Travelers/Transcript

Episode Guide
Travelers

Transcript
TEASER

EXT&mdash;SPACE

[A puddle jumper flies into high orbit from the planet.]

INT&mdash;PUDDLE JUMPER

[Sheppard is alone in the cockpit.]

SHEPPARD (into comm) Atlantis, uh, this is Sheppard. I'm on approach to the 'gate.

[Sheppard takes a bite of an apple.]

MCKAY (over comm) Acknowledged.

INT&mdash;ATLANTIS CONTROL ROOM

[McKay stands by one of the control stations.]

MCKAY You know, since I've been in Pegasus, I have set up, like what, half a dozen research stations on various planets? And I don't remember you ever volunteering to run a resupply mission to any of them.

[The rest of the conversation switches between the control room and puddle jumper.]

SHEPPARD I'm a busy man, Rodney. I just happen to have a little free time.

MCKAY And Doctor MacKenzie just happens to be studying a primitive tribe that lives in a tropical paradise and has, how did he put it? "Little or no social inhibitions."

SHEPPARD Well, they were very friendly.

[An explosion rocks the puddle jumper.]

SHEPPARD (distracted) What the hell?

MCKAY (concerned) What is it?

[Sheppard brings up the HUD and studies the display.]

SHEPPARD I think somebody just took a shot at me. I've got contact. They're closing fast.

MCKAY Was it Wraith?

SHEPPARD I don't think so, but&mdash;

[Another explosion hits, again rocking the ship.]

SHEPPARD (worried) Whatever they're shooting me with just shorted my systems. I can't get weapons online.

[More shots hit, and the puddle jumper powers down. All the lights and controls darken.]

MCKAY (frantic) Can you make it back to the 'gate? Sheppard?!

SHEPPARD Rodney? McKay?!

[The power shutdown has also affected communications. They've lost contact with each other.]

EXT&mdash;SPACE

[A very large ship envelopes the puddle jumper and immediately blasts into hyperspace.]

END TEASER

OPENING CREDITS

INT&mdash;CORRIDORS, TRAVELERS' SHIP

[Sheppard is led through the corridors by two men, Silas and Nevik. Sheppard's hands are bound behind him. The interior of the ship is filled with debris and disuse.]

SHEPPARD Nice ship. Little bit of a fixer-upper, but I can see the potential.

[He trips on a cord.]

INT&mdash;HOLDING ROOM

[The men open the door to a small room. The lights flicker on. Sheppard is shoved into a room. The men follow.]

SHEPPARD I'm not talking about anything drastic, you know. Maybe just a paint job, some throw pillows&hellip;

[Nevik wrenches Sheppard's arm.]

SHEPPARD Ow!

[Nevik injects Sheppard's arm, taking a vial of blood. When finished he releases Sheppard, tapping him on the arm as he leaves. Silas remains, shoving Sheppard towards a bed.]

SHEPPARD Look, I don't suppose you want to tell me what's going on here?

SILAS Here's how we're gonna do this. I'm gonna ask you questions, and you're gonna give me answers. Is that simple enough for you?

SHEPPARD (shrugging) Sure.

SILAS Who are you, where are you from, and where'd you get your ship?

SHEPPARD See, that's a funny coincidence, because I was going to ask you the same exact questions.

[Silas punches Sheppard in the stomach. He falls to his knees.]

SILAS The difference is, I'm not the one whose hands are tied behind his back. So again, who are you, where are you from, and where did you get your ship?

[Sheppard looks trapped and still doesn't answer.]

EXT&mdash;ATLANTIS, DAY

INT&mdash;ATLANTIS CORRIDOR

[Teyla, McKay and Ronon walk out of the Gate Room and through the corridors.]

TEYLA What happened?

MCKAY I'm not entirely sure. It looks like Sheppard's jumper was attacked before it could reach the space gate.

RONON By who?

MCKAY Well, the people on the planet aren't much past mud huts and blow darts, so I think we can assume they had nothing to do with it. What we do know that just before we lost contact, there was a short burst of radiation in the vicinity of the 'gate, consistent with the opening of a hyperspace window.

RONON Wraith?

MCKAY Sheppard didn't seem to think so, and what little sensor data we've been able to pick up from the jumper seems to confirm it. The energy signature's all wrong. It's inconsistent with Ancient technology as well, which pretty much rules out the Replicators.

TEYLA We know of no other peoples in this galaxy that possess hyperspace technology.

MCKAY Of course not. No one reaches anywhere near that level of advancement without being culled.

RONON So then who was it?

INT&mdash;HOLDING ROOM, TRAVELERS' SHIP

[Silas continues to punch Sheppard. His face is bloody from the abuse.]

SILAS I could do this all day.

[Sheppard's mouth drips blood.]

SHEPPARD Oh, your knuckles'll get sore eventually.

[Before Silas can throw another punch. The door opens and an attractive woman enters with Nevik.]

LARRIN Has he said anything?

SILAS Only his name. Reed Richards.

LARRIN His name is Sheppard. We intercepted part of his last radio transmission.

SHEPPARD I didn't catch your name.

[Larrin lifts his chin and studies the damage to his face.]

LARRIN You can call me Larrin. You really should cooperate. It would be a shame to have to do too much damage.

[She starts to leave.]

SHEPPARD I agree. Maybe if you guys tell me who you are and what you want, we could work out some kind of a deal.

LARRIN Well, don't get my hopes up and then disappoint me. (to Silas) Tell him what happened to the last man that disappointed me.

SILAS We don't know. We never found his body.

NEVIK We assumed you blew him out into space.

[Sheppard cracks a pained smile.]

SHEPPARD I get it.

LARRIN Good. Bring him.

[She leaves.]

SILAS Get up.

[Silas and Nevik wrestle Sheppard to his feet and lead him out.]

INT&mdash;OFFICERS' MESS, TRAVELERS' SHIP

[Larrin and Sheppard are seated at a large dining table. Sheppard's hands are free. He is brought a tray full of unappetizing looking brown food. He looks at it in distaste.]

SHEPPARD Another form of torture?

