Chain Reaction/Transcript

Episode Guide

 * 4.15 "Chain Reaction" Episode Guide

Transcript
TEASER

INT&mdash;SGC, CONTROL ROOM

[Sound of klaxons. General Hammond hurries down the stairs. Technician Davis is awaiting him.]

"HAMMOND Report."

"TECH DAVIS It's SG-1, sir. They're under fire."

"HAMMOND (into MALP microphone) Colonel O'Neill, this is General Hammond. Your report status?"

"O'NEILL (over radio) We're pinned down. Carter was able to dial the Gate. We're trying to get clear to come through."

"HAMMOND Open the iris."

[Through the observation window, the iris opens. Shots come through the Gate.]

"HAMMOND Evacuate the Gate room."

INT&mdash;GATE ROOM

[SFs run from the Gate room as more shots come through the Gate.]

INT&mdash;CONTROL ROOM

"HAMMOND (into MALP microphone) Colonel O'Neill, we're taking fire. Report."

INT&mdash;GATE ROOM

[Shots are hitting the doors, walls and destroying equipment.]

"HAMMOND (into MALP microphone) Colonel O'Neill?"

"TECH Sir?"

"HAMMOND Give them some more time."

INT&mdash;GATE ROOM

[Daniel runs through the Gate, followed by Carter, Teal'c and O'Neill. The iris closes.]

INT&mdash;SGC, BRIEFING ROOM

[Hammond is standing by the observation window. Carter, O'Neill, Daniel and Teal'c are sitting at the table.]

"O'NEILL So essentially we were ambushed on the way back to the Gate."

"CARTER We almost didn't make it out."

"HAMMOND If you delayed much longer you wouldn't have. I was about to close the iris."

"O'NEILL Well considering the SGC was taking fire, kinda glad you waited as long as you did, Sir."

"HAMMOND Strictly speaking, if I'd followed procedure you'd all be dead right now."

"CARTER Well, Sir, every time we go through the Stargate it's a calculated risk."

"HAMMOND I realise that, Major. But frankly I'm getting tired of sending good people out there never knowing if they're going to come back. I've had enough."

"DANIEL I'm sorry, Sir, what are you saying?"

"HAMMOND I wanted you all to be the first to know. Effective immediately I'm stepping down as commander of the SGC."

OPENING TITLES

INT&mdash;SGC, HAMMOND'S OFFICE

[Hammond is packing with help from a female NCO. O'Neill enters.]

"HAMMOND Come to see me off, Colonel?"

"O'NEILL Nope. Come to talk you out of this."

"HAMMOND Thank you. You can finish later."

"FEMALE NCO Yes, sir."

[The female NCO leaves.]

"HAMMOND Jack, weren't you there for my goodbye speech?"

"O'NEILL Yes, I was. Of course. You know that. And it was lovely, General, but do you really think I believe you're quitting because we ran into a little trouble out there? Hell, we've been presumed dead before."

"HAMMOND I don't have to explain myself to you, Colonel."

"O'NEILL No, Sir, you don't, you're my commanding officer. But could you throw me a bone?"

"HAMMOND Jack, this has been a long time coming. I'm asking you to respect my decision and accept it. When I took over this command the Stargate was inactive. This was supposed to be a quick and easy assignment on my way to retiring."

"O'NEILL General, need I remind you I was retired. Some things are worth changing your plans for."

"HAMMOND I've had enough."

[Hammond picks up a case and walks through to the Briefing room.]

[Carter, Daniel and Teal'c are waiting.]

"HAMMOND Let me just say it's been a pleasure serving with all of you."

"CARTER We'll miss you, Sir."

[Carter hugs Hammond.]

"DANIEL Won't be the same without you, Sir."

[Daniel shakes Hammond's hand.]

"TEAL'C On Chulak, when a great warrior retires from the field of battle it is custom to sing a song of lament. Fortunately we are not on Chulak."

"HAMMOND Take care of yourselves."

EXT&mdash;SGC, MOUNTAIN ENTRANCE, DAY.

[White cars drive into the base's entrance.]

INT&mdash;SGC, GATE ROOM

[All the SGC teams and staff are lined up. O'Neill, Carter, Daniel, Teal'c are on the front row.]

"CARTER So what do we know about this new guy?"

"O'NEILL Not much."

"DANIEL Let's hope he's not some sort of spit and polish, brass tacks&hellip;"

"O'NEILL Hard ass?"

"DANIEL I was building up to that."

"O'NEILL Ten-hut."

[All the soldiers stand to attention. Daniel turns. General Bauer enters.]

"BAUER My name is Major General Bauer. I'll be your new commanding officer. I'd just like to say I look forward to working with all of you. Thank you."

[Bauer walks through the Gate room and leaves.]

