Chapter 19

The tracking device had shown the young female was moving, but he'd not suspected that it would be to this old, Ancient facility. It wasn't his favourite place to be, certainly not while amongst their kind. Things hadn't ended so well the last time he'd set foot on these grounds. Of course, out here, away from the rebel camp, his targets were reduced to more manageable numbers. That had to play to his advantage.

Of course, what hadn't been such a boon was the fact the human male he was specifically targeting was apparently in such a sickly state. The humans around him seemed capable, and the hybrid female could clearly more than hold her own, he could attest to that himself, but had he known the Birajan runt that had some calling on them all would pack such a punch, he would have taken him out the moment he'd stepped from his craft at the end of the pathway to the caves.

The watcher packed away his view enhancers. With the humans all now back inside the facility, it was time to creep a little closer and scan the structure itself. He had no fear of being discovered; he had scrambled his life signs so any scanning equipment they might be using would not detect his presence and the condition of the human male meant they would be preoccupied for some time.

There was a strong power reading coming from the caves now, suggesting they had much of the facility up and running. This Ancient site had sat empty and forlorn for so many centuries it had seemed it was destined never to function again. Until this human had come along. He was special all right, and for that kind of special, he could negotiate a higher price. There were so many Ancient gadgets the peoples of the Pegasus galaxy had bought, stolen, or traded over the years, but none of them ever worked. They were little more than intriguing souvenirs or ornaments to be displayed for interesting conversation openers at social gatherings...until now. This human had changed all that, and there was a market to be milked for such a talent.

If he survived.

The bulky figure crept close enough to drop a device inside the cave opening, one that latched itself to the ground and immediately camouflaged itself to look exactly like the cold grey stone it now clung to.

He backed away, edging his way back down the track, and returned to the craft he had concealed in a patch of woodland not far from where the road narrowed to the point of only being passable on foot. There, he slumped in his pilot seat and caught his breath, the exercise of walking to the caves more physical exertion than he was used to.

Once settle, he tuned in to listen to the conversation from within the facility, transmitted to him via the device he had left there. It sounded chaotic. The humans were panicking. His target was in a bad way. If that Birajan had just ruined his chances of making a small fortune, he would disintegrate his sorry little carcass the very next time he stepped foot outside the rebel camp. He could count on that.

Of course, there were other humans in that cave he could find a buyer for. They wouldn't turn quite the same profit, but they were still worth more credits than the rest of his inventory combined, so all was not lost. So, while he listened in to the ensuing pandemonium, he pulled out his data pad and scrolled through his list of clients and their previously expressed requirements. If this human were to pass, then so be it. There remained enough healthy human flesh within that facility to ensure he would get his trip to Fidorrah, just as he planned.

oooOOOooo

After lowering Sheppard carefully into a chair, Ronon and Teyla headed to collect medical supplies from the lab where they had stored them, Mishta tagging along to explain the uses of the various medicines she had supplied herself.

Sheppard was conscious of Jemma hanging back and watching him silently, Teyla's little Birajan escort not far away from her. It seemed the commotion with Marmotah had woken everyone in the facility. He figured he should say something reassuring to alleviate her concern, but when he looked her way, she was so ashen pale he lost all thought of comforting her. She looked worse than he felt.

'Jemma, you need to stay out of the way while we deal with this, okay?' Mehra told her without looking her way. It wasn't tactful, but Sheppard was grateful that the sergeant had made that clear from the start. He couldn't handle the kid freaking out over him right now.

'What happened?' McKay asked, backing up at the sight of him. 'He's gonna be okay, right?'

'He's right here, and I'm fine,' Sheppard growled. He might be sick, but he wasn't so far gone that other people had to speak for him…yet.

The room swam around him, the edges of his vision alternating between greying out then coming back into acutely sharp focus with nauseating rapidity. Oh, this was not good. He felt like something inside him was different…like Marmotah might have damaged something important with his lucky shot.

