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Dr. Rush directs a shuttle to a planet inaccessible by Stargate – but a crash landing threatens to strand those on board. Meanwhile, Rush makes a stunning discovery on Destiny, and Young must decide what to do with his prisoners.

EPISODE #202
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: 10.05.2010
SYNDICATION AIR DATE: 09.19.2011
WRITTEN BY: Robert C. Cooper
DIRECTED BY: Will Waring
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Transcript by Callie Sullivan

DESTINY. RUSH'S QUARTERS. Asleep in his quarters, Nicholas Rush is dreaming -- or, rather, he is reliving his torture at the hands of Dannic while he was in David Telford's body on Earth. He remembers writhing in agony on the floor of the Goa'uld cargo ship, screaming as Dannic jolts him yet again with the taser. In his memory he rolls over in pain, gasping and dragging in a breath.

RUSH (anguished): You're gonna kill me.

(Nick snaps awake and sits up on the bed, staring into the darkness in distress.)


CONTROL INTERFACE ROOM. Some time later he walks into the Control Interface Room where Lisa Park looks up from her console in surprise.

PARK: I thought you were gonna get some sleep.

RUSH (wearily): Yeah, so did I.

(He walks over to his console and looks at the screen. There are several pages on it but the most prominent one is lined in red. He looks sideways at Lisa.)

RUSH: What's going on here, then?

PARK: Some sort of crash. The interface has frozen.

RUSH: Yeah? Why didn't you call me?

PARK: Well, I was gonna try a re-start first. That's fixed it in the past.

(Consulting his notebook, Rush is busily typing on his console as she speaks. Almost immediately the red page beeps and disappears, and the other pages follow suit, apparently returning the console to its normal state. Lisa looks at him in surprise.)

PARK: What did you just do?

RUSH: Seems to have fixed the problem.

PARK: Yeah, I can see that. How?

(She starts to walk towards his console but he is already strolling out of the room.)

RUSH: Good night, Doctor Park. Glad to see you have everything well in hand.

PARK: W-wait! Where are you going?

RUSH: For a walk. You get into trouble next time, call me.

(Lisa stares after him in frustration but he keeps walking. He goes to an elevator and pushes the wall panel to unlock and open the doors. Stepping inside and looking around rather furtively as if to check that nobody is nearby, he presses a combination of buttons on the elevator wall panel and the doors close. The elevator takes him to another part of the ship where he walks towards a control pad on a wall. To the left of him is a large complicated-looking wall with several circular inserts and lit panels, and a large red light above it. He looks at the pad for a moment and presses four of the buttons on it, apparently entering a combination code. Immediately the largest circular insert on the wall begins to spin and we realise that this is a much larger version of the door locks all around the ship. The lock finishes spinning and the entire wall drops down into the floor, revealing another set of doors behind it. These look far more ornate, almost as if carved. Nicholas looks at the doors for a moment, then turns back to the wall pad and presses a larger button. The doors slide open revealing a large room inside and anyone who has ever seen any science fiction episode featuring a starship realises immediately -- simply from the look of the room -- that Nicholas has found Destiny's Bridge.)

(He walks to a railing just inside the door and looks around the room before walking down a few steps into the main area and looking at one of the several consoles. He pushes a button and, one by one, the various consoles and panels around the room light up, and lights come on above the central command chair. A few moments later the entire room begins to move and what looked like three large screens at the front of the room begin to clear, revealing themselves to actually be windows. The Bridge is rising up out of its position tucked away safely inside the top of 1the ship, and now it lifts up until the windows are clear of all obstruction and can see ahead of the ship as she flies through the F.T.L. vortex. Nicholas walks to the central window and looks out at the view for a while, then sits down at one of the consoles, gets out his notebook and flicks through it. Suddenly a totally unexpected voice speaks.)

GLORIA: You're not going to tell anyone, are you?

(Nick turns and sees his wife -- his dead wife -- sitting in a chair at a nearby console and smiling at him.)

RUSH (shocked): Gloria.

GLORIA: Your programme finally worked; unlocked the master code.

(Nick frowns at her, bewildered. She smiles calmly back at him.)

GLORIA: You found the keys to controlling all of Destiny's systems -- everything. And you're not gonna tell anyone, are you?


CAMILLE'S QUARTERS. Ginn of the Lucian Alliance has been brought to talk with Camille Wray. The two women sit opposite each other while an armed Ronald Greer stands nearby, keeping an eye on Ginn.

GINN: Ancient legend said the address led to great understanding. It could make you as powerful as the gods.

WRAY (smiling cynically): Which gods?

(Ginn smiles awkwardly.)

GINN: Don't ask me. I assume it meant god-like power, like the ascended Ancients. If you could control time and space ...

WRAY: Wait. You think that Destiny is capable of that?

GINN: I don't know. That's what the legend said. You asked me why the Lucian Alliance wanted the ship so badly. Why are you here?

WRAY: I'm trying to understand your perspective.

GINN: You really want me to go over the last twelve or thirteen years? The how and the why of the Lucian Alliance?

(Camille gestures as if to say that that's exactly what she would like.)

GINN: They're warlords. On my home planet they would burn our farms so we had nothing to eat but the food they supplied. They told our teachers what to teach. Children were given weapons and trained to fight. Two years ago I was taken by a gang at gunpoint and told if I didn't join the Alliance guard, my family was going to be murdered.

WRAY (a little cynically): So you're saying that you had no choice in any of this.

(Ginn bites back what she might have been about to say.)

GINN: We're not getting enough food.

WRAY: None of us are. We haven't been able to replenish our supplies in some time.

GINN: You're saying we could all starve?

WRAY: Yes.

GINN: What are you gonna do with us? You can't keep us locked in that hold forever.

WRAY: That hasn't been determined yet.

