Underground/Transcript

Episode Guide
Underground" Episode Guide

Transcript
TEASER

EXT&mdash;ATLANTIS, DAY

INT&mdash;ATLANTIS BRIEFING ROOM

[The team and Weir sit at the table. McKay is eating a sandwich and drinking coffee.]

TEYLA They call themselves the Genii. They are simple people, but good farmers and fair traders.

WEIR We're still months away from producing successful crops on the mainland, and we're heading towards a food shortage.

MCKAY I know. It's getting desperate. We're almost out of coffee.

SHEPPARD Well, maybe you should stop drinking eleven cups a day.

MCKAY I'm just making sure I get my fair share before it's all gone.

FORD Sounds fair.

MCKAY Mm.

SHEPPARD I'm all for trade, but don't you think we should find a way to help defend ourselves?

FORD How can a bunch of farmers do that?

WEIR Well, maybe they can introduce us to people who can help. In the meantime, let's take care of the basics.

SHEPPARD I guess it's always good to get to know your neighbors.

TEYLA The Genii Stargate is a short distance from their village. I suggest we walk. The Puddle Jumper may alarm them. As I said, they are very simple.

WEIR Sounds like a mission.

[Smiling, she gets up and leaves. Teyla looks at McKay, who is still eating.]

EXT&mdash;WORMHOLE EFFECT

EXT&mdash;GENII PLANET

[The team exits the Stargate at start walking through the high grass.]

SHEPPARD All right. Where to, Teyla?

TEYLA We should allow them to come to us.

MCKAY Well, if you know where the village is&mdash;

TEYLA They are simple people and they trust me, but that trust was hard earned.

SHEPPARD Okay.

MCKAY What is it you said they grow here, anyway?

TEYLA Many things, but they are best known for a bean known as Tava.

MCKAY What, java?

SHEPPARD Tava.

FORD How will they even know we're here, anyway?

TEYLA They already do.

[A man and woman dressed in simple clothing approach them.]

SHEPPARD They look friendly enough.

TEYLA The eldest one is called Tyrus. I've traded with him on many occasions.

TYRUS Teyla Emmagan.

TEYLA Tyrus. It has been many days.

TYRUS Too many.

SORA Teyla.

TEYLA This is Major Sheppard, Dr. McKay and Lieutenant Ford.

TYRUS My daughter, Sora.

SHEPPARD You must be very proud.

[He smile, and Sora smiles back flirtatiously.]

TYRUS (sternly) She's betrothed.

SHEPPARD Uh, I wasn't hitting on your daughter. I just thought&mdash;

TEYLA They have come to trade for a share of your crops.

SORA Yet you bring weapons.

FORD Only to defend ourselves.

TYRUS (to Teyla) Do you dress as they do of your own accord?

TEYLA Of course. Why?

SHEPPARD He wants to know if you work with us&hellip;or for us.

TEYLA Ah. These are my friends, Tyrus. I would not have brought them if I did not think them worthy to become yours.

TYRUS We'll take you to see Cowen. (to Sora) Go.

SORA Follow me.

[Tyrus watches as the team follows Sora away.]

MCKAY (to Sheppard) Maybe we should offer a sense of humor in trade.

SHEPPARD Sure. They can have yours.

MCKAY (laughing sarcastically) Oh, please, my side. You slay me.

SHEPPARD I'm thinking about it.

[Behind them, Tyrus speaks into an advanced communications device on his wrist.]

TYRUS I'm bringing them in. All operations to silent mode.

[He follows the others.]

END TEASER

OPENING CREDITS

EXT&mdash;GENII VILLAGE, DAY

[The village is primitive with wooden structures, similar to the 19th century on Earth.]

INT&mdash;GENII TAVERN

[The team is at a table with some Genii, including Cowen, Tyrus, and Sora.]

COWEN And these medicines are potent?

MCKAY They are capable of stopping bacterial infections entirely.

SORA It would help us through a harsh winter.

COWEN Hmm. We will need more than you offer.

SHEPPARD More?

FORD I don't think you understand how cool this medicine is.

COWEN Well, leave if you wish.

SHEPPARD (surprised) Leave? (to Teyla) I thought you said the Genii were fair traders.

TEYLA (smiling at Cowen) We have always been able to achieve a reasonable bargain.

COWEN You ask for much of our harvest. New crops will have to be planted in sufficient quantities to replenish our stores, or it is the Genii who will starve. That amount of planting will require new land to be cleared. Clearing more land is slow, hard work, and it will lose us a great amount of growing time between now and the next harvest season.

[As he speaks, McKay rolls his eyes.]

SHEPPARD Okay. What if clearing land was fast and easy?

[Cowen and Tyrus laugh.]

