Mal released his radio. "Where in the hell is he and why isn't he answering?"

Lee shrugged. "Knowing my brother he's found some neat little techy thing that has occupied his attention. He's like a dog chasing a squirrel, nothing will tear his attention away from it."

"Well, we need to find him, squirrel or not." He grinned at her.

"Fine, I'll go this way." Lee waved a hand to the west.

"Radio if you find him." Mal spun away and started in the opposite direction.

"I'll ... uh ... go this way I guess ..." Van looked from Mal to Lee with a sigh, turned and tromped off.

Oliver spun and kicked at the Alliance soldier that lunged at him, clocked the man in the head and watched as the guy dropped to the ground. He had barely a second's reprieve before two more were on him. "You know, this isn't really fair. How about we take a breather and I'll get my team here and even things up a little, what do you say boys?"

"Shut up," one of the men snapped.

"All of you are idiots," another said before he pulled a weapon and shot Oliver. "Oh, look I stunned him. Grab him and let's go, you morons. Nesrin isn't going to remain in orbit long, we need to get him up to the ship before they notice he's missing."

Oliver's radio crackled. "Oliver, where in the hell are you?"

"Too late," one of the men said with a smirk.

"Shut up," the leader of the little group said before he leaned down and clicked the radio off. "Let's go."

They hauled Oliver to the waiting shuttle and took off. "Nesrin, we're on our way. We got our hands on Dr. Kain."

"Good, get here as quickly as you can. I don't need to remind you that we need to accomplish our plan before they realize what's happening do I, Fordal?"

"I know, we're nearly to the ship."

"Perfect, bring him straight to me once you're on board."

"Yes, ma'am." They landed and dragged the unconscious Oliver straight to Nesrin.

She grinned when they stepped into the room. "Put him in the chair." She waved a hand to indicate where she wanted Oliver placed. While the men settled him into the chair she picked up a small device from a nearby table and stepped closer. "It is time to put an end to SG-1 and their facility on Earth at long last." She clicked the device on and held it in front of Oliver.

The men stepped back to allow her to work. It took little time for her to complete the task and turn the device off. She placed it back on the table where she'd retrieved it earlier and returned to prod Oliver awake.

"Dr. Kain?"

He made a small snuffling sound, blinked his eyes open and looked up at her. A small smile appeared on his face. "Nesrin."

She returned his smile. "It's good to see you're feeling better."

He rubbed a hand over his face. "Yes, much thank you."

"Well, if you're feeling up to it I have a few questions I'd like you to answer."

"Yes, of course. How can I help?" He smiled brightly. "Your hair looks beautiful today. Have you done something to it? I think it's a much richer shade of red today."

"We don't have time for pleasantries, Dr. Kain. Tell me how to get to Atlantis."

"Well, you can Gate in from the SGC, but that would require a massive amount of power. We'd probably need a ZPM. Even if you did manage it, you'd need a GDO to signal them to lower the shield or you'd go splat."

"GDO?"

"Garage door opener."

"What is a garage door?" she asked

"It's, well ... it has nothing to do with the Gate, it's just a term we use for the device that sends the signal to let our people on the other end know who it is and that it is safe to open the iris or shield and let us through."

"And you have one of these devices?"

"Of course, we all do."

She held out a hand. "Give it to me."

"That would be kind of difficult to accomplish," he replied.

"Are you refusing a command?" She narrowed her eyes on him.

He shook his head. "No, of course not!" He tapped a finger against his arm. "It's a small device embedded under the skin. It employs the same sort of intuitive technology that a lot of the Ancient technology uses."

"And if I dug it out?"

He shrugged. "I can't say whether it would continue to work or not, I never asked."

She nodded slowly and appeared to consider his words. "Then we'll worry about it later. Can we dial Atlantis from any Gate?"

"I can't answer that. It might be possible but to dial Earth from Atlantis it requires an extra control crystal. It could be the same for the DHD devices here. The SGC uses a computer system instead of the standard DHD device."