GINN: Colonel Young is going to make that decision?

(Camille glances at Greer momentarily.)

WRAY: I will have a say.

GINN: Some of us have been co-operative.

WRAY: Yes, you have.

GINN: There's more we can do. There are those among us who are no danger to you. Please -- give us a chance to prove it to you.


HOLD. The doors to the Alliance members' prison cell opens and several Earth guards escort David Telford into the room. Still limping and favouring his injured stomach, he hobbles over to a crate and sits down on it. Varro joins him as the guards leave again.

VARRO: What are they going to do with us?

TELFORD: They didn't tell me anything. I'm a traitor.

VARRO: You know Young. What'll he do?

TELFORD: I used to know him. Trust me, he's changed.

(Frustrated and angry, Varro stands up and walks away. Telford sighs.)`


MESS. Darren Becker is doling out rations to those in the room. He drops a single spoonful of what looks like mashed potato onto Dale Volker's tray and shrugs apologetically at him.

VOLKER: You've gotta be kidding me!

(He goes over to sit down at a table with Lisa, Eli Wallace, Adam Brody and Hunter Riley.)

VOLKER: It's hardly worth sitting down!

(Airman Dunning grumpily walks past.)

DUNNING: Yeah, maybe we shouldn't be giving our rations to the enemy.

RILEY: They're human beings. They have rights. How we treat prisoners of war says everything about us as a moral and civil society.

(Brody sniggers quietly. Eli looks at Riley with a bemused frown on his face.)

WALLACE: Which pamphlet did you get that from?!

RILEY: It's what I believe.

PARK: I don't care how secure they are. I can't sleep knowing there's a room full of people on this ship who would kill me first chance they got.


YOUNG'S QUARTERS. Camille has come to talk to Everett Young.

WRAY: You know, H.R. was my job on Icarus.

YOUNG: And psych evals are T.J.'s responsibility.

WRAY: She's gonna need some time. It's gonna be hard enough for her to fulfil her duties as medic.

YOUNG (dismissively): Great. Fine. Thanks.

(Standing up from the table where he has been sitting, he picks up a water bottle and carries it across to the sofa area. Pointedly he sits down with his back to her.)

WRAY: The I.O.A. reports our conflict with the Lucian Alliance in the Milky Way is escalating. Intel suggests they may be planning an attack on Earth.

YOUNG: Have you learned anything from the prisoners?

WRAY: Not yet. It would help if I could reassure them that we're not just gonna pump them for information and then dump them on the next planet.

YOUNG: Really?! (He smiles bitterly at her.) Well, they dumped us on a planet to die. Is everyone on board willing to starve for them?

WRAY: We haven't come to that point yet.

(Young stands up and walks around the sofa to her.)

YOUNG: How ugly are you willing to let this get, Camille? I'm just asking because I don't think this has anything to do with the proper treatment of P.O.W.s and you know it They tried to kill us, and we do not have the capability to hold onto these prisoners over the long haul.

WRAY: They're not all dangerous. If you would just read my report ...

YOUNG: "I was just following orders" is a claim that I've heard before. People will say anything to save themselves, Camille.

WRAY: So we're just gonna leave them on the next viable planet and then wash our hands of it?

YOUNG: Let's hope we find a "viable planet".

(Pointedly, he walks to the doors and slaps the wall button to open them. Camille sighs, realising that their conversation is over whether she likes it or not.)


BRIDGE. Gloria is still sitting in the seat watching Nicholas work.

GLORIA: You thought this was gonna be easier, didn't you? Thought all you'd need to do is turn the key.

RUSH: This ship -- its systems were designed to be run by an entire crew.

GLORIA: Well, you have a crew.

RUSH: Yeah, a crew that knows what they're doing.

GLORIA: This is what you wanted.

RUSH: You know, the Ancients never intended Destiny to operate on its own.

(He looks round at Gloria, who is smiling at him smugly. He straightens up awkwardly.)

RUSH: They were supposed to come here in person. There was a point to this mission -- there had to be.

GLORIA: And yet the first thing you did was turn the autopilot system back on.

RUSH: Until I can be sure I know how to use each function. Wouldn't want to stop accidentally in range of another binary pulsar, would I?

GLORIA: Good plan!

RUSH: You see, right now I'm trying to understand why Destiny stops at some planets and not others.

GLORIA: Maybe they're just rest stops designed to let people get out, stretch their legs, smell the roses ...

(Irritated, Nicholas turns away from her, slapping his notebook onto the console.)

GLORIA: ... but in the grand scheme of Destiny's greater mission, not very important.

RUSH: Certainly environments can change significantly through the years, become dangerous even. But that would mean Destiny's got some kind of real-time sub-space link to the Gates. And look here ...

(He points to a readout on a screen.)

RUSH: ... this planet we're approaching: different classification entirely -- not merely locked out but it seems to be non-functional.

GLORIA: So it seems.

RUSH (sarcastically): So very helpful.

GLORIA: Do you remember the long walks we used to take in the gardens back home?

(Nicholas grimaces and tries to ignore her.)

GLORIA: Wherever we were, we'd always find a quiet place to call our own.

RUSH: That's it. We need food now. This planet we're approaching should be rich in plant life.

GLORIA: Big red X generally means "danger -- don't go there," doesn't it?

(Nicholas frowns and turns around to face her.)

RUSH: Is this your only purpose -- to question my actions?

GLORIA: So, what are you gonna do?

RUSH: Oh, well, I'll take that as a "yes," then.

(He turns back to the console and activates some controls. Destiny drops out of F.T.L. and enters normal space.)


GATEROOM. The countdown clock is running and Young, Eli, Brody and Riley are discussing this unexpected stop.

WALLACE: There has to be a reason that Destiny dropped out.

RUSH (walking in): There is.

