Prometheus Unbound

"Prometheus Unbound" is the twelfth episode of the eighth season of Stargate SG-1.

Plot
Dr. Daniel Jackson and Brigadier General Jack O'Neill arguing about whether or not Daniel can go on the upcoming mission to Atlantis. Lt. General George S. Hammond solves the issue by telling O'Neill that Daniel will in fact be taking part in the mission, as Hammond himself is going to be in command of the Prometheus, and therefore, the mission. MSgt. Walter Harriman will also be going.

On board the Prometheus, Daniel briefs the command crew on where they're going. He meets Dr. Lindsey Novak, who apparently turned down the opportunity to go on the first mission to Atlantis. As they are talking, an alarm goes off on the ship. Daniel goes to the bridge, where they are picking up a distress call.

They drop out of hyperspace, and find a suspicious-looking Al'kesh, sitting dead in space. SG-3 is sent to investigate; however, the team is stunned and a Kull Warrior transports over to the Prometheus. It rings the entire crew (except for Daniel) to the Al'kesh, then pilots the Prometheus away.

Daniel finds his way to the bridge, having grabbed a P-90 with the Kull Disruptor embedded in it. He sneaks up on the Kull and shoots it twice in the back but to no avail. The Kull Warrior then turns round and shots Daniel with a Zat'nik'tel.

Meanwhile, the Prometheus' crew attempts to get the Al'kesh running again.

Daniel wakes up on the bridge of the Prometheus, tied up in the command chair. Daniel attempts to make small talk until the Warrior removes "its" helmet, revealing Vala Mal Doran. She attempts to extract the Prometheus' command codes from Daniel, but he resists, eventually managing to break free of his bonds and regain control of the situation. However, the computers have been programmed to accept commands only from Vala, and an Al'kesh suddenly appears on their radar. (Unbeknownst to Daniel and Vala, it is the Al'kesh containing the Prometheus crew.) Vala explains that she has commandeered the vessel only as a means of helping her people, who are refugees. She and Daniel struggle for control of the ship and Daniel gains the upper hand, but not before the Prometheus jumps into hyperspace.

Daniel puts Vala in the brig and returns to the bridge, but cannot figure out how to access the navigational controls. When she wakes up, he tries, unsuccessfully, to get her to tell him how to turn the ship around. When the ship arrives at the given coordinates, Daniel disembarks, only to find out that there are no refugees at all. Apparently, Vala instead planned to trade the Prometheus for a large quantity of refined, weapons-grade Naquadah. While Daniel attempts to explain the situation to Vala's trading partners (members of the Lucian Alliance), a pair of Death Glider begins strafing their position. Daniel Zats the two traders and returns to the Prometheus.

Daniel is forced to allow Vala out of her cell so that she can fly the ship. They lift off, and attempt to go to hyperspace, but the hull has taken too much damage. They raise the shield and activate the automatic weaponry, but the shields soon fail when more Gliders and some Al'kesh arrive. As they are running out of ammunition, they notice that one of the Al'kesh is firing on the other ships. It proves to be the crew of the Prometheus. Daniel persuades Vala to unlock the Transportation rings, and the crew rings aboard.

Vala asks Daniel what he intends to do with her, and he admits that he's not sure. However, as she begins to make some conciliatory remarks, he shoots her with the Zat again.

Finally, it turns out that the Prometheus has sustained too much hull damage to make the trip to Atlantis. The crew plans to return to Earth to make repairs. As this discussion concludes, another alarm sounds: Vala has escaped. She rings to the Al'kesh and escapes into hyperspace.