Trial and Error/Transcript

Episode Guide

 * Trial And Error" Episode Guide

Previously
PREVIOUSLY ON STARGATE UNIVERSE

[Excerpts of SGU 1.04 "Darkness", 1.05 "Light", 1.07 "Earth", 1.10 "Justice", 1.11 "Space", 1.15 "Lost", 1.20 "Incursion Part 2", 2.01 "Intervention", 2.02 "Aftermath", 2.03 "Awakening" and 2.05 "Cloverdale" are shown.]

TEASER

EXT&mdash;DESTINY IN FTL

INT&mdash;DESTINY STONE LAB

[Young is sitting at the table and appears to return to his body. A technician deactivates the stone. Young rubs his hand over his face then gets up and walks out of the room.]

INT&mdash;INFIRMARY

[TJ is at a computer which shows graphics and data. She turns to speak to Young, who is sitting behind her.]

TJ We've run a series of comparative blood tests using various pathogens we've encountered and isolated along the way. While Chloe's blood continues to show atypical antibiotic properties&hellip;

[Young is fidgeting distractedly with his wedding ring.]

TJ &hellip;Lieutenant Scott's seems to have gone back to normal.

[Young looks up at TJ then back down at his hands.]

TJ Sir!

[Young looks up at her again.]

TJ I'm just saying I think it's safe to let him out of isolation.

YOUNG That's fine. I'll, ah, I'll have him released.

TJ (kindly) You okay?

YOUNG Emily wants a divorce. I just got back and&hellip;I don't know. I guess I, ah, I should have seen it coming, but&hellip; Is it even legal to sign papers in someone else's body?

TJ (uncomfortable) I, uh, I wouldn't know.

YOUNG Well, I guess it doesn't matter.

[Young gestures towards the computer as he gets up to leave.]

YOUNG Thanks.

[Young starts to walk out of the room.]

TJ Wait! Um&hellip; Maybe we should talk. After everything that's happened, we haven't had the chance.

YOUNG Well, is there anything that you and I could possibly say that's going to make it any better?

TJ Maybe that's not the point.

YOUNG Well then what is?

[They look at each other for a moment, and he leaves.]

END TEASER

OPENING CREDITS

INT&mdash;CORRIDOR

[Wray is leading Ginn along the corridor, followed closely by Greer. They arrive at the kino room, where Eli is working at the console.]

WRAY Eli.

ELI Hey.

WRAY I don't know if you've met Ginn, one of our guests from the Lucian Alliance. She's been cooperating, providing&hellip;

[Eli gives her a smile and a small wave.]

ELI Hi.

WRAY &hellip;intel on Alliance activity in the Milky Way, but I think she may be able to help us on the ship as well.

GINN I spent over a year studying Ancient systems to prepare for the trip. I was particularly interested in some of your theories on dialing while inside a star.

ELI (laughing nervously) Wow.

GINN Do you still think there's a chance you could make it work?

ELI To be honest, I wasn't really making much progress, so I kind of put it aside.

WRAY Well, maybe with Ginn's help, that can change.

ELI I guess it's worth a shot.

WRAY Good. I'll leave you to it.

[Wray leaves.]

ELI Have a seat!

GINN Thanks.

[Greer moves in closer.]

INT&mdash;CHLOE'S QUARTERS

[Chloe is standing at the window watching the FTL light when the door opens and Scott enters.]

CHLOE They let you out!

SCOTT Yeah.

CHLOE So, you're not changing.

SCOTT Well, TJ says I'm pretty much back to normal.

CHLOE I guess everyone was a little afraid I'd poisoned you with my alien blood.

SCOTT You're not contagious. They're just keeping you here because&hellip;

CHLOE Because I might black out and sabotage the ship without even knowing it.

SCOTT You saved my life. If you were just some alien monster, you would have left me to die out there, and no one would have known any better.

CHLOE My skin's changing. Look.

[She leans down and raises her trouser leg to show a large silvery blue scaly growth on her lower leg.]

CHLOE It's coarse. Like it's getting hard.

[Scott studies it closely, disturbed. She pulls her trouser leg back down.]

CHLOE And it's growing.

SCOTT It doesn't matter.

[He puts his hands on her face.]

SCOTT Listen. Hey. We're going to find a way out of this. I promise.

INT&mdash;CORRIDOR

[Scott is walking along the corridor and enters his own quarters. He stops inside the door with a concerned expression on his face.]

INT&mdash;YOUNG'S QUARTERS

[Young is sitting at the table, spinning his wedding ring on it and drinking from a metal cup.]

BRODY (over radio) Colonel Young, come in.

[Young ignores the radio as he watches the ring stop spinning and fall on its side on the table.]

BRODY (over radio) Colonel Young, this is Brody in the control interface room. Please respond.

[Young looks around for a moment before responding.]

YOUNG (into radio) This is Young. Go ahead.

BRODY (over radio) We've got a bit of a situation here.

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

INT&mdash;CONTROL ROOM

[Brody is looking at the HUD screen while Eli works at a console when Young enters.]

YOUNG What have we got?

BRODY Nine alien ships. They just dropped out of hyperspace. They've got us surrounded.

ELI It looks like the same ones that took Rush and Chloe.

YOUNG We left them behind in another galaxy. How the hell did they find us out here?

