Transcript

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While a U.S. Senator visits Destiny, Camille and Sgt. Greer are trapped when Homeworld Command comes under alien attack.

EPISODE #213
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: 03.21.2011
SYNDICATION AIR DATE: 02.13.2012
WRITTEN BY: Linda McGibney
DIRECTED BY: Peter DeLuise
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Transcript by Callie Sullivan

DESTINY COMMUNICATIONS LAB. David Telford's consciousness transfers from Earth into a host body, which opens its eyes. He takes a moment to adjust to the new body, then looks around to where Everett Young is standing nearby.

YOUNG: Welcome back, David.

TELFORD: Everett. What the hell happened?

YOUNG: That's gonna take some explaining.


SHORTLY AFTERWARDS. The Colonels have met up with Nicholas Rush.

RUSH: To the best of our knowledge, the connection was only viable for a few moments, which is why you were the only one who made it through.

TELFORD: So where'd everyone else go?

RUSH: The likely answer is they were simply killed in an unstable wormhole.

TELFORD: The other me?

YOUNG: He died trying to retrieve some valuable hardware from the other Destiny. It was an accident.

(Telford glances across to Rush, who instantly lowers his eyes and looks guilty. Telford's eyes narrow suspiciously.)

YOUNG: David.

(Telford moves his attention back to him.)

YOUNG: It's a lot to process.

TELFORD: No. No, I get it ...

(Again he glances suspiciously at Rush for a moment before turning away and starting to pace.)

TELFORD: ... sort of. Anyway, I've been around the Programme long enough to know this stuff happens. But good luck trying to explain it to Senator Michaels.

YOUNG: The new head of the Offworld Spending Committee.

TELFORD: I've got to head back, but she's coming on board. She'll want a post mortem on this latest fiasco, but what she's really interested in is Rush's little signal from God.

RUSH (irritated): I never called it that.

TELFORD: Well, that's what a lot of them are calling it back home. It's created a bit of a stir.


LATER. Young is telling Camille Wray what's going to happen.

YOUNG: They wanna know if it's worth spending the money to get another Icarus Base up and running.

WRAY: Yeah, even if they do and they find another planet and make a connection, it's still only a one-way trip. You, me and everyone on this ship aren't going anywhere.

YOUNG: Yeah, it'd be nice to get supplies.

WRAY: I should switch with the senator, talk to my people, find out how this is all playing with our international partners.

YOUNG: All right. We'll need a male volunteer as well. She's bringing a scientist with her to confirm Rush's findings.

WRAY: Oh, well, in that case I know the perfect candidate.

YOUNG: Camille ...

WRAY: He's the only one on board who hasn't used the stones to go back.

YOUNG: He keeps turning it down.

WRAY: Well, then maybe you should order him to go. He was borderline unstable when we came on board. If anyone can use some time off ...

YOUNG: All right, I will make that happen.


COMMUNICATIONS ROOM. Ronald Greer walks into the room and looks angrily at Camille who is already sitting at the table holding a stone. He sits down as well and picks up a second stone.

GREER: This was your idea, wasn't it?

WRAY: We don't have all day, Sergeant.

GREER: I don't need R and R.

WRAY: Yeah, yeah, I get it. You're the perfect soldier. No rest, no weakness, no fear. Now, can we get this over with?

(Glowering at her, Greer moves his hand to hover over the activation box. Camille does likewise and they both lay their stone onto the box. Seconds later they open their eyes in the Comms Lab at Homeworld Command on Earth and look at the monitor in front of them to see their host bodies. An armed soldier standing nearby speaks sternly.)

HYATT: Identify yourself.

(Camille frowns at his tone of voice.)

WRAY: What's going on?

HYATT: Identify yourself now.

WRAY: I'm Camille Wray. This is Master Sergeant Ronald Greer.

HYATT: Authentication code.

WRAY: One seven zero zero five eight six.

(Hyatt relaxes a little and steps back as Camille stands up.)

WRAY: What is going on? This is a scheduled connection.

(Telford walks into the room.)

TELFORD: At ease, Sergeant. Sorry about this, Camille. Senator Michaels and Doctor Covel were briefed, but there was no time to warn you. We are at a heightened terrorist threat level.

(Greer, who until now has been concentrating on looking at the hands of his host body - a white man - looks around.)

GREER: What happened?

TELFORD: Nothing yet, but intel says that the Lucian Alliance is on the verge of launching an attack. Homeworld Command is the target.


DESTINY MESS. Eli Wallace, Dale Volker and Adam Brody are sitting at a table. Rush is sitting at the bar nearby with his back to them.

VOLKER: Does anyone know this guy that they're sending to check up on us?

BRODY: Nah. Supposedly he's the new Head of Research at Stargate Command. Umm, Huvell or Shovel or something like that.

RUSH: It's Covel. Doctor Andrew Covel. We worked together for a short time at Cornell before we were both recruited into the Programme.

YOUNG (over radio): Rush, come in.

(Nicholas picks up his radio and activates it.)

RUSH: Yeah, go ahead.

YOUNG: Our guests have arrived.

(Nick looks unhappily at his radio for several seconds before responding.)

RUSH: Yeah, I'm on my way.

(The boys at the table watch thoughtfully as Nick puts his radio down and, instead of leaving the room, picks up a mug and drinks. Adam smiles and eventually dares to ask a question.)

BRODY: So, what's he like?

RUSH: I didn't know him that well, actually.

WALLACE: But you said you worked with him.

RUSH: Yeah, well, what can I tell you?

(Finally he picks up his radio, stands up and starts to walk across the room towards the exit.)

RUSH: He's the type of man who likes to keep secrets.

VOLKER (quietly as Nick leaves the room): Yeah, we know the type!


CORRIDOR. Young and Matthew Scott are leading Senator Michaels and Doctor Covel along. Covel is turning in circles as he walks, marvelling at what he sees.

COVEL: Incredible! The design pre-dates any Ancient technology we've seen in the Milky Way or Pegasus.

SCOTT: Well, it's a pretty big ship. Anywhere you'd particularly like to start?

MICHAELS (stopping and putting her hands behind her back): I'd like to start by clearing something up.

(The soldiers stop and turn back towards her.)

MICHAELS: Given recent events, I would like to know once and for all for closing the book on the feasibility of dialling within a star.

YOUNG: Well, I'm not the man you should be asking.

(Nicholas is approaching the group from another corridor but now stops and remains out of sight as he listens to the conversation.)

MICHAELS: Your first order of business was supposed to be to get these people home.

YOUNG: Presumably without killing them.