COWEN You know a simple way of uprooting the stump of a 300-year-old tree?

SHEPPARD As a matter of fact&hellip;I do.

EXT&mdash;GENII village

[As the straw-hat wearing villagers look on, Ford sets some charges on a large tree stump.]

SHEPPARD Cover your ears.

COWEN I don't understand.

MCKAY It can be quite loud.

[Ford jogs over to the group.]

SHEPPARD Come on. You're going to wish you did. Lieutenant?

[Ford pulls out his remote detonator readies it.]

FORD Fire in the hole.

[Everyone covers their ears. Smiling, he pushes the detonator button. The tree stump blows up completely. The Genii are amazed.]

FORD It's called C-4.

COWEN If you can supply us with a sufficient quantity of C-4, we will supply you with the crop you require.

SHEPPARD So, this instead of the medicine?

COWEN As well as the medicine.

SHEPPARD Really? That wasn't impressive enough?

COWEN It is you who are in need.

SHEPPARD Well, I'll have to discuss this with my people.

COWEN I'm sure we can come to terms. Teyla, thank you for bringing us these new trading partners. Please, stay as our guests. There will be a Harvest Ceremony later.

TEYLA Wonderful.

SHEPPARD Ford?

FORD Sir?

SHEPPARD We're talking Harvest Ceremony.

[He nods his head in mock sincerity.]

FORD Sounds like fun, sir.

SHEPPARD I'll be back soon.

[He walks away, back toward the 'gate.]

MCKAY I should go back with the Major.

[McKay leaves also. Tyrus and Sora lead Teyla and Ford the other way.]

EXT&mdash;ATLANTIS, DAY

INT&mdash;WEIR'S OFFICE

[Weir closes her office door and turns to Sheppard in agitation.]

WEIR Explosives? This is a scientific expedition, Major.

SHEPPARD I know that.

WEIR But you want us to become arms dealers.

SHEPPARD Have you ever tried to clear a stump by hand?

WEIR (sarcastically) Yes. As a hobby.

[Weir sits behind her desk.]

SHEPPARD They are taking a chance by giving us so much of their crop this year.

WEIR Plus the medicines I already agreed to? I think in the future, Major, I should do the negotiating.

SHEPPARD I did say I had to ask you first.

WEIR Uh-huh&hellip;To terms you already agreed to.

SHEPPARD Yes.

WEIR Do you see why I have a problem with this?

SHEPPARD Do we need food or not? We are on the verge of rationing and as much as I'd like to devote every off-world mission to the pursuit of Tava beans&mdash;

WEIR I get your point. Tell them we agree.

EXT&mdash;GENII VILLAGE, DAY

INT&mdash;GENII TAVERN

[Everyone has gathered for the celebration. Sheppard and McKay have not yet returned.]

COWEN (raising a toast) We give thanks for a plentiful harvest.

ALL We give thanks.

COWEN May next season be as fruitful. And to our new friends.

TYRUS New friends.

[They take a sip of the drink. Ford coughs on his.]

FORD Moonshine?

[Everyone laughs.]

TEYLA I thought you were man enough.

EXT&mdash;GENII PLANET, DAY

[Sheppard and McKay walk back toward the village, or try to.]

MCKAY You have no idea which way to go, do you?

SHEPPARD Just trying to get my bearings.

MCKAY Translation, "I'm lost." They were very clear which route to take.

SHEPPARD I prefer a straight line.

MCKAY Yes, of course, because everything's a shortcut in Sheppard's world.

[McKay's scanner beeps.]

MCKAY Okay, there it is again.

SHEPPARD What?

MCKAY I'm picking up a strange reading from right over there.

[He points to what looks like the entrance to barn.]

SHEPPARD Define strange.

MCKAY You don't know what strange means?

SHEPPARD I know what strange means, Rodney&mdash;

MCKAY Weird, freakish, odd&mdash;

SHEPPARD I'm just trying to determine whether it's worth getting off the route back to the village.

MCKAY It's radioactive readings in an Amish world. Your call. Look, we're lost anyway. What difference does it make?

SHEPPARD I am not lost&hellip; All right, let's check it out.

[McKay's scanner has continued beeping.]

INT&mdash;GENII BARN

[McKay and Sheppard approach and enter. They follow the scanner's readings to a pile of straw. They remove the straw to reveal a large, metal hatch device about two feet high. It doesn't match the level of technology of the village.]

MCKAY Oh, now, that is definitely&mdash;

SHEPPARD Strange.

MCKAY Yeah, not that Amish, really.

SHEPPARD No, not so much.

MCKAY Maybe they don't even know it's here.

[Sheppard touches one of the hinges. His hand comes away oily.]

SHEPPARD This hatch has been oiled recently. We have to check it out.