[Eli's console beeps.]

ELI I'm getting a message.

[He watches the console for a moment.]

ELI Oh my God! They want us to hand over Chloe.

BRODY Well what if all this time they were slowly changing her into one of them, and now they want her back?

ELI She's not one of them.

YOUNG But she was gathering intelligence. She may not have known it, but that's&hellip; that's what she was doing.

ELI All the more reason not to let them anywhere near her.

YOUNG How long until we jump?

BRODY Forty-four minutes.

YOUNG Power weapons.

[Brody leaves the control room.]

EXT&mdash;DESTINY WEAPONS BATTERY

[A dome structure on the hull opens up and large guns emerge and aim toward the alien ships.]

EXT&mdash;SPACE

[The alien ships begin firing on Destiny from all around it.]

INT&mdash;CONTROL ROOM

[The sound of the alien weapons fire hitting the shields can be heard.]

BRODY I don't think that's the response they were looking for.

YOUNG Return fire.

EXT&mdash;SPACE

[Destiny returns fire from several gun batteries on the under and upper sides of the ship, as the alien ships' weapons continue to strike the shields.]

INT&mdash;CORRIDOR

[Scott and two civilians are leading a group of other civilians through the corridors. There are sparks showering them from above.]

CIVILIAN Watch your heads!

SCOTT All right, let's move! This is not a drill!

[They meet Greer in the corridor.]

SCOTT Sergeant&hellip;

GREER Stop! Stop!

SCOTT &hellip;you get these people to their designated areas, I'm going to go and check observation.

GREER All right. Come on, come on, come on!

[Scott makes his way back in the direction from which they had come.]

GREER Let's go! Let's go! Come on!

[Scott runs off down the corridor.]

INT&mdash;CONTROL ROOM

[Rush enters. There are showers of sparks flying in the corridor.]

RUSH What are you doing?

YOUNG We're under attack.

[Rush goes to the nearest console.]

RUSH I can see that. (looking at situation display) You can't take on this many ships!

BODY They want Destiny more than anything. They wouldn't destroy us.

RUSH Well, not intentionally but they'd have to collapse the shields in order to board us, and that's a risky proposition.

INT&mdash;OBSERVATION DECK

[There are showers of sparks exploding around him as Scott arrives at the observation deck. He presses the button to close the door behind him, but nothing happens. He goes to the windows and looks out at the alien ships firing on Destiny. The blasts are breaking through the shields, and pieces of debris are being thrown up from the hull. A large object flies up and hits the observation window, cracking it. The crack quickly spreads across the glass.]

SCOTT (into radio) Colonel, this is Scott. You need to seal the entire section around the observation deck.

INT&mdash;CONTROL ROOM

YOUNG (into radio) Why?

INT&mdash;OBSERVATION DECK

SCOTT (yelling into radio) Seal it now! Now!

[The crack continues spreading across the glass. Scott looks resigned and turns his back to the window.]

YOUNG (over radio) Scott! What's going on?

[The window shatters and the glass is sucked out into space, taking Scott along with it.]

INT&mdash;CONTROL ROOM

[Explosions are rocking the ship, sparks are flying, and alarms are sounding.]

ELI We've got secondary explosions in the engineering area.

YOUNG (into radio) Scott! Come in!

BRODY Power's overloading in the sub-light drive. It's going critical.

RUSH (yelling) Emergency shut-down!

[They work frantically at the consoles.]

BRODY It's too late.

[A blinding flash rips through the control room.]

EXT&mdash;DESTINY IN SPACE

[The ship is torn apart by a series of massive explosions.]

INT&mdash;YOUNG'S QUARTERS

[Young wakes up on his sofa, breathing heavily. He still has his cup in his hand, which he leans over and puts on the table. He is sweating profusely.]

EXT&mdash;DESTINY IN FTL

INT&mdash;MESS

[Young and Wray are chairing a meeting of scientific personnel. Young looks disheveled and distracted while Park stands in front of him, talking.]

PARK The plan is to get the repair robot working on the large, domed room we found when we first came aboard the ship. If the structural integrity can be restored, it can be used as a new home for hydroponics.

WRAY Do we know how long it would be before the room can hold atmospheric pressure?

PARK Well, we've crunched some numbers and we think&mdash;

YOUNG What about the weapons systems? There are still half a dozen gun batteries that are offline.

PARK Well, you told us to postpone the work until we had a greater understanding of the grid that powers the system&mdash;

YOUNG With that many positions down, entire sections of this ship are vulnerable to attack.

WRAY Wasn't Doctor Kemp recently injured, working on this problem?

PARK Yeah. There was an unexpected surge in one of the conduits. There's also the risk of a much more catastrophic overload&mdash;

YOUNG Irrelevant. Fix it.

PARK We don't even know what's wrong with it.

YOUNG Weapons are a priority. A new home for hydroponics can wait. Dismissed.

[The scientific personnel leave the room, muttering amongst themselves. Wray and Young remain.]

WRAY What was that?

YOUNG Don't start, Camile.

WRAY That work is dangerous. You shut it down for a reason.

YOUNG We need to be able to defend ourselves. After everything that we've been through, that should be obvious.

WRAY (approaching him) Yeah, you know what? You're right. We have been through a lot. You, especially.

