The Siege, Part 1

"The Siege, Part 1" is the nineteenth episode of the first season of Stargate: Atlantis.

Synopsis
With very little time before the Wraith Hive Ships get to Atlantis, Dr. Rodney McKay plans on fixing the Lagrangian Point satellite from within the Lantean system to destroy the ships. Meanwhile, as a precaution, Dr. Elizabeth Weir considers destroying the city before the Wraith can get their hands on it so they can't find a way to a new "feeding ground", Earth.

Previously on Stargate: Atlantis
Dr. Rodney McKay and Major John Sheppard discover an Ancient Lagrangian Point satellite at the edge of the Lantean system. A Wraith Dart arrives at Atlantis and scans the city and sends a message into space before self-destructing. Dr. Radek Zelenka aims the Long range sensors to where the message was sent and discovered three Hive ships that will arrive at Atlantis in two weeks. Teyla Emmagan discovered that she had some Wraith DNA in her system, and with this, was able to have the ability to sense the Wraith coming and to connect with them telepathically. She discovered that the Wraith were after a new rich feeding ground: Earth.

Plot
While the Wraith come closer to Atlantis, the leading group of the expedition is informed by Dr. Rodney McKay and Dr. Radek Zelenka that the Wraith will pass the last Lagrangian Point satellite; they are very confident they can bring it back online and obliterate all three Hive Ships before they even reach Atlantis. McKay volunteers for the mission, and while he packs up he talks with Zelenka, who tells McKay that he should go and they even start to quarrel about it. Meanwhile, Dr. Elizabeth Weir, Major John Sheppard and Sgt. Bates search for a new Alpha Site; afterwards Bates tells Sheppard that he doesn't trust Teyla Emmagan but Sheppard defends his team member.

Weir is informed by Zelenka about the self-destruct of the city (mentioned in "Hide and Seek" as overloading the Naquadah generators) and that it wouldn't destroy enough of the city. He shows Weir a simulation which predicts that the Wraith will be able to recover some of the City's technology, and some of the Atlantis database. Weir realizes they have to find a way to delete the Ancients database so that the Wraith cannot recover it. Suddenly the Stargate is activated and Sheppard's team comes back. Bates assumes they were attacked by the Wraith and immediately accuses Teyla, but Sheppard then says they were attacked by some kind of T-Rex. Later Teyla confronts Bates and they start to fight (with Teyla actually punching Bates in the face) until Sheppard and Lt. Aiden Ford intervene.

Meanwhile in space, the Puddle Jumper approaches the satellite and McKay enters it, wearing a space suit, to reactivate it. He is successful in using a Naquadah generator to power up the maintenance systems, creating an atmosphere that allows Dr. Peter Grodin and Lt. Lou Miller to enter and assist with repairing the weapon, although Grodin inadvertently activates the gravity system while McKay is several feet in the air. After frustrated diagnostics, they discover that power connectors linking the weapon's energy storage buffer to the main firing system have been damaged, but to solve it someone must go outside the satellite. After drawing the short straw and much protest, McKay goes EVA. He discovers that meteor strikes have severed the connections, determines that he can reroute the power and finally is able to repair it. However, McKay has inadvertently rerouted power away from the Jumper dock, meaning they cannot dock with the satellite nor take Grodin back on board. Grodin realizes there is no time to repair the fault, and he decides to stay on the satellite. This proves useful, as he will be able to keep the power levels as low as possible, ensuring the Wraith cannot detect the active system before it is ready to fire, and also to repair it if there is a problem.

On Atlantis, Halling visits Weir and tells her that he doesn't want Atlantis to be destroyed. However, she tells him that she has to protect Earth. Later, Weir is informed by Zelenka that he invented a computer virus to delete the database and Weir wants him to make a backup of it in the hard-drive they brought from Earth but he tells her that they only can save about 8%. Meanwhile Sheppard and Ford search for more potential Alpha sites until they are called because Bates was attacked and badly wounded. They ask Teyla about it but she tells them that it wasn't her.