A cough took hold of him out of nowhere and he sputtered blood all over Mehra and the nearby consoles.

'Urgh…sorry,' he gasped, clutching his painful abdomen as Mehra scrubbed blood from her cheek.

'Not a problem, Sir. Just sit tight,' she assured him, pressing him back down into the seat when he tried to lean forward and start wiping down the panels.

'Oh, my God…he just…oh my God!' McKay whimpered, bug-eyed at the sight of so much blood.

'McKay,' Mehra growled, flashing him an instantly recognisable 'pull yourself together' glare. He knew that one by heart. He'd seen it so many times, not to mention the numerous occasions he'd used it himself.

'Is he dying?' he heard Jemma ask. Her voice was weak and oddly croaky, as if she had a throat infection. That could explain her sickly complexion, he mused, just as Mishta returned with the others. He put a pin in the thought, figuring he could check on her later…if there was a later for him.

Mishta stumbled to a halt, glancing around at the blood-spattered equipment. 'Wh…what happened?'

'Nothing. I'm fine,' he told her.

Mehra just quirked an eyebrow in disbelief as she firmed up her grip on his shoulder, holding him still. 'I'm gonna have to call bullshit on that.'

'We have something to ease your pain and bring down your temperature,' Teyla explained as they laid their supplied out on the only clean surface close to him. 'But we also found this.' She held up a vial of what looked like an amber-coloured liquid. 'Dusty, did you put this in the medicine cabinet? Ronon does not remember seeing it when he unpacked things last night, and Mishta does not recognise it, either.'

Mishta was already pressing one of the aniseed lozenges from the medical provisions she'd sent along with them into Sheppard's hand and prepared his medication as Mehra took the vial from Teyla. 'Nope. I don't remember seeing that before. D'ya think it was already here and you didn't notice?'

'Pretty sure it wasn't,' Ronon grunted, looking down on Sheppard with dismay as Mishta tipped the foul concoction she'd given him a few nights ago to his lips. 'Don't like the idea someone put it there without us knowing.'

The taste almost set him hacking immediately, and he fought the urge to cough it back out, knowing it would do him good if he could keep it down. He popped the lozenge into his mouth and that overpowering flavour helped settle everything.

'Let me see that,' Rodney demanded, snatching the bottle from Mehra's fingers before she had a chance to respond to his request. He held it up to the light, examining it. 'It looks like…'

He disappeared out of the door and down a corridor to the left before finishing his sentence.

Mishta straightened up, watching him go. 'Looks like what?'

'I think I know,' Ronon mumbled, following the scientist's path.

A spike of pain passed through Sheppard's abdomen again, leaving him hissing through his gritted teeth. He writhed in his seat, finding it impossible to relieve the discomfort. A wash of cold flooded through him, and a surge of nausea threatened to make him expel the medicine he had only just been given. 'Guys…I don't feel so good,' he admitted, suddenly pitching forward as his strength left him.

Mishta caught him since she was closest, easing him from the seat and lowering him gently to the floor where he could lie out flat. It did little to ease his agony, and he rolled onto his side to curl into it, desperately trying to find some relief.

'John…John…tell us what is wrong. Where does it hurt?' Teyla asked, her voice calm but edged with that tiny hint of panic a situation like this always brought out in her.

'My guts...feels like I got shot,' he groaned, crying out as Teyla instructed the others to help her straighten him out so she could examine him. 'This is ridiculous. It wasn't even that good of a punch.'

'No offence, Sir. But you bust a blood vessel if you so much as sneeze at the moment, so this isn't all that hard to believe,' Mehra pointed out, as Teyla pushed up his shirts and began to press and probe his abdomen. He had to admit she had a point.

The pressure on his stomach set him writhing again, Mehra and Mishta struggling to hold him still as Teyla carried out her examination. 'This does not feel right,' she said, her brow puckered with concern. She pressed her fingers to the pulse point on his neck. 'Your heartbeat is rapid, and your abdomen is hard to the touch. I believe you have internal bleeding.'

