Transcript by justalurkr
Edited by Callie Sullivan

PLAINS OF CELESTIS - DAY TIME. Transport rings emerge from what appears to be very clear, shallow water, leaving Daniel Jackson, Vala Mal Doran and the Prior standing in a dreamlike place on water.

JACKSON: Where are we?

PRIOR: The plains of Celestis.

VALA: (pointing behind them at a golden city in the distance) And that?

PRIOR: The city of the gods.

(Daniel looks sceptically from the city to the Prior, who leads them away toward the city over the water.)

JACKSON: Maybe you could tell me who you are?

PRIOR: I am a Prior of the Ori.

JACKSON: And what is that?

(They approach the city and enter an impressive stone edifice with glass-paned, iron-worked windows.)

PRIOR: In due time. All in due time.

(Daniel and Vala are led into a middle ages version of a conference room with a huge wooden table and beautifully carved chairs. The place is lit by candles and there are pedestaled bowls of fruit on the table, along with an oversized, leather-bound book. The color scheme is an antique golden brown with darker wood and black wrought iron candle stands. The floor is either inlaid marble or an extraordinarily detailed carpet. Prior leads them in and, as soon as they pass him and start gaping, turns on his heel and walks out.)

JACKSON: Uh ... I guess we'll wait here, then?

(Door slams behind Prior, presumably locked.)

JACKSON: Hullooo?

PLANET - P3X-421. Very arid and desert-looking nomad camp we've never seen before. The Stargate activates, and a different Prior emerges, staff with crystal in one hand, the other upraised like a cleric about to give a blessing. He walks down the steps in front of the Stargate, pushes back his hood and addresses the gathering crowd.

PRIOR #2: Hallowed are the Ori.

S.G.C. - BRIEFING ROOM. General Hank Landry, Doctor Carolyn Lam, Colonel Cameron Mitchell and Teal'c are present. Landry is pacing at the front of the room, the rest are seated around the table.

LAM: Both Daniel and Vala's vital signs have been stable for two hours now.

LANDRY: What about disconnecting them from the device?

LAM: Doctor Lee has been unable to remove the stones.

MITCHELL: We haven't tried C-4 yet, sir.

LAM: Doctor Lee is working on disabling the power source, but given that the device is directly linked into their minds, I recommend that we proceed with caution.

LANDRY: I understand, but if one or both of them run into trouble again, I'm ordering you to take whatever action is necessary to shut that thing down!

(Lam and Landry exchange stubborn/determined looks.)

LANDRY: Teal'c? A word.

(Landry and Teal'c leave the conference room and enter Landry's office. Landry stands behind his desk; Teal'c paces the room as he speaks.)

LANDRY: What can you tell me about this Gerak fellow?

TEAL'C: He was first prime of Muto (sp?) a minor Goa'uld who served Ra and fell in with Baal when Ra was killed. After the fall of the Goa'uld, Baal's armada was led by a Jaffa named Hubrok. Hubrok was an ally of Bra'tac's and would have supported our desire to reform the Jaffa nation with democracy. However, approximately four months ago, Hubrok disappeared.

LANDRY: You think Gerak had something to do with that?

TEAL'C: (sound of agreement) Though no evidence has been uncovered, shortly after Hubrok's disappearance, Gerak became the spokesman for the more traditional ways of the Jaffa High Council ...

LANDRY:(sitting at his desk) ... which he could control?

TEAL'C: Through a series of slow and deliberate manipulations. The Council played squarely into Gerak's hands.

LANDRY: That makes him one of the most powerful guys out there ... that we know of. I suppose I should meet him face to face.

TEAL'C: (with a respectful half-bow) I shall extend your invitation. (exits)

CELESTIS - CONFERENCE CHAMBER. Vala is lying flat on the big table, staring at the ceiling. Directly behind her head, the big book is open in front of Daniel, who is rubbing his forehead as he reads. The pedestaled bowl of fruit stands to Vala's right on the table.

VALA: What does it say?

JACKSON: (hands in motion as he speaks quickly, gesturing and turning pages) Well, it seems to follow suit with many other religions I've studied. They tend to weave their doctrines into simple, fable-like narratives with characters that are meant to be easily identifiable with a common individual.

VALA: Why don't you read one to me? I love a good yarn.

JACKSON: They all seem to teach meditation on one's worth and significance ... the path of righteousness toward a state of higher being.

(A crunching noise in the background turns out to be Vala, helping herself to an apple from the fruit bowl as she sits up. Daniel give her a look.)

VALA: What? I'm starving.

JACKSON: The central icon of the religion seems to be fire.

VALA: (continuing to eat the apple) I don't need a book to tell me that.

JACKSON: That would make sense. Fire is light, energy, warmth, and yet ... on Earth, at some point, fire became associated with demonic imagery or evil. Hell, not heaven.

VALA: (still munching away) And?

JACKSON: I'm just wondering if the Ancients had something to do with that.

VALA: (turns and leans so she's on her stomach on the table, looking at the big book upside down across from Daniel.) Tell you what? Why don't you (grasps all the remaining pages and turns them over in the book) FLIP to the end, and see how it all turns out, hmm?

(Daniel and Vala are exchanging another look when a thump indicates the door is opening. Vala looks a little guilty about the apple and starts to get off the table when the camera cuts toward the opening door to show a hooded Prior with big staff entering. Back to Vala rolling off the table to her feet on the other side of the table from the door as she stuffs what's left of the apple back into the bowl and tries to chew and swallow what's in her mouth quickly.)

PRIOR: The village of Ver Eger has been corrupted.

VALA: (with her mouth full) We dinn do it, I promise.

JACKSON: (indicating himself and Vala) We are connected to these people, Harrid and Sallis, through a communication device that was brought to our galaxy a long time ago by a race of people called the Alterans.

VALA: (swallowing hard on the rest of the apple) Also known as the Ancients?

JACKSON: Look, look. The point is we mean you no harm. We're explorers.

PRIOR: Do you know of others in Ver Eger?

JACKSON: Others?

PRIOR: Unbelievers.