They discuss with Weir who it could be but then Dr. Carson Beckett finds out that there is a Wraith in the city. With a Biometric Sensor Array they are able to find out where the Wraith is and they try to capture him. However, the Wraith is able to take out Sheppard's team until he is stunned by Ford. The Wraith is imprisoned and Sheppard starts to interrogate him after he named him Bob but he keeps silent. Teyla decides to start communicate telepathically with him but he overwhelms her. Sheppard fires with his gun at him several times, wounding him badly.

Meanwhile the Wraith Hive Ships drop out of hyperspace as predicted, and Grodin powers up the satellite. McKay watches from the cloaked Jumper as the energy beam from the weapon successfully slices through and destroys one Hive ship. Amid the celebration, Grodin radioes that he is having trouble - McKay's rerouting has overloaded and the weapon can't be fired again. Grodin cannot bring it back online, and as McKay orders the pilot to rescue him, the remaining ships destroy the satellite, killing Grodin. McKay can't do anything, thus he informs Weir and is ordered to return to Atlantis. Weir informs the base about what has happened and afterwards starts the self-destruct countdown. Having heard the evacuation order, Bob tells them no matter where they go, no matter where they hide, the Wraith will find them, as well as Earth. A frustrated Sheppard finally kills him.

Notable Quotes
(Zelenka is arguing that it should be him to go to the Ancient satellite, not McKay)

McKay: There's not going to be a problem.

Zelenka: You don't know that.

McKay: If it seems like we can't fix it, we'll just turn around and go back! Now, I realize I am invaluable everywhere-

Zelenka: (annoyed) You know what? Forget it. I take it back!

McKay: Sorry, nope. You can't take it back because you've just admitted that I'm smarter than you!

Zelenka: I admitted no such thing!

McKay: I know it's hard to say, but the truth shone through when you prepared to speak.

Zelenka: (through gritted teeth) You are a miserable little man.

McKay: Hey, hey, let's not ruin the moment.

Sheppard: You know that for a fact, Sergeant, or is your spidey sense just tingling?

(In the Ancient satellite)

Grodin: I've found the switch to initialize the gravity

McKay: Okay just give me a sec- (gravity comes on, causing McKay to fall several meters onto the floor) Oh yep, yeah, that's permanent back damage. (through gritted teeth)

McKay: In military parlance: Surprise... is an element that's on our side.

(Examining possible planets for evacuation)

Sheppard: What about M1K439?

Ford: Which one's that?

Sheppard: The one with all the waterfalls.

Ford: See, why can't we just call it 'Planet Waterfall'? (Sheppard gives him "the look") What? I say we should just give them names.

McKay: I'm not sure I can fix this.

Grodin: You can fix anything.

McKay: Who told you that?

Grodin: You did. On several occasions.

"Bob" the Wraith: I will tell you this: no matter where you flee, we will find you. Just as surely as we will find Earth. And when we do, we shall feast!

Zelenka: Yes, well, that would certainly help – but I'm more concerned about the Ancient database – its ability to back up data. It's incredibly redundant.

Weir: 'Incredibly redundant'.

Zelenka: Yeah, that one never gets old. But seriously...

Goofs

 * During the episode, the away team returning through the Stargate from M1M-316 fire back through an incoming wormhole. Since wormholes are one way, this is not effective against anything on the other side. (It could be a heat of battle reaction, however, or because they were firing their weapons as they entered the gate on the other planet, so that when they stepped through they were still shooting as they entered Atlantis)
 * When Dr. Rodney McKay and his team are getting near the Ancient Lagrangian Point satellite he asks to be sealed off in the rear section of the ship with the helmet to his space suit still off. Those suits are ridiculously hard to get into, even just to get the helmet on would require another person. He would not have been able to get ready for his spacewalk alone.
 * The low-gravity scenes in this episode were well done, with one exception. When McKay drifts into the satellite, he is towing a Naquadah generator behind him. When he comes to a stop, the Naquadah generator should continue to drift in the same direction until something stops it.

Character

 * Lt. Lou Miller

Death

 * Dr. Peter Grodin