"O'NEILL Squadron at ease. Always leave 'em wanting more. I guess."

INT&mdash;SGC, CORRIDOR

[Daniel and Carter are walking along the corridor.]

"DANIEL I don't know, I guess I was expecting someone a little more inspiring."

"CARTER I guess when you spend that much time at the Pentagon it's easy to become a bureaucrat."

FOLLOW THROUGH TO CARTER'S LAB

[Bauer is waiting inside.]

"BAUER Or a politician. Depends on where your interests lie."

"CARTER General, I&hellip;"

"BAUER At ease, Major Carter. At ease. I've been going over your research into naquadah reactors. Very impressive."

"CARTER Well, large-scale application is mostly theoretical right now but the mineral does show incredible potential as an alternative power source."

"BAUER It also demonstrates some interesting properties when used in conjunction with nuclear ordinance."

"CARTER Wa&hellip;it does tend to increase the explosive effect, yes, Sir."

"BAUER The Pentagon feels that the Stargate project, while exposing Earth to considerable danger, has yet to produce any practical returns. Now we've been working on a device designed specifically to take advantage of this naquadah-enhancing effect. I'd like you to take part in the operation."

"CARTER What about my duties with SG-1?"

"BAUER You've been reassigned."

"DANIEL What?"

"BAUER As have you, Doctor Jackson. An archaeologist has no place on a front line unit. From now on, you'll work as a consultant, going offworld only as required."

"CARTER But, General Bauer&hellip;"

"BAUER The decision has been made, Major. Now, I suggest you get to work."

EXT&mdash;SGC, CORRIDOR OUTSIDE BAUER'S OFFICE

[O'Neill knocks once one on the door.]

"BAUER Come."

FOLLOW THROUGH AS O'NEILL ENTERS BAUER'S OFFICE

[A female soldier is helping him move in.]

"BAUER Colonel O'Neill."

"O'NEILL General."

"BAUER Thank you, Captain."

[The female soldier leaves.]

"BAUER I've just been going through your mission reports."

"O'NEILL Yes, Sir?"

"BAUER They're satisfactory, although in the future, you might want to include bullet-point summaries in each section. Makes for an easier read."

"O'NEILL Bullet-point summaries&hellip;"

"BAUER Is there a problem with that?"

"O'NEILL General, I realise the format of my reports is of vital importance and if you'd like, some day we can get together and talk about fonts and margins, but right now I like to discuss the fact you're dismantling my team without discussion."

"BAUER General Hammond might have allowed you a certain latitude in his presence, Colonel, but you'd do well to watch your tone with me."

"O'NEILL You know, General Hammond kept us together for a reason. The fact is if it wasn't for SG-1, right now you'd be sitting there with a snake in your head instead of your head up your ass&hellip;"

"BAUER Colonel! No one around here is above reproach. If it continues your long history of insubordination will come to a swift and completely unspectacular end under my command, that I can assure you. Now I suggest you take some time, think things over. Decide if you still want to be a part of this operation. Dismissed, Colonel."

INT&mdash;HAMMOND'S HOUSE, KITCHEN

[Hammond is seated at the table reading a newspaper. Out of the window two children are playing in the garden. O'Neill walks around and greets the children who run to him and hug him. He hugs them back and shoos them off before approaching the window and putting his lips to the glass, leaving a 'kiss' mark there. Hammond gets up from the table and goes to the door to let O'Neill in.]

"HAMMOND Hello, Jack. Come on in."

"O'NEILL General. See you're keeping busy."

"HAMMOND Have a seat. What are you doing here?"

"O'NEILL Ahh, little vacation."

"HAMMOND Didn't you just take some time off?"

"O'NEILL Yeah, this one wasn't by choice."

"HAMMOND Not everyone is going to be as patient with you as I was."

"O'NEILL That's why I'm here, Sir."

"HAMMOND Bit of a rough adjustment?"

"O'NEILL Oh, no, no everything's fine. SG-1's been dismantled. Daniel's got a desk job, Teal'c's with SG-3 and Carter's working on some kind of doomsday machine. You know, same old same old."

"HAMMOND Are you serious?"

"O'NEILL For once, yes."

"HAMMOND It's just going to take some time to get used to the man. I'm sure he's very competent."

"O'NEILL Ah, come on, General. I've never met anyone who liked doing what they do more than you. You were good at it. Great. You'll never convince me you just got fed up. I'll never buy that."

"HAMMOND I'm sorry, it's out of my hands, Jack."

"O'NEILL What's that mean?"

"HAMMOND I can't discuss it."

"O'NEILL General?"

"HAMMOND You don't understand."

"O'NEILL I won't, unless you explain it to me."