VALA: Oh, I'm sorry. Do you want us to tell on people who don't believe in the Ori? (paces around the table to stand near Daniel, facing the Prior.)

PRIOR: Devotion is rewarded. Those who stray, must be guided back to the path.

VALA: Don't you mean, ‘those who stray, get burnt to death'?

PRIOR: The Ori gave all men and women free will.

VALA: (pacing toward the Prior as she gestures in time with her words) If the Ori are so powerful, why do they need us to tell them who believes in them, and who doesn't? (she has walked around to stand behind the Prior, whose gaze does not waver from some point in the middle distance.)

PRIOR: The Ori need nothing from us.

JACKSON: It is we who must seek the truth of the universe in order to achieve enlightenment.

(Cut to Vala looking at him curiously from behind the Prior, who is still staring into the middle distance, then back to Daniel at the table.)

JACKSON: Been down this road before.

S.G.C. - INFIRMARY. Looking over Mitchell's shoulder from the observation room as Landry joins him. Through the window, we can see the unconscious forms of Daniel and Vala side by side on gurneys, being attended to by an orderly. Mitchell begins to rise to attention.

LANDRY: At ease, Colonel. (sits next to Mitchell) How're they doing?

MITCHELL: No change, sir.

(Throughout this conversation, Mitchell stares almost unwaveringly at Daniel and Vala, with occasional half-glances at Landry, who is looking at Mitchell through the majority of this.)

LANDRY: I know you're concerned for them. So am I, but I've got something else for you to do.

MITCHELL: Sir?

LANDRY: Just got a report from Doctor Lindsay on P3X-421.

MITCHELL: Lindsay ... anthropologist, right?

LANDRY: Working with the human population on 421, helping them get over the loss of their former false god.

MITCHELL: Trouble?

LANDRY: Well, it seems a missionary of sorts came through the gate yesterday and started spouting a religion we haven't encountered before. Not that we have a problem with people exploring different faiths.

MITCHELL: I suspect we'll see a lot of opportunists trying to fill the void left by the Goa'uld, sir.

LANDRY: This new-found freedom is quickly going to turn to desperation if people don't learn to fend for themselves. A lot of these, shall we say, SHELTERED civilizations could potentially be taken advantage of by a charlatan with a flashy bag of tricks.

MITCHELL: And in this case?

LANDRY: Well, this missionary is apparently trying to prove the validity of his claims by performing miracles.

MITCHELL: (gives Landry his full attention) Miracles.

(Landry stands, and Mitchell rises to attention with him.)

LANDRY: I'd like you to take SG-12 and check it out.

MITCHELL: (sneaks a look toward the infirmary, then looks back at Landry) Yes, sir.

CELESTIS - CONFERENCE CHAMBER. Focus on the crystal in the Prior's staff, then the camera pulls back to show the Prior standing pretty much where we last saw him, still gazing into the middle distance as he intones things at Daniel and Vala, who are both seated at the big table, slumped in nearly identical postures of wearied boredom, trying to evince polite interest and failing badly.

PRIOR: Amica was forgiven his transgressions and found his way back to the path ...

VALA: (to Daniel) I can't take much more of this.

JACKSON: Uh, sorry to interrupt. But if you brought us here to try to convert us, I think it's fair to tell you that we're not really in the market for new gods.

PRIOR: The will of the Ori brought you here.

JACKSON: (not really a question) I don't suppose we could talk to one of these Ori.

PRIOR: Of course.

(Vala and Daniel, re-energized, rise to their feet.)

JACKSON: Great! That ... that would be great!

PRIOR: Speak, and they shall hear you.

JACKSON: (not quite rolling his eyes) Oh.

VALA: You can torture us all you want with your rhetoric, but we're not going to crack. (pauses, rolls eyes.) All right, I might. But we're not going to TELL you anything because we don't KNOW anything, am I right? (looks to Daniel)

JACKSON: Uh, could I talk to your boss? The ... uh ... (flips through book) ah ... (flips quicker) ... the Doci? Um, um, the one who speaks the word of the Ori?

(Prior looks away from the middle distance to Daniel as if he's finally become real.)

JACKSON: (as if reciting) Like Egidius of Valdair, I need to speak things that can only be spoken in the light of the fire.

(Vala looks nervously at the Prior, as if waiting to see if these are the magic words.)

PRIOR: (eyes widening slightly) Come with me.

(Vala and Daniel pace toward the Prior at the door.)

VALA: Could you not have asked that an HOUR ago? We've been listening to him drone on and on ...

PRIOR: Not you.

VALA: Not who? Not ME? But I ...

(Doors close between her and Daniel, who looks concerned, but not entirely displeased.)

VALA: (from behind the closed doors) I'll ... I'll wait here.

S.G.C. - GATE ROOM. A number of Jaffa in mixed garb (robes and armor) are coming through the wormhole. Gerak comes through last, looking fierce. Teal'c in B.D.U. pants and a black T stands next to Landry, who is in full Class A's.

LANDRY: (aside to Teal'c) Quite the entourage.

(Landry walks up the gate ramp to meet Gerak, who stopped about half-way down. Close up, we can see that Gerak indeed has the gold tattoo of a First Prime and it looks vaguely hawkish. Landry extends a hand, which Gerak takes after a short pause.)

LANDRY: Welcome.

(There is a pause long enough to get close-ups of Gerak, Landry and a stone-faced Teal'c at the bottom of the ramp.)

P3X-421. A missionary Prior is at work on a hillock in front of a crowd.

PRIOR #2: (Reading from a red book) As he lay there dying in the sun, the sands of the desert all around him, Petris spoke to the rock. Not with his lips, but with his mind. And the rock wept tears of fresh water. And his thirst ... was ... quenched.

(Closes book with a snap and surveys the crowd.)

PRIOR #2: Fear not the Ori! Fear the darkness that would conceal the knowledge of the universe. Believe in the truth of all things, and you too may find the path to enlightenment.

(Camera pans right to reveal Mitchell, SG-12 and Doctor Lindsay approaching the Prior. Mitchell is in full field uniform, both hands on his weapon, but not aiming it.)

MITCHELL: And a man has no greater thing under the sun than to eat, drink and be merry. Ecclesiastes, my favorite.