YOUNG: Where've you been?

RUSH: Busy. We're in range of a planet that looks like it may have food and water.

YOUNG: Riley says there are no Gates.

RUSH: Shuttle range.

(Eli looks at the console screen.)

WALLACE: Wow. Look at that.

BRODY: Well, how does Destiny have data on a planet with no Gate on it?

RUSH: Well, there is a Gate on it. It appears to be non-functioning.

RILEY: So Destiny just happened to drop out close enough for us to use the shuttle? That's convenient.

RUSH: Well, it's not magic! As I've been doing all along, I've been telling Destiny any way I can how short of resources we are.

YOUNG: Well, we'll send a team.

RUSH: OK. I suggest we land close to the Gate; try and determine why it's not working; maybe even repair it.

WALLACE: The shuttle trip'll take just under an hour.

(He looks at the countdown clock.)

WALLACE: Less than seven hours total. That's not much time.

YOUNG: However, if we can get the Gate operational, we'll be able to transport a lot more food and water than the shuttle.

BRODY: Two Gates cannot dial each other in this close a proximity.

RUSH: This planet may well be in range the next time we drop out of F.T.L. If we can get the Gate active, we might be able to dial back down the line.

YOUNG: You wanna go?

RUSH: No-no, I should stay here.

YOUNG: Well, what's more important right now ...?

RUSH: Well there's a number of systems that's been malfunctioning of late. I'm working on those, actually.


INFIRMARY. Tamara (T.J.) Johansen is packing equipment for an offworld mission. She looks up and smiles briefly at Young as he walks in.

JOHANSEN: Sir.

YOUNG: T.J.

JOHANSEN: I'm almost ready to go -- just packing up my kit.

YOUNG: You, um ...

(Reluctantly, she meets his eyes.)

YOUNG: ... you sure?

JOHANSEN: Well, I'll admit I'm not one hundred percent, but we're low on medicinals and I know we'll only be there a few hours, so I should at least take a look around. I'll take it easy.

YOUNG: Yeah, yeah. I just, uh, you know, I wanted to make sure you're-you're OK.

(She looks at him awkwardly and nods.)

YOUNG: Good luck down there.

JOHANSEN: Thanks.

(Picking up her bag, she leaves the room. Young turns and sadly watches her go.)


SHUTTLE. A team is boarding the shuttle and preparing for take-off. Matthew Scott takes the driving seat with Riley beside him to his left. Greer is in the weapons position on his right hand side with Volker behind him. In the rear section, Eli, T.J. and Lisa sit down on the benches with Airman Dunning and Lieutenant Vanessa James.

RILEY: Doctor Rush has pinpointed the Stargate's position on the surface and I've plotted a course.

(Scott activates the ship's comms.)

SCOTT: Colonel Young, this is Scott. All systems are go. We are ready for take-off.

YOUNG: Go ahead, Lieutenant.

SCOTT: Roger that.

(The shuttle lifts off from Destiny, steadies itself and then heads off into space.)


BRIDGE. Nick has returned to the Bridge and is looking at his notebook while Gloria stands nearby watching him.

GLORIA: I'm worried about you, Nicholas.

RUSH (sighing without looking up): Yeah, so am I. I've got work to do and I can't seem to leave myself alone.

(A man's voice speaks. It's a voice that Nicholas knows.)

VOICE: You're missing things.

(Nick raises his head slowly and turns to look at the new arrival who has replaced the image of his wife. It's Jeremy Franklin, the man who went into the Control Chair to save Destiny from the alien invaders and then disappeared from the locked room.)

RUSH (softly): Doctor Franklin.

FRANKLIN: It's too much for one person. I don't care how smart you are.

RUSH: OK, so tell me: what am I missing?

FRANKLIN: Well, for one, the data on the planet.

RUSH: It's extensive. What about it?

FRANKLIN: You didn't notice the volcanic activity, the atmospheric super-rotation.

(Out in space, the shuttle is approaching the planet.)

SCOTT: A few minutes away now.

(Eli, who had been slumped lazily on his bench, sits up properly.)

(On Destiny's Bridge, Nicholas has sat down at a console and is looking at the screen.)

RUSH: It'll be fine. (He scribbles a quick calculation on his notepad.) They'll be fine.

FRANKLIN: You've based your calculation on optimal structural integrity.

RUSH: I've based it on the specs in the database.

FRANKLIN: Which don't account for flaws that were developed over ... I don't know ... say, a million plus years.

(Nick lifts his head as Franklin's information hits home, and he stands up and hurries over to another station and activates the comms.)

RUSH: Lieutenant Scott, this is Doctor Rush, do you read?

(In the shuttle, Scott reaches to the panel above his head and flicks a switch.)

SCOTT: Yeah, I hear you. Go ahead.

RUSH: You're about to enter an area of atmospheric super-rotation.

SCOTT: Oh...kay, what does that mean?

RUSH: Well, I've done some calculations and you will experience some ... excessive turbulence, but nothing the shuttle wasn't built to handle.

SCOTT: OK, thanks for the heads-up.

(Exchanging a glance with Riley, he switches the comms off again. Rush does likewise on the Bridge and sits back in his seat, looking anxious. Franklin has become Gloria again and she watches him with concern. In the shuttle, Scott looks round to the others.)

SCOTT: All right, you heard the man. Hang on. It'll feel a bit bumpy.

(He sends the shuttle down into the planet's upper atmosphere. The ship jolts roughly as its lower surface begins to burn. Scott looks round to Riley.)

SCOTT: Not so bad.

(Famous last words, as almost immediately the shuttle begins to jolt and bounce far more violently.)

SCOTT: Hang on, guys, hang on!

(Something blows in the ceiling at the rear of the ship and sparks fly everywhere, followed by a burst of smoke or steam from a severed pipe. The passengers cry out in concern as alarms sound on the front console.)