MCKAY Really? Of course we do.

[They lift the heavy door together. McKay turns on his rifle flashlight and shines it in. Sheppard moves to start climbing down into it.]

SHEPPARD All right.

MCKAY (sarcastically) Great.

[They climb down a short ladder to an underground chamber.]

MCKAY The construction's architecturally advanced. I don't think the Genii could've made this.

SHEPPARD We need to tell Ford where we are. (into radio) Lieutenant, come in. Ford?

[McKay consults his beeping scanner.]

MCKAY This place is built like a bunker. It must be shielded for RF. The reading's stronger this way.

[Sheppard shines his rifle-mounted flashlight around the room.]

SHEPPARD What kind of readings?

MCKAY (sarcastically) Palm readings.

SHEPPARD McKay.

MCKAY It's neutron radiation. It's definitely a&hellip;a powerful energy source.

SHEPPARD Okay. Let's check it out.

MCKAY I really think we should-we should get out of here.

[Sheppard ignores him, moving further inside. He comes to a large metal door. After checking it out, he slides it open.]

SHEPPARD Now, this is strange.

[Inside is a huge cavern of modern equipment and a waterfall in the distance. Suddenly, three men in military-style uniforms appear behind them, pointing large guns at them.]

EXT&mdash;GENII TAVERN, DAY

INT&mdash;GENII TAVERN

[A man comes in via an interior door and whispers something to Cowen. Cowen then approaches Sora, Tyrus, Ford, and Teyla.]

COWEN If you'll excuse me, I must go tend to a dispute.

TEYLA Is everything all right, Cowen?

COWEN I will return shortly.

[He leaves. Teyla looks questioningly at Ford.]

INT&mdash;GENII INTERROGATION ROOM

[McKay and Sheppard are seated at a table, their field gear lying on it. Soldiers have weapons pointed at them.]

MCKAY Maybe they exist as two separate cultures.

SHEPPARD Maybe. Who cares? How long are you boys planning on keeping us here?

MCKAY You know if people could just learn to keep their secret underground hatches locked&hellip;

[The metal doors behind them swing open and someone enters. They turn to see who it is.]

SHEPPARD So much for two separate cultures.

[It is Cowen, now also dressed in a military uniform.]

COWEN (as if to himself) What am I going to do?

INT&mdash;GENII TAVERN

[The villagers have stopped celebrating; now they stare at Teyla and Ford.]

FORD I'm getting a weird vibe all of a sudden.

TEYLA I agree. I have never seen the Genii behave this way.

[They stand up.]

FORD Listen, we're just going to step outside and see if Major Sheppard and Dr. McKay are back.

TYRUS No one must leave. It's not safe.

SORA There's a Wraith ship in the area.

FORD Wraith? Are you serious?

[Tyrus stares back but doesn't respond.]

TEYLA We need to warn our friends.

SORA You will draw them to us. Everyone must stay indoors.

INT&mdash;GENII INTERROGATION ROOM

[Cowen searches through all the equipment McKay and Sheppard had on them. He picks up McKay's scanner.]

MCKAY Oh. Can we be careful with that? It's just it's rather fragile, and if it, uh&hellip;

[Cowen tosses it carelessly onto the table.]

COWEN We have a problem.

SHEPPARD Then we have something in common.

COWEN Normally, you would already have been shot for discovering our secret.

SHEPPARD In which case, more of our people would show up and question our disappearance.

COWEN We would simply tell them the Wraith took you. With no evidence to the contrary, they would believe us.

SHEPPARD You were saying?

COWEN You have technology, knowledge new to us. This C-4 of yours&mdash;

SHEPPARD It's not for blowing up stumps.

COWEN We have a more sophisticated application for it.

SHEPPARD Look what you people do with your C-4 is none of our business. We just need food. As far as your little secret down here goes, well, uh&hellip;

MCKAY We say, "What giant, underground bunker?"

[Sheppard gestures his agreement.]

COWEN I want more than that.

SHEPPARD Well, maybe we can give you&hellip;more.

COWEN You have weapons more powerful than your C-4?

MCKAY Are you kidding? "Weapons 'R' Us." We&mdash;

SHEPPARD (after giving McKay a stern look) We might.

COWEN What if I wanted more than weapons?

MCKAY Uh, did I mention that I know almost everything about almost everything?

COWEN For Teyla Emmagan to have joined with you, you must have something much more&mdash;

SHEPPARD Look I'm going to go out on a limb here and just say that we're looking for allies against the Wraith. How about you guys?

[Cowen considers this.]

INT&mdash;GENII TAVERN

FORD Listen, we just want to take a look outside.

SORA We can't let you. It's not safe.

[Two men come in behind them.]

