• Akaeda didn’t realize she’d fallen asleep until she sat up with wide eyes. Some sound had yanked her back from forgetful dreams, but she couldn’t remember what it was. A roar of angry human voices outside her hut caught her attention. Did they find Kalgen? The fear that thought produced nearly made her curl up, but she forced herself to creep to the door and peer out.

    Jaeus and the other villagers had cornered Sheppard’s team against the wall of her hut, their faces full of hate. “You expect us to believe you didn’t bring that Wraith bird here?” One of the throng demanded.

    “Like I said, we don’t like the Wraith any more than you do,” Sheppard growled, his patience clearly running out. The morning light glinted off the metal on his weapon.

    Suddenly, a high screech Akaeda knew all too well pierced the birdsong. The Wraith dart’s approach scattered the villagers as it dove out of the sky like a black lighting-bolt…Sheppard’s team was alone.

    Panic now rising to the front of her mind, Akaeda threw open her door. There was only one place safe to hide in now; Kalgen’s ship. What about the ‘Lanteans? Akaeda’s mind demanded. They aren’t at fault. Her nervousness rising hundreds-fold, she tugged on Sheppard’s sleeve. “This way, come on,” she hissed and ran for the safety of the woods.

    “Wait a second,” Sheppard protested once they were beneath the trees. “Where are we going?”

    Akaeda clutched a branch. “Somewhere safe. No weapons, though,” she whispered. “You would kill my…you would hurt the one who’s there before he could explain.”

    Teyla’s face was kind even though she was frowning. “Akaeda, Jaeus said you do not talk to anyone. Why are you speaking to us now?”

    “Be-because I don’t want you hurt.” An image flashed to her mind; a Wraith that wasn’t a Wraith. She shrank closer to the tree. “Please, leave your weapons.”

    McKay was already removing his small one. “What?” He demanded when three pairs of eyes turned towards him. “I’d rather leave my gun here and not be eaten than to take it with me and have to use it.”

    Eventually, Sheppard’s team buried their weapons beneath branches—though Ronon didn’t give his up without much protest. Akaeda at once headed deeper into the woods following a trail that Kalgen had showed to her then destroyed. That one image had only been the start of several, slow, frightening memories that made her run faster as if she could run from them. She didn’t care if the others were having trouble; these memories struck a terror in her she hadn’t felt since being with Him.

    An iron hand suddenly closed around her arm and jerked her to a stop. Ronon’s face was stone hard with anger. “Are you a Wraith worshipper?” He snarled and pointed at the Wraith cruiser looming ahead of them. “You’re leading us from one culling to another!”

    Akaeda trembled; this man was like…she screamed and struggled to get free, but the man’s grip was too strong. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she babbled, “No, no, no, no! Let me go! No! Get away from me!” Finally her words died away and she just clutched her head with her free hand and cried out. She couldn’t get herself out of it.

    The screech of a Wraith stunner preceded the blue bolt that hit Ronon’s arm, numbing it. No longer being held up, Akaeda stumbled backwards and fell to her knees, her screams marginally quieter. Like a black bolt of lightning, Kalgen rushed over. Akaeda quickly found herself cocooned in black leather. Kalgen’s soft mental reassurance was mingled with relief that she hadn’t been caught. The terror vanished remarkably fast until Akaeda was trembling and wide-eyed, parts she could deal with on her own.

    Tilting Akaeda’s head back, Kalgen started into her eyes before nodding in encouragement and satisfaction. Very slowly, he stood up. Akaeda rose with him, though she still clutched his outfit. If she let go, the memories might come back again.

    Sheppard’s team had frozen in surprise, Sheppard and Teyla reaching for weapons that weren’t there. “What in the heck is this?” Sheppard demanded slowly, his confusion warring with his hate of the Wraith. “And what just happened?”