YOUNG Is this you acting as ship's therapist, now?

WRAY I know you, Everett. You hold yourself responsible for everything, including what happened to TJ and the baby. But if it's starting to cloud your judgment, I need to know.

YOUNG I'm fine.

[Young leaves the room.]

INT&mdash;CHLOE'S QUARTERS

[Chloe is sitting on the bed. The door opens and Rush enters, carrying a tray.]

RUSH I brought you some food.

CHLOE I'm not hungry.

RUSH Okay, then. How about some company?

[Rush closes the door, puts the tray down, and gets out his notepad.]

RUSH I've been working on some fairly interesting equations. I thought you may want to take a look.

CHLOE (smiling in disbelief) You've got to be kidding me.

RUSH I'm not the one keeping you in here. I tried to help you.

CHLOE What? With the chair? Was that even real, or was it just for show?

RUSH Of course it was real. You know, it's pointless trying to deny the advantages of your situation. I mean, just ask Lieutenant Scott. If the chair had worked, well, he'd be dead right now.

CHLOE Do you even know what's really happening to me?

RUSH Obviously, you're undergoing quite significant physiological changes, most notably in your brain.

[He sits by her on the bed.]

RUSH I haven't given up hope of finding a solution, but in the meantime, I would have thought you would at least want to try and keep yourself occupied. My research has taken a very interesting turn. I may be on the verge of discovering the true nature of Destiny's mission.

INT&mdash;KINO ROOM

[Eli and Ginn are at the console, while Greer paces back and forth outside the open door, listening and observing.]

GINN See here, these numbers haven't been corrected for gravitational time dilation. Obviously, it depends on the size of the star, but it could make a pretty big difference.

ELI Huh. How did I miss that?

GINN Well, your math is always perfect, but sometimes you lose sight of the context.

[Eli looks at Ginn and she smiles, embarrassed.]

GINN Like I said, I've been studying your work.

ELI (smiling) You didn't have anything better to do?

GINN I like numbers and equations. I always have, ever since I was little. They don't lie.

[Greer relaxes and sits down outside the room as he listens to Eli and Ginn talking.]

ELI When I was a kid, I wanted to be a vet. Animal doctor. Ah, so my Mom bought me a hamster. You know, to teach responsibility. I left the cage door open, and my dad stepped on him. That was the end of that career.

GINN (putting her hand on Eli's) Well, I'm sure you would have made a very good doctor.

[They both look at her hand on his, and she withdraws it.]

GINN Anyway, um, if it wasn't for the&hellip;uh, hamster?

ELI It's like a small rodent.

GINN Well, if it wasn't for him, none of us would be here.

ELI Never thought of that. That's really&hellip;weird.

[Greer smiles and Eli and Ginn laugh quietly together.]

INT&mdash;YOUNG'S QUARTERS

[Young pours a drink from his flask and gulps it down, then goes and lies on the bed and closes his eyes.]

BRODY (over radio) Colonel Young, come in.

[Young opens his eyes.]

BRODY (over radio) Colonel Young, this is Brody in the control interface room. Please respond.

[Young gets up from the bed and goes to the radio.]

YOUNG (into radio) This is Young.

BRODY (over radio) We've got a bit of a situation here.

INT&mdash;CONTROL ROOM

[Young, Eli and Brody are in the control room.]

ELI They want us to hand over Chloe.

BRODY What if all this time they've been slowly changing her into one of them and now they want her back?

ELI She's not one of them!

BRODY Colonel? What should we do?

ELI Maybe we should power the weapons?

YOUNG No, it won't work.

BRODY We've still got forty-four minutes until the next jump. We have to do something.

EXT&mdash;SPACE

[Destiny is facing a number of alien ships. One of them fires a shot across Destiny's bow.]

INT&mdash;CONTROL ROOM

BRODY That was a warning shot.

[Eli's console beeps.]

ELI We're getting another message. It says if we don't comply, they'll destroy us.

BRODY They're bluffing. They want Destiny more than anything.

[Rush enters and goes to the nearest console.]

RUSH What's happening?

ELI We're surrounded by alien ships. They want us to hand over Chloe.

RUSH I suggest we shut down all non-essential systems; devote every scrap of power to the shields.

YOUNG Let's do that. Let's do it.

EXT&mdash;SPACE

[The alien ships start firing on Destiny.]

INT&mdash;CONTROL ROOM

BRODY I don't think that's the response they were looking for.

RUSH It doesn't matter. The shields are holding.

INT&mdash;CORRIDOR

[Scott is walking along the corridor. He comes to the observation deck and looks out at the alien ships, then closes the observation deck door and walks away.]

INT&mdash;CONTROL ROOM

RUSH They don't have enough fire power. We're going to make it to the jump.

[Brody's console beeps.]

BRODY We've got more ships incoming.

EXT&mdash;SPACE

[As the first group of alien ships continue firing on Destiny, another group drops out of hyperspace and begins firing.]

INT&mdash;CONTROL ROOM

BRODY We're now reading fifteen ships, total. They're all firing.

[Sparks begin showering from the control room ceiling and the ship is jolted violently.]

ELI I thought we agreed that they didn't want to destroy us?

RUSH Not intentionally. They'd have to collapse the shields in order to board the ship.

[More sparks are flying, and the sound of alarms and explosions is getting louder. Young is walking around the room watching everything unfold.]