MICHAELS (turning to Covel): If I'm not mistaken, all of our people signed off on it?

COVEL: The numbers were good, but it's true: conditions inside a star are unpredictable. It's just unfortunate that the other Destiny was lost before anyone had a chance to go over the logs.

SCOTT: We needed those spare parts. There wasn't a lot of time.

MICHAELS: It's understandable. Unfortunately it means we have no idea what really happened.

YOUNG: You're assuming the other Rush was lying.

MICHAELS: My impressions of the man, Colonel, are based entirely on your reports.

YOUNG: We've had our differences, but this time I was prepared to support him; stay behind as long as we had enough volunteers to keep the mission going.

(Nick gets moving again and approaches the group.)

RUSH: I'm sorry I'm late. Had problems with power distribution as usual.

YOUNG: Doctor Rush, Senator Michaels.

(The two of them nod politely to each other.)

YOUNG: I believe you know Doctor Covel.

RUSH: Andrew.

COVEL: Nicholas. Good to see you.

RUSH: So, what are we talking about?

MICHAELS: I was just telling Colonel Young how I'd like to see Chloe. I was very good friends with her father and I've known her since she was a little girl.

RUSH: Sure. She's on the Bridge. I'll take you to her.


EARTH. HOMEWORLD COMMAND. In the Comms Lab, Greer has taken off Covel's jacket and is putting it down as he watches a technician in uniform walk around the room with a device which is making a very recognisable crackling sound and must therefore be a Geiger counter.

GREER: Is that what I think it is?

TELFORD (nodding): We're sweeping the building for radiation. The Alliance has managed to infiltrate a couple of our offworld bases and plant naqahdria bombs.

(The technician finishes his sweep and reports to Telford.)

O'DONNELL: All clear, sir.

TELFORD: Thank you. Carry on.

O'DONNELL: Yes, sir.

(He leaves the room and Telford turns to the others.)

TELFORD: We have escorts waiting for both of you outside. They'll take you wherever you need to go.

GREER: All due respect, sir: with everything going on I think I'd like to stay right here.

(Camille smiles ruefully and unhappily. Telford picks up her mood.)

TELFORD: Appreciate the thought, Master Sergeant, but we've got this.

(Greer steps closer to him.)

GREER: I know these people, Colonel. I've dealt with them. Unlike some of us, I never trusted them.

TELFORD: I'll keep that under advisement. But for now you're dismissed.

GREER: Yes, sir.

(He turns and walks away. Camille nods her gratitude to Telford and follows.)


DESTINY BRIDGE. Nicholas leads Michaels and Covel in. The scientist in particular is awestruck at the sight.

COVEL: Nice!

(Michaels is more interested in the sight of Chloe Armstrong sitting at one of the front consoles working busily. The senator walks towards her.)

MICHAELS: Chloe?

(Chloe turns and frowns in confusion at the happy smile on what - to her - is Camille's face. Michaels remembers that she's in a host body and looks down at it awkwardly, then Chloe - who must have been briefed about the newcomers earlier - realises who she is.)

ARMSTRONG: Senator Michaels? Is it you?!

MICHAELS (smiling): Yes.

ARMSTRONG: Oh my God!

(Laughing in delight, she stands up and hugs the older woman.)

MICHAELS: Hi, sweetheart.

(She hugs Chloe, then holds her at arm's length.)

MICHAELS: Look at you!

ARMSTRONG: Wow! Welcome to the Destiny!

MICHAELS: I can't believe it!

(She looks around the Bridge briefly.)

MICHAELS: Well, what are you doing?

ARMSTRONG: Oh, um, I was just going over the ship's F.T.L. jump logs. We're trying to improve the accuracy of manual navigation.

MICHAELS (impressed): Really?!

ARMSTRONG (grinning): It's the new me! What do you think?

MICHAELS: Well, I ...

(She turns to look at the two scientists.)

MICHAELS: ... I think I'd like to leave the science and technology to somebody else for a few moments so we can talk ...

(She looks at Nicholas.)

MICHAELS: ... if that's OK with you.

RUSH: Go ahead, Chloe. You can finish this later.

(Smiling, Chloe takes Michaels' hand.)

ARMSTRONG: All right, come on. I'll show you around.

MICHAELS: All right!

(The women leave the Bridge. Covel walks closer to Rush, smiling.)

COVEL: Well, I have to say, Nicholas, I'm impressed. I think I'm starting to understand the passion you had for this mission even before you found the signal.

(He holds out his hand to him.)

COVEL: Congratulations.

(Surprised, Nick takes his hand and shakes it.)

RUSH: Yeah.


HOMEWORLD COMMAND. Greer is storming unhappily down a corridor. Camille hurries after him.

WRAY: Master Sergeant, wait.

GREER (not turning or slowing down): I'm off duty, right?

WRAY: Yes.

GREER: Then I don't have to talk to you.

WRAY: You know, if you go into this assuming it's a waste of time, it probably will be.

(Greer, who has stopped at a T-junction to try to work out which way to go, turns back towards her.)

GREER: Do you have any idea what's going on here?

WRAY: We've known about the Lucian Alliance threat for a long time.

GREER: Then too bad we didn't do anything about it.

WRAY: I did do something about it. Those prisoners gave us valuable intelligence.

GREER (his voice rising angrily): Maybe they were just feeding us a line while we gave them food and shelter and put our own people at risk.

WRAY: You don't know what ...

(An alarm begins to blare.)

WRAY: What's happening?

GREER: That's Incoming.

(People are running for the nearest exit. Camille starts to follow them but Greer grabs her arm and stops her.)

GREER: No-no-no-no.

WRAY: What are you doing?

(He starts pulling her towards the door to the nearest office.)

GREER: We have to go for cover.

WRAY: Let go of me! Where?!

(Grabbing her by both arms, he bundles her into the office, steering her towards the large wooden desk in the middle of the room.)

WRAY: No! We've gotta get out of here!

(As the engines of the incoming ship can be heard, Greer throws her downwards and under the table. Before he can follow her the impact strikes the building and the ceiling collapses, bringing debris, concrete and air conditioning pipes crashing down into the room on top of him.)


DESTINY. Chloe has brought the senator to her quarters. Michaels is looking around the room while rubbing her hands anxiously.

MICHAELS: I don't know how you do it. I would have gone crazy in two weeks, locked up in a place like this, let alone a whole year.

ARMSTRONG: It's not like we never get outside. We gate to planets all the time.

MICHAELS: I spoke to your mom the other day.

ARMSTRONG: How's she doing?

MICHAELS: She's holding up, you know. It's not easy but she's ... she's holding up.