"HAMMOND Two weeks ago I was contacted by a representative of the NID. He suggested I should become more aggressive in my policy."

"O'NEILL They have no jurisdiction over you."

"HAMMOND They wanted me to help them gain access to off world technology which they're unable to do since we shut down their little side operation."

"O'NEILL You told them to go to hell?"

"HAMMOND Of course. Then he told me if I didn't cooperate there would be consequences. The next day, two men in plain clothes driving a black unmarked car picked up my granddaughters from school."

"O'NEILL I don't believe it."

"HAMMOND They took them for a little ride then brought them home. The girls were fine, but I got the message. We're talking about an organisation as powerful as the CIA. These people are above the law. I can't protect my family twenty-four hours a day. I had no choice."

"O'NEILL Of course not."

"HAMMOND Don't get yourself into trouble over this, Jack."

"O'NEILL You know me, Sir."

INT&mdash;GOVERNMENT PRISON

[O'Neill is let into Maybourne's cell block. Maybourne rises.]

"MAYBOURNE Jack O'Neill. What a pleasant surprise."

INT&mdash;SGC, LAB

[Some scientists are working on a bomb. Above, in the observation room, Carter is working. Bauer enters the observation room.]

"BAUER At ease. How are things progressing, Major?"

"CARTER Well, the hardware's almost ready. But the problem is the ratio of naquadah to lithium hydride. According to my calculations, we don't have enough weapons-grade material to complete the bomb."

"BAUER Then we'll just have to get some more."

"CARTER Sir, we're talking about refined naquadah. It's extremely rare."

"BAUER Not on P3S-452."

"CARTER General, that planet is a Goa'uld stronghold."

"BAUER I realise that. I'm confident a well-armed strike force can get the job done."

INT&mdash;GOVERNMENT PRISON, VISITING ROOM

[O'Neill is seated at a table opposite Maybourne.]

"MAYBOURNE Nice of you to come by. I don't get a lot of visitors."

"O'NEILL I find that hard to believe."

"MAYBOURNE In my line of work&hellip;people don't exactly stick by you through thick and thin. Most of my associates are busy trying to forget they ever knew me."

"O'NEILL Your former associates are why I'm here. They're causing some problems for a friend of mine."

"MAYBOURNE General Hammond."

"O'NEILL What do you know?"

"MAYBOURNE Why should I tell you?"

"O'NEILL Because I can help you."

"MAYBOURNE I've been convicted of treason. What can you do?"

"O'NEILL Air Force One and I go way back."

"MAYBOURNE I suppose I'll have to trust you."

"O'NEILL I wasn't going to say it."

"MAYBOURNE It's really very simple. When you shut down the offworld operation with the second Gate, you cut off the NID's access to alien technology."

"O'NEILL That's when they sent you to work for the Russians."

"MAYBOURNE The Pentagon forced the Russians to deep-six their Gate in exchange for continued sharing of information and technology."

"O'NEILL We have the only operational Gate."

"MAYBOURNE Exactly. The NID thinks Hammond and the policies that govern the Stargate program are too soft."

"O'NEILL So this Bauer guy is part of it?"

"MAYBOURNE Truth is, I don't know. I've been out of the loop for a little while, but it's possible he's just a patsy, unwittingly manoeuvred into position because he's got the right mentality."

"O'NEILL All sounds so cloak and daggery."

"MAYBOURNE You're a Special Ops Colonel, Jack. Why do you always pretend to smell like roses?"

"O'NEILL Hey! I never threatened a two-star general by kidnapping his grandkids."

"MAYBOURNE Don't pretend to be so naive either."

"O'NEILL How do I get him to back off?"

"MAYBOURNE You really want to play in my sandbox, Jack?"

"O'NEILL Tell me what I have to do."

"MAYBOURNE Quid pro quo, Jack."

"O'NEILL You're facing the death penalty. The best I can do is put in a good word, maybe recommend they commute your sentence to life."

"MAYBOURNE You'll have to do a lot more than that. I can get you the information you need&mdash;names, proof of certain influential peoples involvement with the NID."

"O'NEILL Keep talking."

"MAYBOURNE My word is useless. You want hard evidence, you're going to have to get me out of here for a few days."

"O'NEILL Are you nuts? Do you know how many strings I'd have to pull to make that happen?"

"MAYBOURNE One big one. I know you're prepared to do it, Jack, you wouldn't be here otherwise. I won't bother to say you can trust me."

INT&mdash;SGC, CONTROL ROOM

"TECH DAVIS Receiving transmission Sir. It's SG-3's iris code."

"BAUER Open the iris."

INT&mdash;SGC, GATE ROOM

[The iris opens. Teal'c and two members of SG-3 step through the Gate. One member of SG-3 is helping the other, who is injured. Three medics meet them at the top of the ramp. Bauer meets Teal'c at the base of the ramp.]