"DHD device?"

"Yes, sorry that is what we call the pedestal device that you use to dial to the Gate. Again, I must stress that it takes a massive amount of power to dial Atlantis."

"Yes, I understand. I'll figure something out. Now, do you know your mission?"

"Yes, to return to Stargate Command and find a way to activate the Gate and allow the Alliance onto the base without anyone realizing you're there until it's too late."

Her grin grew. "Yes. Now we must return you to the planet's surface before SG-1 realizes you're missing. You are not to raise any suspicions, understand?"

"Yes, Nesrin. I will do what I must to open the Gate for the Alliance. No one will suspect a thing. I am and always will be loyal to the Alliance. I live to serve you."

She patted his cheek. "Yes, you do." She looked at the men who were waiting quietly. "Fordal, return him to the planet and make certain they do not see you."

"Yes, Nesrin." He bowed and stepped toward Oliver.

Oliver slapped his hand away when Fordal reached to take his arm. "I can walk on my own, you oaf." He glanced at Nesrin. "I suggest you give your Seconds a lesson in manners, I was treated very badly. If you wanted a meeting all they had to do was ask, I am loyal to you."

"Of course. They will behave much better in the future, I assure you." She sent Fordal a pointed look.

"Yes, Nesrin," Fordal replied tightly. "Shall we?" he asked Oliver with a wave of a hand toward the door.

Oliver gave Nesrin a nod and led the way from the room.

Fordal grumbled as he followed Oliver down the corridor.

"If you have an issue with me, Fordal, do tell me," Oliver said without turning to look at the other man.

"I have no problems," Fordal replied.

"Good to know."

If it was up to Fordal, he'd drop kick the bastard out the nearest airlock but Nesrin believed in this plan. All of it. He gleaned back toward Nesrin's quarters and shook his head when he saw her enter the room with a huge grin on her face. The mind control technology was sound, it had served them well in the past. He took a seat in the ship and allowed one of the other men to pilot. He kept a close eye on Dr. Kain. Of all the members of SG-1, they knew the least about him. He'd joined the team a short time ago. He hoped this plan worked because he knew if it didn't then Nesrin would likely blame him. Those who failed her rarely lived long and he had little desire to find himself facing the pointy end of one of her knives. They landed on the planet and exited the ship. He held out a small device. "Use this to contact us when it's time. Depress this button and it will send a signal, when the light turns green that means the signal was received."

Oliver took it and tucked it into a pocket. "I'll do my best to make this happen as soon as I can. The longer I wait the harder it will be to remain in that place without telling them exactly what I think of them. They're so righteous." He shuddered. "I look forward to being back with the Alliance."

"Of course. Good luck." Fordal turned away and called his men to get on board so they could leave before they were discovered.

Oliver remained where he stood and watched as the ship left. Once it was out of sight, he turned and headed back toward the Gate. As he stepped out of the trees he nearly collided with Lee.

"Dammit, Ollie, where have you been?"

"Exploring, isn't that what we're supposed to be doing?" He tried hard to keep the bite out of his retort.

"Yes, of course, but you haven't been answering your radio! We were worried."

He looked down with a frown. "I guess I turned it off." He shrugged.

"Turned it off? Why the hell would you do that?"

"I don't know, I don't even remember doing it, maybe I hit it by accident. Relax, it's no big deal. I'm perfectly fine!" he insisted.

She reached out and flipped the torn piece of fabric on his sleeve. "Right, fine, what happened here?"

He looked at his sleeve. "Not sure, must have gotten it caught on something."

"Whatever. Did you find anything interesting?"

He shook his head "Nope, lots of trees and dirt."

"Great, good, let's go." She turned and stalked away. "Colonel, I found my idiot brother. He accidentally shut his radio off."

"Well get back here so we can head home."

"Yes, sir." She looked at Oliver. "Let's go before you get lost again," she muttered.

"Hey, I was not lost! I was exploring! Which, by the way, is our job!"