(Chloe lowers her head sadly. Michaels walks closer.)

MICHAELS: I'm ... I'm so sorry, Chloe. We should have gotten you home long ago.

ARMSTRONG: It's not just me.

(Taking her arm, the senator pulls her to the side of the bed and they sit down.)

MICHAELS: Look, everyone else on this ship - with the exception of Mr. Wallace - is a member of Stargate Command.

ARMSTRONG: Yeah, that doesn't mean they signed up for this!

MICHAELS: Maybe not, but it does mean that sooner or later they were gonna wind up on some obscure planet doing God knows what kind of research that may or may not ever have seen the light of day on Earth. Now don't get me wrong: I realise the potential of all of that, but I never once thought that that life was for you. Your father had such plans; now you're stuck here. I'm-I'm sorry - it just seems like such a waste.


HOMEWORLD COMMAND. Far from the point of impact, staff are hurrying out of an exit into a car park. As soldiers supervise the evacuation of the civilians, Telford stumbles out of the building and another soldier hurries over to him.

GRAHAM: Colonel! You all right?

TELFORD: Yeah, I think so. What happened?

GRAHAM: We don't know yet. We're still getting damage reports.

(Telford nods, then turns back to help with the evacuation.)

TELFORD: All right, keep moving! Let's go, folks!


In the office, Camille begins to shove her way out through the debris that has piled up around the desk. Coughing and straining, she shoves the desk's chair out of the way, crawls out and gets her first sight of the devastation around her.

WRAY: Oh God!

(Still coughing, she drags herself to her feet and looks around.)

WRAY: Greer!

(She begins to scramble around the desk as she realises that most of the ceiling came down directly on top of where she last saw him.)

WRAY: Oh God! Greer!

(Beginning to panic, she yells more loudly.)

WRAY: Greer!

(Groaning, Greer begins to regain consciousness. Camille scrambles to the area where his voice came from. It looks like an air conditioning pipe came down at an angle on top of him, protecting his head from the worst of the collapse. Camille drops to her knees and reaches underneath the pipe to take his wrist.)

WRAY: Hey. You all right?

GREER: What happened?

WRAY: I don't know. It sounded like an explosion.

GREER (starting to pull himself into a sitting position): Lucian Alliance.

(He turns to begin moving out from under the debris. Camille puts her hand protectively on his head to stop him banging it against the pipe above him.)

WRAY: Watch your head.

(Instantly she snatches her hand back and looks at her fingers.)

WRAY: You're bleeding.

GREER: We've gotta find out what's going on.

(He starts trying to pull himself up.)

WRAY: Oh no. No, I don't think you should be moving.

(Greer, as expected, takes no notice of this, but then groans in pain and turns back to look at his legs.)

WRAY: What is it?

GREER: Uh, my knee. It's twisted pretty bad.

(The building groans ominously and begins to shake.)

GREER: Oh, now what?

(Camille goes to the doorway and looks through it as Greer pulls himself to his feet. The building shakes more violently and moments later more of the structure begins to collapse in the corridor outside. Concrete and debris cascade down for several long seconds and block large parts of the corridor. Eventually everything settles again. Coughing against the dust, Camille peers out into the corridor, then turns back to Greer who has dropped to the floor again.)

WRAY: Looks like, uh, the explosion or whatever it was might have weakened the structure of the building.

(He looks up at her quirkily.)

GREER: You still wanna stay here?

(Sighing, she looks around, weighing up her options.)

WRAY: Give me a second.

(She clambers back over the rubble to the other side of the desk, looking around nervously as random bits of building continue to fall in the corridor outside. Picking up what may be a wooden chair, she smashes it down onto the desk to break it into a couple of splint-sized pieces, then slides open the desk drawers and rummages through the stationery inside. Finally she finds a roll of brown sticky packing tape on a hand-held roller. She snaps the tape out of the roller and takes her finds over to Greer. Putting the splints into place, she pulls open the end of the tape and presses it against his knee.)

WRAY: This might hurt a bit.

(Greer grimaces and groans as she rolls the tape around and around his leg and the splints.)

WRAY: Is that too tight?

GREER: No, that's good.

(Finishing her work, she straightens up and looks down at him.)

WRAY: All right. You ready to do this?

GREER: Let's get the hell outta here.

(She reaches down and takes his hand as he starts to pull himself up.)

GREER: I got it.

(Together, they get him up onto his feet.)


DESTINY BRIDGE. Covel is listening to the crackling noise of the recording of the cosmic background radiation. After a while he straightens up and turns to stare at Nicholas.

RUSH: Well?

COVEL: I think I'm listening to a recording that's over a million years old, captured with technology I can't imagine, processed and filtered using algorithms I don't even understand.

RUSH: But you can see the structure?

COVEL: Yes.

(Grimacing a little, he switches off the recording.)

COVEL: I'm just not quite sure I believe it.

(Rolling his eyes, Nick turns away from him and sits down in the command chair.)

COVEL: Listen, listen: I'm admit there's a lot of impressive data here, and if I could transmit it all back to Earth and get twenty of our best people working on this for the next five years, maybe, maybe I could confirm it. I can't do that. With the stones, it's basically word of mouth. I have to make a judgement call here. Do you have any idea what kind of a position that puts me in?

RUSH: I know that you were offered Icarus before they gave it to me, and I know you turned it down. You couldn't see the potential.

COVEL: I thought it was a bunch of mythological mumbo jumbo about the gods and ultimate understanding!

RUSH: Yeah, well, this proves you wrong.

COVEL: We are talking about evidence of an intelligence present at the beginning of time.

RUSH: Yeah.

COVEL: Now, you can deny it all you like; they're gonna call it proof of the existence of God, and for every politician that tries to take that and bend it for his own ends, there'll be just as many - maybe more - who try to bury it, Nick. They'll try to bury it, and you along with it.

RUSH: So what are you saying, Andrew? What are you trying to tell me? You don't wanna pick a side because you're not sure which one's gonna win.

(Covel smiles ruefully.)

COVEL: Same old Nick. You never make things easy, do you?


HOMEWORLD COMMAND. Camille and Greer have made their way out into the corridor and she is standing on a box pulling open a metal container near some emergency lighting. She reaches inside the container and pulls out a small flashlight.

WRAY: Got it.

(Greer has already got one from somewhere and she now switches hers on. As they turn to pick their way down the corridor, sparks fly from severed electrical cabling. Nearby, somebody coughs from amongst the rubble on the floor. Camille shines her flashlight in the direction of the sound and looks round at Greer.)

WRAY: D'you hear that?

(Greer aims his own light and then points.)