ELI We have secondary explosions in the engineering area.

BRODY Power's overloading in the sub-light drive. It's going critical.

RUSH Emergency shutdown, now!

BRODY It's too late.

[A blinding flash rips through the control room.]

EXT&mdash;DESTINY IN SPACE

[The ship is torn apart by a series of massive explosions.]

INT&mdash;YOUNG'S QUARTERS

[Young wakes up on his bed, breathing heavily and sweating profusely.]

INT&mdash;WRAY'S QUARTERS

[Wray is asleep in bed and wakes suddenly when there is a loud knock on the door. She gets out of bed and goes to open the door, surprised to see Young standing there.]

WRAY Colonel!

YOUNG Well, you wanted to be a shrink, and now here's your chance.

WRAY What are you talking about? What's going on?

YOUNG I think I might be going insane.

[Young comes into the room and Wray closes the door.]

WRAY You've been drinking.

YOUNG Well, that's, uh, that's not the problem. That's just one of the symptoms.

WRAY No, what I'm saying is that maybe now is not the best time.

YOUNG (laughing) Yeah. Right. Well. I, uh&hellip;I've been having this recurring, uh, dream, only it's, uh, it's more than a dream. It's&hellip;it's real. (sitting down) It's about as real as it gets.

WRAY Okay. What's it about?

YOUNG The, uh, aliens from the other galaxy, they, uh, catch up to us, they surround the ship and then they ask me to hand over Chloe. And now, the first-the first time I try to fight them off, the ship gets destroyed. The second time, I go into a defensive shell, but the, uh, ship still gets destroyed.

WRAY Wait a minute. Is that why you ordered Park and her team to resume work on the weapons grid? (sitting down) Because of this dream?

YOUNG Listen, there's, uh, something else going on here. I mean, this is like no dream I've ever had before. I mean, like, I can, I can feel the floor under my feet, I can smell the sweat of the people around me, Camile.

WRAY Yeah&hellip;yeah, it's a no-win scenario. It seems like the only way out would be for you to do the one thing that you don't want to do.

YOUNG Well, I don't think it's that simple.

WRAY Have you, um, even spoken to Chloe since you've confined her in her quarters?

YOUNG No.

WRAY Well, maybe that would be a good place to start.

INT&mdash;CHLOE'S QUARTERS

[Chloe is doing complicated equations in her diary when the door opens and Young enters.]

YOUNG Hey.

CHLOE Wow. Another visitor. I've never been so popular.

YOUNG Well, listen, you know, I'm sorry that I haven't, uh, come to see you before. I've been-I've been busy. (pauses) Also, it's, uh, it's hard for me.

CHLOE Because of what you might have to do.

[Young sits down opposite Chloe at the table.]

CHLOE You know, I&hellip;I was feeling sorry for myself, being stuck in this room. But then I remembered how everyone looked at me when they found out I was still infected. I think I'm better off in here.

YOUNG I think you know that the people on this ship care about you.

CHLOE They're afraid of me. I'm afraid of me.

YOUNG Nobody's given up hope here.

CHLOE I know. But if there's no solution, if I keep changing, sooner or later you won't have a choice.

EXT&mdash;DESTINY IN FTL

INT&mdash;MESS

[Eli is sitting at a table drinking and working with a clipboard. Greer comes over with a dish of food, smiling and shoving Eli over to sit down beside him.]

[Greer grunts.]

ELI (meekly) Hey. Sorry.

GREER So.

ELI So, what?

GREER When are you going to make a move?

ELI (confused) What are you talking about?

GREER Ginn. The girl's into you.

ELI And you know this from watching us work together for, what? Two days?

GREER I knew after ten minutes. The girl loves math, Eli.

[Eli groans.]

GREER Now, if ever you were going to have a chance with anyone, this is probably it.

ELI (sarcastic) Thanks!

GREER (smirking) Tell you what. Next time we're together, I'll arrange to get called away.

ELI (smiles) Okay. But don't make it too obvious.

GREER Obvious is good.

[Eli gives a small laugh and takes a drink but Greer slaps him on the back and he spills water on his clipboard.]

GREER Time to man up.

[Greer gets up and walks away, leaving Eli trying to blot the water from the clipboard with his sleeve.]

INT&mdash;YOUNG'S QUARTERS

[Young is sitting at the table, distractedly trying to read some papers. His head starts to nod.]

BRODY (over radio) Colonel Young, come in.

[Young looks around, confused.]

BRODY (over radio) Colonel Young, this is Brody in the control interface room. Please respond.

EXT&mdash;SPACE

[Destiny is facing a number of alien ships. One of them fires a shot across Destiny's bow.]

INT&mdash;CONTROL ROOM

[Young, Eli and Brody are there. Rush enters.]

RUSH What's happening?

ELI We're surrounded by alien ships. They want us to hand over Chloe.

RUSH I suggest shutting down all non-essential systems, devote every scrap of power to the shields.

YOUNG Well, that's not going to work. More ships are coming.

RUSH Well, how could you possibly know that?

YOUNG If we power the weapons or the shields, or provoke them in any way, they will open fire and destroy all of us.

ELI So, what do we do?

INT&mdash;CHLOE'S QUARTERS

[The door opens to reveal Chloe sitting on the bed. Young is standing at the door.]