The gravity of her words would most likely have had far more of an impact had he not already been so sick. 'Great. So, who's scrubbing up for surgery?'

'I do not believe that would be wise,' Teyla frowned, his joke completely escaping her as she seemed to run over what they could do in her mind.

'I was kidding,' he told her, wincing as another wave of pain hit. 'But seriously…I am not gonna die now and give that little bastard bragging rights over my death, so I'm not going anywhere.'

'I can fly to the physician and get help,' Mishta offered.

He grabbed her wrist before she could stand. 'Don't go.'

All three women fell silent. That one plea had said far more than he had dared put into words and they all seemed to understand its significance.

'I think you should stay,' Teyla said softly. 'Your presence brings him comfort.'

Mishta nodded, and took hold of his hand instead, gripping it tightly in her warm palms. He hadn't realised how cold he was until that moment, but he was shivering now. Uncontrollably so.

'Jemma, go fetch a blanket,' Mehra barked at their young charge.

He rolled his head in her direction, seeing the girl watching on with an odd level of detachment. He'd been barely able to leave her side for the past day, and now…as he lay gasping what might be his last breath, she seemed strangely calm.

'Jemma…now!'

The second demand resulted in Jemma pushing away from the wall she was leaning on and trudging from the room with no great haste. He could feel the anger oozing from Mehra as she watched her go. 'I swear to God I do not know what is wrong with that kid,' she grumbled, sliding back to give Mishta more room to be near Sheppard. 'And McKay gets the showers working in this place, she's definitely going in first 'cos she stinks like a dead skunk.'

'Is that better or worse than a live one?' he quipped, curling up again when her sputter of badly restrained laughter made him laugh too and the pain intensified.

'Maybe you should just rest,' Mishta suggested, stroking his forehead, as he unfurled a little. 'Leave the jokes to other people.'

He leaned into the gentleness of her touch. 'Yeah, you might be right about that.'

Teyla pushed up to her feet, now. 'I don't know what Rodney and Ronon are doing, I should find them so we can decide on a course of action.'

She didn't need to look far, as he appeared in the doorway just as she rose. In his hand he carried what looked suspiciously like a syringe filled with the same amber liquid he'd departed with. He approached purposefully, a look of excited determination curling his mouth into a crooked smile. 'Don't panic. There's a doctor in the house.' Then, apparently remembering his aversion to all things sharp and medical, he faltered to a stop and passed the syringe to Ronon who had returned hot on his heels. 'Here, perhaps you'd better give him this.'

'Let me,' Teyla insisted, and since she was the one out of the team with the advanced field medical training, that seemed like the best idea.

Sheppard still shrank back a little at her approach. 'Just hang on there. Don't you think you should tell me what that stuff is before you go sticking needles in me?'

'Enzyme,' McKay replied, matter of fact.

'Enzyme? How old is it?'

McKay stared back at him, seemingly non-plussed. 'I don't know. I didn't have time to carbon date it. I tested it, and the results say it's enzyme and it's active. And quite frankly, if it stops your insides from liquifying all over my equipment, I think it's worth a try.'

'Your equipment?' Sheppard echoed, narrowing his eyes at him.

'Perhaps we could argue over the semantics of Dr McKay's statement once we have saved your life,' Mishta suggested, squeezing his hand as if to tell him to hold his tongue.

He nodded and held out his arm, allowing Teyla access to the inside of his elbow joint where she slid the needle point directly into a vein. 'Not too much,' he warned, and she nodded before letting some of the contents go.

It took only seconds for the enzyme to begin its work.

A rush of adrenaline coursed through his body, making his heart beat fast and hard unlike the previously thready and pitiful beats it had strung together while desperately trying to find enough blood to pump around his vital organs. Within moments, all pain from his internal injury was gone and the congestion that had been making it hard for him to breath cleared. His vision became crystal clear, as if seeing everything in HD after looking through dirty windows. He felt brand new.