LARRIN When you've spent as much time in space as we do, you don't get a lot of fresh food.

[Sheppard picks up a gelatinous oblong shaped piece of food and dangles it.]

SHEPPARD How much&hellip;time are we talking about?

[Larrin tilts her head, but says nothing. Sheppard drops the food back onto the tray.]

SHEPPARD This is a conversation, right? A two-way street?

LARRIN This is our home.

SHEPPARD This ship?

LARRIN And others like it. We're travelers.

SHEPPARD You live in space all the time.

LARRIN We land on planets when we need to&mdash;for supplies, trade. The rest of the time, we keep moving.

[Sheppard studies a thick block of tan food.]

SHEPPARD From the Wraith?

LARRIN That may have been how it started, but now it's just who we are.

[He drops the food.]

SHEPPARD Well, no offense, uh, Larrin, but it doesn't sound like much of a life.

[Larrin stands and gets something to drink.]

LARRIN Being a herd animal isn't much of a life. Besides, the food has all the nutrients required.

SHEPPARD Well, as tempting as that sounds&hellip;my jaw is a little sore right now.

LARRIN Things like that are necessary from time to time. Although it's not the most efficient way of getting information, it does help people to understand&hellip;their situation.

[She sets the drink down beside Sheppard, then leans against the table.]

SHEPPARD My situation being&hellip;completely at your mercy.

LARRIN Exactly. Anyway, I know more about you than you think.

[She sits in the chair next to him.]

SHEPPARD Really?

LARRIN Mm-hmm. For instance, I know you that you carry the gene required to operate Lantian technology.

SHEPPARD (feigning ignorance) I've got the what?

[Larrin rolls her eyes.]

LARRIN Look, Sheppard, I know you have your secrets. And if you stay on my good side, I may even let you keep a few of them. However, if you continue to play ignorant with me, I really will jettison you out into space. For some time now, we've been hearing rumors about a new group of humans in the galaxy using the technology of the Ancestors to do battle with the Wraith. So, we set up a network of spy satellites around dozens of worlds with space gates, hoping for an encounter. Eventually we got lucky.

SHEPPARD And in the first meeting between our people, you attack me and disarm my ship.

LARRIN Well, you were going through the 'gate, and I couldn't let that happen. You see, anyone capable of operating Lantian technology is of particular interest to us.

SHEPPARD That's why you took a sample of my blood.

[He takes a drink, then grimaces in distaste.]

LARRIN We're working on a control interface adaptor that requires a small amount of necessary genetic material. We needed your blood to test it.

SHEPPARD I'm going to guess it didn't go so well.

LARRIN Why would you say that?

SHEPPARD Then you wouldn't have any use for me anymore.

LARRIN Don't underestimate yourself. There's all kinds of useful things you could do for me.

[Sheppard is taken aback but intrigued.]

NEVIK (over comm) Commander, we're approaching the coordinate.

[Larrin stands.]

LARRIN (into comm) Understood. Take us out of hyperspace. (to Sheppard) Of course you're right. The interface isn't fully operational yet. Come with me.

[A guard approaches to make sure Sheppard complies. Keeping a wary eye on the guard, Sheppard follows Larrin out.]

INT&mdash;CORRIDOR, TRAVELERS' SHIP

LARRIN Nevik, my chief science officer, insists that we have a much better chance of perfecting the interface if we reverse engineer it using Lantian technology that's already been initialized.

SHEPPARD I don't even know what "reverse engineering" is.

[Larrin opens the door to the ship bay. The puddle jumper sits inside.]

SHEPPARD Oh. You want to use my ship.

LARRIN Not exactly.

[She nods to the guard. He shoves Sheppard inside. Larrin closes the door, locking Sheppard alone inside.]

SHEPPARD Hey!

LARRIN (to guard) Activate the force shield.

INT&mdash;HANGAR BAY, TRAVELERS' SHIP

[A shield activates under Sheppard's feet.]

LARRIN (over intercom) Sheppard? Can you hear me?

[The rest of the conversation switches between Sheppard and Larrin's positions.]

SHEPPARD You mind telling me what you're doing?

LARRIN Offering you a deal. Open the hangar bay doors.

[The floor beneath Sheppard retracts. Only the shield he stands on protects him from the vacuum of space.]

SHEPPARD (holding back panic) This is just not right!

LARRIN (nonchalantly) Don't worry. Your safe as long as the force shield doesn't malfunction, and&hellip;that almost never happens.

SHEPPARD (angry over his fear) Why are you doing this?

LARRIN You wanted to know what this was all about? Look beneath you.

[An Aurora class Ancient ship appears below his feet.]

LARRIN I'm assuming you recognize the technology. It's a Lantian battleship. It's been dormant for thousands of years, and you're going to help me get it operational again.

[Sheppard watches the ship pass beneath him.]

EXT&mdash;SPACE

[Both ships move slowly in formation.]

INT&mdash;CORRIDOR, ANCIENT SHIP

SHEPPARD Has it occurred to you people they might have abandoned this ship for a good reason in the first place?

LARRIN We know the reason. We were able to access the ship's logs.

NEVIK They were attacked by the Wraith. They lost communication, and their shields were failing. The engines were damaged as well but they managed to escape into hyperspace. Then they realized that their main drive was giving off deadly radiation. They were forced to abandon ship.

LARRIN They intended to return and affect repairs but never got the chance. The ship's been drifting in a two hundred year elliptical orbit around a nearby dwarf star ever since.

SHEPPARD So it's never been fixed.

LARRIN No.

SHEPPARD I hate to point out the obvious, but one of the reasons I agreed to help you was so that you wouldn't kill me. If I'm going to die of radiation anyway&mdash;

LARRIN Don't worry. We've set up shield emitters to protect key areas of the ship, and we've all got radiation detectors.

[She holds up her arm to show a device on her sleeve. Sheppard looks at the others, then looks at his own arm which notably has no detector.]

LARRIN Take him to the bridge. Start with sub-light propulsion. I'll go check the emitters.

[Larrin walks away.]