"BAUER Where's Major Waite?"

"TEAL'C Dead."

"BAUER What happened?"

"TEAL'C We encountered heavy resistance. Lieutenant Morrison was providing cover fire."

"BAUER What about the naquadah?"

"TEAL'C I believe I secured a sufficient amount."

"BAUER Excellent."

[Teal'c walks off.]

"BAUER You can give me your full briefing later."

"MEDIC'S VOICE (in background) We've stopped the bleeding. Let's get him to the infirmary."

EXT&mdash;YELLOW BRICK APARTMENT BUILDING, DAY

INT&mdash;EMPTY APARTMENT

[O'Neill and Maybourne enter. It's sparsely furnished&mdash;a table with a desktop computer, a chair, a microwave and a fridge.]

"O'NEILL Have you heard of Ikea?"

"MAYBOURNE You want to feel privileged Jack. No one, not even the NID knows about this place."

[O'Neill picks up a letter from a pile of letters on the floor.]

"O'NEILL Charles Bliss?"

"MAYBOURNE Now you know one of a hundred names I go by."

[Maybourne goes to the fridge. The only thing in there is loads of bottles of beer and a bottle of mustard.]

"O'NEILL I see you're on that famous beer and mustard diet. How's that working out for you?"

[Maybourne takes two beers from the fridge and offers one to O'Neill.]

"O'NEILL No thanks."

[Maybourne puts the beer back and removes a wrapped floppy disk taped to the top of the fridge. He walks to the table and sits down, turning on the computer.]

"MAYBOURNE If anyone tries to boot the computer up without this disk the whole thing fries."

"O'NEILL What are you doing?"

"MAYBOURNE Accessing NID files on the Internet."

"O'NEILL On the Internet?"

"MAYBOURNE The organisation is made up of cells. They communicate with each other by accessing bulletin boards online. Information is deposited on any number of firewall-protected floating servers and accessed using decoding software and passwords."

"O'NEILL Yadda yadda. Blah blah. Why'd we have to come here for this?"

"MAYBOURNE Because the decoding software happens to be on this computer. They've deactivated my password."

"O'NEILL Now there's a shocker."

"MAYBOURNE I'll try to hack in through the back door."

INT&mdash;SGC, BAUER'S OFFICE

[Bauer is seated behind his desk. Carter is standing in front of it.]

"CARTER The naquadah we got from P3S-452 has been successfully incorporated into the device."

"BAUER I'm glad to hear it. Here's the test site."

[Bauer hands Carter a file. Carter reads a couple of pages.]

"CARTER This planet supports plant and animal life."

"BAUER Yes. But the aerial survey shows no sign of habitation within a fifty-mile radius of the Gate."

"CARTER That may not be good enough. I'll need some time to run some simulations. Sir, we've never done anything like this before and I'm not entirely sure how destructive the device will be."

"BAUER Major, the whole point of the experiment is to determine how destructive the device will be. Request denied."

"CARTER But Sir&hellip;"

"BAUER Proceed with the preparations."

"CARTER Yes, Sir."

INT&mdash;MAYBOURNE'S APARTMENT

[Maybourne is siting at the table operating the computer. O'Neill is at the window.]

"MAYBOURNE Jack? Once you've got the information that links the key names to the NID, what are you going to do with it?"

"O'NEILL What do you think?"

"MAYBOURNE I think you're going to turn it over to the Pentagon and hope that the proper chain of command leads to justice."

"O'NEILL Are you tryin' to say something to me, Harry?"

"MAYBOURNE You can't take down the whole NID and they'll kill you for trying."

"O'NEILL That wouldn't be very nice."

"MAYBOURNE But you might be able to hold the incriminating evidence over them and get Hammond reinstated."

"O'NEILL So I should sit on this?"

"MAYBOURNE It's your play."

[We see on the screen that Maybourne's password has been rejected.]

"MAYBOURNE Damn."

[Sound of cars pulling up outside. O'Neill looks out of the window and sees men getting out of the cars.]

"O'NEILL Thought you said nobody knew about this place."

"MAYBOURNE They've probably been tracing me since I went online."

"O'NEILL You got a way out of here?"

"MAYBOURNE Gimme a second."

"O'NEILL What are you doing?"

"MAYBOURNE Burning the hard drive."

INT&mdash;MAYBOURNE'S APARTMENT

[Several armed men burst in. They search the apartment quickly and find a secret door but O'Neill and Maybourne are gone.]

EXT&mdash;STREET, DAY

[Maybourne walks across the road in front of the other car. The driver gets out of the car and O'Neill knocks him unconscious from behind.]

"MAYBOURNE Nice."