(Pause to show the Prior sizing up Mitchell.)

MITCHELL: My grandma was a bit of a Bible-thumper. Weekends at grandma's meant long, LONG Sundays at St. Hilda's Church of the Grand Epiphany. Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell. How ya doin?

PRIOR #2: I am a Prior, of the Ori.

MITCHELL: It's nice to meet you.

PRIOR #2: (starts past Mitchell toward the Stargate) Your arrival here was foreseen.

MITCHELL: (turning to keep an eye on the Prior) No kidding. So you see the future, do you?

PRIOR #2: Lessons of days gone by teach us of what will come to pass.

MITCHELL: I'm a bit of a history buff myself. Doesn't help me pick the lotto numbers, though. So. Where you from?

PRIOR #2: Where we come from and where we are going are all the same.

MITCHELL: Oh, I getcha. "Wherever you go, there you are." (aside to Lindsay) I think that's Buckaroo Banzai. (back to Prior) Me, I'm from a little planet called "Earth."

PRIOR #2: The home of Daniel Jackson.

LINDSAY: He never mentioned that before.

MITCHELL: (after everyone exchanges looks) You know Doctor Jackson, do you?

PRIOR #2: From him did we learn of your need.

MITCHELL: Our need for what?

PRIOR #2: The revelation ... of your Destiny.

(Long moment of exchanging not necessarily friendly looks.)

CELESTIS - DOCI'S CHAMBER OF FIRE. Prior leads Daniel in. We see a robed man, not bald like the Priors, facing away from the camera and toward a large, altar-link structure with a symbol half-way between an ankh and the symbol for Venus. Entering the chamber, the camera pans right to show that one entire wall is fire behind a fence and gate arrangement. The Prior bows.

PRIOR: Doci.

(The Doci turns. The tan robes have a very strange lapel arrangement that becomes a collar, then swoops up and behind his head to provide a face-frame that is not quite a crown or a headdress, since it doesn't touch him. He's human, but the skin on his face looks as if he left a mudpack on too long and it's flaked off, leaving pale dusty bits.)

DOCI: Leave us.

(The Prior does so immediately and without question. Daniel looks uncomfortable.)

JACKSON: Hello, I'm, uh ...

DOCI: Daniel Jackson.

JACKSON: Right.

DOCI: From the planet Earrrrrth.

JACKSON: OK. So you know my name and where I'm from, so you'll also know how I'm connected to this man's mind. Why I'm here ... ah. See, we're explorers. Very much like to get to know you, your society, how you came to be.

DOCI: A Prior has been dispatched to the place from whence you come.

JACKSON: Really. You can do that? I, I thought we were in another galaxy.

DOCI: It is the will of the Ori that we should spread Origin to all those blessed by their creation.

JACKSON: OK, well, then you should understand that there are many, many different kinds of people in the place from whence I come, people who believe in many different things.

DOCI: They shall find the path to enlightenment.

JACKSON: Right. Well, I think you should also understand that they may not see your way as the only way ...

DOCI: The power and the greatness of the Ori cannot be denied. Those who reject the path to enlightenment must be destroyed.

JACKSON: (almost to himself) Right. I was afraid of that.

S.G.C. - CORRIDOR. Landry, Teal'c, Gerak and his entourage are walking slowly down a corridor.

LANDRY: George Washington, one of our country's founding fathers and first president, once said that true friendship is a plant of slow growth and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.

GERAK: The First Prime of Horus, Kerrick of the High Plains, once said that there is more honor in dying at the hands of a brother than there is killing a would-be friend.

(Behind Landry, Teal'c looks a little startled, then stares at the floor.)

LANDRY: He was a wise man.

GERAK: He was killed shortly after that, losing one of the greatest battles in history.

LANDRY: Well, I hope it wasn't his brother that shot him.

GERAK: It was me. The Jaffa was a fool in every respect. He did not deserve an honorable death.

LANDRY: I see.

(Alarm sounds, lights flash.)

HARRIMAN (on the intercom): Unscheduled incoming wormhole!

LANDRY: I'd better see what this is about. Teal'c, please escort our guest to the briefing room.

(Teal'c looks startled, Landry bows to Gerak, who nods curtly in return.)

CELESTIS - DOCI'S CHAMBER. Doci is up in front of the ankh/Venus symbol, but facing Daniel.

DOCI: The book of Origin says, those who seek the path of enlightenment must NOT be led astray.

JACKSON: Right. See, that can be interpreted a number of different ways. I think maybe I know what the Ori are, ah ... who they are. Um, and I'm not denying that they're powerful beings, but if I'm right ... they're not gods. They're like the Ascended beings I know. They simply have a greater understanding and knowledge of the universe.

DOCI: What is a god, but a being that is worshiped by those beneath? Is great power, knowledge, understanding not enough for you to revere the Ori?

JACKSON: Respect, yes. Certainly. But that doesn't mean I'd murder innocent people in their name. I guess what I'm trying to understand is whether the Ori have spoken to you directly and told you to worship them, or whether you've misinterpreted some evidence you found along the way and developed this religion on your own. I can't speak for everyone in my galaxy, but in my own humble opinion, I don't believe that any individual or society can achieve enlightenment through fear-mongering and force and servitude no matter what power is presented as evidence. That's something the Ascended beings I know seem very clearly to understand. Don't get me wrong, we should all be trying to better ourselves, if Ascension is the ultimate end we're all trying to achieve then so be it, but we should all be allowed to get there or not of our own free will. Kill me for saying that, but that is what I believe. Nothing you say or do will ever change my mind.

(Camera has been cutting back and forth between an increasingly impassioned Daniel and a completely stone-faced Doci staring holes through him without moving. There is a long pause when Daniel stops speaking.)

DOCI: Come.

(Doci becomes a procession of one over to the wall of fire and pulls open the wrought iron gate. He walks up the verge of a pit of fire.)

DOCI: (voice gets a little rougher) The Ori hear you.