SHEPPARD (calling after her) Don't think I could get one of those two, do you?

[Silas shoves Sheppard to start moving the other direction.]

INT&mdash;BRIDGE, ANCIENT SHIP

[Nevik points to the central chair.]

NEVIK Here.

SHEPPARD You know, this ship is ten thousand years old. I'm just saying, for the record. If it doesn't work, it's not my fault.

NEVIK Just get on with it.

[Sheppard sits in the chair and touches the side controls. Panels all over the bridge come to life.]

NEVIK Amazing. I've been trying for two months to activate these systems. I need to calibrate the interface for neural input. Why don't you start by moving the ship forward.

SHEPPARD You sure about that?

NEVIK That's why we're here. You fly the ship, and I record the inputs so I can replicate them.

SHEPPARD Okay, but&mdash;

[Silas unholsters his gun and points it at Sheppard.]

SILAS Enough. Fly the damn ship.

SHEPPARD Right. I was just going to say, you said "start by moving the ship forward", when you should've said "start by initializing the inertial dampeners."

[Nevik realizes his mistake as soon as Sheppard is speaking. He holds up his hand.]

NEVIK Wait!

[His warning is too late. Sheppard activates the controls. He's thrown back into his chair, but remains in it. The two standing men are thrown across the room. In another part of the ship, Larrin too is thrown into a wall and drops to the deck.]

[Sheppard stops the ship and gets out of the chair. He rushes over and grabs the gun from where it has fallen beside Silas. He points it at Silas, but the man is too stunned to react. Sheppard takes a closer look at the weapon.]

SHEPPARD I have a friend who's got a gun just like this. I always wondered where he got it.

[Sheppard moves to one of the stations on the bridge.]

SILAS I'm gonna kill you.

[He starts to sit up, but Sheppard fires, stunning both Silas and Nevik. Sheppard moves away from the station.]

INT&mdash;CORRIDOR, ANCIENT SHIP

[Larrin stands with a groan.]

LARRIN (into comm) Silas, what happened? Nevik, what's going on up there?

INT&mdash;BRIDGE, ANCIENT SHIP

[Sheppard grabs Silas's radio.]

SHEPPARD (into radio) Sorry, your people aren't available right now.

LARRIN (into comm) Sheppard, what are you doing?

SHEPPARD (over radio) You said fly the ship&hellip;

SHEPPARD (into radio) &hellip;And I'm flying the ship.

[He gets back in the chair and opens a hyperspace window.]

EXT&mdash;SPACE

[The Ancient ship shoots into hyperspace, leaving Larrin's ship behind.]

INT&mdash;CORRIDOR, ANCIENT SHIP

[Larrin is able to see through a window that the ship is now flying through hyperspace. She starts storming down the corridor.]

LARRIN We had a deal! I was prepared to let you go in exchange for your help.

INT&mdash;BRIDGE, ANCIENT SHIP

SHEPPARD I'm sorry, I've never been able to trust anyone who kidnaps me, and tortures me, and threatens to blow me into space!

EXT&mdash;ALIEN PLANET, DAY

[A puddle jumper flies over the tree tops.]

INT&mdash;PUDDLE JUMPER

[Lorne flies the ship. The rest of Sheppard's team is in the cockpit with him. Lorne and McKay study the HUD.]

MCKAY We've got nothing. There's no wreckage, no transponder signal. If he was down there, we would've found him by now.

TEYLA Then where is he?

MCKAY Well, he's not in orbit, and he's not on the planet, so the only logical assumption is that whoever attacked him must've brought him on board before they jumped into hyperspace.

RONON So what's the next step?

MCKAY There is no next step! Look, we have no way of tracing him. He could be anywhere in the galaxy by now. I'm sorry, but sometimes there is just nothing we can do.

INT&mdash;BRIDGE

LARRIN (over comm) Sheppard, I want you to drop this ship out of hyperspace.

SHEPPARD (into radio) I don't think so.

LARRIN Listen to me. I've shut off the shield emitters protecting your area of the ship. Right now, the bridge is being flooded with radiation.

SHEPPARD You're bluffing. You'd never sacrifice your own people.

[He pauses and listens to a blinking sound behind him. The spins the chair to look at the trussed Silas and Nevik. They are looking down at the radiation monitors, which are beeping.]

LARRIN Look, I don't want to kill you, but if you don't turn over the controls of this ship, I'll have no choice.

[Sheppard takes a deep breath, then shuts down the hyperspace engine.]

EXT&mdash;SPACE

[The Ancient ship drops out of hyperspace.]

INT&mdash;BRIG, ANCIENT SHIP

[A despondent Sheppard looks through the bars at Larrin.]

LARRIN You surprise me, Sheppard.

SHEPPARD Well, as long as I didn't disappoint you.

LARRIN Oh no, I knew you'd make some sort of a move, I just wasn't expecting anything quite so&hellip;?

SHEPPARD Clever? Creative?

LARRIN Reckless! You could've killed all of us, including yourself.

[The step to the side where only a force field separates them.]

SHEPPARD I once pulled eleven G's in an F-16 without passing out. I figured I had a shot.

LARRIN Well, I underestimated you.

SHEPPARD Yeah, I feel the same way. I mean, you've got the whole tough-as-nails routine down pat. But exposing your own people to killer radiation. It takes a special kind of lady to do that, doesn't it?

[Larrin smiles. Nevik arrives]

NEVIK Larrin?

[She joins him.]

NEVIK (low, to Larrin) It's not good. He shut down the propulsion and navigation system before he turned over the bridge.

LARRIN (scoffing) Of course he did. Did you collect enough data to finish the control interface?

NEVIK I don't know. Maybe.

[Sheppard goes to the cot and collapses on it, feigning disinterest.]

LARRIN Nevik, if you can't do this, we're stranded.

[Nevik looks over at Sheppard.]

NEVIK What about him?

LARRIN He's not going anywhere near that bridge again. He can't be trusted.

NEVIK Listen, if we can't bring the system back online, he'll die out here like the rest of us.

LARRIN That's the problem. Does he look like a man who thinks he's going to die?