[Maybourne tries to pick up the gun the driver dropped.]

"O'NEILL And a nice try to you."

[O'Neill picks up the gun. They get into the car and drive off.]

INT&mdash;SGC, GATE ROOM

[Carter and Siler are preparing the bomb.]

"CARTER We're ready, Sir."

"BAUER (in control room, over speaker) First observation MALP is in position. Prepare to send the bomb through."

"CARTER Seal it up."

EXT&mdash;PARK, HOT DOG STAND, DAY

[O'Neill is on the phone while Maybourne gets a hot dog.]

"O'NEILL Yeah Daniel. How are things at camp?"

INT&mdash;SGC, DANIEL'S LAB

"DANIEL Erm, not good. General Bauer's testing his new naquadah bomb. He's taking shortcuts which Sam thinks could be disastrous."

EXT&mdash;PARK, DAY

"O'NEILL Well, Maybourne claims he doesn't know whether Bauer's in with NID or just a gung-ho patsy."

INT&mdash;SGC, DANIEL'S LAB

"DANIEL Yeah, well, either way he's dangerous."

EXT&mdash;PARK, DAY

"O'NEILL Well hang in there, do what you can. I'll check back."

[O'Neill hangs up and joins Maybourne at a table. Maybourne offers him a hot dog.]

"MAYBOURNE You want one?"

"O'NEILL No. You know, there's still something about you that puts me off my food."

"MAYBOURNE I know you've got a strong stomach, Jack. I've read your file."

"O'NEILL Now what does that have to do with anything?"

"MAYBOURNE You want to help General Hammond, you're going to have to get your hands dirty. I need to know you're going to see this thing through."

"O'NEILL Under no other circumstances would I sit here and watch you eat."

"MAYBOURNE Yeah, well, things are about to get a lot more dicey. They're onto us. Our only chance now is a more direct approach."

"O'NEILL Such as?"

"MAYBOURNE We have to connect someone with significant influence to the online websites. The only way to do that now is straight through one of the high profile associates."

"O'NEILL Who are we talking about here?"

"MAYBOURNE An old friend."

INT&mdash;SGC, CONTROL ROOM

[Sound of klaxons. Siler is sitting at a control computer, Carter is standing near him. We see on a screen that the MALP with the bomb is travelling over sand on the test site planet.]

"SILER Fifteen minutes to target location."

[Daniel rushes in.]

"DANIEL We have to stop the test."

"BAUER Why is that, Doctor?"

"DANIEL The aerial survey shows evidence of an old Goa'uld mining operation. Now even though it's probably been shut down for several thousand years there could still be significant amounts of naquadah present on that planet."

"BAUER My soil samples indicate only minute traces."

"CARTER The geological survey I read said there was none."

"BAUER We're not stopping the test."

"CARTER I don't think you realise the implications of this. Or maybe you do."

"BAUER Are you making an accusation, Major?"

"CARTER You knew all along, didn't you? You were hoping for a chain reaction with the naquadah in the soil. Sir, that entire planet could be destroyed."

"BAUER That possibility has been considered. Most worlds occupied by the Goa'uld do have a high incidence of naquadah. This could be a very effective weapon against them."

"CARTER There's only one problem, Sir. When that bomb goes off we'll still be connected to that planet by an active Stargate and we've seen radiation, gravitational effects, even time distortions translated back through an outgoing wormhole."

"BAUER According to my intelligence, we should be able to get just enough data before the Stargate is destroyed and the wormhole disconnected."

"CARTER Who provided this intelligence?"

"BAUER That is not your concern."

"CARTER Sir, we've seen the Stargate survive a direct hit from a meteorite. The truth is, we have no way of knowing what might happen."

"BAUER A risk assessment has been made and deemed acceptable. End of discussion."

EXT&mdash;SENATOR KINSEY'S HOUSE, DAY

[O'Neill and Maybourne drive up.]

"O'NEILL How long you known the guy?"

"MAYBOURNE We go way back."

EXT&mdash;KINSEY'S HOUSE, ENTRANCE, DAY

[O'Neill and Maybourne stand on the front step. Sounds of piano playing and people inside the house. Maybourne rings the doorbell.]

"MAYBOURNE Looks like a party."

[The door is opened by a maid.]

"MAID Yes?"

"MAYBOURNE Would you please tell the Senator that Colonel Maybourne and Colonel O'Neill would like to see him."

"MAID He has guests."

"MAYBOURNE Tell him he has two more."

[Kinsey comes to the door.]

"KINSEY What the hell are you doing here?"

"MAYBOURNE Our invitations must have got lost in the mail."

"KINSEY This is not a good time."

[Mrs. Kinsey approaches behind Kinsey.]

"MRS. KINSEY Who is it, dear?"