CHLOE I guess it's time.

[Young nods. Chloe gets up and goes with him.]

INT&mdash;CORRIDOR

[Young and Chloe are walking along the corridor.]

BRODY (over radio) Colonel, this is Brody. You were right. Another half-dozen ships just dropped out of hyperspace.

YOUNG (into radio) Are they sending over a shuttle?

BRODY (over radio) It's on its way.

YOUNG (into radio) Dial back the shield strength over the hull breach.

EXT&mdash;SPACE

[An alien shuttle approaches Destiny and lands over the hole in the hull.]

INT&mdash;CORRIDOR

[Young opens the door to the section with the hole, and Chloe walks through. She turns and looks at Young before he closes the door. A bright light shines through the hole and Chloe walks into it, looking up.]

INT&mdash;OTHER CORRIDOR

[Young is walking along the corridor and is confronted by Scott striding angrily towards him, Greer following some way behind.]

SCOTT What did you do?

YOUNG I didn't have a choice.

SCOTT You son of a bitch!

[Scott punches Young in the face.]

GREER Lieutenant, no!

[Greer rushes to try to pull Scott off of Young just as he punches him a second time. As Greer pulls Scott back; Young falls to the floor.]

GREER No!

[Greer pushes Scott back.]

BRODY (over radio) Colonel, we've got a problem. More alien shuttles are approaching. A lot more.

[Young, bleeding from the mouth and still lying on the floor, begins to laugh. Scott and Greer are watching him as the lights go out.]

BRODY (over radio) Colonel Young, are you reading me? Colonel!

SCOTT (into radio) This is Scott. What's happening?

RUSH (over radio) This is Rush. Power's down all over the ship, including shields. We can't restore them. Chloe must have discovered how and passed along the information.

[Greer is watching Young, still lying on the floor, laughing.]

SCOTT (to Greer) Get down to the armory, break out every weapon we've got, organize defense teams. We are about to be boarded.

GREER Yes, Sir.

[Greer walks away and Scott follows, leaving Young on the floor, laughing.]

INT&mdash;CARGO HOLD

[Young is walking slowly through the cargo hold. The sound of gunfire can be heard, and Young listens to what is happening over the radio.]

GREER (over radio) We've got another hull breach near the infirmary.

SCOTT (over radio) Fall back to my position!

RUSH (over radio) This is Rush. We have to defend the gate room at all costs.

JAMES (over radio) There's too many! We can't hold&mdash;

[The voice is replaced by static. Everything goes silent. Young looks around and sees one of the blue aliens standing in front of him. The alien shoots him.]

INT&mdash;YOUNG'S QUARTERS

[Young wakes up with a start. He is still at his table. He looks around, confused, then grabs his flask.]

INT&mdash;BRODY'S STILL ROOM

[Young is sitting alone at the bar, drinking. TJ enters.]

TJ Colonel?

YOUNG Hey. Hey, what are you doing here?

TJ Picking up a batch Brody made for me. Extra strong. I use it for disinfectant.

[She picks up a bottle with a red cross on the front. Young smiles and nods.]

TJ You don't look so good.

YOUNG (laughs) Yeah, I know. I guess it's that, it's that obvious, huh?

TJ Everett, what if I told you that the baby&hellip;our baby, is still alive?

YOUNG I mean, I don't know. Why would you do that?

TJ Because I saw her. Because I held her in my arms, and she's beautiful.

YOUNG TJ. TJ.

[Young turns to walk away.]

TJ It's like nothing you can imagine. We were on the planet where we left Caine and the others and the aliens are there. They said that they would take care of her. Caine promised me.

[Young stops and turns to face her.]

TJ Then they sent me back here.

YOUNG You never left the ship.

TJ I know! Look, I know. I know what it sounds like and that's why I didn't say anything before. Because I knew that you would think I was crazy. (tearful) But I'm not. I'm not crazy. And it wasn't a dream. Why is it so hard to believe after everything that we've seen since we've been here?

YOUNG (slamming his flask on the bar and shouting) Hey! Listen to me! Just because you want something to be true, it doesn't mean that it is, TJ. Okay?

TJ (bitterly) Okay. You listen to me. I can see where you're going. I know because I almost went there. I'm afraid that you won't come back.

YOUNG I'm sorry.

[Young walks away, leaving TJ crying.]

INT&mdash;KINO ROOM

[Eli and Ginn are at the console. Eli is looking at readings while Ginn is looking at the wall above, which is covered in photographs.]

ELI That's weird.

GINN What?

ELI The computer's using a ton of memory running a program I've never even seen before. Maybe some kind of auto-diagnostic? I don't&hellip;

GINN I have to ask. What are all these pictures?

ELI They're stills from my movie. My documentary.

[Ginn looks blankly at him.]

ELI Ah, I've been trying to keep a record of everything that's been happening to us, using the kino. Here.

[Eli goes to the computer. Greer is in the room just beyond, pacing back and forth. Eli pulls up Brody's kino diary entry.]

ELI See?

BRODY (on video) Nobody wants to see this.

ELI (voice on video) No, no, it's the little things that make all the difference.

BRODY (on video) Fine. Ancient toilets, here we go.

[On the video, Brody steps through a door marked with an Earth female/male toilet symbol. Eli and Ginn laugh. Eli stops the video.]