[They look at Sheppard, who looks bored.]

LARRIN Check the subspace communications array.

NEVIK The Ancients lost the communications in the battle with the Wraith. They system was never repaired.

LARRIN (demanding) Check it.

[Nevik leaves. Larrin sighs.]

INT&mdash;MCKAY'S LAB

[McKay types at a computer. Ronon and Teyla enter.]

RONON What have you got?

MCKAY (chipper) Ah. Remember how I said sometimes there's nothing we can do? Well, I was right about that. Only it only turns out, this is not one of those times.

[He goes to a different computer.]

TEYLA You found him.

MCKAY Hmm. More like he found us. Listen to this.

[He starts a recording. A low, popping static can be heard.]

MCKAY That is the sound of subspace. Now, it's mostly just random noise generated by various forms of radiation. But the Ancients, in their infinite wisdom created a program that could sniff out artificial patterns. Now, it's, uh, no doubt a long-range means of detecting advanced life forms, kind of like our SETI program only much more powerful, because it operates through subspace. Anyway, it picked up this.

[Teyla and Ronon look at McKay blankly, but listen to the pattern McKay amplifies. Through the static a clear pattern of dot-dot-dot, dash-dash-dash, dot-dot-dot, can be heard.]

TEYLA What is it?

MCKAY That's Sheppard. Now I don't know why he didn't just send a regular message. But maybe he was dealing with a damaged transmitter, or maybe he was trying to communicate without being detected. But it's definitely him.

RONON How do you know it's him?

MCKAY It's Morse code! S.O.S.

[Ronon and Teyla look blankly back at McKay.]

INT&mdash;CELL, ANCIENT SHIP

[Larrin storms in, shutting down the cell barrier.]

SHEPPARD What's happening?

[Larrin punches Sheppard in the face. He stumbles back, then turns around angry.]

SHEPPARD What was that for?!

LARRIN Do you realize what you've done?

SHEPPARD I didn't do anything.

[She punches him in the face again, forcing his head back. He groans.]

SHEPPARD Stop that!

LARRIN I'll stop when you stop lying. You adapted the damaged communications array to send out a signal, didn't you?

[Sheppard hesitates and thinks before answering.]

SHEPPARD Yes.

[She punches him again, very hard. He spins around and falls to his knees.]

SHEPPARD You said&hellip;you'd stop that!

LARRIN You're right. Maybe I'll just shoot you.

[She unholsters her pistol and powers it up. Sheppard raises his hands in a placating gesture.]

SHEPPARD All right. Don't you think you're overreacting a little?

LARRIN You were trying to broadcast our location? Guess what, it worked! There's a ship approaching, only I don't think it's the one you were hoping for!

SHEPPARD What do you mean?

LARRIN It's the Wraith!

EXT&mdash;SPACE

[A hive ship drops out of hyperspace and flies to the Ancient battleship.]

INT&mdash;BRIDGE, ANCIENT SHIP

[Silas and Nevik are on the bridge. The ship is rocked by a blast.]

INT&mdash;CELL, ANCIENT SHIP

[Larrin still holds her gun on Sheppard while the ship is hit by more blasts.]

NEVIK (over comm) The Wraith ship is firing on us.

LARRIN (into comm) Do we have shields?

INT&mdash;BRIDGE, ANCIENT SHIP

NEVIK (into comm) Affirmative. But they're only at twenty percent. We can't take this for very long.

[Another blast rocks the ship.]

INT&mdash;CELL, ANCIENT SHIP

[Larrin and Sheppard barely keep their balance after that last strike. Sheppard gets off his knees]

SHEPPARD If you want get out of this alive, you're gonna need my help. Now I realize that you and I don't exactly trust each other, but&hellip;that's not gonna make that much difference if the Wraith blow this ship up, is it?

[He pushes her gun to one side. More rumbles can be heard throughout the ship.]

LARRIN (scared) What have you got in mind?

SHEPPARD Well, you can start by shooting back.

LARRIN Right.

INT&mdash;ANCIENT SHIP CORRIDOR

[Sheppard and Larrin run through a corridor. They pause at an intersection.]

LARRIN The weapons control platform is down that corridor. I'm heading back to the bridge.

SHEPPARD Keep the shields up as long as you can.

[They split off.]

INT&mdash;CHAIR ROOM, ANCIENT SHIP

[Sheppard arrives in the room, which lights up at his presence. He sits in the chair and activates it.]

EXT&mdash;SPACE

[The hive ship continues to fire on the Ancient ship, a blast getting through the shields.]

INT&mdash;CHAIR ROOM, ANCIENT SHIP

[The chair shorts out.]

SHEPPARD (caustic) Great.

[He gets up and looks at the control panel in the back of the chair.]

SHEPPARD Piece of cake.

INT&mdash;BRIDGE, ANCIENT SHIP

NEVIK Shields are down.

SILAS Can't you reroute any more power?

NEVIK There's nothing I can do.

EXT&mdash;SPACE

[The hive ship fires again. This time the blast is a direct strike to the bridge, killing Nevik and Silas.]

INT&mdash;ANCIENT SHIP CORRIDOR

[Larrin loses her balance and slams up against a closed door as she makes her way to the bridge. The door stays shut, even as she tries to open it.]

LARRIN (into comm) Silas, Nevik, what happened? Do you read me?

INT&mdash;CHAIR ROOM, ANCIENT SHIP

[Sheppard is able to reroute power to the chair and get it working again. He instantly jumps back into the seat and concentrates.]

EXT&mdash;SPACE

[A group of Ancient ship drones attack the Wraith ship, destroying it.]

INT&mdash;CHAIR ROOM, ANCIENT SHIP

[Sheppard sits up.]

SHEPPARD (over comm) Larrin, it's Sheppard.

INT&mdash;ANCIENT SHIP CORRIDOR

LARRIN (into comm, confused) I didn't give you a communicator.

[The conversation switches between Larrin's and Sheppard's locations.]

SHEPPARD I activated the ship's intercom. What happened?

LARRIN I don't know. The forward section's been sealed off.