'Whoa!' he gasped, only then realising how tightly he was griping onto Mishta's hand as the enzyme worked its magic. She didn't seem to mind. Her eyes brimmed with tears of joy as his strength returned. He could literally feel the blood rush through him, replenishing his body with much needed oxygen.

He heard footsteps and then Jemma's face appeared over Teyla's shoulder. 'You won't be needing this then,' she said, dropping the blanket beside him. She seemed totally unphased by his sudden and unexplained recovery, just disgruntled that her efforts had been for nothing.

Mishta rose and offered him her support as he slowly stood and tested out his legs. They felt strong – stronger than they had in weeks. He felt alive again.

'Oh, man. That feels so good,' he grinned, feeling his body for any vestiges of the many injuries and ailments of his past few weeks. Everything was gone.

'Looking good, Sir,' Mehra told him, giving his shoulder a playful punch. For once, the contact didn't leave lasting pain.

'Feeling pretty good,' he admitted. 'Nice work, Rodney.' He couldn't help but notice Ronon wasn't looking exactly ecstatic about his recovery. 'What's up. Buddy?'

'I'm glad you're better…but I still don't like that we don't know where that enzyme came from.'

'Maybe we just missed it,' Mehra shrugged. 'I bet it was there all along.'

'It wasn't,' Ronon asserted.

'Perhaps your brother left it here…you know…like a surprise,' Mehra suggested to Mishta, hopeful for a happy solution to the conundrum. Sheppard had to admire her positivity; he had always been a 'glass is half-full' type of man himself.

'It's…possible,' Mishta replied, although her expression said it was unlikely. Considering his conversation with Lansha yesterday, Sheppard also thought it unlikely he wouldn't have mentioned it.

'Perhaps we should check the facility…just to put our minds at rest,' Teyla suggested. 'Does anyone have a weapon I can use?'

'Yours is in the jumper. I'll take you to it,' Ronon told her, clearly happy that they were listening to his concerns.

'You take the top two floors, Mishta and I will work our way up and meet you. Mehra, stay here and secure the control room until we get back.'

The sergeant looked mildly bemused, but grunted a 'Yes, Sir,' all the same. Sitting tight wasn't one of her strengths, but it felt wrong to ask Mishta to stay there with the guy who almost killed her and the kid who considered her a half-breed. She'd taken Tamrak's admission of guilt and apology pretty well, all things considered, and she and Jemma had exchanged no harsh words recently, but leaving them together with only McKay to referee was a recipe for disaster in anyone's books.

'Are you certain you are ready to do this?' Teyla asked as she approached him, her eyes scouring his face as if looking for signs of lingering sickness.

'This is the best I've felt in weeks, Teyla…maybe longer. So yeah…I'm certain,' he assured her, ready to do his bit to make sure they were safe.

She held his gaze only a moment longer, before giving a nod. He knew she understood this wasn't just something he needed to do to prove his physical strength, but something that would boost him psychologically, too.

Each team headed out, Sheppard snatching up his P-90 and taking point as Mishta followed on. They progressed silently, corridor to corridor, room to room, sweeping each to ensure they were clear. Sheppard really didn't have the vibe that someone was lurking, but he was careful anyway, conscious that the boost from the enzyme might have knocked his senses out of whack. Ronon wasn't exactly the paranoid type, and he wasn't forgetful either. As the last person to unload supplies into the medical store, he should have noticed the vial that had apparently been sitting so prominently when Mishta and Teyla had gone to retrieve treatments. The fact that had hadn't was cause enough to give them all pause.

Having completed a circuit of the lowest floor, Sheppard lead them both to a transporter, waving his hand over the sensor to open it up. The doors slid back and Sheppard signalled for silence, most likely a redundant act as Mishta was pretty good at this stuff and would already appreciate the need for stealth. Again, he took point, feeling Mishta pressed in close behind him, watching their six as they made steady progress through that second floor. This was their sleeping quarters, and they slipped in and out of each room disturbing as little as possible while making a thorough check. Nothing was out of place, and Sheppard had no impression of anyone lurking or watching them. With his senses heightened by the enzyme, he felt sure he would detect something if anyone were hiding out there.