ELI Anyway, you get the idea.

JAMES (over radio) Sergeant Greer, come in.

GREER (into radio) Go ahead.

JAMES (over radio) There's a problem in the mess. We need your assistance.

GREER (into radio) On my way.

ELI Leaving?

GREER Could take a while.

[Greer walks away, and Eli and Ginn look at each other.]

ELI One second?

[Eli rushes out after Greer. Ginn looks at the computer and selects a video from the sidebar.]

INT&mdash;CORRIDOR

[Eli catches up to Greer.]

ELI Whoa! Whoa! Ah&hellip;I'm not so sure about this.

GREER You'll thank me later.

ELI But, what am I supposed to say? The girl's from another planet!

GREER I guess I'm supposed to tell you to be yourself, but in your case&hellip;

[Eli raises a hand to stop Greer talking and Greer raises a hand back.]

INT&mdash;KINO ROOM

[Ginn is watching a video on the computer.]

ELI (on video) So my Mom just left. It was good to see her. Even though she was in Park's body&hellip;a little weird. Anyway, I think it helped. At least, I hope so.

[Ginn looks concerned.]

INT&mdash;CORRIDOR

ELI Okay, I got this.

GREER You got this!

ELI How long are you going to be?

GREER How long you going to need?

[Eli smiles and shrugs. Greer smiles.]

GREER I'll take my time.

[Greer laughs and walks off.]

INT&mdash;KINO ROOM

[Ginn is still watching the video.]

ELI (on video) It's hard. You know? I mean, I-I know that we're several billion light years apart and, well, that may never change but I&hellip;I just need to know that she's still there.

[Ginn looks upset. Eli appears at the doorway.]

ELI (on video) You know? Because if she's not&hellip;

[Eli walks into the room.]

ELI (on video) &hellip;then I don't have&mdash;

[Ginn hears Eli enter and stops the video.]

GINN Sorry. I&hellip;I didn't know that it was going to be anything that personal.

ELI No! No, that's&hellip;that's not your fault. Real smooth, though. Huh? Grown man crying about his mom? Suave.

[Eli looks uncomfortable as he back up against the doorway.]

ELI How am I supposed to get Greer to come back?

GINN What do you mean?

ELI Never mind.

[Eli turns and looks out the doorway as Ginn gets up and goes over to him. She grabs his jacket with both hands and kisses him. Eli smiles then kisses her. The ship drops out of FTL and they both pull back from their kiss and smile at each other.]

INT&mdash;CORRIDOR

[Scott is walking along the corridor and comes to Young's quarters, where he knocks on the door.]

SCOT Colonel? (knocking again) Colonel, are you in there?

[The door opens. Scott looks surprised to see the disheveled state Young is in.]

YOUNG Yeah. What do you need?

SCOTT Ah&hellip;the ship is dropped out, but there's no gates in range. Brody says we're just drifting.

YOUNG Well, that doesn't sound so bad.

SCOTT He said there's no countdown clock. We have no idea how long it's going to last.

YOUNG You figure it out.

[Young steps back and hits the door control button.]

SCOTT Sir?

[The door closes.]

INT&mdash;BRIDGE

[Rush is sitting in the command chair looking at the consoles. Franklin is standing behind him.]

FRANKLIN Problems?

RUSH Well, the ship doesn't drop out of FTL for no reason.

FRANKLIN Unless you tell it to.

RUSH Yeah, well this time it wasn't me, and I can't find anything wrong with navigation or propulsion.

FRANKLIN Maybe you need to look somewhere else.

INT&mdash;CONTROL ROOM

[Volker, Brody, Wray, Eli and Park are in the control room.]

BRODY As far as I can tell, there's nothing interfering with the normal operation of the FTL drive. The ship just doesn't want to go anywhere.

VOLKER What about a dial-in?

PARK The 'gate's quiet.

[Scott enters.]

WRAY Where's Young?

SCOTT (to Wray) He's not feeling well. (to the scientists) All right, what's new?

BRODY So far, we've got nothing.

SCOTT (to Eli) What about you?

[Eli stares at a console.]

SCOTT Eli?

ELI Well, I've been working with that Lucian Alliance girl. Ginn. Actually, it's gone a little bit beyond just working together. I don't want to jinx it, but she's&hellip;

SCOTT Eli.

[Everybody is staring at Eli.]

ELI Anyway, we've been running a series of programs that were designed for modeling. Simulation. It was really sluggish, and I couldn't figure out why and then I realized that the computer was running a simulation of its own.

SCOTT What kind of simulation?

ELI I just figured that out now. It's a battle scenario. The Destiny drops out of FTL, and then it's immediately surrounded by alien ships.

[The scenario is becoming clear to Wray.]

ELI It's run through several different variations, different scenarios, but it always ends badly.

WRAY Oh, my God! Are you talking about the aliens from the other galaxy? The ones that took Chloe and Rush?

ELI Yeah. Same guys.

SCOTT Camile, what is it?

INT&mdash;BRIDGE

[Rush is sitting in the command chair, Franklin standing behind him.]

RUSH A battle simulation.

FRANKLIN Exactly.

RUSH Extremely complex, modeled down to the last detail and always with an unfortunate result. Well, it's interesting, but what's it got to do with the ship dropping out?