SHEPPARD What about your people?

LARRIN They're not responding.

SHEPPARD The good news is, the Wraith ship's been destroyed.

LARRIN Stay where you are. I'm coming to you.

[Larrin runs down another corridor, while in the chair room, Sheppard looks askance at the door.]

INT&mdash;CHAIR ROOM, ANCIENT SHIP

[Larrin arrives in the empty chair room.]

INT&mdash;AUXILIARY CONTROL ROOM, ANCIENT SHIP

[Sheppard studies various controls.]

LARRIN (over comm) Sheppard, where are you?

SHEPPARD Auxiliary control room.

INT&mdash;CHAIR ROOM, ANCIENT SHIP

[Larrin starts to head out but the doors shut, trapping her inside.]

LARRIN Sheppard..?

[The conversation switches between Larrin's and Sheppard's locations.]

SHEPPARD Sorry about this.

LARRIN What are you doing?

SHEPPARD For the moment, not much. Hyperdrive seems to be offline.

LARRIN What?! How bad is it?

SHEPPARD Well, it's not exactly my area of expertise. But if I'm reading this thing right, the drive itself is undamaged. It's probably just a short in the control system.

LARRIN Then we can take care of it through a simple bypass. Just let me out, and I should be able to fix it.

SHEPPARD No, I don't think so.

LARRIN (furious) We're a floating target out here, Sheppard!

SHEPPARD All right, take it easy! I cut the transmitter off. My people should've gotten the message by now.

LARRIN There is no reason to assume that Wraith ship didn't broadcast our position.

SHEPPARD Well, there's no reason to assume they did.

LARRIN Listen to me here, Sheppard! I've spent my entire life around hyperdrive systems! I know what I'm doing!

SHEPPARD I never said I didn't believe you. Don't worry. My people will be here.

EXT&mdash;SPACE

[A puddle jumper flies through an active space Stargate, joining four others floating above a planet.]

INT&mdash;PUDDLE JUMPER

[Lorne and the others of Sheppard's team are in one of the puddle jumpers. The HUD displays the star system they've just entered.]

MCKAY Sheppard was broadcasting from somewhere in the vicinity of this system.

LORNE Well, sensors aren't picking up anything.

MCKAY Let me see if I can expand the range a little.

[He presses some controls. The map zooms out, showing a blinking object outside the system.]

MCKAY There.

TEYLA What is it?

MCKAY Well, it could be a ship. They're still too far too get any detailed readings, but that's gotta be them.

LORNE How long to get there at maximum sublight?

[McKay checks his readings.]

MCKAY It's, uh, five hours.

LORNE (into comm) This is Lorne to all jumpers. I'm sending you some coordinates. Proceed to target at maximum sublight. (to McKay) Go ahead.

[McKay activates the engines.]

INT&mdash;CHAIR ROOM, ANCIENT SHIP

[Larrin takes off the door control panel and tries to short-circuit the system with her knife. She gets shocked.]

INT&mdash;AUXILIARY CONTROL ROOM, ANCIENT SHIP

[An alarm sounds. Sheppard moves to another control.]

SHEPPARD Larrin, what are you doing? Look, once my people get here and get the hyperdrive back online, we'll drop you off at the nearest 'gate. You have my word.

[The conversation switches between Larrin's and Sheppard's locations.]

LARRIN Not good enough.

SHEPPARD What, my word or my deal?

LARRIN How about both?

SHEPPARD You're the one who kidnapped me, remember?

LARRIN Because I need this ship.

[The controls short out again. Sheppard presses a control from his location and all power shuts down in the chair room.]

SHEPPARD There. I did you a favor.

[Larrin sets her jaw.]

LARRIN Sheppard&hellip;? Listen to me. Our fleet is old. There was a time when we had the resources to build new ships, but now we don't. When we lose one, it's gone for good. And despite strict population controls, there just isn't enough room for all of us anymore. We've been forced to abandon some of our own people on the ground.

SHEPPARD Well, they're no worse off than the rest of the people in this galaxy.

LARRIN Fine. We'll do this the hard way.

[She unholsters her pistol and fires it repeatedly at the door. The sound can be heard through the comm system.]

SHEPPARD (sighing) Larrin, what are you doing?

[The door now has a large enough hold blasted through the center of it for Larrin to get out.]

[Sheppard presses a control button in the room.]

INT&mdash;ANCIENT SHIP CORRIDOR

[A shield goes up, blocking Larrin's path as she heads down the hall.]

LARRIN Sheppard, you are really starting to annoy me!

SHEPPARD Just sit tight! It'll be over soon enough.

LARRIN (keying comm) Silas, Nevik, come in. Silas, do you read me?

SHEPPARD Give it up, they're gone.

LARRIN You don't know that!

SHEPPARD No, but I can find out.

[Sheppard moves to another control panel showing a schematic of the ship.]

SHEPPARD Looks like there's no one alive in the forward section. I'm sorry.

[Larrin heads down the hall in the other direction. Sheppard watches from his life signs schematic.]

SHEPPARD Larrin, where are you going? I can track you anywhere in this ship. You can't hide from me.

[His eyes widen as he sees something else.]

SHEPPARD (abrupt) Larrin, stop! I'm picking up another life sign directly in front of you.

LARRIN Silas&hellip;

[She starts running to the door at the end of the corridor.]

SHEPPARD That's impossible. There's no way he got out of that section alive.

[Larrin opens the door, surprising a Wraith who turns and snarls at her.]

[Frightened, Larrin backs away. The Wraith advances, smiling. Larrin unholsters her gun, but he knocks it aside before she can fire. He raises his feeding hand, but Larrin stabs it with her knife. The Wraith cries out in pain, but pulls it out. They engage in hand-to-hand combat, but the Wraith has the advantage. He knocks her down and pulls his own stunner. Before he can fire he's shot several times in the back by Sheppard, who's retrieved Larrin's stunner.]

SHEPPARD You all right?

LARRIN I'm fine. He just caught me off-guard.

SHEPPARD They must've escaped in the darts before their ship was destroyed. We left the hangar bay pressurized; they flew right in.