"KINSEY A couple of old friends."

"O'NEILL Afternoon ma'am. I'm Mr. Starsky and this is&hellip;Hutch."

"MRS. KINSEY Come in, come in. We're just having a little get-together."

[They enter the house. A dog runs over to O'Neill.]

"KINSEY (to dog) Oscar, down."

"O'NEILL It's all right."

"MRS. KINSEY He seems to like you, Mr. Starsky."

"O'NEILL Birds of feather, ma'am."

"KINSEY Dear, Starsky and Hutch is an old TV show."

"MRS. KINSEY Oh, so you're actors then?"

"KINSEY Maybe we'd better go up to my study. This won't take long."

INT&mdash;SGC, CONTROL ROOM

"SILER The weapon is in position."

[Bauer detonates the weapon using a remote control. On the computer screen we see the bomb explode. Then the MALP camera feed is lost.]

"DANIEL What happened?"

"SILER We've lost transmission."

"CARTER The observation MALP was destroyed."

"TEAL'C The wormhole did not disconnect."

"TECH DAVIS Sir, I'm picking up increasing levels of radiation in the Gate room."

"CARTER They're gamma rays, ultrahigh frequency."

"BAUER Shut down the Gate."

"TECH DAVIS No response. Radiation levels approaching critical."

"CARTER Close the iris."

[The iris closes.]

"TECH DAVIS Radiation levels decreasing."

"CARTER Sir, if that iris succumbs to the heat and loses integrity, there will be no way to stop the radiation from bombarding the base. We have to evacuate."

"BAUER We were positive the other Gate would be destroyed."

"CARTER Sir, we have act now."

"CARTER (over speaker) Attention all personnel, by order of General Bauer commence immediate evacuation of the base. Repeat, immediate evacuation. This is not a drill."

[Alarm sounds.]

"CARTER We can monitor the Gate room from a security station on Level 16."

"BAUER What's going to happen, Major?"

"CARTER I have no way of knowing, Sir."

"DANIEL Guess your risk assessment didn't cover this."

[Daniel walks off.]

INT&mdash;KINSEY'S HOUSE, THE STUDY

[Kinsey closes the door. O'Neill and Maybourne are standing inside the room.]

"KINSEY Gentlemen, I have the undersecretary of state, the governor of Maryland and half the United States Congress waiting for me in my living room, so let's make this quick. What in God's name could I possibly do for you?"

"O'NEILL We need some information on the NID."

"KINSEY The NID?"

"O'NEILL Snaky government agency involved in all sorts of illegal covert operations, like blackmailing Air Force generals."

"KINSEY You are making less and less sense to me as the seconds are passing away, along with my patience."

"MAYBOURNE Don't tell me you're not aware of all the money they funnelled into your re-election campaign?"

"KINSEY If you have a problem with my campaign finances, why don't you take it up with the Federal Elections Commission?"

"MAYBOURNE That's just the tip of the iceberg."

"KINSEY And aren't you supposed to be in a federal prison, Colonel?"

"MAYBOURNE Colonel O'Neill graciously asked to President to help me dig up some information about my former associates."

"KINSEY And you trust this man?"

"O'NEILL No."

[O'Neill looks at Maybourne apologetically.]

"KINSEY I'm sorry, gentlemen, but this conversation has lost all amusement for me. I have a party to get back to."

"O'NEILL We're not going anywhere."

"KINSEY Excuse me?"

"O'NEILL I'm not leaving until I get what I came for."

"KINSEY Oh, and what are you going to do?"

"O'NEILL Well, I was thinking about shooting you."

[O'Neill produces and aims a gun at Kinsey.]

"MAYBOURNE Jack, what are you doing?"

"O'NEILL Getting a little dirty for you, Maybourne?"

INT&mdash;SGC, SECURITY STATION

[Carter, Bauer, Teal'c and Daniel enter and switch on the lights. Carter sits down at the controls.]

"CARTER Bringing the Gate room online. The iris is still holding, but it's starting to heat up."

"BAUER How long before it loses integrity?"

"CARTER I'm not sure. It's possible that we turned that planet into a giant ball of super heated plasma. It could power the Gate for months."

"BAUER We'll have to set the autodestruct."

"TEAL'C The Gate on the other side survived the explosion. Would not ours as well?"

"BAUER But at least it would be buried under a million tonnes of rock."

"CARTER That wouldn't stop it from pumping out radiation. Eventually the heat is going to melt through that iris."

"BAUER Then what do we do, Major?"

"CARTER There is a chance the Gate will shut down on its own."

"BAUER The 38-minute window."

"CARTER There's no way to know for sure, Sir. These are untested circumstances."

"BAUER How long has the Gate been open?"

"CARTER Coming up on twenty-one minutes."