As the door to Jemma's allocated room pulled back, they were both hit by an unholy stench so awful that he felt Mishta fall back, covering her nose and mouth until she brought an involuntary bout of dry heaving under control.

'Mehra's right about that shower,' he whispered, sidling over to the bed. The pillow looked dirty and stained…perhaps even a little bloody. What the hell was wrong with the kid. Was she sick or something? He figured he could ask Teyla to take a look at her once they were done with the search. She had a way about her that was sure to put Jemma at ease while she checked her out.

'That does not look good,' Mishta murmured, recoiling again as he threw back the top layer of blanket to reveal the heavily soiled bottom sheet. 'The stench of Phylacos is well in-grained into that little one.'

Despite having been incarcerated there for six months, Sheppard knew that wasn't what this smelled like, though the odour was familiar. 'Yeah, I'm thinking it might take more than one shower to scrub that out.'

Certain that the room was unoccupied, they back out, relieved to be away from the foul air. Sheppard activated his radio and spoke softly to his teammates. 'Ronon…Teyla…this is Sheppard. Report.'

'We have just completed our search of the third level. We found nothing,' Teyla instantly responded.

Sheppard allowed himself to acknowledge the warmth that hearing her voice brought to him. He had spent so long worrying he would never see her again he hadn't dared to believe he'd see this day. 'Same here. We'll meet you back at the control room. Sheppard out.'

He was about to head back when he felt a hand catch hold of his arm and stop him. Before he had time to question why, Mishta had him caught up in a clinch that took his breath away, the kiss that followed effectively stealing all the air in the passageway. And, oh boy, did it feel good. Before he realised, he had pulled her tight against him and was returning that kiss, for the first time allowing himself to fully enjoy it for what it was. No game playing, no teasing, just pure attraction.

When they finally parted – a little hot and flustered - Mishta looked embarrassed but unmistakably happy. He figured the smile spitting his face would tell her how he felt too. 'That was…nice,' he stammered, not sure exactly what to say.

'Yes…it was,' she replied, flashing an even more embarrassed smile before averting her gaze, and pushing back a strand of hair that was hanging in her eyes.

'We should…probably get back to the others,' he suggested, although that was actually the last thing he felt like doing.

'Yes…yes, we probably should,' she agreed, although she looked a little crest fallen.

As she started to turn away from him he thought better of his instruction, and instead caught her face in his hands and kissed her, the first time he had initiated such an exchange. For a second or two she seemed to freeze, utterly astonished that he had reciprocated her advances. Then her hands snaked up his back and formed a tight lock on his body, determining that he wasn't allowed to pull back until she was good and ready to let him go. Not that he minded in the least. He was in no rush to end things.

Once again, they eventually came up for air, and this time Sheppard knew they had to stop or this was going to overwhelm them. Much as he would love to completely lose himself in the company of the beautiful creature before him for a few hours, there were other things that needed his attention right now that just couldn't wait, like helping Rodney get the base up and fully functioning.

No words necessary, he caught hold of her hand and tugged her gently toward the transporter. He could feel her disappointment that the moment was over, but she didn't resist or try to persuade him to give them more time. He was glad of that, because now she was free of her commitment, he supposed it was only right to give her time to figure out exactly what it was she wanted from life. If after some thought he still figured in her plans, maybe this time he wouldn't say no. He had a feeling it would be worth it, even if they both knew their relationship would be a short-lived one.

oooOOOooo

Valkalar was so deeply engrossed in his work in his laboratory that it took far longer than it should have for the insistent pounding on his door to filter through to him.