"Yes, it is, but it is also your job to stay in radio contact so we don't panic and think you're dead."

"Still afraid after Mal nearly bought it?" he asked with a chuckle.

She spun to face him. "Shove it, Ollie! We've run into the Alliance one too many times for my liking in the past. All we need is for them to get their paws on you with all your knowledge of not only the Stargate but Atlantis and its technology."

"No one is going to get their paws on me, relax."

"Oliver, the Alliance isn't something you should mess with. Do not underestimate Nesrin, she's one crafty bitch. We have come too close to losing people to them. I don't want to lose you."

He rolled his eyes. "Stop being so bitchy. I'm not an idiot. If you'll remember I'm a damn sight smarter than you even on a bad day. Stop attacking me as if I'm a child, Leonore. You might be older but I'm smarter. Maybe you should remember that." He shoved past her and left her standing there staring after him.

"What the hell was that?" she asked herself as she watched him go. Yeah, Oliver was smarter than her, they both knew it, but he had never, ever, shoved it in her face like that. Yes, he joked about it but he'd never been mean about it. And he certainly had never called her bitchy. Even when Caleb Andrews dumped her the last day of senior year because he thought it was time to be a grown up and she was just his high school girlfriend. She'd spent the entire summer angry and snapped at everyone over the tiniest things. Oliver had stood by her, tried to soothe her, and told her that Caleb was a loser and a total idiot for dumping her. So why now would he suddenly believe she was being bitchy? There was something not right about this entire situation. She hurried after him.

"Oliver, wait up!"

He stopped and spun to face her. "Why? So you can try and baby me some more? Go baby Malachy, make sure he's still among the living! I am not a child, Leonore! I joined SG-1 because I was worried about you, not so you could treat me like an idiot who can't take care of himself! Back off!" He stomped away, heading for the Gate in the distance.

Yeah, that was not the Oliver she knew. Then again, they'd been under a lot of stress lately. What with the mission where they thought Colonel Hughes was dead, the both of them contracting the disease that attacked the ATA gene and Elias breathing down their necks day in and day out, maybe her brother needed a break. She sighed. "We all need a break." She started after him.

"It's about time you two got here," Van said when they arrived at the Gate.

"Dial us home, Van," Mal told him.

"Yes, sir!"

Lee watched her brother as Van dialed. He wasn't acting out of the ordinary, other than his earlier outburst. The Gate connected and Van scampered forward to step through the event horizon. Oliver followed.

"Captain?"

"What? Sorry, lost in thought."

Mal chuckled. "After you." He gestured toward the Gate.

"Such a gentleman," she told him while batting her eyelashes.

"Just go."

She stepped through with a laugh. Van and Oliver were stepping off the ramp when she came through. She threw her hands in the air and grinned. "Home sweet home!" She heard Oliver snort in response to her statement before he turned and stalked out of the Gate room. She moved down the ramp to stop beside Van. The Colonel joined them a few seconds later.

"It's good to be home," Mal said.

"Hey, did you two notice anything ... off about Oliver?" she asked.

Van shrugged. "No. Off how?"

"I don't know, weird. Out of the ordinary, strange. You know, weird? He snapped at me and called me bitchy. He also told me he was smarter than I am."

"Uh ... he is." Van frowned at her.

"Yeah, I know that. He knows that. He's never felt the need to shove it in my face before."

"Come on, Captain, he's fine. Have you two ever worked this closely together before?" Mal asked.

"Well, no but—"

"Then don't sweat it. I'm sure he's feeling a little stressed. Take a break from one another. We don't have another mission coming up for a few days, I'm sure he'll be fine after some rest." He slapped her lightly on the back and headed for the door.

"Van ..."

"Mal is probably right. Just give Oliver a little space and I'm sure he'll relax and probably apologize."

She watched the two of them go. "No, something's not right." She trusted her instincts. Oliver wasn't acting like himself and she needed to keep an eye on him. At least until she was certain he was all right.