FRANKLIN Look closer.

[Rush operates the console and examines the screen.]

RUSH Something about this program's overriding normal operations.

FRANKLIN Which leaves only one question.

RUSH Why?

INT&mdash;CONTROL ROOM

SCOTT Okay, so you're telling me the ship is affecting the Colonel's dreams?

WRAY It's the only explanation.

VOLKER It's not impossible. Brainwaves are just electrical impulses, so theoretically, they-they could be manipulated, if you knew how.

BRODY Phew. Maybe it's Destiny's way of warning us. What if it knows the aliens are coming?

ELI No, there's no way they could have followed us.

INT&mdash;CHLOE'S QUARTERS

[Scott is talking with Chloe.]

CHLOE No, I told you already. I don't remember anything about the blackouts.

SCOTT I need you to think, Chloe. This is very important.

[Chloe sighs heavily.]

SCOTT When James was under the influence of those aliens, she managed to send them some kind of a signal. Is it possible you could have done the same thing?

CHLOE (sitting down and shaking her head) I don't remember.

SCOTT (into radio) Eli, this is Scott. Prep the weapons. Bypass any batteries that aren't a hundred percent, devote the remaining power to the rest. Shut down all non-essential systems, and put everything you can into the shields.

ELI (over radio) Understood.

INT&mdash;MESS

[Wray and Rush look on while a group of soldiers is preparing their weapons as Scott addresses them.]

SCOTT We're going to patrol in teams of three. Lieutenant James here has your assignment. Now, if they do come, it's a pretty safe bet they are going to try and board this ship. Makes us the last line of defense. Any questions? All right, dismissed.

[The soldiers move out, and Scott goes over to where Wray and Rush are standing.]

SOLDIER Okay, let's go.

SCOTT Camile, I need you to organize the civilians. I want everyone in designated areas until further notice.

WRAY Uh, there's something else we need to talk about.

SCOTT Can't it wait?

WRAY No.

[Scott waits until the last of the soldiers has left before he speaks.]

SCOTT I know what you're going to say.

WRAY Where is he?

SCOTT I can handle this.

RUSH Well, that's the point. You can, evidently he can't. You have to assume command. Officially.

SCOTT (incredulous) I can't do that.

RUSH Well, what if this is a test? These dreams the Colonel's been having? A test of his emotional stability.

WRAY A test he's failing.

SCOTT Right, where is this coming from?

WRAY Think about it. What is the Colonel doing right now? He's locked himself away. He's shut down. And at the exact same time, the ship came to a dead stop, and now we're floating aimlessly in empty space.

RUSH Destiny's beginning to understand us. Who we are, what makes us tick.

SCOTT What, are you telling me the ship wants me to replace him?

RUSH No, no. It's not as if it has, uh, desires or emotions. It has no personality. But it is capable of analyzing all manner of sensory input. It knows we're here. It's beginning to understand what effect we might be having.

SCOTT Why not one of you?

RUSH Well, we've been down that road before, none too successful.

SCOTT (blowing out a breath) Oh, I thought this was about aliens. I thought this was a warning to prepare us for an attack.

WRAY Either way, a warning, a test, we need a strong leader right now. I don't like it any more than you do, but I don't think you have a choice.

INT&mdash;DOOR TO YOUNG'S QUARTERS

[Scott is pounding on the door to Young's quarters.]

SCOTT Colonel!

[He receives no response and pounds again.]

INT&mdash;YOUNG'S QUARTERS

[Young is lying on his bed, listening to Scott pounding on the door.]

SCOTT (through door) Colonel, I'm not going away until you open this door.

INT&mdash;DOOR TO YOUNG'S QUARTERS

[The door opens.]

INT&mdash;YOUNG'S QUARTERS

[Scott walks in. He is carrying a cup.]

SCOTT I brought you some tea. It's really strong stuff. Closest thing to coffee we have.

[Scott sets the cup on the table.]

YOUNG Thanks, Lieutenant. I'll pass on the tea.

[Young picks up his flask.]

SCOTT Sir, we have a situation here.

[He wrests the flask from Young's hand.]

SCOTT You need to clean yourself up, get back out there.

[Young goes and closes the door.]

YOUNG What are you doing? Are you giving me an order, Lieutenant?

SCOTT Sir, these dreams you're having, the battle scenario, it's the ship. It's affecting your brainwaves; it's a simulation.

YOUNG It's a simulation? What does that even mean?

SCOTT Eli found the program. It is the exact same thing you described to Camile. It can't be a coincidence.

YOUNG Well, I guess the ship has some sense of humor, Lieutenant.

SCOTT (firmly) And she thinks your reaction, the fact that you've&hellip;well, you've given up is the reason why we have dropped out. Why we are stuck out here in the middle of nowhere. And if you pulled yourself together, you start acting like a real commander, maybe we'd get going again.

YOUNG Or maybe that's just Destiny's way of telling me that I need to be replaced.

SCOTT That's what Rush said.

YOUNG (laughing) That's what Rush said.

SCOTT But I'm not going to do that.

YOUNG Are you in love with Chloe?

[Young comes over so they face each other.]

YOUNG A simple question. Do you love her?

SCOTT Yes.

