Air, Part 3

Air, Part 3 is third episode of the first season of Stargate Universe, and is the final installment of the opening three-parter.

Synopsis
Lieutenant Matthew Scott leads a team to a desert planet to find a mineral capable of fixing Destiny's life support system. Colonel Telford uses a long-range communication device and takes temporarily control of Colonel Young's body. Chloe visits with her mother on Earth.

Plot
Lieutenant Matthew Scott leads a team to a desert planet to find calcium carbonate in the form of lime, a mineral capable of fixing Destiny's life support system. When they arrive on the planet, Andrea Palmer and Nicholas Rush start a search. Meanwhile, in order to confirm that they can indeed redial Destiny, Jeremy Franklin commences dialing the Stargate using an Ancient remote control. When the gate activates, Scott reports that they will start their search and there is no usable mineral near the gate. Scott then leads his team far into the desert.

Back on the Destiny, Everett Young has a conversation with Chloe Armstrong. He says that he's going to report back to his superiors on Earth via the Long-range communication device; Chloe asks him to use a second one to talk to her mother. Young then wakens to find himself in The Pentagon, having switched bodies with colonel David Telford. After orienting himself, he asks for an audience with General Jack O'Neill. A nearby female scientist similarly trades her body with Chloe while David Telford, in Young's body, wakes up aboard Destiny.

Back on the Desert planet, the team travels through endless sand. Jeremy Franklin suggests that they check the other planets within range, but this idea was turned down, as Rush believes the addresses were locked out for a reason. Eli tried to cheer team up, joking that he saw the Statue of Liberty (referencing Planet of Apes). Finally, Scott decides it would be faster to split up. He takes Greer and Rush with himself and sent Eli, Palmer, Franklin and Curtis in other direction, placing Eli in charge.

At the same time, on Earth, Chloe Armstrong arrives at her mother's house. On Destiny Telford and Dr. Mehta questioning about situation aboard.

On the Desert Planet, the teams continue their search for the mineral by a method of trial and error. Rush provokes Greer to hit him. Scott starts to see some strange dust vortex. They continued moving on. On the Destiny, Tamara Johansen sedates Everett Young's body to prevent any more health risk and left Mehta with him.

Eli and the rest of his team continue arguing about searching the other planets. Rush refuses to go any further and gives his water supplies to Scott. Scott send Greer to accompany Rush back to the Stargate. Eli reports to Scott about Curtis, Palmer and Franklin who gave up. Scott orders Greer to stop them if he can.

Back on Earth, Chloe's mother threatens that if anything happens with her daughter, she will go public with information about Stargate Program.

Once again, Scott sees dust vortex. He pours out some water on the sand offering it to vortex. Suddenly vortex blows out sand and exposes human body dressed as catholic priest buried under it. It freaks Scott out. Rush continues to tease Greer and once again provokes him to fight. Greer threats Rush with a gun, but Rush was sure that Greer will not shoot. Then they continue to walk. At the gate, Eli still tries to convince the team to stay on the planet but they refuses to listen. Palmer and Curtis pass through the gate to one of the planets. At that moment Greer also reaches the Stargate and makes a warning shot on Franklin. Franklin, however, refuses to stop and attempts to run through the gate. Greer then shoots him in the shoulder. They decides to send another ancient remote to Palmer and Curtis. Greer tries to contact Scott but he didn't respond.

Scott walks through the desert after the vortex and man. The man talks Scott to keep moving and don't give up. Scott answered that he will not let anyone down like he did to that man and has no need to this man following him around and reminding him. Back at the gate, Greer decides to go and look for lieutenant. Rush believes that would be a suicide. Eli offered to join him, but Greer refused claiming that Eli will only slow him down. He asked Eli to send Franklin back to Destiny and wait. Also he gives Eli his sidearm "just in case" and teach him to use it.

Rush and Franklin returns to Destiny, while David Telford (back in his body) recovered from sedation. Scott still wandering around in desert and flashes back into his childhood talking to priest and then falls unconscious. Eli tries to contact Palmer and Curtis on another planet, but they don't respond. Scott still lying unconscious and remembers his conversation with a priest in the church. Suddenly priest shapshifting into dust vortex. It moves and expose underground water source near his head, waking him up. Scott realizes that he finally found mineral he needed.

At the gate, Eli meets group of soldiers who brought him another kino and directs them to presumable location of Greer and Scott. Everybody aboard Destiny start expecting hypoxia symptoms. Greer finally found Scott and them are running to the gate.

Soldiers returns back after unsuccessful search. Eli sent them back to ship and stayed and planet waiting for rest of his comrades. When only one minute left he finally saw them, but they have no time to get back. Rush asked him to stick his arm into gate believing that will prevent gate closing and ship departing due to safety protocol. This plan worked and held the ship, giving Eli, Greer and Scott time to return with lime.

Crew refilled CO2 scrubbers with found mineral and oxygen level rises back to normal. Cloe visits Scott, who recoverin after mission. Scott tells that his parents died in car accident when he was four year old and he was raised by priest who died due to alcoholism when he was 16.

Unknown spacecraft separates itself from Destiny.

Notable Quotes
(Upon arriving at the Desert planet)

Scott: Hot.

Eli: Cool.

Young: You have no clue what I'm going to say, because I don't.

Background notes

 * The song playing at the end of the episode is "Breathe" by Alexi Murdoch.
 * Once again there was a plot device used where the alien being is believed to communicate with Matthew Scott, via a vision, to support him in his near-death experience. Two other episodes where it was used are Grace and Grace Under Pressure.

Airdates

 * October 9, 2009 (SyFy, United States)
 * October 9, 2009 (Space, Canada)
 * October 13, 2009 (Sky1, United Kingdom and Ireland)
 * October 16, 2009 (Sci-Fi Australia, Australia)

Production

 * Richard Dean Anderson had guest appearance as Jack O'Neil
 * According to Robert Carlyle, three characters will be killed in those first three episodes. Only one confirmed death was Alan Armstrong, but Andrea Palmer and Curtis traveled to another planet and didn't respond Eli's radio radio pagings, so they believed to be dead too.