TEYLA We can take care of ourselves.

[Tyrus's wrist communicator activates, and a voice comes from it.]

COWEN (over radio) Tyrus, please respond.

TYRUS Receiving.

COWEN Bring them.

[Teyla and Ford are shocked.]

TYRUS Understood. (to Teyla and Ford) Relinquish your weapons.

[Several men raise their weapons on them.]

SORA You will not be harmed.

FORD You guys are full of surprises.

[The men usher them away.]

INT&mdash;GENNI UNDERGROUND CORRIDOR

[Now dressed in military uniform, Sora and Tyrus lead Ford and Teyla into the interrogation chamber. They take seats next to Sheppard and McKay.]

FORD You missed a hell of a Harvest Ceremony, Sir.

SHEPPARD I can imagine. Oh. Teyla.

TEYLA I am as surprised as you are by all of this, Major.

SHEPPARD I don't know. I'm pretty surprised.

COWEN Teyla and her people know us only as the simple farmers we show outsiders. The secrecy of who and what we are is the only defense we have against the Wraith. (to his men) One day, all that will change.

MCKAY You think you can do that with an atomic bomb?

COWEN Now it's you who surprise me.

MCKAY Well, radioactive readings, your fascination with our C-4&hellip;

SHEPPARD (shocked, to McKay) You're just mentioning this now?

MCKAY It just came to me when he said, "One day, all that will change." I assume you're hoping our C-4 will solve your super-criticality problem.

COWEN Will it?

MCKAY It might. Depends on your design. There's a host of other considerations.

SHEPPARD You know how to make an A-bomb?

MCKAY Major, most of my high school chess team could design an A-bomb. The actual hard part is having sufficient fissionable materials of appropriate grade.

COWEN And we do.

SHEPPARD You do?

COWEN (walking around the table as he speaks) The Genii were once a great confederation of planets. Millennia ago, the Wraith had driven us to the brink of total annihilation. Our forefathers sought the protection of bunkers such as these, originally created for wars long forgotten, and it was here that a small number of our people managed to survive undetected. Over the course of many, many years&mdash;generation after generation&mdash; we have made technological developments here in secret.

SHEPPARD So the whole farmer thing is just a front.

TEYLA So the Wraith do not suspect.

COWEN More than that. We do have many mouths to feed below. I want to show you something. Come with me.

MCKAY Oh, that thing you so carelessly threw on the table? Can I, uh take that along?

[Cowen tosses the scanner to McKay.]

COWEN (to guards) Come. Stay as you are.

[Cowen, Sora, Tyrus, and the team leave the room.]

INT&mdash;GENII UNDERGROUND BUNKER

[Cowen guides them down some stairs and into a corridor.]

COWEN Down below, our military trains as our scientists create weapons for them. With our atomic weapon, we believe we finally have what we need to defeat the Wraith once and for all.

MCKAY You do realize that long-term exposure to these levels of radiation is extremely dangerous.

COWEN Our scientists tell me otherwise.

MCKAY Well, they're wrong.

SHEPPARD Are we in danger now?

MCKAY It would take days or weeks at these levels of radiation, but I assume the Genii spend days or weeks down here.

COWEN Many of our people have spent their entire lives here.

MCKAY (to Sheppard) Their entire, short lives. We'll be fine, just as long as you weren't planning on having children.

[Sheppard gives him a look.]

INT&mdash;GENII LAB

[McKay is looking over the prototype nuclear bomb.]

MCKAY Well, you're on the right track. We're about sixty years ahead of you. That is, if you survive. This shielding is woefully inadequate. Now, uranium how much do you have?

COWEN Much more.

MCKAY Yeah, but it's nowhere near weapons grade.

COWEN We have had problems in our purifying efforts. The molecular structure of the unwanted material is very similar to that of the desired material.

MCKAY Diffusion&mdash;you need to separate the 235 from the 238. When you remove the barrier between two substances, the slight difference in their mass causes them to separate at different rates.

COWEN You could do this?

MCKAY Well, of course. I just&mdash;

SHEPPARD I think the real question is, right now, are we allies or are we still prisoners?

INT&mdash;GENII DINING HALL

[Amid lit candles and plates of food, Cowen toasts Sheppard's team.]

COWEN We give thanks to our new friends.

ALL We give thanks.

[They all drink.]

COWEN Please, eat.

[They sit down to eat.]

MCKAY (to Ford) You don't think there's lemon in this, do you?

FORD I'm sure it's delicious.

MCKAY Have you seen someone in anaphylactic shock?

FORD (annoyed) Eat.

COWEN I hope that by sharing this meal we can make up in some small way for past offenses.

SHEPPARD I'm sure we'll get along just fine.