(Camera pans down over the verge. It's one deep pit of fire, and Daniel and the Doci are right on the un-railed edge. Camera pulls back until we see Daniel and the Doci from behind. The Doci raises both arms and white beams of light wreath his silhouette. Daniel backs away from the edge and the Doci hastily. Cut between this rear shot and the Doci's face as five firebug looking things fly out of the pit, take a curve around the Doci and enter him between the shoulder blades. The Doci's eyes abruptly flare with a red glow and his voice changes. to a guttural, echoing ... um, we've heard something like it before. Daniel does not look pleased at the sight.)

FIRED UP DOCI: We do not require blind faith. Only that you believe what you see and know to be true.

S.G.C. - BRIEFING ROOM. Walter is setting out briefing packets at each seat. We can see the back of Teal'c's head where he has already sat down, but Gerak and his entourage are watching Walter with some interest. Landry is standing behind the chair at the head of the table. The alarm is still going off in the background, and we can see lights flashing from the Gate Room through the briefing room window.

LANDRY: I realize this is just a friendly meeting, but on behalf of our planet's leaders, I've been asked to present a few thoughts for you to consider. Uh, some points that we can discuss in the future.

(Gerak walks over to the window and surveys the activity in the Gate Room.)

LANDRY: Possibly looking forward to an official treaty between our world and the Jaffa nation.

GERAK: (pointing toward the Gate Room) Who is that?

(Landry stands and walks over to the window. We can hear the incoming travelers' footsteps on the gate ramp.)

LANDRY: Lieutenant Colonel Mitchell, SG-12 and a gentleman we encountered on another planet who claims he represents some gods called the Ori. I think we have yet to see the real fall out from dismantling the infrastructure established by the Goa'uld.

GERAK: Indeed. We have already seen the rise of individuals and organizations who have threatened to challenge us.

(Teal'c and a member of the entourage are trading looks across the conference table.)

LANDRY: There are as many humans out there as there are Jaffa. But if we don't continue to work together, the victory that we both worked so long and hard for could result in chaos.

(Gerak leaves the window and goes back to the conference table, clearly intending to get down to business. Landry follows.)

CELESTIS - DOCI'S CHAMBER.

FIRED UP DOCI: We are Ori.

JACKSON: (can barely get the words out of his mouth) And you instruct these people to worship you?

FIRED UP DOCI: We are their creators. All who follow the path will join us in enlightenment.

JACKSON: Do you know who the Alterans are?

FIRED UP DOCI: Those who abandoned the path are evil.

JACKSON: (really looking unhappy with this conversation) Evil? Why?

FIRED UP DOCI: They shielded you.

JACKSON: Really? I didn't think they did much of anything for us, but I guess I was wrong.

FIRED UP DOCI: The truth of the universe has been obstructed. All will know the power of the Ori!

(Doci stiffens, and the firebug looking things fly out of his chest in close formation, heading back to the firepit. His voice is restored to normal.)

DOCI: Hallowed are the Ori.

(Daniel looks pretty horrified by this point.)

S.G.C. - INFIRMARY. Doctor Lam is listening to Daniel's heart through a stethoscope while Doctor Lee looks on.

LAM: Vitals are returning to normal.

LEE: I wonder what that was all about.

LAM: I don't know, but he was in some sort of stress.

(Doctor Lee looks up to see Mitchell and the missionary Prior enter the observation room over the infirmary.)

MITCHELL: We can't seem to disconnect the stones or turn off the device.

PRIOR #2: It is the will of the Ori.

MITCHELL: Figured you might say that. Sure there's nothing you can do? Odds are we'd be more receptive to those stories you want to tell. Call it a miracle if you want.

PRIOR #2: When Hanonea fell from above and learned to fly on the way down, that was a miracle.

MITCHELL: Right.

S.G.C. - BRIEFING ROOM. Shot up the table directly at Landry. Teal'c is seated alone to our left, Gerak and Yat'Yir, one member of his entourage, are seated to our right. We can see one airman next to the door behind Landry.

YAT'YIR: These planets you have mentioned. All have plentiful naquadah mines on them.

TEAL'C: And substantial human populations.

YAT'YIR: (sneers) Whose side are you on, Jaffa?

(Teal'c leans forward somewhat aggressively.)

LANDRY: There are no sides here. Just topics of conversation.

GERAK: I wish to meet this Prior of the Ori. If he preaches faith in false gods, then that is a concern for all of us. I wish to hear his claims, and challenge him.

(Everyone exchanges looks. This is clearly one thing they can agree on.)

CELESTIS - CITY CORRIDOR. Daniel is briskly leading the Prior back to the conference chamber where they left Vala. He turns to face the Prior as the doors to the room open. The Prior remains outside, allowing the door to close behind Daniel. Daniel makes sure it's closed, then walks around the big table to join Vala, who is leaning against the window casement.

VALA: What's going on?

JACKSON: This is bad.

VALA: Worse than being burned to death?

JACKSON: It appears that our Ascended Ancients and the Ori have a slight difference of opinion. See, the Ori think that because they're Ascended, human beings should worship them ... ALL humans.

VALA: And if we don't?

JACKSON: Then we aren't worthy of living and should be destroyed.

VALA: I don't think enlightenment means what they think it means!

JACKSON: See, apparently our Ascended Ancients have been shielding our existence from the Ori.

VALA: They've been protecting us?

JACKSON: The Ori seem to think that our Ancients are evil because they haven't shared the secrets of the universe with us.

VALA: Well, I hate secrets. At least the ones I don't know.

JACKSON: The problem is, the Ori now know our galaxy is inhabited by humans because of (makes a sharp gesture that includes them both) US.

VALA: I refuse to accept the blame for that! Curiosity is part of human nature! Look, if the Ancients knew that the Ori were so bad, why didn't they stop us from coming here?

JACKSON: Free will.

VALA: Right. If they have been protecting us, there's no reason to believe they won't continue.

JACKSON: The Ancients may be protecting us from the Ori, but not their human followers. See, Ancients won't interfere in any lower planes of existence. If anybody from our galaxy wants to worship the Ori, apparently that's our choice. And, they won't stop Priors from coming through the gate because apparently they've already sent one.

VALA: The Ori have given Priors special powers, and that's not fair.