INT&mdash;KINSEY'S HOUSE, THE STUDY

[Kinsey is standing with O'Neill holding a gun on him. Maybourne is seated behind the desk operating the computer.]

"KINSEY Colonel, have you completely taken leave of your senses?"

"O'NEILL I've been hanging round Maybourne. What does that say?"

"KINSEY How dare you come into my house waving a gun?"

"O'NEILL Not waving. Pointing. Sit down."

[Kinsey sits.]

"KINSEY I hope you realise, Colonel, you are making the biggest mistake of your life. When this is over, I promise you'll regret the day we ever met."

"O'NEILL Oh, that day has come and gone, Senator."

"KINSEY If you don't care about your own career, maybe you should think about your friends."

"O'NEILL What's that mean?"

"KINSEY You mess with me, Dr. Jackson will be out of the SGC permanently, and Major Carter will be scrubbing toilets in some Air Force weather station in Alaska&mdash;and as for the alien, Teal'c, well, let's just say I know some bioengineers in the Department of Defence who would love to get their hands on his symbiote."

"MAYBOURNE Okay, I'm in. I need the password."

"O'NEILL I'll give you a choice: white meat or dark meat?"

"KINSEY You wouldn't dare."

"MAYBOURNE It's usually something familiar, like, er, wife's maiden name."

"KINSEY I have a wife, three children, seven grandchildren and various nieces and nephews. Good Luck."

[O'Neill spots a photo of Kinsey, his wife and dog on the desk.]

"O'NEILL Try Oscar."

[Kinsey makes a face.]

"MAYBOURNE That's it, we're in. I'm downloading now. Kinsey's online activities connect him to NID actions over the last year and a half. Including the secret operation I ran out of Area 51, the involvement with the Russians&hellip;and the threats to Hammond."

"O'NEILL You're a piece of work, Kinsey. Try to shut down the SGC, you make this big speech about how much you hate secret organisations and then you jump in bed with the NID. What is that?"

"KINSEY Oh, I still think the Gate is a Pandora's box and I still think it should be buried forever, but as long it's open and as long as it's a threat to this planet, then I'm damn well going to make sure its used the way it should be used. To defend God's creation."

"O'NEILL Oh, blow the rhetoric up somebody else's nose. You're nothing but a power-hungry hypocrite."

"KINSEY The only currency in this town is power. So if I have to shake hands with the Devil to do the Lord's work, then so be it."

"O'NEILL You self-righteous son of a bitch. Where do you get off&hellip;"

"KINSEY Judge not lest ye be judged. I read the mission reports that come out of that mountain. You play with the fate of this planet on a daily basis."

"O'NEILL I'm doing the job I was asked to do. I doubt very much your constituents could say the same about you."

"KINSEY Oh please! Given the chance half of all American citizens won't even vote and the half that do vote are too stupid to know what they're doing."

"O'NEILL Which explains how you got elected."

"KINSEY In order to expose me, you're going to have to compromise the secrecy of the SGC. Are you really willing to do that?"

"MAYBOURNE I'm done."

[Maybourne takes a disk from the computer.]

"O'NEILL Give me that."

"KINSEY What are you going to do? Take down the whole NID?"

"O'NEILL Nope. Here's the deal. Get them to reinstate Hammond or this disk goes to the press."

"KINSEY It'll never see the light of day."

"O'NEILL Well, I really don't think you'll see the light of day if your secret friends find out you're the weak link."

"KINSEY You learned to play hardball pretty fast didn't you, Colonel?"

"O'NEILL I had a good teacher."

[Out of the window, Maybourne sees black cars approaching.]

"MAYBOURNE Trouble, Jack."

INT&mdash;SGC, GATE ROOM.

[The iris is glowing red.]

INT&mdash;SGC, SECURITY STATION

[Carter is seated at the controls. Bauer, Teal'c and Daniel are standing.]

"CARTER Approaching 38 minutes."

INT&mdash;KINSEY'S HOUSE, THE STUDY

"MAYBOURNE Who made the call? Your wife?"

"KINSEY Give me the disk and you might just get out of here alive."

"O'NEILL They won't come in here with the group he's got downstairs."

"MAYBOURNE But we still got to get out."

[O'Neill takes his cell phone from his pocket and dials.]

INT&mdash;SGC, SECURITY STATION

[The computer screen indicates 38 minutes have passed.]

"BAUER It's still open."

"CARTER Yes, Sir."

"BAUER Well, there's no point staying here. I'll inform the President from the surface."

"CARTER Yes, Sir, I'm sure it'll be much safer up there."

[Carter rises and leaves the room, Daniel follows. Teal'c is about to leave when he sees on the screen that the Gate has deactivated.]

"TEAL'C Major Carter?"