COWEN What method did your people use to initiate fission reaction in your prototype devices?

MCKAY Well, there's two different approaches, actually&mdash;implosion and a gun-type bomb. Both were designed to create a supercritical mass, obviously.

SHEPPARD Obviously.

MCKAY Either way you go, you need an amount of refined 235 roughly equivalent to the size of my fist&hellip;or his fist, actually.

COWEN Well, our dreams may soon be a reality. With your help, before the next culling, we plan to vaporize the Wraith as they sleep.

[Teyla looks at Sheppard in concern.]

SHEPPARD What exactly is your plan?

COWEN We intend to take advantage of their overconfidence. That is their weakness.

SHEPPARD Overconfidence.

SORA They hibernate between cullings aboard their great ships, sometimes for centuries at a time.

TYRUS There are always wraith who watch over the sleepers, but they're small in number.

COWEN Small enough to be overpowered.

[The team look uncomfortable at his assumptions.]

TYRUS We intend to sneak aboard their ships with our new weapons.

TEYLA That may no longer be possible.

SHEPPARD Teyla&hellip;

TEYLA Major?

SHEPPARD Don't you think we should listen to their whole plan before we start poking holes in it?

TEYLA If we are to work together, then they need to trust us, and we need to trust them.

COWEN Please explain.

TEYLA I and several of my people had been captured by the Wraith. You must understand, it was a rescue mission to save us. I am only alive today thanks to them. As a result of that rescue&mdash;

TYRUS You awakened the others.

SHEPPARD They found out that there were more people where we come from.

SORA Father, they will all awaken.

SHEPPARD Look we took one of them prisoner.

TYRUS The next culling was supposed to be decades away.

SHEPPARD He said they were in no hurry, that they would take their time to come after us.

COWEN We had hoped to test our first atomic weapon five years from now. Do we have that much time, Sheppard? Do we?

SHEPPARD No.

[Cowen slams his napkin down on the table and storms out. Everyone is uncomfortable.]

INT&mdash;GENII UNDERGROUND CORRIDOR

[Sheppard rushes after Cowen.]

SHEPPARD Cowen&hellip;

COWEN They may detect the radiation. We have to shut down the reactors survive this culling, and somehow plan for the next.

SHEPPARD You're forgetting something&mdash;

COWEN We can hide from them&mdash;

SHEPPARD We're both on the same side&mdash;

COWEN Ha! Once we have extracted all the information we can from you, you will be left on the surface. You'll be the first the Wraith feed upon, I promise you.

SHEPPARD I've gone up against Wraith ships and I won.

COWEN I've seen your weapons.

SHEPPARD I'm talking about a ship. One that flies through space, with weapons beyond anything you've ever seen. Do you really want to turn down that kind of help?

COWEN I think you're trying to save yourself.

SHEPPARD Well, you're damn right I am. I say we work together, then maybe help save each other. We both want the same thing.

INT&mdash;GENII DINING ROOM

[Tyrus and Sora are very angry.]

TYRUS We started our experiments confident the Wraith would not appear for many years. They will detect us the same way you did!

TEYLA But if we work together&mdash;

SORA Haven't you done enough?

MCKAY: We haven't even started yet. I can get your program right back on schedule.

TYRUS How?

MCKAY I built an atomic bomb for my grade six science fair exhibit.

FORD They let you do that up in Canada?

MCKAY It wasn't a working model. Still, I was questioned for six hours by the CIA, who believed I was part of a secret pre-teen organization. Actually, it led to my first job&mdash;

[Cowen and Sheppard re-enter.]

COWEN Major Sheppard has convinced me that we may yet prevail.

TYRUS He has?

COWEN If we work together.

INT&mdash;GENII ELECTRONICS ROOM

[Cowen and the others enter. The level of technology is similar to 1940's America, with a manual typewriter and tube-based gear.]

COWEN Many generations ago, during a culling, the Genii were able to shoot down a Wraith Dart. Although many lives were lost that day, the ability to resist, even in some small way, gave the Genii the seeds of hope.

[Tyrus takes a device from a drawer.]

TYRUS This data storage device was recovered from that downed Wraith Dart.

MCKAY It's the flash memory of a jump drive.

TYRUS It contains information about the Hive ship it was deployed from.

COWEN Tyrus and his daughter have been able to successfully access that information.

MCKAY How?

TYRUS Through this interface.

[He connects the device to a cable, which is connected to a tube-style television.]

MCKAY Really?

TYRUS We believe&hellip;

[The television shows a Wraith display in black and white.]

TYRUS This is where a Wraith ship still sleeps.

MCKAY The Wraith tend to self-destruct. It's probably pretty rare to get a hold of something like this. Have you been able to access any other data?