GREER: There.

(They begin to move towards the half-buried person, throwing debris out of their way as they go.)

WRAY: Hullo?

(The man groans again. Camille finally reaches him and unearths him from the chunks of concrete lying on top of him. She offers him a hand and supports him as he climbs to his feet.)

WRAY: You all right?

MAN: Yeah. I think so.

(She shines her flashlight at him and realises from his clothing that he is military rather than civilian. The name on his uniform says EVANS. He stares around anxiously.)

EVANS: I've gotta get out of this place.

WRAY: Yeah, don't worry. We'll get you out of here.

(Nearby, the sound of distorted voices suddenly starts up. Camille looks round at Greer in confusion but he instantly knows what it is.)

GREER: Radio. Radio.

WRAY: It's coming from somewhere back there.

(She starts to scramble over the debris towards the sound while Greer lights her route. Evans stares at him wide-eyed.)

EVANS: We don't have time for this. I've gotta get out of here now!

GREER: Maintain, Airman. We're doing the best we can.

(Camille has reached the owner of the radio. He is lying with his eyes closed, a lot of concrete on his chest and a nasty head wound.)

WRAY: We've got another one.

(She squats down and puts her fingers onto his neck, then lifts her head and shakes it.)

WRAY: He's dead.

GREER: See if he has a gun.

EVANS: What do you need a gun for?

GREER: I was just trying to figure out what happened. We may need to be prepared for whatever.

(Camille collects the dead man's pistol, then picks up his radio.)


OUTSIDE. Outside the disaster site at Homeworld Command, an emergency centre has been set up in the car park. Injured people are being treated or carried towards ambulances. Telford appears to be in command. As he goes over blueprints of the building with Sergeant Graham, a voice comes over the radio.

WRAY: This is Camille Wray in Homeworld Command. Can anybody read this?

(Telford activates his radio.)

TELFORD: Camille, is that you?

WRAY: David? Yes. I'm here with Greer and another survivor.

(She shines her flashlight on the other man's uniform.)

WRAY: Uh, Airman Evans. What happened?

TELFORD: There's been an attack. A cloaked Alliance cargo ship was detected on approach. It crashed into the building on the inner north side.

WRAY: But that's near the Comm Lab. If the stones were hit, we shouldn't be here.

TELFORD: That's affirmative. They must still be connected.

(He points to the appropriate spot on the blueprints while talking to Graham.)

TELFORD: Sergeant, get on that.

(He lifts his radio again.)

TELFORD: Look, Camille, I've been talking with our intelligence people. They all agree: there's no way a lone cargo ship would try an attack on Homeworld Command without packing a little something extra.

WRAY: Like what, exactly?

TELFORD: We think there might be a bomb on board as yet unexploded. You have to get the hell out of there.


DESTINY. Scott and Young are leading the Senator towards the Infirmary. Inside, Tamara Johansen and Varro from the Lucian Alliance are chatting. T.J. giggles and smacks at Varro's hand.

JOHANSEN: Stop it, will you?!

VARRO: No, no, it's true! Look, I'm tellin' ya!

SCOTT (loudly and rather pointedly): And in here we have our Infirmary.

(T.J. turns towards the new arrivals, smiling.)

JOHANSEN: Hey! Colonel!

YOUNG: Lieutenant Johansen, this is Senator Michaels.

(The women shake hands.)

YOUNG: We're giving her the tour. She's here to ...

MICHAELS (talking over him): I'm here to assess the potential and long-term viability of this mission.

SCOTT: And this is Varro, one of our remaining Alliance ... uh ... guests.

MICHAELS (smiling politely at Varro): Yes, I know.

JOHANSEN: He's been helping me out, volunteering down here. He's actually got a pretty good understanding of first aid.

(Young's face hints that he is not a happy bunny right now. Varro smiles round at Michaels.)

VARRO: Just trying to keep myself useful.

(She returns his smile, then looks round to Young and Scott.)

MICHAELS: Well, if you don't mind, I have a few things I would like to discuss with the lieutenant.

YOUNG: Of course.

(He and Scott head out of the door and Varro takes the hint and also makes himself scarce. Michaels waits until they have all gone before she starts to talk.)

MICHAELS: Look, I, uh, I know you've been under a lot of pressure trying to keep all these people alive in some pretty difficult circumstances.

JOHANSEN: Well, it hasn't been easy, but things have been looking up since we got our hands on the full Ancient database. There's some advanced medical knowledge ...

(She gestures to an upright panel nearby.)

JOHANSEN: ... and I'm starting to get a better understanding of how some of their equipment works.

MICHAELS: Well, must be a lot to digest, especially for someone with only a medic's training. No offence.

JOHANSEN (smiling politely): None taken. Look, if you're trying to say we'd be better off with a real doctor on board, you're right. I just don't think you're gonna get a whole lot of eager volunteers.

MICHAELS: Really? Why's that?

JOHANSEN: Knowing that there's a chance that they'll never go home.


HOMEWORLD COMMAND. Camille, Greer and Evans turn a corner and find the way ahead of them blocked with debris.

WRAY: Oh, man!

GREER: This doesn't look good.

EVANS: Are you sure this is the way out?

WRAY: Well, it's the way to what was the nearest exit.

(Greer braces himself against the nearest wall to rest his leg while Camille gets onto the radio.)

WRAY: David, this is Camille.

TELFORD (from the car park): Go ahead.

WRAY: Looks like our nearest way out is blocked. How's it coming with that bomb disposal unit?

TELFORD: So far, not so good. There's a lot of debris; they can't dig through it. We've got heavier equipment on the way, but by the time they get here ...

(He pauses for a long moment before continuing.)

TELFORD: I don't know.

WRAY: What kind of bomb are we talking about?

TELFORD: Intelligence suggests it's a weapons-grade naqahdria device with a probable yield of fifty to seventy megatons.

(Camille looks horrified.)

TELFORD: We've already started evacuations.

WRAY: Uh, all right. Well, um, if you can't get in and we can't get out, then, uh, maybe the best plan is for us to go for the bomb.

EVANS: What?!

WRAY (into radio): You said impact was on the inner north side near the Comm Lab? We shouldn't be too far.

TELFORD: You don't know anything about defusing bombs!

WRAY: You can talk us through it!

TELFORD: No. I-I-I cannot allow you to volunteer for something like this. You're not even in your own bodies!

WRAY: If that bomb goes off, these bodies will die along with everyone else; and if we're still connected, it'll kill us too. It's not much of a choice.