JACKSON: They're still human, and highly evolved humans can have some pretty amazing abilities. They're using the secrets of the universe that the Ori have given them to spread the word of the Ori's godliness and when people don't see the light, it's gonna be ... (makes a slashing gesture with one hand.)

VALA: What are we gonna do?

JACKSON: I don't know. I'm starting to think that sending Priors is just the beginning. We could be talking crusade, here. We need to warn Earth.

VALA: We need to get out of these people.

CELESTIS - DOCI'S CHAMBER. The Doci faces the pit of fire. We can see the Prior enter the chamber over the Doci's shoulder. Doci turns to face the Prior, so he's now backlit with the fire.

DOCI: Take the unbelievers back to Ver Eger. Let its cleansing forever mark the beginning of a new age. Evil has raised a great many unbelievers in a far off place. They must be shown ... the path.

PRIOR: Hallowed are the Ori.

DOCI: Hallowed are the Ori.

(Prior bows, turns and leaves the Doci standing between the edge of the fire pit and the open gate.)

VER EGER - VILLAGE SQUARE. Quick pan across the villagers going about their business, then cut to Daniel and Vala inside their borrowed home, peering out the window.

VALA: What are they doing? Why did he bring us back here?

(They turn and go back into the main room to lean on the table.)

JACKSON: He's using us to weed out any other heretics that might be here.

VALA: I still don't get why the Ori just don't do it themselves. They're supposed to be gods. Aren't gods all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful?

JACKSON: The universe is infinite, remember? Apparently, that's a lot to keep track of.

VALA: I suppose.

JACKSON: They didn't even know about our galaxy, well ... until recently.

VALA: It's not our fault. (Perspective shifts to the image in the mirror, which is of the young blonde woman Vala's inhabiting.) You'd think at least they'd keep on top of their own people.

(We see the man Daniel inhabits walk past in the mirror. As long as we're seeing these people, we hear their voices, then switch back to Daniel and Vala when we see them.)

JACKSON: I get the feeling the Ori let their devout followers do their enforcing for them; it confirms their loyalty.

VALA: OK, why did we LET the Prior bring us back here?

JACKSON: Well, because I don't think he was going to give us much choice. And besides, I think that might be our best chance to contact Earth and warn them about what we know.

VALA: How?

JACKSON: Well, Fannis said that his sect had found other artifacts ...

VALA: You think they also have a terminal device to go along with the stones?

JACKSON: If they do, and we can find it, and we can hook up the stones, maybe we can get this communication thing going (gestures) both ways.

VALA: Right. If the Prior is using us to weed out other unbelievers, how do we make contact with Fannis without giving him away?

JACKSON: We ... can't.

S.G.C. - BRIEFING ROOM. The missionary Prior is standing at the foot of the table with his big staff.

PRIOR #2: You do not believe in a higher power?

LANDRY: Well, it's complicated. There are a lot of different points of view about that subject around here.

TEAL'C: Jaffa have recently shed the dominance of false gods that have enslaved us for MANY generations.

GERAK: But many have long believed in the path to enlightenment.

(Teal'c gives Gerak an eloquent look.)

PRIOR #2: Origin will guide you on this path, and those who revere its wisdom shall be uplifted. I have come to spread the word to the unbelievers who have been ... sheltered, and raised by evil.

MITCHELL: (aside to Landry) You have no idea how much he sounds like my grandma.

VER EGER - NIGHT. Vala is tying on a cloak with some difficulty.

VALA: It's a pretty big village. I suspect that Fannis and his gang did a reasonable job hiding their sacrilegious artifacts ...

JACKSON: (also donning a cloak) Well, we have to do something.

(There is a knock at the door, surprising them both. Vala looks out the window, but can't get a good enough angle to tell who it is and shrugs at Daniel, who opens the door slowly so that whoever is outside can't see him. Fannis enters holding a lamp, and smiles in relief when he sees that Vala is there and OK. Daniel, who doesn't know who it is yet, pops out from behind the door and prepares to whack him over the head with a found object.)

VALA: No No No!

JACKSON: Fannis! (shoves him safely away from the door and window) You shouldn't have come! They're using us to get to you!

FANNIS: So I suspected. Either that, or you've truly come to see the "power of the Ori."

VALA: Not bloody likely.

JACKSON: You have to leave!

FANNIS: If I can help you speak the reality of our existence to your people, maybe one day in turn, you'll spread that word back here.

(Daniel and Vala exchange a look. Daniel nods, and Vala turns to go get something.)

JACKSON: You said you had other artifacts like the stones?

FANNIS: I'll show you. (starts for the door)

JACKSON: No! Just tell me!

(Cut briefly to Vala pulling the hollowed book that hides the stones out of the bedclothes in the other room and turning to come back.)

JACKSON: Now, we're looking for a large, dome-shaped object with a blue crystal on top. The stones fit inside of it.

(Fannis turns back to Daniel from the window, where he was checking for tails.)

FANNIS: Come! (Heads for the door)

JACKSON: Fannis!

(Fannis, at the door, turns back to look at Daniel inquiringly.)

JACKSON: You're risking your life!

FANNIS: Harrid, Sallis and I ... all those who believe as we do have known for some time that we may give our lives for our cause. We only hope that one day, the truth comes to bear as a result. (Clasps Daniel's shoulder, nods to Vala and heads out the door into the foggy night. Daniel and Vala exchange another "we tried" look, and Daniel hands an unlit lantern to Vala. They both follow Fannis out the door, pulling up their hoods, and make their way carefully unseen, through the streets of the village to another house, where Fannis pulls up a trapdoor in the floor to reveal under the floorboards another dome with a crystal like the one back at the S.G.C. All smile, then Daniel gets the stones out of the books.)

JACKSON: And ...

(Vala and Daniel place their stones in the dome, igniting the blue crystal.)

S.G.C. - INFIRMARY. Doctor Lee is studying the monitors, Doctor Lam is taking vital signs.

LEE: Whoa. Something just happened ...

(Lam is doing the penlight-in-the-eyes trick on an unconscious Daniel when he grabs her hands and his eyes pop open.)