LARRIN They?

SHEPPARD Yeah, there's three more. We can track them with this.

[He holds up a handheld scanner.]

LARRIN Where'd you get that?

SHEPPARD Auxiliary Control Room. You gotta know where to look. Come on.

[He heads down the hall. Larrin starts to follow, then turns back.]

LARRIN I'll get his weapon.

[As she grabs the stunner, the Wraith grabs her ankle. She cried out in surprise as Sheppard shoots the Wraith more times.]

SHEPPARD Tenacious little bastards, aren't they?

[He checks the charge on Larrin's weapon.]

SHEPPARD I don't suppose you have any more of these?

LARRIN I'm afraid not. And I don't think this is going to be much good either.

[She handles the Wraith stunner which has been fried by one of the blasts. It's useless. They head down the corridor.]

[They run down a corridor. Sheppard pauses at an intersection, raising his hand.]

SHEPPARD Hold up! We've got one coming this way.

[He heads to the nearest door, which leads to a small storage room.]

INT&mdash;STORAGE ROOM, ANCIENT SHIP

LARRIN What now?

INT&mdash;ANCIENT SHIP CORRIDOR

[A Wraith stalks down the hall.]

INT&mdash;STORAGE ROOM, ANCIENT SHIP

[Sheppard uses his scanner to find a hidden closet in the room. He opens it.]

LARRIN Wait. No. Sheppard, what-what are you doing?

[Sheppard grabs her by the lapel of her jacket and drags her into the closet. The door shuts behind them.]

INT&mdash;STORAGE ROOM CLOSET, ANCIENT SHIP

LARRIN What? Oh, brilliant plan. Get us&mdash;

[Sheppard covers her mouth. Defiantly, she bites it.]

SHEPPARD Ow!

[She slaps her hand over his mouth. He replaces his hand on hers. They glare at each other.]

INT&mdash;ANCIENT SHIP CORRIDOR

[The Wraith pauses outside the storage room door. He opens the door and looks in. Seeing nothing, he closes the door and continues on his way.]

INT&mdash;STORAGE ROOM CLOSET, ANCIENT SHIP

[As the door closes, they each release each other's mouths. Sheppard watches his scanner. He sees the three Wraith joining up right outside the storage room.]

SHEPPARD There's the other two. What, are they having a board meeting?

[Larrin sighs in exasperation.]

EXT&mdash;SPACE

[The five puddle jumpers fly through space at sublight speeds.]

INT&mdash;PUDDLE JUMPER

MCKAY It's no use. I've done everything I can think of to boost the sensors. They're still too far out.

LORNE So we have no idea what we're dealing with?

TEYLA Why would they be so far out on the edge of the solar system?

MCKAY I don't think it's a coincidence that this system has a space gate. They were probably&hellip;headed for it when they dropped out of hyperspace too early.

LORNE Well, why would they do it?

MCKAY How should I know? We don't even know who "they " are, remember?

RONON Does it make a difference? Even if it was a fleet of hive ships, would it stop us from trying to get him back?

LORNE (after a pause) No.

INT&mdash;STORAGE ROOM CLOSET, ANCIENT SHIP

LARRIN (whispering) You know, none of this would've ever happened if you would've just cooperated. You'd be home by now, and I'd be headed back to my people with a ship that could house a thousand men, women, and children.

SHEPPARD Well if you had asked for my help in the first place instead of attacking me&hellip;

LARRIN We couldn't risk it.

SHEPPARD Risk what?

LARRIN You might've said no.

[They stare for a moment, then Sheppard glances at his scanner.]

SHEPPARD They're leaving.

[She gives him a defiant nod. He opens the door.]

INT&mdash;STORAGE ROOM, ANCIENT SHIP

[He pauses before going out to the corridor.]

SHEPPARD Hold up. We've got a problem. They're between us and the control room.

LARRIN We should be able to find a way around.

SHEPPARD There's not enough time. We can't risk them finding it first.

LARRIN Well, it doesn't matter. It's not like they can fly the ship.

[Sheppard winces and avoids Larrin's eyes.]

LARRIN Sheppard&hellip;you did shut down the controls, right? Sheppard!

SHEPPARD Look, there wasn't enough time!

LARRIN If they find that control room before we do, they'll not only be able to fly this ship, but they're going to be able to track us using the internal sensors.

SHEPPARD (walking around her, speaking angrily) Believe me, I know. And by the way, I was busy saving your life at the time.

LARRIN The only reason my life was in danger in the first place is because you decided to broadcast our position to half the galaxy.

[Sheppard clenches his fist and bites back a further retort.]

SHEPPARD Do you want to argue about this, or do you want to do something about it?

LARRIN Fine. What are the options?

SHEPPARD Well, we're cut off from the control room, and we have no weapons.

LARRIN That's not true. We have the chair.

SHEPPARD I don't think drones are gonna do any good with a bunch of Wraith in the middle of the ship.

LARRIN What if they weren't in the middle?

SHEPPARD Get serious.

LARRIN You got a better idea?

[Sheppard grimaces.]

INT&mdash;CHAIR ROOM, ANCIENT SHIP

[Sheppard climbs into the room through Larrin's blast passage and sits in the chair.]

SHEPPARD All right. I'm in position.

INT&mdash;ANCIENT SHIP CORRIDOR

[Larrin carries Sheppard's scanner.]

LARRIN Wait for my signal.

[The conversation switches between Larrin's and Sheppard's locations.]

SHEPPARD You sure you want to go through with this? I mean, if you don't make it, I'm going to feel responsible, and, well, I really don't need the guilt.

LARRIN I'll be fine as long as you don't shoot too early. I'm sure that's not the first time you've heard that from a woman.

SHEPPARD On the other hand, I might be able to live with it.

[He leans back in the chair.]

LARRIN I got 'em. Here we go.

[She takes a deep breath and heads forward.]

[In a nearby corridor, the three Wraith march, wary for anything. From behind them Larrin whistles. They turn and immediately give chase as she runs down the hall. One Wraith heads through a side passage to cut her off.]