With an exaggerated sigh he slipped from his seat, trudging over to deactivate the lock he'd earlier encoded to keep out his bothersome lackies while he tried to concentrate on work rather than the missing human and his traitorous servant.

As the door pulled back, three of his most grovelling minions practically spilled through the opening. 'Prince Valkalar…my Prince. You must come with us. We need to get you to safety,' the most senior, Altak, blustered.

'Safety? What in the name of all that is divine are you talking about?' Valkalar demanded, snatching his arm free as another of the servants now sullying his laboratory tried to grasp it and pull him out of the room. 'Get your hands off me.'

'We are under attack, my Prince,' Altak informed him. 'We must get you to safety.'

That made no sense. Their tribe wasn't at odds with anyone. 'Under attack…from whom?' he demanded, still resisting their attempts to lead him away.

'The Reliquiae.'

Valkalar's blood froze in his veins. The Reliquiae. Why were they here? Why now? Had they somehow found out what he was trying to do. 'My…my work…I can't just leave it,' he stammered, trying to decide what to grab first.

Explosions from outside rattled the building he was in right down there in its foundations. 'My Prince…please. There's no time. You have to hide now,' Altak insisted, as he and another servant caught Valkalar's arms in an attempt to lead him away.

Valkalar was so close to unlocking the Wraith's genome he couldn't bear to leave everything behind. 'Just give me a few more moments,' he insisted, ripping himself free of their grip. 'I need to gather some things.'

'But Prince, they are almost upon us,' Altak protested, his voice rising in pitch along with his barely controlled panic.

Valkalar refused to budge, glaring at his underlings who dared to continue to challenge him. 'This is important. Get up there and hold them at bay until I can collect my work.'

His unarmed underlings stared open-mouthed, no doubt understanding what their fate would be if they followed his order. Valkalar pulled a gun from his workstation and waved it around, vaguely aiming at all of them. 'Get up there and hold them back!' he commanded them, and this time they all withdrew via the door they had entered through, the sound of their feet mounting the staircase outside gradually fading out of earshot.

Immediately snatching up a tablet, Valkalar began to download the data his programme has extrapolated thus far. While it did that, he carefully gathered up the remaining tissue samples and vials of Teyla's blood he still held and placed them in a refrigerated container, picking up both that and the tablet once the download was complete.

A distant scream assailed his ears, causing him to freeze. The drawn-out wail spoke of agonies far beyond anything he cared to imagine for himself, and he soon realised leaving his lab by the normal route was not likely a wise option.

Hurrying to the back of the lab, he set down his things just long enough to haul a storage unit away from the wall, revealing an air duct cover concealed behind it. Once again collecting his vital samples and data, he uncovered the duct, pushed the items inside, then climbed in after them, being sure to pull the cover shut behind him.

As he crawled and squeezed his way through the narrow metal structure, the thumps of explosions and metallic screeches of aircraft echoed all around him, almost causing him to lose his way. He'd memorised a route through to the docking bay for the royal craft quite some time ago, always fearing that someone would eventually realise his work was more than just a mere hobby and determine to bring it to an end.

Screams of the less fortunate Birajans now falling prey to the Reliquiae met his ears at every turn. He crawled faster – as fast as his bulk in such confined quarters would allow – finally reaching the hatch that would give way to the docking bay he was so desperately trying to reach.

But as he spilled from the hatch, he found their crafts ablaze, already sabotaged. All courage leaving him, he stared in open-mouthed horror as, one by one, four Reliquiae emerged from the shadows of carnage and circled in on him.

One with red locks stepped forward and plucked at his waistcoat, before settling her gaze on his face. 'Fine clothing. I assume you are of noble descent?'

Valkalar, raised his chin and puffed out his chest in a false show of bravado. 'I am Prince Valkalar of the Rammarant Tribe. How dare you trespass on my family's property.'

One of the other Reliquiae to his left let out a throaty hiss, but this one in front of him, the one who seemed to have deemed herself some kind of spokesperson, merely grinned, baring her foul, razor sharp teeth in a display that left him trembling despite his best attempts to front this out.