[They all come back into the room.]

"BAUER What happened?"

"CARTER The Gate shut itself off."

"BAUER Are you sure?"

"CARTER It's over."

"BAUER For what it's worth, Major, I'm sorry."

INT&mdash;KINSEY'S HOUSE, THE STAIRCASE

[Kinsey, O'Neill and Maybourne descend the stairs.]

"O'NEILL Great party, Mrs. K. Thank you."

EXT&mdash;KINSEY'S HOUSE, DAY

[The front door opens. The men from the black cars start toward the door. Suddenly, a herd of reporters runs to the front of the house. Maybourne and O'Neill leave through the throng of reporters while Kinsey signals the men in black to do nothing. Kinsey comes out to stand on the front patio.]

"REPORTER 1 Senator Kinsey, we have heard you are planning to run for the White House."

"KINSEY White House?"

"REPORTER 2 Are you declaring your candidacy?"

"KINSEY Well, this is really not how I intended this to come out."

"REPORTER 3 So it's true then, Senator?"

"KINSEY Well, now that you're all here, we've often talked about my goals. Do I think I would make a good president? You're damn right I would. You know how I feel about things. You know how hard I've worked."

[O'Neill and Maybourne walk past the men in black to their car.]

"KINSEY The potential I see in the people of this great nation and the way so many of it's leaders have let them down. It's enough to bring tears to your eyes. The solution to the problems by our government are so simple. Listen to the people."

[O'Neill and Maybourne drive off.]

INT&mdash;SGC, BRIEFING ROOM

[Hammond is standing looking out at the Gate through the window. Then he walks toward his office.]

FOLLOW THROUGH TO INT&mdash;HAMMOND'S OFFICE

[O'Neill knocks on the wall.]

"HAMMOND Jack, come in."

"O'NEILL General, it's good to have you back."

"HAMMOND Thank you. I hear I missed a bit of excitement while I was gone."

"O'NEILL You'll have to ask Carter about that, Sir."

"HAMMOND I'm looking forward to the debriefing."

"O'NEILL As am I."

"HAMMOND Jack, what do I owe you for this?"

"O'NEILL Continued latitude, patience and understanding. So just be yourself, Sir."

[Sound of the phone ringing. Hammond answers it.]

"HAMMOND Hammond&hellip;It's for you."

[Hammond hands the receiver to O'Neill.]

"O'NEILL Hello."

EXT&mdash;A TROPICAL ISLAND, DAY

[Maybourne is on the phone, a steel band playing in the background.]

"MAYBOURNE Hello, Jack."

INT&mdash;HAMMOND'S OFFICE

"O'NEILL Maybourne. Where are you?"

EXT&mdash;A TROPICAL ISLAND, DAY

"MAYBOURNE Well, not in jail, if that's what you think."

[Maybourne holds the phone up to the steel band.]

INT&mdash;HAMMOND'S OFFICE

[O'Neill looks peeved.]

EXT&mdash;A TROPICAL ISLAND, DAY

"MAYBOURNE I e-mailed myself a copy of the incriminating evidence when I saved it to disk for you."

INT&mdash;HAMMOND'S OFFICE

"O'NEILL I know."

EXT&mdash;A TROPICAL ISLAND, DAY

"MAYBOURNE Kinsey felt obligated to get me transferred to a nicer facility while I await my execution. Made things simple after that."

INT&mdash;HAMMOND'S OFFICE

"O'NEILL Why didn't you try to escape when you were with me?"

EXT&mdash;A TROPICAL ISLAND, DAY

"MAYBOURNE Oh, come on, Jack, you trusted me. I didn't want you to look bad for the president. Besides you're too good to have let it happen."

INT&mdash;HAMMOND'S OFFICE

"O'NEILL What are you going to do now?"

EXT&mdash;A TROPICAL ISLAND, DAY

"MAYBOURNE Well, short term, I think I'll have a few margaritas. After that, who knows?"

INT&mdash;HAMMOND'S OFFICE

"O'NEILL Yeah. Right."

EXT&mdash;A TROPICAL ISLAND, DAY

"MAYBOURNE Thanks for all your help."

INT&mdash;HAMMOND'S OFFICE

[O'Neill puts the phone down.]

"O'NEILL General, about what you owe me?"

"HAMMOND Anything I can do."

"O'NEILL Well, nothing right now. But one day I may ask you to&hellip;buy back my soul."

EXT&mdash;A TROPICAL ISLAND, DAY

[Maybourne puts his arm around a local woman and dances off to the sound of the steel band.]

ROLL CREDITS

Transcript by Kira Rothery, revised by Elfin for Solutions, 16 Mar 03

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--Kylie Lee 04:59, 7 Jul 2004 (PDT)