(On Destiny's Bridge, Rush switches on the comms again.)

RUSH: Lieutenant Scott, do you hear me?

(There's no response.)

RUSH: Lieutenant Scott, can you hear me?

(There's a long pause, then Scott's voice comes over the speakers.)

SCOTT: Yeah, loud and clear. We made it.

(Nick suppresses a relieved sigh.)

RUSH: Glad to hear it. Check back in once you've landed.

SCOTT: Will do. Scott out.

(Again he flicks the switch off. Behind him everyone is catching their breath, and the pipe has stopped spewing. Nicholas sinks back into his chair and covers his mouth with his hand as he realises how wrong he could have been in his calculations.)

(Above the planet the shuttle is now in atmosphere and descending gently, but suddenly the engines falter, splutter and then fail. The shuttle starts to fall out of the sky. Scott's eyes widen as alarms sound and half the lights on the control panels go out.)

SCOTT (yelling urgently): Hang on!

JOHANSEN: What's going on?!

SCOTT: Just lost power. Half of the systems are down.

(The shuttle is now in a powerless glide and it's not clear whether Scott has any control over her at all. Worse, she is plunging directly towards a mountain range and one particularly big peak. Scott prays to the controls as he struggles with them.)

SCOTT: You gotta give me something, you gotta give me something, come on, come on.

RILEY (frantically): Pull up!

SCOTT: Can't!

(The shuttle's starboard wing clips the side of the mountain as she soars past. The ship jolts violently again, panels short out everywhere and the crew screams in alarm as the shuttle heads onwards and ever downwards, now clipping the top of trees as she descends into a forest. As she sinks ever lower, descending deeper into the woods and crashing through the trees, Matt miraculously manages to keep her nose level, but now releases the controls and grabs a handhold above his head, yelling out in warning to the others.)

SCOTT: This is it!

(On the benches in the rear section, Dunning reaches around a bulkhead to grab Lisa's hand and they cling to each other as the shuttle heads for the ground and smashes down onto a rocky surface, more or less level, but still her forward motion propels her onwards and she skates forward along the shale. She's still going very fast ... and up ahead of them is a solid cliff wall. Riley, sitting at the front of the ship, cringes in terror and Scott drags in a panicked breath, knowing that they're going to hit the cliff hard. Moments later the shuttle smashes into the cliff wall. The left front window shatters and broken rock showers in as the ship comes to an abrupt halt. Everyone is thrown forward violently against their seatbelts and dust and smoke billows around everywhere.)

(A few moments later the crew starts to revive. The ship is mostly dark and what lights there are keep flickering on and off. The occasional console explodes and sparks as people groan and sigh as they straighten up. Pulling himself up in his seat, Scott looks around to his left and sees Riley flat on his back on the floor with the lower half of his body covered by part of the front of the ship. Dragging himself to his feet, he pulls a flashlight out of his jacket and goes over to Riley, who is currently unconscious. Scott shines his flashlight around the shuttle. The impact on the front left was so severe that that part of the ship has pretty much disintegrated and the rock wall is poking through.)

SCOTT: T.J.!

JOHANSEN: Yeah. Is anyone hurt?

SCOTT: Over here.

(He kneels down to Riley and puts his fingers against his neck. He shines his flashlight up towards T.J. as she walks over.)

SCOTT: You OK?

JOHANSEN: Yeah.

(She bends down to join him.)

SCOTT: He's got a pulse.

(As T.J. starts to tend to Riley, Scott stands up and looks around to the others.)

SCOTT: Everyone else OK?

JAMES: Yep, yep.

SCOTT: Dunning, you all right?

(Dunning squints round at him as Scott shines his light towards him. He has a cut on his head but is up on his feet.)

DUNNING: Yeah.

(Riley starts to regain consciousness and cries out as T.J. tries to calm him, holding his neck in both hands so that he can't turn his head.)

JOHANSEN: Just relax. It's OK, just relax. Relax.

(Instinctively, Riley reaches for the panel crushing his lower body and tries to push it away.)

RILEY: I can't move.

JOHANSEN: OK, don't try. Just tell me where it hurts.

(Riley takes a couple of breaths.)

RILEY: It doesn't hurt. I can't feel my legs at all.


DESTINY CONTROL INTERFACE ROOM. Young walks in and glowers at Brody.

YOUNG: Where's Rush?

BRODY: No idea. I called him.

(Standing up from his console, he pushes a button to activate comms with the shuttle and stands aside so that Young can talk.)

YOUNG: This is Young. Go ahead, Lieutenant.

SCOTT: I'm still not sure what happened, sir. Like Rush said, it was a pretty rough ride through the atmosphere.

YOUNG: Whoa. What d'you mean, "like Rush said"?

SCOTT: He called to warn us on the ship's comm, but it seemed like we made it through fine, then shortly after, I lost flight control.

YOUNG: Injuries?

SCOTT: Riley's legs are pinned for now. T.J.'s working on him. Everyone else is fine. Right now we're trying to get the back door open.

(He looks to where Greer, Dunning and Eli are trying to prise the rear doors apart.)

SCOTT: We took a lot of damage, sir. One of the windows has gone.

(Rush strolls into the Control Interface Room at this point.)

SCOTT: Bottom line: I don't think we're gonna be flying out of here.

BRODY: Destiny is gonna jump in six hours.

YOUNG: And we can't stop it.

(Nicholas activates the comms on his console.)

RUSH: Lieutenant, this is Rush. You need to find the Gate, get it operational. Hopefully the next time Destiny drops out, we'll still be in range.

(At the rear of the shuttle, the boys are finally managing to pull the doors apart a little.)

SCOTT: All right, copy that. I'll check back in thirty minutes.

