uncharted system of Aldeni where Atlantis hid, Sheppard was scouting with three equipped teams and two puddle jumpers. He had already guessed Woolsey's plans without being told.

McKay was with the lunar mission until tomorrow morning if the teams didn't run into problems. The isolated planet of Zatrana was the reason the satellite was still green and abundant with remarkable flora, and yet, the planet itself had apparently never been graced with a Stargate. Zatra was Woolsey's second-place concern, since Todd had spoken of it as "the place of punishment" and had elegantly refused to set foot on the ancient moon. Sheppard took precautions not to call Todd out for cowardice, for he knew that the wraith could be relied upon to retaliate. Besides, Todd was not in the mood for lying to Atlantis at this time in Pegasusian history; Sheppard might as well be nice to him for now.

John Sheppard was the first known Earthling to learn how to neatly navigate the icy waters of a wraith commander's high sense of honor and influence over poor, simple humanity, and by 2008 Woolsey had followed in Sheppard's footsteps. And none too soon, I might add; the former was relieved of his natural terror of Todd within a year's time. Carter had been most outstanding in dealing with wraith, and many of the insectoid aliens concluded that human allies were still useful to their race, far beyond the Lanteans' expectations.

Woolsey insisted upon regular updates to date and had not been refused a generous helping of them, for Todd could be relied upon to produce exquisite resumes. With Teyla present to discern whether Todd was being entirely honest, the conversations went very smoothly. The wraith commander had commented a number of times and in different ways on the fact that he was full of admiration to see the Lanteans so continuously tight-lipped about their back-burner plans.

John Sheppard was also too proud to admit defeat and mentioned he was pleased Todd was still willing to submit himself to being monitored. Teyla kept the peace, and Woolsey had grown less fond of twitching during polite little spats. This served to adorn the private oasis of amusement for Todd, and all parties, excluding Ronan, "benefited", as McKay so aptly put it.

Woolsey checked his watch, and the motion was accompanied by a soft step on the outer landing. The woman was as punctual as ever. A second set of moving reflections entered the flooring.

"Well, Ritha," Woolsey said. He looked directly into her eyes. "I heard about Zelenka."

"He's in fine shape. It's rather dark in here. How are you, sir? Did you hear from Colonel Sheppard about Thaz Remeir?"

"You usually prefer the dark as well. And I'm better than I was, thank you. Sheppard took out only five Genii and is returning with the last two prisoners he dared to snatch for the time being. Radim missed the mark again. Thaz escaped." Woolsey hesitated. "Sit down. Please."

Ritha obeyed. She stuffed the gloves she had peeled off her hands into her pocket and swiped aside a lock of her short, bushy, dark hair. "Beckett confirms the V-1 integration is stable. We're ramped up for the long haul." She smiled a little. "We were kind of waiting for Zelenka to turn blue and choke again, but he's cool. He's not going to attempt tests again for a couple of days, I want to see how long his system circulates the V-1 at full strength. I think we've reached a point of no return, but we can't do more until the wraith are able to assist us. I really wish we could get them involved, starting now."

Woolsey looked down at her through the semi-darkness. "Ritha…"

"Still, the V-2 is coming along smoothly, it doesn't look like it's about to blow up…but the Iratus' reactions are still super sick…I can't figure how we're going to get the first test hive not to bleed out…"

"Ritha…"

"Eh?"

Woolsey hesitated. "You can put all those questions and concerns out of your mind for the time being."

After several seconds, Ritha's brow furrowed minutely. "Sorry. What does…do you mean?"

"I'm calling off Operation Vytrin."

Ritha stared.

"It's not permanent."

"Wait. No…no, wait. Why are you doing this, sir? I swear we're ready to breakthrough, we can't ditch the Vytrin now! What drove you to this?"

Woolsey slowly turned to face the transparency that allowed him to view the Stargate. "With Morrtra on the move, we can't risk the Vytrin falling into the wrong… hands. Pun intended, I'm afraid. I still haven't told Todd about it."

"The pun or the Vytrin?" Ritha grumbled.

"Both."

He'll figure it out," Ritha said. "What makes you think he never did?"

Woolsey turned back to face her. "That's no excuse, I'm afraid. The war has taken too dangerous a turn for me to allow you and the teams to continue experimentation further; it's time to shelve the Vytrin data and conceal it where, yes, even Mr. Tight-Lipped Todd would be least likely to think of searching for it, if he is so clever as to suspect in the first place that we're after the wraith in a different manner that we were before."

Ritha was on her feet, and she folded her arms gently. "Sir," she said quietly, "if we stop now, the wraith as we know them will keep growing, they'll supplant their former strategies with their newest knowledge of the Lantean bases and upgraded defenses. They will take after Morrtra as their savior, and we will never see the light of day again. And neither will Earth."