YOUNG Yes. So how are you going to feel when I have to drop her off this ship and put her on some rock? And you know it's coming, she knows it's coming, we all know it's coming. But I've got to do it. Are you still going to look up to me then? Are you still going to think, "Hey!", tell everyone what a great commander I am? Are you, Lieutenant?

SCOTT (shaking his head) Don't. Don't do this.

YOUNG I'm sorry that you didn't have a father growing up, but I didn't volunteer for that, either.

[Scott shoves Young backwards.]

YOUNG There you go, now we're talking!

[Scott shoves him against the door.]

YOUNG (yelling) Hit me! Hit me!

SCOTT (calm but angry) No one asked for this, but you are the commanding officer. You don't get to feel sorry for yourself, and if you don't like it, too bad!

YOUNG I killed Riley.

SCOTT That wasn't your fault!

YOUNG I know it wasn't my fault. I mean, he knew it. That's&hellip;he didn't want to die alone. That's why he asked me. But I killed him. I suffocated him with my own hands.

[Both men are becoming upset.]

YOUNG On top of everything else, it's just&hellip;you know, it adds&hellip;it adds up. I need you to leave.

[Young goes and sits down. Scott follows him.]

SCOTT Look, you're right. I couldn't do it. Live with the burden every day. That is not me. Or TJ, or Camile.

YOUNG Rush could do it.

SCOTT For Rush, it wouldn't be a burden. And that is why we need you. Because you feel it, but not so much you can't get up and do it all over again the next day.

YOUNG Really? You sure? (gesturing to himself) You-you sure about that, Lieutenant?

SCOTT Look, a real leader, a good commander is not so callous that he stops caring. Just enough so he can keep on going. And we both know, you are a good commander.

[Scott starts to leave but stops and turns around at the door.]

SCOTT It is never going to stop hurting. That's the whole point. For the sake of everyone on this ship, you are going to have to live with it.

[Scott leaves as Young sits and fidgets with his dog-tags, then looks at the tea. Shortly afterwards, Young washes his face, straightens his hair, puts his watch on and puts on his jacket. He leaves his quarters and heads off down the corridor.]

INT&mdash;CONTROL ROOM

[Scott is in the background talking with James as Brody and Volker work.]

SCOTT Well, we've got five down by the mess, so&hellip;

JAMES Yeah, so we can take&hellip;

SCOTT &hellip;two up&hellip;

[Young enters.]

YOUNG Mister Brody, what's our status?

[Brody looks to Scott, who nods.]

BRODY Well, uh, still no sign of the aliens. The ship's main weapon is online, and we've diverted as much power as we can to the shields.

SCOTT Sir, we have all available military personnel patrolling the gaps between the active weapons batteries, but it's a lot of real estate.

[Young and Volker exchange a look.]

JAMES We could go to two-man teams, cover a little more ground, but we'd be stretching ourselves pretty thin.

YOUNG Well, let's do it. If there is a breach, I would rather be on it fast with a little less fire-power than the other way round. Also, let's break out whatever spare ordnance we have from the Lucian Alliance and arm as many civilians as possible.

SCOTT Well, they don't have a lot of training.

YOUNG No, I'll command them myself. We'll, uh, stick to defensive positions between here and the gate room. They'll be fine.

JAMES Yes, Sir.

[James leaves.]

YOUNG (to Scott) Anything else?

[The FTL drive can be heard powering up.]

EXT&mdash;SPACE

[The Destiny jumps into FTL.]

INT&mdash;CONTROL ROOM

VOLKER (surprised) We just jumped. We're back into FTL.

[Scott walks close past Young.]

SCOTT It is good to have you back, Sir.

EXT&mdash;DESTINY IN FTL

INT&mdash;MESS

[Eli, Ginn, Park, Brody and Volker are sitting at a table.]

ELI Hey, I'm happy as the next guy that we're back on track. I'm just saying that I'm not so comfortable, knowing that Destiny can get in our heads like that! I don't want to start second guessing my own dreams!

PARK Well, what have you been dreaming about?

[Eli looks for a moment at Ginn.]

ELI That's not the point.

BRODY Well, at least now we know once and for all that we've got the right man in command.

[The others remain silent.]

BRODY (to Volker) Man, you were there. Tell them.

VOLKER (shrugging) Young showed up, started giving orders, and the ship just went.

BRODY If someone has a better explanation, I'd like to hear it.

[Everyone looks thoughtful.]

INT&mdash;BRIDGE

[Rush is sitting in the command chair, Franklin standing behind him.]

FRANKLIN Congratulations.

RUSH Don't feel much like talking right now.

FRANKLIN You managed to bypass the simulation and get the ship going.

RUSH Well, what choice did I have? Lieutenant Scott wasn't going to step up. I couldn't leave us just sitting there.

FRANKLIN But you haven't solved the problem and yet you're pressing ahead. Isn't that a little dangerous?

RUSH Destiny was evaluating Colonel Young's ability to command the crew, but ultimately, I control this ship.

FRANKLIN And the aliens?

RUSH They were never a threat. If Chloe had managed to send a signal telling them our position, it would have logged on that screen right there.

FRANKLIN Maybe. But just because one threat is behind you, doesn't mean there isn't another ahead.

[Rush looks around, but Franklin is gone. Rush leans back and closes his eyes.]

FADE OUT

END CREDITS

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