'That is fortunate…because you are exactly the Birajan we were looking for.'

Tamrak…this had to be because of Tamrak. The damned fool had managed to get himself captured and eaten by these monsters and he'd told them everything about his experiments as they tore the flesh from his bones. Worthless little traitor.

'I…I see…And what brings you to my home with such aggression? I hope you plan to compensate me for the loss of property and life? Good servants are very hard to find.'

This red-haired Reliquiae cocked her head, as did the others, as if such a concept were completely alien to them. Then a weird, garbled rumble seemed to come from all sides of him at once, and it took a moment or two longer for him to realise they were laughing. They were all laughing at him.

'You wish for compensation?' the red-haired creature rasped, the smile now slipping from her face. 'It was your kind that helped to oppress us all these years. Working with Akalus to keep what we required for sustenance from being plentifully available. We lost much over the millennia, including property and lives. Where is our compensation?'

His throat dried. It was true that his ancestors had formed part of an alliance working to keep any attempted rise of the Reliquiae supressed and unattainable. He himself had signed off on sending personnel to join a force tasked with monitoring the dangerous creatures to ensure they could not do anything to assist in returning their remaining sisterhood to full health. He had no way of denying what they most likely already knew.

'I…I have money…'

'We have no need for your money,' she growled, leaning in over him. 'But we are told there is something you possess which we do require.'

He instinctively clutched the tablet and case to his chest a little tighter, and the Reliquia's eyes moved to it, then met his gaze again. She reached out a rangy limb, waiting for him to hand what he was so possessively grasping over to her.

Valkalar inwardly cursed Tamrak again. Not only had he stolen the source of his sample materials, but he'd also now caused the Reliquiae to take away his work. This pathetic creature would pay once he got his hands on him.

'And what will you give me in return?' he asked, trying to keep the tremor from his voice. He would not be cowed in his own home.

She blinked back at him a moment, then replied simply, 'Your life.'

That had the effect of humbling him in an instant. With shaking hands, he passed the tablet and samples to the towering Reliquia before him. 'I accept your terms.'

The Reliquia passed the case to one of her companions and fired up the tablet, opening files and casting her gaze over his work as far as it went. Gradually, a slight smile curled her lips, and she nodded, shutting down the files and taking the sample case from her companion, opening it to check its contents. A dozen well cushioned vials of blood met her greedy gaze. 'You have done us a great service, Birajan. With the work you have completed, we will soon have what we need to return to our former state.'

Valkalar swallowed deeply, the thought that he had handed the key to the Reliquiae's rise back to power straight to them to save his own life giving even him pause for thought. But he really couldn't be held responsible. Tamrak was the one who had given them the details of his work, and even if he refused to hand it over now, they would have taken it from him anyway. Better to live another day and perhaps resume his search for Teyla so he could start over once again. He knew a few useful sorts who would likely be able to track her down, given enough financial incentive. But Valkalar being Valkalar, he couldn't resist the urge to save face in defeat. 'I at least expect compensation for the loss of my servants,' he insisted as the Reliquia before him turned to leave, his conceit demanding at least some recompense for his troubles.

He immediately regretted his arrogance. The Reliquia turned back toward him, eyes glistening with ferocity. She uttered only one word. 'Feast.'

Valkalar didn't even have time to scream before his life was brought to an abrupt and brutal end.


A/N: Aaaannndd...Merry Christmas! It's a bit of a dark moment to finish on, but Valkalar wasn't exactly a sympathetic character, so consider his demise an early Christmas present. And Sheppard is saved for now, so that's another little present, too.222

I won't be posting again until after the New Year because I'm taking a break over the Christmas holidays. So I wish everyone reading who celebrates it a very Merry Christmas, and also wish everyone a much happier and healthier new year. 2021 has eventually got to be better that 2020...hasn't it? Fingers crossed! Take care. :)