(She lowers her radio while Telford goes silent, thinking it through. Evans looks around distractedly and full of panic. Camille turns and looks at Greer, who is leaning tiredly against the wall but who gazes back at her calmly.)


DESTINY. Eli is working on a console in the Control Interface Room as Covel walks in. Adam and Dale are on another console nearby.

COVEL: Eli Wallace.

(Eli frowns at being greeted in this way by Sergeant Greer.)

WALLACE: Yyyyeah.

(The other man smiles at him.)

COVEL: Nick's famous young protégé. A pleasure to finally meet you. I'm Doctor Andrew Covel.

(Catching on at last, Eli takes the offered hand and shakes it.)

WALLACE: Right. Nice to meet you.

COVEL: People back at Stargate Command call you the Boy Wonder.

(Eli laughs happily and looks across to the other two scientists, who gaze back at him straight-faced and unimpressed.)

WALLACE (to Covel): Does that make Rush my Batman?

(Covel tilts his head, also straight-faced. Eli's grin fades.)

WALLACE: Guess not.

(Covel looks at him for a moment longer, then turns his head to look at the other two. Adam raises a hand in greeting.)

BRODY: Adam Brody.

VOLKER: Uh, Dale Volker.

(Adam gestures between himself and Dale.)

BRODY: We work here too.

COVEL: Good!

(Turning away from them, he edges sideways into Eli and pushes him away from the console so that he can activate it himself.)

COVEL: Maybe you can help me.

WALLACE: Uh, what can we do for you?

COVEL: Well, I just wanna know what you think.

WALLACE: About?

COVEL: Everything.

(He looks up to include the other two.)

COVEL: The ship; your role in it. Nick's little discovery.

(He looks round expectantly at everyone. They gaze back at him blankly.)


HOMEWORLD COMMAND. Camille is leading the way through the corridors, coughing against the dust which is still occasionally filtering down from the ceiling. Evans follows along quietly behind her with Greer bringing up the rear. Camille turns as he grunts in pain as he pulls himself through some rubble.

WRAY: Are you all right?

GREER: Yeah, I'm OK.

WRAY: Maybe we should rest for a minute. I can hardly breathe.

(She sinks down, breathing heavily.)

EVANS: It's the dust. It's in your lungs already.

GREER: We don't stop.

(He waves his finger sternly at Camille.)

GREER: We keep going.

WRAY (wearily): Greer, Greer, can you just this once not pretend to be invincible?

GREER (exasperated): Can you just this once stop talking?!

(As he hobbles past her, Camille stands up and faces him.)

WRAY: What is your problem?

GREER (turning back to face her): You really wanna know?

WRAY: Yeah, I really wanna know.

(Evans looks at them in disbelief.)

EVANS: We're really gonna do this now?

(Glancing momentarily over his shoulder at him, Greer turns back towards Camille and points angrily as he limps closer to her.)

GREER: My problem is people like you: people who talk and talk and meanwhile nothing gets done.

WRAY: No, no, that's not it.

GREER: So now you're gonna tell me something about me?

WRAY: I know you.

GREER (furiously, through gritted teeth): You know a file in a desk.

(He glares at her for a moment, then turns away.)

GREER: You don't know anything.

(He starts to limp away but is moving too fast for his injured knee, which buckles under him. Despite this, he continues to drag himself forward using his hands to propel himself onwards.)

WRAY: You're afraid of me.

(Evans points back the way they just came.)

EVANS: Do you hear something?

(Focussed completely on Ronald, Camille follows him along the corridor as he drags himself away from her.)

WRAY: You're afraid of what I do because I help people with their problems, but I can't do it unless they admit that they have problems in the first place, and that's just somewhere you won't go.

GREER: You need to just think you make a difference instead of just taking up space.

(The sound that Evans heard becomes louder. It's the distinctive click of a Geiger counter.)

EVANS: Shut up for a minute!

(Still ignoring him, Camille leans down to Greer.)

WRAY: You're afraid that if you look inside yourself for even one second, you might find out that you're not invincible; that you're just as scared and vulnerable as the rest of us.

(Evans finally loses patience with both of them.)

EVANS (loudly): I said shut up!

(At last Camille looks up at him, and Greer slumps to the floor in exhaustion. The clicking continues.)

EVANS: I can hear something.

(He turns his head towards the sound.)

EVANS: It's coming from over here. What is it?

WRAY: It's the Geiger counter. The tech who was sweeping the building.

(She and Evans move closer to the sound and look around the rubble, then Camille points.)

WRAY: There he is!

(They hurry over to where O'Donnell, the technician, is almost completely buried under rubble and concrete, and start pulling debris off him.)

WRAY: Hey! Can you hear us? We're gonna get you out.

(She takes his outstretched hand and pulls gently on it. The arm follows, completely severed from the rest of the body. She drops the hand in horror and scrambles backwards, her eyes wide.)

WRAY: Oh God! Oh!

(She turns and doubles over, fighting the urge to vomit. Greer, who has finally got back onto his feet, immediately wraps his arms around her and holds her.)

GREER (soothingly): OK, you're OK. It's OK. Just breathe.

(As she sobs and Greer comforts her, Evans reaches into the rubble and pulls out the Geiger counter. He lifts it and holds it out towards the others as it clicks ferociously and far too rapidly. Greer turns and shines his flashlight towards it.)

GREER: That doesn't sound good.

EVANS: I don't know. I can't read this thing.

(Straightening up, Camille gestures for the device.)

WRAY: Here. Give it to me.

(Evans brings the counter over and hands it to her. She shines her flashlight onto the dial and sees that the pointer is way too far over to the right of the chart. She breathes out shakily.)

WRAY: This area is flooded with radiation. It could be from the crashed ship or from the bomb itself, but these are deadly levels.

GREER: What you're saying is, if we stay here much longer, we could die.

(She looks at him despairingly.)

WRAY: No. I'm saying we're dead already.


DESTINY. Young walks onto the Observation Deck where Michaels and Covel are looking out at the F.T.L. vortex.

YOUNG: So, what's the verdict?

(They turn to face him and the senator clears her throat.)

MICHAELS: Well, I've hardly completed my assessment, but I do have some concerns.

YOUNG: Such as?

MICHAELS: Well, you know how long it took to get the first Icarus Base up and running. Even if I were to get presidential approval tomorrow and we were to find a planet immediately, it'd still take another six months before we're ready to do a dial-out.

YOUNG: And ...?

COVEL: To be perfectly blunt, we're not sure you're gonna survive that long - and, more importantly, we're not sure Destiny's gonna survive.

YOUNG: Well, we've managed to hold it together so far.