(He cuts off comms. Rush looks up at the others, unable to hide the guilty look on his face. He knows that he's wholly responsible for the crew's dilemma.)

(In the shuttle, Eli squeezes through the gap between the doors. Scott walks to the rear of the ship.)

SCOTT (to Volker): All right, d'you have a decent idea of which direction to go and find the Gate?

VOLKER: Uh, we'll figure it out.

WALLACE: Hey, uh, how's Riley?

SCOTT: I don't know.

(He turns to James.)

SCOTT: All right, ell-tee, you take Eli, Volker and Greer.

JAMES: OK. Let's go.

(As they start to gear up, Scott looks round at T.J., who has straightened up and comes over to him. She looks back towards Riley with concern.)

JOHANSEN: He's wedged in there pretty good. I'm not sure we should be trying to move him anyway.

SCOTT: Well, we're gonna have to eventually.


DESTINY. Young and Camille are walking along a corridor.

WRAY: I'm sure you're thinking this probably wouldn't have happened had we not been so desperate for food and water.

YOUNG: That doesn't matter now.

WRAY: I reported to the I.O.A.

YOUNG: I don't care.

WRAY: They insist that you keep the prisoners onboard ...

YOUNG (talking over her): Camille, I don't care.

WRAY: Colonel ...

(A female marine's voice comes over the radio. Shouting can be heard in the background.)

MARINE: We need back-up in the prisoners' hold immediately!

(Young breaks into a run. Camille chases after him.)

(In the hold, Earth soldiers are struggling with Lucian Alliance crew. Simeon is punching the living daylights out of a marine, several other pairs of people are in fist fights and chaos generally is reigning.)

MARINE: Stand down! Back up against the wall! Now!

(Young arrives and slaps the doors open.)

MARINE (to the Alliance men): Back up now!

(Young charges in and runs over to where an Alliance man is kneeling over a marine, strangling him. The man sees him coming and, as Young bends to grab him from behind, straightens up and elbows him in the face. Young recoils but then leans down and grabs him, lifts him off the marine and throws him down onto his back. Hitting him hard across the face, he kneels astride him, takes a handful of his hair and savagely slams his head down onto the floor over and over again. At the doorway, Camille stares in horror as blood appears on the floor under the man's head. Young lets go of the man's hair, wraps his hands around his throat and starts to strangle him. The man chokes, suffocating and finally Young releases his grip as the man lapses into unconsciousness. Across the room, Telford yells and limps towards him.)

TELFORD: Everett! Leave it!

(Wrapping his arms around him from behind, he hauls him up off the man. Young looks across at Camille who is still staring at him in shock. All around, the riot is subsiding and the marines are taking control. Young holds his hands out to signify that Telford can let him go. Silence gradually falls as the Alliance men all surrender. Young walks across the room checking out the situation while Camille watches him, appalled at the level of violence he used on his prisoner.)


PLANET. Greer is up on a ridge near the others and is looking all around.

GREER: I don't see anything.

(Eli looks at his remote.)

WALLACE: I've got no addresses coming up.

VOLKER: Well, this is where it should be.

JAMES: You sure?

VOLKER: No, if I was sure, there'd be a Gate here.

(He looks at her with a "Duh!" expression on his face. She grimaces and walks away.)


SHUTTLE. Riley screams as Scott and Dunning slowly try to lift the panel off his legs. T.J. and Lisa are holding him still but as his scream continues, T.J. holds her hands out to the other men.

JOHANSEN: OK, stop, stop, stop!

(They release their grip on the panel. T.J. looks down at Riley as he gasps for breath.)

JOHANSEN: OK, I'm gonna try and reach in there and see if I can feel anything, OK?

(Riley takes a few deep breaths and T.J. nods to the men who bend down to the panel again.)

JOHANSEN: Lift it up.

(They haul it upwards a couple of inches and Riley wails in agony while T.J. shoves her hand into the gap beside his right leg. Riley continues to sob and Scott speaks through gritted teeth.)

SCOTT: T.J., we can't hold it.

JOHANSEN: OK.

(She snatches her hand out as the men lower the panel again. As Riley gasps for breath, she holds out her hand beside him where he can't see it and shows the others that it is completely smothered in blood.)

JOHANSEN: His leg's stuck pretty good. I think the pressure's actually helping cut off circulation to a wound.

(The others look at each other in concern. Clearly neither T.J. nor anyone else has a clue how they're going to get their colleague out of this.)


PLANET. Back at the search party, Eli's remote pings and he lowers it with a resigned sigh.

WALLACE: OK, Destiny just jumped. This is not good.

JAMES: Oh, try not to panic.

WALLACE: Experience tells me that this is a very good time to panic!

JAMES: What are the odds it'll still be in range next time it drops out?

VOLKER: That is impossible to know.

GREER: Hey!

(The others look around to where he is standing some distance away. He is on a low ridge near a cliff which is rising above them and appears to be looking over the other side of the ridge.)

GREER: I found it.

WALLACE: The Gate?! You can see it from there?

(They scramble up the ridge to join him, then look around at what he can see.)

VOLKER: Where?

WALLACE: I don't see it.

(Greer gives them a moment while they look in all directions, then drops his bombshell.)

GREER: Look down.

(As they turn to him, he slides his foot along the surface that he is standing on, and his foot clears the dust and dirt from the top of the Stargate, buried upright under the rocks.)


DESTINY BRIDGE. Nicholas is still busy looking at consoles as Gloria sits nearby.

GLORIA: You need to sleep, or you're just gonna make more mistakes.

(Nick lifts his head and glowers at her.)

RUSH: You know, it would be easier if you would actually help.

GLORIA: What makes you think I can?

RUSH: Can I speak to Franklin?

GLORIA: Who?