TYRUS With this interface device, we believe we can access the Wraith ship's data core.

[The display shows the surface of a planet and a Wraith ship sitting on it.]

SHEPPARD So this is what your whole plan is based on?

MCKAY Well, how does getting access to a Wraith ship's computer help you?

TYRUS With this interface device, we can learn the location of all the Wraith ships.

SHEPPARD So you know where to deliver your new bombs.

FORD Makes sense.

SHEPPARD Assuming, of course the ship we're looking at is still there.

TYRUS Well if the Wraith are in no hurry to rally their forces, as you claim, it will be.

SHEPPARD This ship is nowhere near the stargate. Approaching it undetected by foot is impossible.

COWEN That is where your ship comes in, Major Sheppard.

[Everyone looks to him.]

SHEPPARD I always wondered where my ship would come in.

INT&mdash;ATLANTIS BRIEFING ROOM

[Weir paces; Sheppard and Ford sit at the table.]

WEIR No. How's that for an answer?

SHEPPARD It's pithy, I'll give you that.

WEIR I'm sure you already agreed to this.

SHEPPARD Only because we'll get something out of it.

FORD And we do need allies, Ma'am.

WEIR Allies? You just said these people were ready to string you up. How can you trust them?

SHEPPARD Hey, I don't trust them as far as I can throw them. There's a reason they insisted that McKay and Teyla stay there, and it's not just to help them with their bomb. But we have something they need, and they have something we need. I thought that's what negotiating was all about.

WEIR Oh, well, it is. Personally, I stop short of offering nuclear weapons.

FORD They were building them anyways.

WEIR Oh, if they were building them anyways, Lieutenant, why didn't you just say so? You realize I originally sent you out for food?

SHEPPARD I think we can still get that.

FORD I don't see why not.

SHEPPARD We kind of moved past it with the whole atomic bomb thing.

WEIR All right, bottom line, can you pull this off?

SHEPPARD We'll have to watch our backs, but&hellip;I wouldn't put my team at risk if I didn't think so.

WEIR Okay, go, and then maybe we'll talk about making nuclear bombs.

INT&mdash;GENII LAB

[McKay briefs Cowen on the nuclear trigger, using a tablet computer.]

MCKAY The spherical encasement directs the explosive forces inward, and the resulting implosion creates extreme compression. Subcritical mass becomes supercritical.

COWEN Ingenious.

MCKAY I know, and can you believe I didn't even win the science fair? So, the practical adaptation of available equipment and resources will be the real challenge.

COWEN You're destined to become a hero among our people, Dr. McKay.

[He pats McKay on the shoulder and starts to leave.]

MCKAY Right.

COWEN As long as major Sheppard returns with the C-4.

MCKAY (to himself) I'm a dead man.

INT&mdash;GENII CORRIDOR

[Sora and Teyla walk, Tyrus right behind them.]

SORA We have surprised each other.

TEYLA The Genii are not the people I thought they were.

SORA And look at you. I would never have thought that you'd leave your people.

TEYLA No. I do this for them. John Sheppard and his people have brought new hope to our stars, Sora. They have the spirit of explorers and the hearts of warriors. They have accepted me. But look at you.

TYRUS How many "harvest ceremonies" did I make you endure?

TEYLA Never again, I promise you.

[They reach the ladder back to the barn on the surface.]

TYRUS You respected us for who we were. That gave us reason to trust you.

TEYLA I am saddened that you could not trust me enough to share in your secret.

TYRUS That is our way.

[Tyrus climbs the ladder.]

SORA Our deception was and is a matter of survival. It is a secret we are born into that we willingly take to our graves.

TEYLA Still&hellip;

SORA Have we not always traded fairly with you? You should know we have not dealt with others so graciously.

TEYLA Perhaps this new alliance will help to open your eyes that we can only stand against the Wraith if we do so together.

SORA We'll have to see if your friends will live up to their promises.

EXT&mdash;GENII PLANET, DAY

[Tyrus, Teyla and Sora exit the barn and see a Puddle Jumper uncloak and land.]

TEYLA Well? Do you see?

[Tyrus and Sora look on in amazement.]

INT&mdash;GENII INTERROGATION ROOM

[The room is now the planning room. Everyone gears up for the mission, preparing their weapons as well.]

SHEPPARD We've got to get in and out as fast as possible.

COWEN I've been studying these plans all my life.

SHEPPARD Good. Then we'll follow your lead. We'll keep you covered during the breach and download.

FORD Exit plan?

SHEPPARD Same as we came in. You'll stay with the Jumper.

FORD Yes, Sir.

SORA I should be going with you.

FORD There's a good chance we could end up in a firefight.