COVEL: What, are you kidding me? You're the problem here. Since you and your people came on board, you've brought this ship to the brink of destruction repeatedly. It's a wonder this thing's flying at all.

BRODY (over radio): Colonel, this is Brody. We're about to drop out of F.T.L.

YOUNG (into radio): That's understood.

(He deactivates his radio and looks at his guests.)

YOUNG: Heads up. The connection's gonna be interrupted for a few seconds.


HOMEWORLD COMMAND. Camille and Greer are slumped against opposite walls of the corridor while Evans paces, trying to find a way out.

WRAY: These bodies. We did this to them.

GREER: There was no way to know. Hey, it was the right call.

EVANS: If we leave now and get out as fast as we can, we might still be OK.

WRAY: I'm sorry, Airman, I really am, but we've already had lethal exposure.

EVANS (frantically): You can't know that! You're not a scientist!

WRAY: Maybe not, but I've worked with enough of them to pick up a few things.

(Evans is suddenly distracted by a box of paperwork just inside a nearby door. The files on top are marked “SECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIRED” and there's a letter opener lying on top of them. As he heads towards the box, the stone transfer which Young had warned the others about takes place and Senator Michaels and Doctor Covel return to their own bodies. Covel grabs at his injured knee, gasping at the pain, and both of them look around the corridor in shock.)

COVEL: What the hell's going on?

MICHAELS: What is this?

(She turns towards Evans.)

MICHAELS: What's happening?

(Covel spots what Michaels is holding.)

COVEL: Let me see that - in your hand.

(She hands him the Geiger counter.)

(On the Observation Deck of Destiny, Greer and Camille look at each other in startled surprise for a moment, then turn to Young.)

WRAY: Colonel!

YOUNG: We just dropped out.

WRAY: There's been an attack, Lucian Alliance. There's a bomb, naqahdria. Radiation leaking; we're trying to get to it but ...

(The hosts switch bodies again. Young looks closely at Camille's body as the woman reels slightly.)

YOUNG: Senator.

(She stares at him in horror.)

MICHAELS: Oh my God. Homeworld Command.

(Back in Homeworld Command, Evans stares in confusion at the other two.)

EVANS: What happened?

WRAY: The connection was interrupted.

(She turns to Greer.)

WRAY: D'you think they got the gist of what I was trying to say?

GREER: If they didn't, the other two can fill them in. They've seen it for themselves now.

(Behind Camille, Evans suddenly surges forward and seizes her left arm, bending it behind her back. With his right hand, he holds the letter opener to her throat. Greer pulls out his pistol and aims it at him.)

GREER: Evans, what the hell?

EVANS: Put the gun down. Put it down now or I'll kill her.


DESTINY COMMUNICATIONS ROOM. Young leads the visitors in. He helps the senator to sit down on one of the seats at the table, but Covel remains standing, dithering nervously.

COVEL: Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, your people are already on the ground. They know the situation. We could just make things worse.

(Young looks at the female officer who is in charge of the stones.)

YOUNG: We won't wipe the stones. We'll just disconnect long enough to get a full report ...

(He turns to the visitors as Covel reluctantly sits down.)

YOUNG: ... then we will bring you back and let you know what's happening.

(He turns to the officer again.)

YOUNG: Go ahead.

(Wearing gloves, she picks the stones off the box. Young looks round expectantly at the other two.)

MICHAELS: Nothing happened.

YOUNG (to the officer): Shut the device off.

(Putting the stones back onto the box, the woman then switches it off. Again Young looks round at the others.)

MICHAELS: We're still here.

(Young frowns.)


HOMEWORLD COMMAND. Camille gasps in panic at the letter opener pressed to her throat.

WRAY: Airman, what the hell are you doing?

EVANS: I'm not gonna die in here! We're gonna turn around and find another way out.

(Greer, still aiming his pistol at the man, holds up his other hand placatingly.)

GREER: You're freaking out. I understand. But this isn't gonna help.

WRAY: Shoot him, even if he kills me. You can still get to the bomb.

GREER: Camille ...

WRAY: It's an act. If you give him the gun, he'll kill us both. He's Lucian Alliance.

(Without warning, she grabs the man's hand and pulls it downwards. As the letter opener is dragged away from her throat, Greer lift his pistol slightly and fires, hitting the man in the shoulder. He reels backwards and Camille throws herself clear leaving Greer room to fire again, this time into the man's chest. The man drops to his knees, then slumps to the floor, dead. Greer walks forward cautiously, aiming his pistol down at the man, while Camille straightens up and catches her breath.)

GREER: You're sure he was one of them?

WRAY: There was something wrong about him from the start. Then he knew I wasn't a scientist, but I never told him that. All he knew was my name.

GREER: They're gettin' files on all of us.

(Camille bends down to the dead man and pulls up his shirt to look at his back. There's a large ornate black tattoo across his shoulders.)

WRAY: Clan tattoo. He was probably the pilot.

GREER: Think there's any more like him around here?

WRAY: I doubt it.

(Grunting with the strain, Greer shuffles back and leans against the wall to take the weight off his knee.)

WRAY: My guess is that the plan was to land the ship cloaked, on the roof or somewhere nearby, and then just walk away.

(Greer looks down at her.)

GREER: Nice catch.


LATER. The two of them have moved on deeper into the damaged part of the building. Camille checks the Geiger counter, which shows the indicator moving ever further to the right.

WRAY: The radiation's spiking. I think we're getting close.

(Groaning with the effort, Greer bends and looks at the small gap in the collapsed concrete into which they'll need to squeeze to progress.)

GREER: Can we make it through?

(Camille also bends and shines her flashlight under some of the fallen masonry.)

WRAY: Yeah, I think we can make it through here. We'll have to crawl, though.

(She looks back as Greer can't suppress his quiet groan.)

WRAY: Sorry.

GREER: Don't ... don't worry about me.

WRAY (smiling ruefully): Right(!)

(She starts to crawl into the small gap.)


DESTINY. In the Communications Lab, Nicholas is typing on a laptop.

YOUNG: Well?

RUSH: It's interesting. This shouldn't be happening.

MICHAELS: What do you mean?

RUSH: The stones work in pairs. They're linked. In order for a connection to be shut off, the command has to be received at both ends.

YOUNG: We've seen radiation cut the signal off before.

COVEL: Yes, but in this case the transfer's still in place, which means the signal must be getting through.

RUSH: The radiation must only be affecting command protocols, nothing else.

COVEL: There may be a way to boost that specific portion of the signal or alter it in order to get it past the interference. I've done a fair amount of research in this technology. I can help.

(T.J. comes to the doorway.)