VER EGER - FANNIS'S HIDEAWAY. He's looking alarmed at something off-camera, then relieved as Harrid and Sallis stand up from the device, clearly themselves again. Fannis then looks horrified to see a Prior coming down the stairs to his hideaway, stones in his staff glowing blue. The blue crystal on the dome goes out, and Vala and Daniel are back in the galaxy of the Ori.

JACKSON: Fannis?

(Fannis falls to his knees, apparently unable to breathe. Daniel turns to make a move on the Prior who, with one wave of his hand, pushes Daniel through the air and against the far wall of the basement. Fannis is now flat on his back, choking.)

PRIOR: And the people shall deliver the wicked ... unto your divine judgement.

(Cut to Vala, looking scared.)

PRIOR: For their sins ... shall be weighed in balance with all that is just ... and true.

(Fannis dies. Daniel is still pinned up against the wall as the scene fades to black.)

VER EGER - NIGHT. Vala struggles as she is carried, bound, through the streets toward the platform where she was burned alive the last time she was discovered.

VALA: The Ori are great! I LOVE the Ori! I'M A BELIEVER!

(They round a corner, and we can see Daniel being half-dragged by his own bunch of guards behind her.)

VALA: What's the matter with you people? I'm telling you ... I've seen the LIGHT! (over her shoulder to Daniel) I don't think they're buying it.

JACKSON: Well ... I've heard you do better.

(Daniel half bends, then comes up elbowing guards hard as he goes, trying to twist away from his captors. They smack and sock him back into submission. Vala and Daniel are forced, struggling and panting, onto the grooved stone platform we last saw when Vala was burned alive on it and tied up there. Vala is about a millimeter away from full screaming panic, and Daniel isn't looking all that calm himself.)

ADMINISTRATOR: Glorious are the Ori, who lead us to salvation! Who did fight the evil that would doom us to mortal sin.

(The Administrator has been pacing slowing around the stone platform as he speaks. A close-up reveals that he is reading all this from a small book.)

ADMINISTRATOR: Did they defeat the old spirits and cast them out. And now, with the strength of our will, they do call upon us to prevail against the corruption of all unbelievers.

(Vala and Daniel are slowly giving up struggling against their bonds and looking despondent.)

VALA: Well. Second time's the charm.

(Daniel gives her a look, then glances around the square at the crowd, clearly still working on a way out of this, but not optimistic.)

S.G.C. - BRIEFING ROOM. Landry tries to look neutral as he listens to the missionary Prior intoning away. A quick cut to Gerak shows less neutrality, but he's still listening.

PRIOR #2: The Ori do not shield this knowledge as others might, selfish in their powerful advantage. They lead you to their realm with the path that is laid out in the Book of Origin.

(Walter comes briskly into the room and bends to whisper something to Landry.)

PRIOR #2: All you need do is follow their teachings.

LANDRY: (rising to go) I'm very sorry. You'll have excuse us for a moment. Please, continue. Colonel?

(Landry and Mitchell leave briskly for the corridor outside the briefing room, where Doctor Lam is waiting.)

LAM: They woke up for a moment, then lost consciousness again.

LANDRY: They say anything?

LAM: Yes, they DID.

VER EGER - VILLAGE SQUARE. In the torchlit square Vala and Daniel are still tied up on the grooved stone platform. The Prior is pacing slowly behind the Administrator, who stands reading from his book.

ADMINISTRATOR: Guide us on the path, that we may triumph over the enemy of our salvation and be with you in the end of ends on the planes of enlightenment. (Closes book and looks around at the crowd.)

S.G.C. - BRIEFING ROOM. Mitch precedes Landry into the room, both look either grim or appalled, can't really decide which. Mitchell draws his sidearm and aims it unwaveringly at the missionary Prior, who doesn't look all that surprised. Gerak and Yat'Yir leap to their feet and out of the line of fire as every airman in the room and those who come in after the General follow Mitchell's example, all aiming at the Prior.

GERAK: What's the meaning of this?

LANDRY: I'm very sorry. We've just received some information about our visitor here that demands we take every precaution.

(Cut to missionary Prior, who's tilting his head, looking as closed to amused as we've seen any of these guys get, which isn't very.)

MITCHELL: (to Prior, very politely over the aimed gun) We'll have to take the staff, sir.

(Mitchell nods to an airman behind the Prior. The airman steps up and takes one hand off his sidearm long enough to take the staff from the Prior's unresisting hand, then steps back. His aim never wavers.)

MITCHELL: And you'll have to come with us.

GERAK: I demand to know what you've learned!

PRIOR #2: (backing away from the conference table slowly) All I wish to do is spread the word of the Ori to your world.

LANDRY: Actually, that was never going to happen.

PRIOR #2: Then I must leave at once.

(Mitchell tenses, preparing to fire at the first wrong move.)

MITCHELL: That's not gonna happen, either.

VER EGER - VILLAGE SQUARE.

PRIOR: Hallowed are the Ori!

ALL VILLAGERS: Hallowed are the Ori!

Cut to Vala and Daniel looking extremely unhappy and scared. The Prior thumps his staff on the ground and the big pot at the edge of the grooved stone platform flares and two villagers begin to tilt it over.

S.G.C. - BRIEFING ROOM.

PRIOR #2: HALLOWED are the Ori!

(He reaches out with one hand and his staff flies back into it, startling the airman who took it from him. The blue crystal at the top starts to glow. Camera pans back, and we see Teal'c rise to his feet from the table and the circle of gun-aiming military tense.)

VER EGER - VILLAGE SQUARE. The two villagers have tipped liquid fire into the grooves on the stone platform. As it flows toward a terrified Vala and Daniel, there's another quick cut back to ...

S.G.C. - BRIEFING ROOM, where the fire from the square appears to ignite the missionary Prior across the galaxies. The men in the briefing room recoil as the missionary burns alive in front of them. When the fire goes out, they move forward to examine the spot, but there is no burn mark. An alarm sounds.

INTERCOM: Code blue medical emergency in medical lab one! Repeat, code blue!

(Mitchell puts the safety on his sidearm and runs out of the briefing room, Landry in his wake.)