Woolsey nodded. "You're right about the fact that if Morrtra were to gain intel, which is likely since she just revealed one of her locations, we would be defeated, perhaps forever, and Earth would be completely vulnerable."

Ritha just looked at him. "It usually is. Look at O'Neill, didn't he get to take all the risks?"

"I am not General O'Neill," Woolsey stated, ignoring her sarcasm.

"How long will we have to wait until we can take up the Vytrin again? Instead of zipping the case shut, we could be secretly injecting Alliance wraith and exposing some of Todd's lingering hives to the V-2 before Morrtra has a chance to take notice."

"You know better than that," Woolsey said, not unkindly.

"We're incorporating a failsafe that doesn't allow the Vytrin 2 to be decoded without the proper method."

"Yes, I know."

"Can't we just work in secret until this skirmish is over?"

Woolsey resumed his seat and gestured for Ritha to take hers. "Please, let's not water down reality, Ritha. Let me put it this way. Who of all the wraith could decode Lantean fail-safes for Morrtra?"
"Todd wouldn't," Ritha said sarcastically. "No worries. There's no nanite parties for him to join."

Woolsey sighed. "If he has enemies within his ranks, as he did before, whom even he doesn't know about until the most inconvenient moment, we're sunk. Entirely."

Ritha just looked at him.

"We're going to have to wait for a more opportune moment to introduce the Vytrin to the Alliance. Todd spoke to me just hours ago; he has discovered a way to induce Morrtra into some kind of a bargain. You wouldn't believe what he did. He's a cunning, brazen old fool…or the bravest fool I've ever seen. Time will tell. I didn't give him my warmest thanks."

"I'll believe anything he did. So Todd's in contact with Morrtra finally," Ritha murmured. "And he probably was, well before he told you about it."

"Colonel Sheppard did not agree to endorse a public meeting with her second-in-command."

"Uh huh, I bet. But at least we know Morrtra's loosening her tongue."

"She's doing it on purpose. Morrtra wanted to show herself to bait us, and Todd knows it. So much does he realize it that he has pretended to betray Atlantis to her and has cut off all contact with me."

"Smooth as silk."

"Mm. It leaves us in a blind that Todd will exploit; maybe he thinks he can save us on his own, or he is setting the stage to draw us into an easier part of the conflict right when Morrtra thinks she's in the clear. Who knows what other intricate ideas he's cooking up. Morrtra is twice as capable as he is. She knows his weakness is the City. If there is the tiny chance he does not actually value our lives, she knows that at least he values the ship that carries them. His own second-in-command has left Sheppard's team without notice."

Ritha closed her eyes. "Figures. I just hoped it was only a conspiracy theory. Well…I'm…sorry, sir, I'm so…I can't believe this. We're so close."

"I don't want this any more than you do," Woolsey said. "The risk of interference is too great, and in the end, the Vytrin could either make or break the only wall standing between us and Earth, not to mention the remaining worlds that need Atlantis for defense. We don't have the SGC right now, remember, not until Colonel Carter has heard from me."

Ritha looked out at the Stargate in an attempt to conceal a small tear that had formed in her right eye.

"Beckett will take care of informing your staff members of the cancelation," Woolsey said quietly.

"You already talked to him. I figured that, but I was in denial as usual," Ritha said stiffly. "I thought maybe he was just joking when he suggested we were running out of time. I wouldn't let him talk to me. Zelenka was insistent upon trying another injection. I couldn't put it down and made him get back on the operating table."

Woolsey nodded. "I told your team of the possibility of a shut-down a few days ago when Todd refused to contact Sheppard en route to Edowin, and left behind a damaged hive for no apparent reason. Caldwell is investigating, he thinks Todd left us something, either a star map to another ZPM, or something bigger. But in case something changed, I didn't want to give you a reason to be hindered in your work while there was still a little time. Aldeni is safe enough for the moment. Beckett and you and Zelenka I trust to properly conceal the Vytrin. The less number of people who know of its placement, the better. You coded the foundations, you can integrate another failsafe in order to conceal it deep within the City. Two days are what we have. Sheppard is returning with Radim, and they'll update us on the Genii."

Ritha nodded quietly. "Yes, sir." She looked into Woolsey's dark eyes.

"I was also sorry to remove you from McKay's team," Woolsey added.

"Well, it was for the best; I can't say I've come up with a way to get tabs on exactly what Aldeni is until McKay comes back and spins yarns about how he was the hero after throwing himself through a wormhole and plowing up a hill of dirt in a three-point landing."