RUSH: One of two things is happening here. Either I'm losing my mind or you and Doctor Franklin have somehow been manifested by the ship in order to communicate with me. Now, he tends to be a little bit more helpful when it comes to technical matters.

GLORIA: Let's see. What are you trying to do?

RUSH: Figure out how to control how long Destiny stops when it drops out of F.T.L.

GLORIA: OK.

(She thinks for a moment, then grimaces.)

GLORIA: Can't help you with that. Sorry.

(Nick rolls his eyes tetchily.)

RUSH: Right. I am losing my mind.

(Slapping his notebook down onto the console, he stands up, walks over to the central station and sits down and looks at the screen.)

RUSH: There don't seem to be any Stargates coming up in Destiny's immediate path. Now, I have to stop this ship soon or we're gonna be out of range of the planet the team's stranded on.

GLORIA: And with no other Gates in range, you don't know how to explain to everyone else why the ship has stopped.

RUSH: Exactly. We can't just keep dropping in and out of F.T.L. I'm gonna damage the drives permanently. They have to run for a minimum of four hours each time they're activated which means, next time I drop out, I've got one last shot at this.

GLORIA: Why don't you just tell the truth? Ask for help.

RUSH: No. I can't.

GLORIA: Because Colonel Young can't be trusted?

RUSH (bitterly): He let the Lucian Alliance take over this ship. The man is mentally unstable and he's getting worse all the time. He nearly just killed a man.

GLORIA: Your negligence caused the shuttle to crash.

RUSH (glaring at her): The situation is desperate because of him. He's not fit to lead this mission.


PLANET. The search team is working on unburying the Stargate, some of them digging and others moving rocks out of the way, but with the Gate buried up to the top, presumably by a rock fall from the nearby cliff, it's going to be a long job. Scott arrives.

SCOTT: Hey.

WALLACE: How's Riley?

SCOTT: Stuck pretty good. He's losing a lot of blood.

WALLACE: There's no way to get him free?

SCOTT: T.J. thinks the pressure from the wreckage is what's keeping him from bleeding out.

(Everyone stares at him in horror.)

WALLACE: There's gotta be something we can do.

SCOTT (patting his shoulder): Let's get this Gate uncovered.

(He goes over to join the others and they get back to work. Eli stands for a moment, trying to take in the news, but eventually rejoins the team.)


SHUTTLE. T.J. is sitting on the floor near Riley. The setting sun has moved round and is shining into the rear of the ship, illuminating the interior, but it shows just how pale Hunter's face is.

JOHANSEN: Are you in any pain?

RILEY (softly): I'm OK. Ever been in this situation before?

JOHANSEN: Stuck on an alien planet after a shuttle crash?! (She smiles.) No. This one's a first for me!

RILEY: I meant having to tend to someone that you knew was gonna die.

(She looks down at him sadly.)

JOHANSEN: Yeah. I have.

RILEY: Sounds crazy when I came so close lately, with the explosion and, you know, getting shot: I kind of figured that maybe it just wasn't my time.

(He laughs ruefully, then looks towards the sunlight.)

RILEY: I'm not all that spiritual, but my mother's pretty religious -- Anglican. She'd be praying for me right now if she knew.

(The sun shines right in the doorway and glows softly on his face. He gazes into the light.)

RILEY: And my dad -- he always said it was stupid ... (he smiles) ... but he always went to church with her.

(T.J. fights back tears as the sun moves on and Hunter's face fades into the gloom again.)

JOHANSEN: I won't leave you if it ... if it comes to it.

RILEY: Do you believe in anything -- God, the afterlife?

JOHANSEN: I don't know. Since we've been here, we've seen some incredible things. We know that there's so much we don't understand; beings more powerful than us ...

(She trails off for a moment, considering whether she wants to continue.)

JOHANSEN: Can I, uh, tell you something that I haven't told anyone?

RILEY: Sure. (He smiles.) Who am I gonna tell, right?

(She forces a smile back at him.)

JOHANSEN: Remember that planet that we stopped at, that we thought was created by aliens?

RILEY: Yeah.

JOHANSEN: I know this sounds crazy but I went back there. I don't know if it was a dream, a vision maybe. They said that they came and got me.

(Hunter stares at her, his eyes full of awe.)

JOHANSEN (tearfully): They have my baby, and she's safe there.

RILEY: Do you ... do you believe that?

JOHANSEN: It felt real, and I don't know how to explain it. I want it to be possible. It's just that little ... little bit of hope, it makes things bearable, so ... so I let it live.

(She sniffles. In the rear of the shuttle, completely forgotten by the pair of them, Lisa Park is lying on one of the benches and stares a little tearfully into the distance, having heard the entire conversation.)


DESTINY. Young is sitting at his table in his quarters with Camille standing nearby. He stands as Varro is escorted in.

VARRO: I wanna apologise for my people's behaviour.

YOUNG: The next viable planet we stop at, you're all gonna be left there. I expect co-operation until such time or appropriate force will be used to maintain order.

(Realising that it's useless to argue, Varro turns on his heel and walks out of the room. Young looks round at Camille, who glowers back at him.)


PLANET. Night is falling as Scott trots over to join the others who have taken shelter behind rocks a short distance from the buried Gate. He drops down to take cover as he flicks up the cover on a detonator.

WALLACE (nervously): You know, I think I remember reading somewhere that a big enough explosion close enough to a Stargate can ... can detonate the super-conductive material that it's made of. The resulting explosion can take a chunk out of a planet!

VOLKER: Well, it's not gonna ... it's not gonna be that big.

(He looks nervously towards Scott, as does Eli.)

WALLACE: You sure?

SCOTT: I ... we don't have much of a choice, do we? It could take weeks to dig this thing out.

WALLACE: Hopefully the blast won't damage the Gate.