VER EGER - VILLAGE SQUARE The liquid fire is still filling all the platform grooves, making its way toward Vala and Daniel, who we now see are tied back to back on the grooved platform, and looking terrified. Quick cuts to their expressions, the Prior, the villagers and lots of gathering flame. As the fire sucks the oxygen out of the air around them, Daniel and Vala are having trouble breathing. Or they could just be that frightened.)

S.G.C. - INFIRMARY. Daniel lays unconscious. Mitchell, Landry, Teal'c and several airmen enter the infirmary. Doctor Lee is looking despondent and Doctor Lam is working on her patients.

LAM: Same as before, only this time it's both of them.

(Doctor Lee looks alarmed as Mitchell and Teal'c beeline for the stone device and stand purposefully on either side of it. He moves toward them and raises his hands just like he's going to stop two trained soldiers from doing anything.)

LEE: Now, now ... hold on! This device draws its power directly from subspace. It will react very badly to an explosion. (shaking his finger at them as he back away) You can't blow it up.

TEAL'C: (to Mitchell) Perhaps we should send it through the Stargate.

MITCHELL: (softly) Genius.

Mitchell starts pulling away the cords connecting it to the various sensors and computers Lee's been using to figure it out. Lee moves forward again as if to stop him.

LEE: No! Well, it also uses subspace to communicate to another galaxy across the universe. There's no reason to believe (ducks under the device, which Teal'c and Mitchell have lifted off the table and are carrying away) that Daniel and Vala won't stay connected to it, even from a different planet!

MITCHELL: (as he and Teal'c rush out of the infirmary with the device) I have a different idea! Tell them to start dialing the gate!

LEE: Where to?

MITCHELL: Wherever!

LEE: (to himself) Wherever? (picks up phone to dial Gate Room) All right, wherever.

VER EGER - VILLAGE SQUARE. The liquid fire has nearly filled all the grooves in the stone platform. Quick cuts around the scene show that Vala and Daniel are as yet unsinged, but still terrified, the Prior is starting to look smug, and the villagers are all still watching quietly.

S.G.C. - GATE ROOM. The Stargate is spinning, chevrons engaging.

HARRIMAN: Chevron two, encoded!

(Landry rushes down the stairs into the control room.)

HARRIMAN: Chevron three, encoded!

LANDRY: Walter ...

HARRIMAN: Orders from Colonel Mitchell, sir.

LANDRY: Proceed.

HARRIMAN: Chevron four, encoded.

(Quick cut to blast doors opening to allow Teal'c and Mitchell through the corridors at a run with the device.)

MITCHELL: OUT OF THE WAY! OUT OF THE WAY!

(Airmen scatter like leaves.)

VER EGER - VILLAGE SQUARE. Vala and Daniel are nearly engulfed in flame, squeezing back toward each other as tightly as they can. Their small sounds of terror can now be heard.)

S.G.C. - GATE ROOM. The Stargate is still spinning, chevrons still engaging.)

HARRIMAN: Chevron six, encoded.

(Quick cut to Mitchell and Teal'c running up the corridor.)

MITCHELL: NOT YET, WALTER! NOT YET!

HARRIMAN: Halting dialing sequence!

VER EGER - VILLAGE SQUARE. Vala and Daniel are nearly engulfed in flame.

S.G.C. - INFIRMARY.

MALE VOICE: Blood pressure is dropping, heart rate is rising ... they're going into shock!

(Close up of Vala's face shows very rapid eye movement under her closed eyelids. Doctor Lam is still checking her over with the stethoscope.)

S.G.C. - CORRIDOR. Outside the Gate Room, Mitchell and Teal'c come down at a flat run toward the blast door to the Gate Room.

MITCHELL: NOW!

HARRIMAN: Resuming dialing sequence. Chevron seven ... locked.

(From the base of the ramp, Teal'c and Mitchell throw the device directly into the kawhoosh of the erupting wormhole.)

VER EGER - VILLAGE SQUARE. We see Vala, cut to Daniel, cut back to ... the blonde woman, then back to her husband. Harrid and Sallis are back in their own bodies, but about to burn alive. They look frightened, and then resigned.

S.G.C. - INFIRMARY. We see Doctor Lam rubbing defibrillator paddles together.

LAM: Charging to 200.

(Doctor Lam turns to an unconscious Daniel, whose shirt has been opened to allow heroic measures.)

LAM: Clear!

(The paddles are about a millimeter from Daniel's chest when his eyes pop open and he gasps. Quick cut to Vala's gurney, where she has sat bolt upright with a gasp of her own. Daniel and Vala look for each other immediately. We see Doctor Lam looking back and forth between them in disbelief, and Doctor Lee starting to smile in delight. Daniel looks at Vala, who relaxes a bit, her breathing evening out, her hand at her throat.)

S.G.C. - GATE ROOM. Teal'c and Mitchell apparently fell down from the force of their throw, as they are now getting back to their feet, lit by the eerie glow of the wormhole. Up in the Control Room, Landry quirks a grin, then turns to answer the phone by the door to the Briefing Room.

LANDRY: General Landry.

(Cut to Teal'c and Mitchell, turning from the wormhole and looking up at the Control Room. Teal'c looks mildly interested, Mitchell is panting like a puppy who's fetched the stick and wants you to throw it again. Cut to Landry hanging up the phone and coming back to the control room window.)

LANDRY: Doctor Lam says that Daniel and Vala have regained consciousness.

(Teal'c grins and gives a half-bow.)

LANDRY: Well done!

MITCHELL: See? THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!

(He bounces on his toes and turns to Teal'c. They exchange a triumphant arm-clasp at the base of the ramp, still lit by the wormhole.)

CELESTIS - DOCI'S CHAMBER. Doci is facing the firepit beyond the open gate. Over his shoulder, we see the Prior slowly lead the village Administrator into the chamber. The Administrator approaches the Doci, who turns to greet him, now backlit with the flames.

DOCI: You have served the Ori well.

ADMINISTRATOR: I bow in humble account.

DOCI: (beckons him forward) Come! And gaze upon the flames of enlightenment.

(Looking very nervous, if not downright scared, the Administrator approaches the edge of the fire pit.)