JOHANSEN: Colonel, Varro would like to speak with you.

(Young turns to face the Alliance man who is with her.)

VARRO: Tamara told me what happened. I realise I'm probably the last person you wanna talk to right now, but I think I can help.

YOUNG: How?

VARRO: I can tell you how to defuse that bomb.


HOMEWORLD COMMAND. Camille is pulling herself through the gaps in the rubble. She shines her flashlight ahead of her.

WRAY: I see the hull of the ship. We're almost there.

(Greer drags himself along behind her, coughing against the dust that they are disturbing, and eventually they make it through a gap in the side of the ship. Camille climbs through and stands up, then turns to help Greer through the gap.)

GREER: I got it.

WRAY: Yeah. Watch your head.

(They turn to look at a large square-ish box, about three feet high. There are several lights on all around it and the device is humming rhythmically.)

GREER: Is that it?

(Camille switches on the Geiger counter and its clicking goes berserk. As she steps closer, the indicator goes as far to the right as it can.)

WRAY: Yeah. It's the source of the radiation.

(She switches the counter off again and looks at the open top of the box. There's a twinkling pink cloud just inside. She activates her radio.)

WRAY: David. This is Camille. I think we've found our bomb.

(She releases the Talk button but gets nothing but static.)

WRAY (into radio): David, come in?

(More static. She looks at Greer as she switches to another channel.)

WRAY: This is Camille Wray. Is anybody reading this?

(More static. She lowers the radio.)

WRAY: Too much interference.

GREER: So much for Plan A.

WRAY: We're gonna have to do this on our own.


DESTINY. Young and T.J. have taken Varro to meet with Eli, Adam and Dale. Varro is drawing on a notepad as he speaks.

VARRO: The Alliance uses a pretty simple design for its naqahdria bombs. The tricky part is it'll be protected by a hologram shell, so whoever disarms it will have to do so by feel.

(He emphasises what he's talking about on the drawing as he continues to talk.)

VARRO: The trigger wire is a slightly thinner gauge, probably threaded. It's the only way to distinguish it.

YOUNG: How do we know any of what you're saying is true?

VARRO: I've worked with these devices before.

YOUNG: Not what I meant.

(Varro straightens and turns to him, looking hurt.)

VARRO: I didn't know about the attack, Colonel. If I did, I would have warned you.

JOHANSEN: Sir, I think he's telling the truth.

YOUNG (pointedly): Oh, I know you do.

(Now it's Tamara's turn to look indignant.)

SCOTT: Well, it won't matter anyway if Rush can't get those stones to disconnect.

WALLACE: Maybe not.

(He looks at Varro's diagram.)

WALLACE: If it really is this simple, maybe it's something that can be explained quickly, like, say, in a few seconds.

VOLKER: An F.T.L. jump.

(Eli nods.)

VOLKER: We deliberately interrupt the connection.

BRODY: We can't do that. We just dropped out. If we jump this soon we're gonna damage the engines.

YOUNG: Catastrophic, or is it something we can live with?

(Adam looks to Eli, unwilling to make the decision himself. Eli shrugs.)

WALLACE: Something we can live with ... I think. But it'd be a one-shot deal. Once we're back in F.T.L., if we force an early drop, we're gonna blow the engines completely.

BRODY: We're talking about ten, maybe twelve seconds at the most.

(Young looks at Varro.)

YOUNG: What do you think? Enough time?

VARRO: Yeah. I think I can get the message across.


HOMEWORLD COMMAND. Greer is leaning tiredly against a wall of the ship while Camille is looking around the bomb.

WRAY: Must be on a timer. The pilot probably wanted to give himself a chance to get to a safe distance.

GREER: How long?

WRAY: No way to know for sure, but it's been a while since the crash.

GREER: So it could go off any second.

WRAY: Yeah, or it's possible that it was damaged and it's not gonna go off at all.

GREER (pointedly): Or it could go off any second.

(Camille nods nervously.)

WRAY: I'm gonna try something.

(She steps closer to the device and leans over the pink swirling cloud, lowering her flashlight end first towards it. As the end touches the cloud, it sinks into it without being affected in any way. She pulls the light clear again.)

WRAY: I think it's some kind of hologram.

(Putting the torch down and rolling up the sleeves of her jacket, she nervously plunges her hands into the cloud and starts feeling around. After a while she nods.)

WRAY: The bomb's underneath. I-I can feel it.

(She stands up and pulls her hands free.)

WRAY: We're gonna have to do this blind.

(Greer laughs quietly.)

GREER: Do what, exactly?

WRAY: I haven't quite figured that part out yet.


DESTINY OBSERVATION DECK. Senator Michaels is pacing around thoughtfully as Chloe comes in.

ARMSTRONG: Senator. There you are. We need you. We're gonna try and force an F.T.L. jump.

MICHAELS: Yes, I know, based on the word of some Alliance soldier.

ARMSTRONG: Look, I'm not sure we have a lot of choice.

(Michaels shakes her head angrily.)

MICHAELS: I shouldn't even be here. You know, I had people on my own committee telling me this was a waste of time and that our only priority should be the Alliance threat. And I didn't listen to 'em.

ARMSTRONG: Look, I know you're worried about people back home. I am, too. But you're wrong about Destiny. You know, the other Rush said that in his timeline I was one of the people who volunteered to stay.

MICHAELS: And you really think you would have done that?

ARMSTRONG: My father died so that we could all go on, and I have to believe that it was for a reason. I feel like I'm part of something here - something important.


HOMEWORLD COMMAND. Camille is feeling her way around the bomb through the holographic screen.

WRAY: OK, there's a large cylindrical piece and, um, um, some kind of gasket on the end. Uh ... oh, there's a lot of wires.

(She snatches her hands out and turns to Greer in a panic.)

WRAY: I don't know. I mean, I could ... I could start pulling at things randomly but ...

(And suddenly she and Greer are back in their own bodies on Destiny, sitting side by side in the Mess. They glance at each other momentarily, then turn to look at Varro who is standing in front of them holding up his diagram so that they can both see it.)

VARRO (speaking rapidly and pointing at relevant parts of the drawing): Listen. Outer shell is holographic. Inside crown is panel; remove with pin. The trigger wire is slightly thinner, threaded, coarse. Don't pull the wire, it will detonate. Pop the lynchpin by applying pressure to the base and ...

(And they're back inside the Alliance ship at Homeworld Command. Greer immediately looks around the floor.)

GREER: A pin. A pin. We need a pin.

(Camille reaches for the pockets of her jacket but then realises that there's a brooch pinned to the lapel. She fumbles to undo it.)