COWEN Sora is a skilled fighter and expert marksman, Lieutenant Ford. Still, she must stay here, to carry on if we don't come back.

[Sora and Tyrus say wordless goodbyes. They all leave Sora behind.]

COWEN We need you to deliver the C-4 you've promised us, Major, before we proceed.

SHEPPARD We need to get the proper intel first. There's no use in building a bunch of nukes if we can't put them to use.

COWEN Those are your terms?

SHEPPARD I'm sure you understand.

COWEN I do. It seems we have no choice but to trust each other.

EXT&mdash;PLANET WITH WRAITH SHIP, NIGHT

[The Puddle Jumper comes through the gate and lifts up into the sky while cloaking.]

INT&mdash;PUDDLE JUMPER

[Sheppard flies, with Ford in the co-pilot seat.]

COWEN How many of these ships do you have?

SHEPPARD Just the one.

[Teyla sees the Wraith cruiser sitting on the surface.]

TEYLA (pointing) There.

COWEN Have they awoken?

SHEPPARD I don't see any activity. Same as last time. All right, here we go. Right through the front door.

[Sheppard guides the Jumper into the hangar of the ship.]

INT&mdash;WRAITH CRUISER HANGAR

[The exit the cloaked Jumper.]

SHEPPARD Hey, hold the fort.

FORD Yes, sir. Good luck.

INT&mdash;WRAITH CRUISER INTERIOR

[The team explores the ship. They hear Wraith slithering sounds. They come upon humans in stasis cocoons.]

MCKAY Oh, god.

TEYLA These people were cocooned for a later feeding. Some of them may still be alive.

COWEN We don't have time for this.

SHEPPARD They could be your people, for all you know. Teyla, take care of this. We'll meet you back at the ship. McKay, you're with me.

[They start to move away, but Cowen is unhappy.]

TYRUS I'll stay with her. Go. We'll meet you back at the ship.

[He gives Cowen the Wraith flash drive. Cowen leaves.]

[Later, Cowen, Sheppard, and McKay find a closed door.]

COWEN This is it, but the ship's plans I memorized did not include the details on how to operate this door.

SHEPPARD If we try to blow this door, it's going to make too much noise.

MCKAY So find another way. Okay.

[He pulls out his scanner and holds it up to the door.]

MCKAY Can I get some light here?

[Sheppard shines his flashlight on the door. McKay cuts into the material covering the door. He pulls it apart to reveal organic tubing behind.]

MCKAY Beautiful.

INT&mdash;NEAR COCOONS

[Elsewhere, Teyla and Tyrus look at the cocoons. Suddenly a hand thrust out of one of them. It is a man.]

COCOONED VICTIM Please! Help me!

TEYLA We're going to get you out.

COCOONED VICTIM Please&hellip;

[Teyla tries to help the man, but Tyrus pulls her away.]

TEYLA What are you doing?

TYRUS We cannot free him. We can save none of them.

TEYLA What?

COCOONED VICTIM Please help&hellip;

TEYLA You would leave him here to die?

TYRUS Listen, the Wraith must not know we were ever here.

[Teyla tries to get past him, but he holds her back.]

TYRUS I said no.

COCOONED VICTIM I beg you.

INT&mdash;AT WRAITH LOCKED DOOR

[McKay has attached his scanner to the tubing.]

SHEPPARD McKay, we don't have&mdash;

MCKAY Look, I don't even know if this is going to&mdash;

[The doors open for a moment then close.]

MCKAY Work.

[He tries again. The doors open to reveal a control or computer room.]

MCKAY Bingo.

SHEPPARD All right. I'll cover your six. Go.

[Cowen and McKay go in.]

INT&mdash;NEAR COCOONS

[Teyla is furious.]

TYRUS If you free him, they will know he was taken.

TEYLA You are not the man I believed you to be.

TYRUS This ship is closest to our world. The Genii will be the first to die if they awaken.

COCOONED VICTIM (screaming) Help me!

TYRUS I said leave him!

COCOONED VICTIM No!

TYRUS Be silent!

[He turns and, in a panic, shoots the man, killing him. Teyla is horrified. A Wraith drone comes running in, its stunner raised. It shoots Tyrus twice. Teyla fires on it, killing it.]

INT&mdash;AT WRAITH CONTROL ROOM

TEYLA (over radio) Major, we have been discovered.

SHEPPARD (calling to the others) We've got to get out of here.

INT&mdash;NEAR COCOONS

[More drones arrive. Teyla retreats, leaving Tyrus behind.]

INT&mdash;AT WRAITH CONTROL ROOM

[McKay and Cowen come out of the room to join Sheppard.]

MCKAY We've got it.

[Cowen holds up the Wraith flash memory. They rush off.]