DOCI: Let its power ... wash over you.

(We see the Administrator from behind, facing the flames and raising his hands in welcome. White beams of light shoot toward him from the fire and he arches back in reaction. The Doci and Prior look on calmly. When next we see the Administrator's face, his eyes are the same opaque pale blue as the Prior's, and his skin color has changed, too. He no longer appears frightened. He turns calmly to face the Doci, who moved up behind him after the Administrator dropped his arms.)

DOCI: Great holy armies shall be gathered and trained to fight all who embrace evil. In the name of the gods, ships shall be built to carry our warriors out amongst the stars and we will spread Origin to ALL the unbelievers! The power of the Ori will be felt far and wide, and the wicked shall be vanquished.

(New Prior bows his head.)

NEW PRIOR: Hallowed are the Ori.

DOCI: Hallowed are the Ori!

S.G.C. - LABORATORY. As Teal'c looks on, Vala is touching some sort of small eye-dropper-shaped crystal device to the bracelet on Daniel's arm. The bracelet pops open. She touches it to hers, which follows suit.

JACKSON: (softly) Thank you.

(Vala smiles at him as Mitchell enters the lab.)

MITCHELL: General Landry is ready for us.

(Teal'c half bows to Mitchell and they all exit the lab.)

S.G.C. - BRIEFING ROOM. We see Landry through the glass star map. The rest are seated at the conference table, Vala and Mitchell at the foot, then Daniel next to Vala and Teal'c next to Mitchell.

LANDRY: So you think we should expect to see more of these Priors show up?

JACKSON: I would be very surprised if they didn't.

MITCHELL: How? We know one came through the Stargate, but if the galaxy's so far away ...

VALA: (who is seated with one heel up on her chair) I suspect the Ori have the power to make a lot of things happen.

JACKSON: Still, for the Priors, I think we can assume it's a one-way trip.

MITCHELL: Don't think they have a problem with self sacrifice.

LANDRY: You think the Ancients here in our galaxy will continue to use their power to stop the Ori from attacking us directly?

JACKSON: I hope so.

MITCHELL: So, how do we fight these guys? And I mean the message, as much as the men.

(Quick cut to Daniel, who's got nothin'.)

MITCHELL: A lot of folks out there are gonna buy what these guys are sellin'.

TEAL'C: Hopefully now many have been educated to the ways of false gods. (looks a teensy bit smug)

VALA: Yes, but we're not talking about humans with snakes in their heads and slightly better understanding of technology.

JACKSON: See, the power isn't false. The Priors are going to offer to people what seems like proof of God.

LANDRY: Proof of powerful beings is not proof of God.

JACKSON: I'm not saying it is.

MITCHELL: Look, just because we know there's some beings on a higher plane of existence than ourselves does not mean there's not an order of Being higher than them. (Grins) Least I reckon that's what my grandma'd say.

VALA: (to Daniel) The universe is supposedly infinite. (Big Vala smile.)

LANDRY: Which, in my book, makes it impossible to know everything. I mean, somewhere in there, you gotta fill in the blanks with a little faith. (grins at Mitchell) I had a grandma, too.

(Landry rises to his feet, Mitchell follows suit.)

MITCHELL: So. Business as usual, sir?

LANDRY: Let 'em bring it. We'll use our strengths against their weaknesses. That's a pretty good strategy for any kind of business you're in. (To Vala and Daniel) I'm glad you two are OK. (leaves)

MITCHELL: Amen.

S.G.C. - DANIEL'S OFFICE. Daniel is typing away at his computer when we see a blue-sleeved arm appear in the foreground and a very familiar hand pat a stack of books. Daniel looks up, surprised.

JACKSON: Hey. Wow. What the ... hell are you doin' here?

(Cut to Jack O'Neill in Class A's, looking across the desk.)

O'NEILL: Nice to see you, too!

JACKSON: No, no, sorry! I just wasn't expecting to see you. (Rises and walks around the desk to Jack.)

O'NEILL: Yeah, well ... I was in the neighborhood ... and I've got a little surprise for Mitchell. (smiles)

JACKSON: Oh. Yeah. He really loved the last one, the fact you didn't tell him we were all moving on to different positions ...

O'NEILL: Yeah. Sorry you missed Daedalus.

JACKSON: No, you're not.

O'NEILL: You're right. I'm not. ... Listen, I just had a briefing with Landry about ... your stuff, and ...

JACKSON: Yeah ...

O'NEILL: Sounds like it could be a problem?

JACKSON: Well, we've been up against some pretty bad guys before.

O'NEILL: Yeah, not so pretty ... Overdressed, yes.

JACKSON: In some tough situations ...

O'NEILL: That we always won ...

JACKSON: Yeah, but didn't you feel that was because we had someone ... lookin' out for us? I don't think I would say this to anyone else, but for the first time, I'm scared.

O'NEILL: I'm hungry.

JACKSON: Me too.

O'NEILL: Well ... (tilts his head toward the door and presumably the commissary. They leave.)

ATMOSPHERE - F-302 in full flight. Mitchell piloting, Jack in the backseat.

MITCHELL: Yeah, man. This is GOOD. Still a rush!

O'NEILL: Yeah.

MITCHELL: I don't know why I didn't get back on the horse sooner, except I didn't really know you could take one of these things for a joyride.

O'NEILL: Now, see? That's one of the great things about being a general. You pretty much get to do whatever you want.

MITCHELL: I suppose after you've saved the world seven or eight times ...

O'NEILL: Who's counting, huh?

MITCHELL: Teal'c. Actually, he mentions it quite often.

O'NEILL: So, Mitchell ... I hear you haven't picked out your team yet.

MITCHELL: I'm hoping I won't have to, sir. Why, did General Landry say something about it, sir?

O'NEILL: He did.

MITCHELL: Are you going to tell me, sir?

O'NEILL: He said you're going to be FINE, Mitchell.

MITCHELL: Thank you, sir. You mind if I kick in the afterburners, sir?

O'NEILL: Oh please.

MITCHELL: Thank you, sir.

The F-302 streaks, full-speed, across the sky.