"He'll bring back a novel, no doubt," Woolsey said. "Meanwhile…" He stopped and cleared his throat. "I called you here to ask you about something else that I also discussed with Beckett."

Ritha hesitated.

"Before the final clash that will soon come between us and the Morrtra fleet…I propose the most unpleasant idea of having you and one or two of your associates…put in stasis until it's all over."

"What am I, Dr. Weir the Second?" Ritha sighed. "Sir, I was planning on fighting this war with the rest of the City. In some way, however small. Just give me a dartship."

Woolsey peered drily over his glasses. "No one is going to force you into stasis."

"I know, I have no options," Ritha said quietly. "I know my mind will be defenseless. But I better be treated to an account of the entire battle should the city survive…which it's not likely to since the Vytrin is a no-go." She stood.

"Ritha."

"Yes, sir."

"Don't take this wrong. Knowledge is power, but how you use that power defines whether you're good, or evil."

"I'm not stupid enough to call that a cat poster and I'm not intelligent enough to apply every itty-bitty thing Dr. Jackson says with regards to major life changes."

Woolsey folded his arms. "You're taking this remarkably well. Consider what Morrtra would do with the Vytrin. She would turn you - yes, you - into another version of herself."

"What gave you that idea?"

"Not what. Who."

"Colonel Sheppard?"

"Morrtra didn't let Todd live for nothing when she breached his defenses last year. I didn't suspect her progress was so … widespread… until Sheppard got into that heated debate with Todd about not giving out the info we really need."

"I know," Ritha said drily. "I was there. McKay shut the jumper doors in their faces and told me to join him and AR-6 instead for a retreat with Teal'c."

Woolsey leaned forward. "Morrtra's cloning abilities could turn you into the reverse of the Vytrin. If Todd knew of your work, he would have told me the same thing…perhaps in exchange for another ZPM. That's what Sheppard supposes."

"Todd always gets away with the biggest slice of the pie," Ritha said quietly, and then turned to look at the Stargate. "It's his doing that the Vytrin must be silenced."

Woolsey slowly stood up and came around the desk. "Now you blame Todd? Ritha…I know that you're not a soldier. Or a doctor. You've only had experience in the lower programs of the City, but were hoisted to one of the most important positions by a coincidence of your own genius, your dedication to turning problems into answers, and this…shall I say…unusual interest in…wraith. I don't want you in stasis, I naturally hate the idea. Teyla is needed to battle Morrtra's intellect, and there is not a single wraith I would trust right now to spend any period of time here shielding your mind. Morrtra would find out your secrets, be the wraith a member of the Alliance or Todd himself. You know Morrtra's power."

Ritha was holding back tears, but kept her voice steady. "Forgive me, sir. I was so eager to show the Alliance a new path, and give Earth an easier route to establishing the Quintu Genz treaty."

Woolsey placed a hand on her shoulder. "That will eventually happen. Once again, I'm leaning on the skill of a battle-scarred wraith, who, I might add, is the only wraith who knows the location of Earth. I want your talent and your mind protected. For your good. For Earth. And for the sake of millions of other beings in this galaxy."

Ritha nodded. "Yes, sir."

"This is not the end. By any means."

"No, you're darn right it's not."

Woolsey nodded. "Good."

"Thank you, sir. I…don't know what to say though. To all of this. After everything."

"Colonel Sheppard will be back shortly. You can talk to him then."

"I'll be glad for that, sir." She stared out at the stargate. "Am I dismissed?"

Woolsey nodded.

Ritha gave his hand a light grip, and Ritha entered the lift to the science labs, she was locking her jaw, trying not to say bad things to the walls. Her ID card slipped from her fingers and clattered to the floor. Why now? Why did this have to happen now? She wiped a hand down her face, sighed again, and then paused. She found herself staring up at a transmission display in a long-ago memory, and once again she heard John Sheppard's voice announce that it was "now or never." The alter-reality Todd fell upon him with a drawn knife. And then Todd himself had taken the blade in his gut at the same instant he stabbed the alter reality. Ritha had remembered nothing more until she woke up in the infirmary. The towering shadow of Todd filled her blurred vision. Echoes, as of voices in the deep, flitted in her subconscious. "I have awoken once. How was I meant to… if I was meant to…in the first place?"

Beckett had half-whispered something that had sounded like, "I almost didn't think you'd be able to do it." Ritha had no idea how Todd had responded but she never bothered Beckett for an explanation or asked why she had nearly died. And nor had she herself ever talked to Sheppard about the scar on her brain that had baffled McKay until he was unable to concentrate on anything without drinking twice as much beer as he usually did.

Ritha watched the doors glide open, and she strode into the medical bay. "Dr. Beckett, I have some incredibly interesting words for you."