SCOTT: D'you want me to flip the switch or not?

(Eli looks round at the others but none of them can help. He turns back to Matt.)

WALLACE: Yeah, yeah, I'm sure, flip the switch.

SCOTT: I'm flippin' the switch!

WALLACE: Flip it, already!

(They all cower down. Scott takes one last look over the top of the rocks.)

SCOTT: Fire in the hole!

(Lowering his head again, he flips the switch and a massive explosion goes off nearby. Dust and debris rain down for a while, then Eli peers over the top of their cover.)

WALLACE: That was pretty big!


DESTINY. Young goes to the doors of his quarters, apparently in response to a knock. He leans on the wall panel and the doors slide open to reveal Telford on the other side.

TELFORD: I used the communication stones.

YOUNG (smiling unpleasantly): OK. Just skip over the fact that I didn't authorise that.

TELFORD: I have a shortlist. (He takes a piece of paper from his jacket pocket.) Based on intel provided by both myself and Camille Wray, you're being ordered to keep a select number of Lucian Alliance on board who may prove valuable.

(He hands the list to Young who looks at it briefly and then gives it back to him.)

YOUNG: And if I don't, I assume you're going to tell me that you've been ordered to relieve me of my command.

(Telford lowers his head momentarily.)

YOUNG: D'you think you've earned the trust of the men and women on this ship enough for them to follow you?

(Telford tucks the list back into his pocket before answering.)

TELFORD: Military personnel are still in the service of Stargate Command and expected to follow orders.

(Before they can continue, the ship's engine note rises and a moment later a shimmer envelops them. Destiny has come out of F.T.L. Young walks to his desk to get his radio and activates it as he heads off down the corridor.)

YOUNG (into radio): Rush, this is Young. Where are you?

(Telford follows him and they go to the Control Interface Room. Brody is alone in there.)

BRODY: It's less than three hours. The address of the planet came up but it's still locked out. The strange thing is that there are no other planets in range -- nothing.

TELFORD: Why did we drop out?

BRODY: Exactly. It doesn't make sense.

YOUNG: Suggestions?

BRODY: Try to bypass the lockout, dial anyway. It's a long shot.

YOUNG: It's all we got.

(He activates his radio again.)

YOUNG: Rush, we're headed to the Gateroom.


GATEROOM. Nicholas finally arrives as the Gate is already spinning. Young turns to look at him.

YOUNG: Where have you been?

RUSH: Engine Control Room.

YOUNG: Doing what?

RUSH: Well, the F.T.L. drive's still suffering some effects from the pulsar radiation, stopping at shorter intervals now, regardless of whether we're in range of a planet or not.

(Young stares at him as if wondering whether he can believe him or not. Nick tries to hold his gaze but eventually looks over his shoulder at the spinning Stargate, then strolls past him towards a console.)


PLANET. The explosion has blown most of the rock away from the Gate, which is upright and looking unbroken. There is still a lot of rubble around the base of the Gate, and from the way that Volker and Eli are slumped on the ground exhausted, the team has apparently been clearing rocks for a long time. Scott, Greer and James are still tossing rocks out of the way, Greer grumbling noisily as he does so. Suddenly the ground begins to tremble.

SCOTT: D'you feel that?

(The trembling becomes more violent. Greer turns and points to Volker and Eli.)

GREER: Hey, science guys. This thing is shakin'.

WALLACE: It's trying to dial in.

(He and Volker scramble up.)

VOLKER: Clear the event horizon!

(He and the military crew start rapidly hauling the last few rocks out from the ground inside the circle of the Gate while Eli grabs his remote and activates it.)

WALLACE: The address is here! We've got Destiny!

GREER: Uh, the shaking's stopped.

WALLACE: Everyone back away! I'm gonna try to dial them.

(The team moves back a little and Eli types on the remote. The chevrons light up and the Gate starts to spin. Eli laughs in triumph.)

WALLACE: It's working. It's working!


DESTINY GATEROOM. The Gate kawhooshes and Scott's voice immediately comes over the radio.

SCOTT: This is Scott. Permission to come aboard?

YOUNG (into radio): Permission granted.

(He walks towards the Gate as Scott, Eli and James come through.)

YOUNG: Glad to see you guys are all OK. Where are the others?

(Scott lowers his head momentarily.)

SCOTT: Riley's not gonna make it, sir.


LATER. The Gate has dialled back to the planet and Scott and Young are making their way to the shuttle. Greer is waiting for them nearby.

GREER: Sir.

(Young walks past him, his attention fixed on the shuttle. Scott stops near his colleague and they watch their colonel walk inside the ship. T.J. and Lisa are with Riley, and Tamara stands up and goes to meet Young near the rear entrance.)

JOHANSEN (quietly): Sir, I'm not just gonna let him die alone.

YOUNG: Can you give me a minute?

JOHANSEN (nodding): Yeah.

YOUNG: Thanks.

(She looks round at Lisa and beckons her with her head. Lisa stands up and the women leave the ship as Young walks slowly over to Hunter and sits down on the floor near his head. He looks down into his eyes and sighs, unable to find the words.)

RILEY: Sorry, sir.

(Young smiles.)

YOUNG: You are a fine soldier, a good man. None of this is your fault, you know that.

RILEY: Don't stay on my account. Just make them leave. I don't want anyone to risk being stuck here.

(Young looks at him. Hunter swallows.)

RILEY: I'm not gonna be around that much longer.

YOUNG: What ... what can I tell your family?

RILEY: Nothing really seems like enough.

(He forces a smile. Young returns it, then looks away, fighting back tears.)


DESTINY. The doors to the holding cell open and several armed soldiers escort Camille and Telford in. Varro walks over to them and Telford takes the shortlist out of his pocket, unfolds it and hands it to him. Varro reads the list and then looks at Telford and Camille unhappily.