[The two remaining Wraith fire their stunners. Larrin heads to a door at the far end.]

LARRIN Sheppard, now!

[She reaches the door and waves over the control to open it.]

INT&mdash;CHAIR ROOM, ANCIENT SHIP

[Sheppard concentrates.]

EXT&mdash;SPACE

[A lone drone exits the ship and boomerangs back.]

INT&mdash;ANCIENT SHIP CORRIDOR

[Larrin closes the door behind her just in time. The Wraith continue to fire on the door, but further down the corridor, the drone strikes the ship. The depressurization sucks the two Wraith out into space.]

[Larrin sighs in relief and turns from the closed door. The third Wraith is waiting for her, instantly pressing his feeding hand to her chest. She grunts in pain and tries to pull it away. She screams.]

INT&mdash;CHAIR ROOM, ANCIENT SHIP

[Sheppard sits up, breathing heavily from the exertion.]

SHEPPARD Larrin, come in. Larrin?

INT&mdash;ANCIENT SHIP CORRIDOR

[The Wraith pauses in his feeding. Larrin lies dying on the floor of the corridor. She appears much older and has a large feeding wound on her chest.]

WRAITH And now, before I take the rest of your life, you will answer my questions. How many more of your people are on this ship? I do not have to kill you, nor do I have to leave you like this. It would be better if you cooperated.

[While the Wraith speaks, Sheppard peeks around a corner watching. He checks the charge of the pistol he still carries.]

WRAITH This is your last chance. Tell me. How many more of you are on board?

[The Wraith jerks as he feels a pistol pressed against his head.]

SHEPPARD It only takes one. I see that you've just fed. Which means that your regeneration powers are at your highest. But, I seriously doubt you can grow a new head.

WRAITH What do you want?

SHEPPARD First, you're going to hand me the stunner. Slowly.

[The Wraith reluctantly pulls his stunner out of his holster and hands it over.]

SHEPPARD Next, you're gonna give back what you took. Then, you're gonna leave.

WRAITH Leave?

SHEPPARD You came in a dart, right?

WRAITH The bay was unguarded. We landed our darts and entered unchallenged.

SHEPPARD Well, then, you're gonna leave the same way you came. There's a space gate orbiting the second planet in the system. It may take you a while, but you'll get there.

WRAITH If I restore her, there's nothing to stop you from going back on your word and killing me anyway.

SHEPPARD That's true. I'd say there's a fifty-fifty chance I'll do it out of pure spite. But&hellip;if you don't, I will kill you.

[He nudges the Wraith's head with the pistol. The Wraith "un-feeds", restoring Larrin to health and youth. She gasps in surprise. The Wraith appears subdued.]

SHEPPARD Get up.

[The Wraith slowly stands.]

SHEPPARD Turn around.

[The Wraith turns around to the far passageway. Sheppard stands over Larrin while the Wraith walks away, pausing at the end of the corridor before going out of sight. Sheppard kneels by Larrin.]

SHEPPARD You all right?

LARRIN Uh, I don't know. That was so strange. To have your&hellip;whole life fading away, and then to&hellip;suddenly have it back again. It actually felt kind of good.

[She smiles.]

SHEPPARD (quirking a smile) Mmm. I know. It happened to me once too. Long story. Think you can get up?

LARRIN Yeah.

[He helps her up. She half collapses as she gets to her feet.]

SHEPPARD Easy&hellip;

[He continues to hold her up in an embrace. She clings to him.]

LARRIN I'm okay. I'm all right. You saved my life. Again.

SHEPPARD If you hadn't come up with the plan, we'd both be dead.

LARRIN So are you saying we make a good team?

SHEPPARD Well, don't go crazy.

LARRIN Right. But in the interest of&hellip;interstellar relations, I think we should at least just&hellip;try to get along, right?

[They kiss. Larrin pickpockets the Wraith stunner Sheppard confiscated and points it at his gut as they break apart.]

SHEPPARD You've got to be kidding me.

LARRIN Sorry.

[She shoots him with the stunner. He collapses to the floor.]

INT&mdash;AUXILIARY CONTROL ROOM, ANCIENT SHIP

[Larrin enters the room and goes immediately to the controls.]

INT&mdash;ANCIENT SHIP CORRIDOR

[Sheppard regains consciousness with a groan.]

SHEPPARD Larrin?

[The conversation switches between Larrin's and Sheppard's locations.]

LARRIN Sorry about this, Sheppard. And I really am grateful you saved my life.

SHEPPARD (annoyed) Well, you've got a funny way of showing it.

LARRIN Don't play hurt with me. It's easy to be generous when you think you have the upper hand.

SHEPPARD What are you talking about?

LARRIN We both know the only reason you didn't stun me and lock me up the first opportunity you got was because you thought your ships were gonna get here first. You were wrong about that, by the way.

[Sheppard grimaces.]

EXT&mdash;SPACE

[Three Travelers' ships arrive out of hyperspace and flank the Ancient ship.]

INT&mdash;AUXILIARY CONTROL ROOM, ANCIENT SHIP

[A Traveler crewman appears on a video transmission appearing on a monitor.]

TRAVELER CREWMAN Larrin, it's good to see you again.

LARRIN Believe me, I feel the same way. How did you find us?

TRAVELER CREWMAN Well, we were monitoring communications before you jumped into hyperspace.

LARRIN You knew he took the ship?

TRAVELER CREWMAN It&hellip;seemed fairly obvious. We guessed his priority would be to contact his people, so we sent probes to all the space gates in the vicinity of our previous position. Eventually, we detected your energy signature.

LARRIN Well done. Now, I want you to send over a couple of technicians to help me get the hyperdrive back online&hellip;Oh, and a security team as well.

TRAVELER CREWMAN Right away.

INT&mdash;ANCIENT SHIP CORRIDOR

[Sheppard shuffles to a door and tries to open it. He's locked out. He continues to try.]

SHEPPARD Oh come on!

[The door suddenly opens. Three guards are on the other side, all aiming weapons at him. Sheppard bites his lip and raises his hands in surrender.]