"Don't shoot," Zelenka said, rising from his station. "I'm really, terribly sorry. I regret every ounce of it. Morrtra's such a miserable old schemer. Mr. Woolsey told you, surely, there's nothing to regret, not really that is…I'm really sorry…"

"You're sorry. Well, I won't mind being in stasis, I've been there once before. At least I won't know it if we lose the war or lose the City or both."

Zelenka grimaced. "Ahh-hah. Such is the strenuous unknown."

"Did Colonel Sheppard really have to throw the wrench in?"

Beckett pulled off his gloves. "That's his job, and you be grateful for it. I was sure this would end up happening. I tried to tell you, but Woolsey wanted to himself. Besides, you wouldn't let me."

Ritha ignored this. "Well, I hope to say "it was nice knowing you" to Sheppard and Ronan before I go to sleep. Deadline is in forty-eight hours. There's time; besides, I have to help lock in the codes. I can think of a few places in Atlantis besides your suggestions that will be more than sufficient, but let the Operation die with me if that's what's needed."

"We're none of us have a terribly high chance of dying, not with me in the Chair, lass." Beckett slapped the gloves down. "We all know the ropes. The Hoffan drug. The Hoffan drug again. And then…Hoffan drug 3.0."

"Mr. Woolsey knows what he's doing," Zelenka affirmed quietly, fiddling with his stylus. "He's not going to tell you all of it just yet. Nor even me. I might have to be in stasis too if things get bad enough. So you'll have some company."

"Haha. Hey, what did Teyla say to this? Has she called in yet?" Ritha said.

"Oh, heck no. Not a word."

"Goody gumdrops."

"I know. I'm tired of this game. Sheppard's going to join her after he leaves the City again and bring Radim along."

"Good luck to Ronan on an inter-city stroll. Ok; sorry, people, I need a break," Ritha said.

"Just give me the locations you thought of for the Vytrin data and then you're off duty anyhow; we'll vote later," Beckett said, looking sympathetically into her eyes. "What's your preferred password?"

"Vulpez," Ritha said, glancing around at the dull blue glow of the med bay. "Code it in Old Nordic runes so any wraith won't be able to access any roots. Just call me when you're ready for it. Zelenka, is yours Czech?"

"Yes, I gave in. Zitra. Cross-coded with Athosian."

"Doctor, yours is Scottish, or my name isn't Ritha."

"We'll have to rechristen you," Beckett said. "Before we closed off Earth, Dr. Jackson suggested coding inversely, and reversing the roots. Stonehenge-related, and runes. Not a smidgen of Ancient. And I'm not giving it to you two. And the other failsafe?"

"I wish I hadn't come up with one."

"Oh yes you do," Beckett said. "Which part do you want to take with you?"

"V-2 and the original chechilerae stabilizers. Insert the chips into skin grafts inside my elbows," Ritha said quietly.

Beckett sighed. "Oohh, all right. You want it, I'll do it. Just don't insist on linking your amygdala because that's not going to happen."

"Yes, master. Also, the wraith translators could still decode portions from your programming. Break a third off and interface it in the repository; topic, "subatomic waste."

"Oh, I was just thinking that. And it's where our command symbols comes in," Zelenka said, flipping through his tablet icons. "Surely the wraith will only understand only one thing when our combined voices politely intone, "Ten seconds till self-destruct. Rodney thought of that one. He first suggested 'Hold on to your ugly butts.' Woolsey vetoed it."

Ritha smirked.

"Ahh, a smile at last," Beckett teased, placing fresh V-1 syringes into a storage unit.

"Involuntary, involuntary," Ritha shot back, and turned to leave. She couldn't bear to see the med bay without another test of the Vytrin going on.

Her words ended one of the last conversations she ever had with the Lantean heroes before she was put into stasis prior to the remaining days of the Morrtra War.

John Sheppard recalled often in the days ahead one of her parting communications to Jack O'Neill: "If the wraith do not rise, Earth will fall."

Ronan spent many a moment grumbling about how Ritha just didn't comprehend what the wraith had done to Sateda, but that was more his way of saying he missed challenging her in sparring sessions. Sheppard took more seriously Ritha's foresight.

In good time, the Vytrin-2 codes were at rest inside an epidermis in the sleeping Ritha's crossed arms; and Dr. Beckett and Zelenka sealed the Vytrin-1 secrets inside a test replica of Dr. Weir in a lower containment unit only they, Woolsey, and AR-1 could access. The Ancients had been fabulous at installing "purloined letter" systems, but the Earth Lanteans had a great deal of expertise on taking it two steps farther. Weir's choppy-looking statue rested on its side in a heap of junk, and would only be thought of again after Morrtra was dead. Truly…dead.