PLANET. Scott, Greer, T.J. and Lisa are waiting a short distance away from the shuttle. Scott looks at T.J. sadly.

SCOTT: How long d'you think he'll last?

(She shakes her head.)

JOHANSEN: I don't know.

(Inside the shuttle, Hunter looks up at Young.)

RILEY: How much time until Destiny jumps?

YOUNG: We're good. We're fine. I don't want you to worry. We're OK.

(Hunter stares up at him seriously.)

RILEY: I'd ask for your gun but I don't want them to blame you.

(Young snorts laughter, close to the verge of hysterics. Hunter's serious expression doesn't change.)

RILEY: Sir. Please.

(Young becomes serious as he sees the request in the young man's eyes.)

RILEY: I'm in pain.

YOUNG: I'll get T.J.

(He gets to his feet.)

RILEY: No.

(Young turns to leave.)

RILEY (pleading): No.

(Hesitantly Young turns back and looks down into his eyes. Hunter gazes back at him, his eyes begging him.)

RILEY: Please.

(Young pulls in a shaking breath but can't bring himself to move. Riley locks eyes with him but when Young won't give him what he needs, he reaches down into the gap beside his right leg and pulls, trying to get the panel lifted off his leg enough to free the wound so that he can bleed out. When he can't manage it, he slumps down and turns his eyes to his commanding officer again, sighing in anguish. Young watches him for a long moment, then slowly sinks down onto his knees beside him. Hunter gazes up at him, trusting him finally to do what is needed. As Young stares down at him in anguish, Hunter draws in a terrified breath, then settles, ready. Young blows out a long breath and gives him one last smile as Hunter nods gently. Slowly Young reaches forward, puts his left hand over the young man's mouth and pinches his nose closed with his right. Hunter's eyes lock onto his as Everett leans his weight onto his hands. The boy lays still for several long seconds but as his instincts kick in he can't help but writhe under the colonel's hands, though he never brings his own hands up to try and push him away. His eyes bore into Everett's as the older man holds him steady, his own eyes filling with tears as slowly, so very slowly, Hunter Riley dies underneath him. As Hunter's eyes finally go blank Everett releases the breath that he has been holding and lets out a soft anguished wail as he lets him go, sobbing quietly. He reaches out and gently strokes his forehead, staring into his dead eyes, then moves his hand across to close his eyelids. He kneels there for a long long time, softly stroking the young man's hair.)


LATER. Young comes out of the shuttle and goes over to the others. Greer and Scott stand as he approaches them.

YOUNG: He's gone.

(T.J. bites her lip, her eyes filling with tears, and she turns to go back into the shuttle. The others stand around sadly and watch her go.)


DESTINY. As the Lucian Alliance crew who weren't "lucky" enough to be on the shortlist are marched through the open Stargate, Hunter Riley's voice can be heard as a voiceover.

RILEY (voiceover): You know, you'd figure being stranded on this ship in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of strangers would be the problem.

(In the prisoner hold, Varro, Ginn, Koz, Simeon and about five other people are the only members of the Alliance who have been allowed to stay on board.)

RILEY (voiceover): But that ... that isn't it exactly.

(In the bar, several members of the crew raise their mugs in a toast.)

GREER: To Riley.

(Everyone drinks.)

RILEY (voiceover): It's not ... it's not so much being out here as it is not being there -- for the birthdays, the weddings, the funerals ...

(In their quarters, Matt sits on the bed with tears streaming down his face. Chloe strokes his shoulders and gently wipes the tears from his face with her fingers.)

(In his room, Eli is watching a Kino recording which Hunter made some time ago.)

RILEY (voiceover): ... simple things like just taking your nephew to school on his first day, or even taking the dog for a walk, you know -- just not ... not being there.

(Eli lowers his head sadly.)

(In her own quarters, T.J. is sitting on the bed, lost in thought.)

(In his room, Everett is once again trying to drown the pain in alcohol as tears cascade down his face.)

(On the Bridge, Nicholas turns to the image of his wife.)

RUSH: There was nothing that could be done for Riley.

(Gloria frowns at him as if she doesn't believe him any more than he believes himself.)

RUSH: Stalling Destiny any longer wouldn't have helped him.

GLORIA: I know.

RUSH: What, you think I don't know?

(He starts pacing around the room.)

RUSH: All of this is my fault. I was trying to save lives ... all of our lives, not just my own. This database just confirms what I knew all along ...

(He stops walking and speaks with passionate conviction.)

RUSH: ... that this ship was named Destiny for a reason.

(He locks gazes with Gloria but she just looks back at him blankly. Finally he can't stand it and closes his eyes, turning his head away. When he opens them again, he is alone in the room. He goes over to one of the front consoles and sits down, checking a setting, then leans his head back and closes his eyes, exhausted. A moment later the console beeps warningly. He opens his eyes, looks at the readouts and frowns in disbelief.)

(Seconds later, Destiny exits F.T.L. and enters normal space. In the Control Interface Room, Brody looks across to Volker.)

BRODY: Well, must be like Rush said. Another short jump because of the radiation effect.

(Dale raises a finger as his console beeps.)

VOLKER: Something just came up on sensors.

RUSH (over radio): This is Rush. Meet me in the Observation Deck.

(Elsewhere, Young walks along the corridor towards the Observation Deck. Eli meets up with him.)

WALLACE: I heard the radio chatter.

(They walk into the room. Nicholas, Adam and Dale are already standing at the front railing.)

YOUNG: What's going on?

VOLKER: There's an object out there. It's just coming into range.

YOUNG: What is it?

VOLKER: We're not sure, but we're about to find out.

(They all gaze out of the window. Nicholas' face is especially intent.)

RUSH: We're headed straight for it.