INT&mdash;WRAITH HANGAR

[Teyla joins Ford, who is already ready for combat. The others come running.]

TEYLA Wraith guards. Hurry. More are coming.

[They enter the cloaked Jumper.]

INT&mdash;PUDDLE JUMPER

[Sheppard rushes to the pilot chair. The rear ramp closes.]

COWEN Where's Tyrus?

TEYLA He was struck by a Wraith weapon.

COWEN But he may have only been stunned.

TEYLA By now, the Wraith will be upon him.

[The ship is hit by weapons fire.]

COWEN Go. Go!

SHEPPARD All right, hang on.

[Cowen looks with disapproval at Teyla. Sheppard pilots the ship out. Cowen sits heavily in the back of the ship, clearly saddened and suspicious.]

EXT&mdash;GENII WORLD, DAY

[The Puddle Jumper has landed. Sora and others approach, meeting the Atlantis team and Cowen.]

SORA Where is my father?

COWEN He did not survive.

SORA (distraught) How? What happened?

COWEN I think we should find out. (to his men) Take aim.

[Men from the nearby woods come out and surround the team, who raises their weapons in response.]

SHEPPARD Cowen&hellip;I thought we were just learning how to get along.

COWEN She killed Tyrus.

TEYLA No.

COWEN By leaving him to die, you may just as well have killed him yourself.

TEYLA He shot the man we tried to save.

COWEN It was a mistake to try and save anyone. It jeopardized the mission. We will keep this intelligence information.

[He takes the memory device out of his pocket.]

SHEPPARD You're the one making a mistake.

COWEN And your ship and whatever quantities of C-4 you have in your possession.

TEYLA That is all you ever intended, to use us.

COWEN And for your efforts, I will spare your lives.

MCKAY Generous of you.

SHEPPARD I guess the Tava beans are off the table.

COWEN Your weapons.

SHEPPARD No. I don't think so.

COWEN We have the advantage, Major.

SHEPPARD Yeah.

TEYLA This is what your father died for? In the name of people who would lie and steal from those they would call friends?

SHEPPARD Well, I lied, too. (into radio) Jumpers two and three execute.

[Two Jumpers uncloak just behind and above Sheppard's team.]

SHEPPARD You didn't really think we had one ship, did you? Tell your people to get back. Nobody gets hurt. Jumper Two, prepare to fire on my mark.

COWEN Wait. Do you promise to leave?

SHEPPARD Well, that's the plan. I guess we'll have to go somewhere else to find our Tava beans. But, I think it's only fair we end up with something.

[He takes the memory device from Cowen.]

COWEN You do not want to make an enemy of the Genii.

SHEPPARD (in Cowen's face) You know what? Same here.

[The Atlantis team backs off to their Jumper.]

EXT&mdash;ATLANTIS, NIGHT

INT&mdash;ATLANTIS CONTROL ROOM

[Weir guides Sheppard to Grodin's station.]

WEIR Major, I thought you might like to see this.

GRODIN A lot of the information we downloaded from the data storage device was encrypted, so we're still working on that.

SHEPPARD Yeah, I didn't think it would be easy.

GRODIN But we were able to ascertain the existence of twenty-one Wraith Hive ships just in our quadrant of the Pegasus Galaxy alone.

SHEPPARD Twenty-one?

GRODIN And there are indications of far more elsewhere in Pegasus.

SHEPPARD Well, how many more?

GRODIN Well, there's no way of knowing for sure. Perhaps 60 or more.

SHEPPARD That's a lot of ships.

GRODIN Some of them already appear to be on the move.

SHEPPARD Toward us?

GRODIN That's the part we're still working on.

WEIR So even if were to have helped the Genii build nuclear warheads&hellip;

SHEPPARD We only could have nuked a handful of them simultaneously.

WEIR Exactly.

GRODIN There's far too many Wraith ships for a coordinated attack.

WEIR The Genii plan never would have worked&hellip;with or without our help.

GRODIN I'll see what else I can find.

WEIR Thank you, Peter.

[Grodin leaves. Weir and Sheppard walk toward the balcony.]

WEIR You might be happy to know Sergeant Bates was able to broker a small trade agreement for food while you were gone.

SHEPPARD Oh, he did, did he?

WEIR Yes, he did, but it's not a competition.

SHEPPARD So who are these people?

WEIR They're traders. They call themselves Manarians. I'm sorry you weren't able to find the allies you were looking for, John.

SHEPPARD Well, we gathered some valuable intel. That's something.

WEIR Huh. Are you trying to convince me this is good news?

SHEPPARD I much prefer to know what we're up against than not.

WEIR Sixty ships&hellip;or more.

SHEPPARD I just hope they don't all come at once.

FADE OUT

END CREDITS

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