INT&mdash;PUDDLE JUMPER

MCKAY All right, close enough to do a full sensor sweep.

[McKay pulls up the HUD.]

MCKAY Looks like we've got four ships, one of them Lantian design, Aurora-class.

LORNE What about the other three?

MCKAY I don't recognize the configurations.

RONON What about Sheppard?

MCKAY Well, the logical assumption is that he's on board the ship that transmitted the signal.

LORNE And which one is that?

MCKAY Well, I have no idea.

LORNE We're about to enter weapons range, Doc. Which ships do I target?

TEYLA Perhaps we should attempt to communicate before we attack. We know nothing about these people.

LORNE That's true. But right now about the only thing we've got going for us is the fact that we're cloaked. We send a signal, we give up our position.

MCKAY He's right. They could target us, or-or for that matter, they could just jump back into hyperspace. We'd be right back at square one.

RONON We didn't come all this way for nothing, right?

MCKAY (resigned) All right-all right, well, I'll see if I can find a way to disable them.

INT&mdash;CELL, ANCIENT SHIP

[Sheppard is locked in the cell again. Larrin enters, shutting off the shield barrier and entering the cell.]

LARRIN I thought you'd be glad to know the hyperdrive repairs are almost complete.

SHEPPARD Well, congratulations. You got what you want.

LARRIN Yes, it's true. I can fly the ship and navigate, but there are still dozens of systems I don't have access to. And if any of the controls went down, it would be a problem.

SHEPPARD (unsympathetically) So finish the adapter. You said you can reverse-engineer the systems that were already initialized.

LARRIN Well, yes we can, eventually&hellip;but it would go a lot faster if I keep you on board.

SHEPPARD (furious) You are a piece of work, you know that?!

LARRIN Look, I know you don't agree with my tactics, but I wasn't lying about why I need this ship. I'm doing this for my people.

[She leaves the cell. Sheppard tries to follow, but the shield goes back up, trapping him inside.]

SHEPPARD Look! I know you think you're helping your people, but you're wrong.

[Larrin turns back.]

LARRIN Excuse me?

SHEPPARD You've been running and hiding for thousands of years. You've survived, good for you. but now you're starting to see diminishing returns. One more ship, that'll buy a little more time. but ultimately, it's not going to change anything. Your people are headed for a slow death.

LARRIN What other choice do we have?

SHEPPARD In case you haven't heard, you will soon enough, but the Wraith are under attack.

LARRIN From who?

SHEPPARD Well, it's a long story but the point is, they're taking heavy damage, and if they don't get wiped out, they're gonna be vulnerable. Now, you people have hyperdrives and advanced weapons, and god knows what else. When the time is right, that kind of technology can tip the balance.

LARRIN Are you suggesting an alliance?

SHEPPARD Well, I'm not asking you to dinner, but yeah, something like that.

LARRIN After all I put you through?

SHEPPARD Well, like you said, you did it for your people.

LARRIN (smiling) I may have misjudged you after all.

INT&mdash;PUDDLE JUMPER

LORNE All right, Doc. We're in weapons range. Whaddya got for me?

MCKAY We can target the Lantian ship's engines.

TEYLA What about the others?

MCKAY Look, I've been going over the sensor data, but there's still too many unknowns. I mean, if you hit 'em in the wrong spot we could blow them out of the sky or the-or the drones could just bounce harmlessly off the shields. There's no way to know.

LORNE All right, well it's still our best option. We can't risk them getting away.

EXT&mdash;SPACE

[The four ships open hyperspace windows and disappear into them.]

INT&mdash;PUDDLE JUMPER

MCKAY (devastated) They're&hellip;gone.

[The team looks crushed. A alarm beeps. McKay looks down.]

MCKAY I'm getting a contact. Huh. It's a jumper. One life sign.

LORNE (into comm) Colonel Sheppard, this is Major Lorne. Is that you?

SHEPPARD (over comm) That's affirmative, Major.

[The team all breath sighs of relief.]

INT&mdash;SHEPPARD'S PUDDLE JUMPER

SHEPPARD (continuing into comm) &hellip;It's good to hear from you.

LORNE Likewise, sir. Seemed like we came pretty close to losing you there.

SHEPPARD (with rueful chuckle) You don't know the half of it.

EXT&mdash;ATLANTIS, DAY

INT&mdash;ATLANTIS MESS HALL

[Sheppard's team eats a meal together. Sheppard appears to savor every bite.]

SHEPPARD Mmm. That's good.

MCKAY Really?

SHEPPARD You spend enough time with a bunch of space nomads, you really begin to appreciate what you have.

TEYLA Well, it's difficult to imagine spending one's entire life onboard a ship.

SHEPPARD Mmm.

RONON If it was me, I'd go crazy.

[McKay shoots him a look.]

SHEPPARD They weren't exactly the most even-keeled people. I'm still not exactly sure why they let me go.

TEYLA Well, you did offer them an alliance. That has to be worth something.

RONON Or they figured out you'd be more trouble than you're worth.

[He picks up his slab of meat with his fork and takes a bite out of it.]

SHEPPARD (pointing his knife in emphasis) Now that is a possibility.

MCKAY No, there's something you're not telling us&hellip;She was hot, wasn't she?

[Sheppard studiously works at cutting his meat, not looking up.]

SHEPPARD I don't know what you're talking about.

MCKAY Aw, I knew it! That is so typical!

[Ronon smiles at Sheppard.]

SHEPPARD She had me beaten, Rodney. She threatened to kill me several times! It wasn't like we were hanging out in the spa together.

MCKAY (still fuming) Whatever, all I know is that every time I get taken captive, it's the Wraith. Just once I would like to be taken prisoner by the sexy alien.

SHEPPARD Well, you may still get a chance.

RONON Yeah, what do you mean?

[Ronon takes another bite of meat.]

SHEPPARD She's still out there.

[McKay considers this. Teyla rolls her eyes. Sheppard's expression goes from joking to contemplative, and he shakes his head to clear his thoughts before continuing with his meal.]

FADE OUT

END CREDITS

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