WRAY: I got one.

(She tugs the brooch free and holds it up.)

(On Destiny, Michaels and Covel re-adjust after their jump.)

MICHAELS: What happened? Did they understand it?

VARRO: I don't know.

RUSH (over radio): Colonel Young, this is Rush in the Communications Lab. There's something you need to see.

YOUNG (into radio): I'm on my way.


CRASHED ALLIANCE SHIP. Inside the Alliance ship, Camille is on her knees with her arms plunged through the holographic shell. After a moment she looks up at Greer.

WRAY: I got it.

GREER: Now, the trigger wire is threaded. Find it, but don't pull.

WRAY: Yeah, I know. It will blow up.

(She fumbles around for a moment.)

WRAY: OK. OK, now what?

GREER: You didn't hear?

WRAY: No. I missed the last part. I was hoping that you ...

(Greer lowers his head. Camille's face falls and she pulls her hands out of the casing again and looks down at the bomb in despair.)

WRAY: Oh God!


DESTINY COMMUNICATIONS ROOM. Nicholas is sitting at the desk looking at the laptop while Young leans over his shoulder.

YOUNG: So. What, uh, what are we looking at?

RUSH: Well, this is the enhanced command signal. It's now embedded within the frequencies of the mind transfer itself.

MICHAELS: Wait. Are you saying you can shut down the connection?

RUSH: Oh yeah. And I would have done a lot earlier ...

(He looks up towards Covel.)

RUSH: ... if Doctor Covel hadn't been sabotaging our efforts.

MICHAELS: What?!

RUSH: He altered one of the key algorithms. I checked.

(Covel smiles humourlessly, not bothering to deny it. Young and Michaels stare at him in disbelief. He turns to them, upset.)

COVEL: OK, I did it. You have to understand that when we went back and I saw that Geiger counter ... The radiation levels - they're not survivable.

MICHAELS: What are you saying?

COVEL: Our bodies - they're as good as dead and I-I ... I just, I panicked. I needed some time to think.

RUSH: You know what happens when someone dies at the end of a connection.

COVEL: No, no-no-no, because Doctor Perry was in a weak condition. It is possible that a healthy person could have survived.

YOUNG: So wait a moment: what did you do? You decided to help yourself to this new body? Is that what you did?

COVEL (frantically): Why do they get to live and we don't? They put us in this position! It was easy for them to take the risk because they weren't going to have to suffer the consequences!

(Michaels lowers her head, trying to take it all in, then looks up again.)

MICHAELS: Colonel ... uh, Colonel Young. Could you get Varro down here? He can, uh, go over the instructions again and you can send us back.

COVEL (shaking his head, his eyes wide): I'm not goin'.

YOUNG: You don't have a choice.


ALLIANCE SHIP. At Homeworld Command, Camille has stepped away from the bomb but Greer is staring down at it frantically. He turns to Camille, pointing down into the device.

GREER: We should try again, OK? We know which wire is the trigger.

WRAY: He said not to pull it.

GREER: So we find another way to release it.

WRAY: Yeah, and if we're wrong, this bomb blows up!

GREER: It's gonna blow up anyway, right? So what do we have to lose?

WRAY (pointing outside the ship): But what about all the people out there - the people that we have to assume are being evacuated from this area? Every second gives more of them a chance to get ...

(She pauses, on the brink of tears.)

WRAY: ... as far away from here as possible.

(Greer looks at her for a moment, then straightens up.)

GREER: You're right.

(She nods, fighting the quiver in her chin. He looks at her unhappily.)

GREER: So we just wait ... for it ... to happen.

(Nodding, he limps away to a clear area of floor and lies down on his back. After several seconds, Camille sinks down and sits on the floor.)

WRAY: You know, I'm ... uh ... I'm sorry we never got along better, Ronald. It's just ... it's just we see things differently. I mean, you like to take action; and I like to talk things through.

GREER (gazing upwards): Well, we're here now, and we're not going anywhere ... so let's talk.

(Camille chuckles momentarily, then her smile fades.)

WRAY (quietly): I can't think of anything else to say.

(Ronald lifts his head and looks at her, then starts to laugh. After a moment's surprise, she joins in. He raises his hand apologetically.)

GREER: I'm sorry.

(They continue to giggle.)


DESTINY COMMUNICATIONS ROOM. Michaels is seated at the table taking one last look at Varro's diagram as he stands next to her.

VARRO: Remember, don't pull the wire.

MICHAELS: Oh, I've got it.

YOUNG: You're sure? You ready for this?

(She straightens up in her seat. Nearby, Nick's eyes have been locked on Covel as he sits at the other side of the table. Finally the other man meets his eyes briefly, but then he immediately looks away again, his face full of guilt. Nick looks around to Young, who nods. As the scientist reaches towards the table, Michaels speaks again.)

MICHAELS: Just one more thing, Colonel. Could you tell Chloe that I'm proud of her?

YOUNG: Of course.

(Nodding, she settles into a more comfortable position on her seat and closes her eyes. Covel looks at her, terrified but silent. Nicholas types, then reaches across to the activation box and switches it off. In the Alliance ship at Homeworld Command, Senator Michaels opens her eyes and raises her head. She and Covel look at the bomb, then she walks slowly towards it and looks down into the holographic shield. She reaches across to the edge of the container where Camille had left her brooch and picks it up, then looks across to Covel with a resigned expression on her face.)


OBSERVATION DECK. Greer is standing at the railing on the Observation Deck watching the F.T.L. vortex flow past. Camille walks in and joins him.

GREER: Have you heard anything?

WRAY: Not yet.

GREER: We've been back for hours.

WRAY (sighing): I know. We're gonna keep someone on the stones twenty-four:seven until we get a connection.

GREER: If we get a connection.

(There's a long moment of silence, then Ronald looks round at her.)

GREER: I heard you have a friend who lives in D.C.

WRAY: Sharon. She's, um, more than a friend, actually. Wish I could talk to her one more time, you know, tell her how much she means to me.

GREER: Yeah. I've been thinking about my mom. You know, things haven't really been that ... that good between us. She never really wanted me to join the military.

(He and Camille smile at each other momentarily, then he lowers his head, upset.)

GREER: Last time I saw her, I didn't really say everything that I wanted to say.

(His eyes fill with tears. Camille looks at him sympathetically.)

WRAY (softly): She's your mother, Ron. She knows.

(He nods, unable to look at her. She turns and leans on the railing again.)

WRAY: Anyway, I'm sure this will all get resolved, and you can go and tell her yourself soon enough.

GREER: Right. Soon enough.