Matthew Scott

"...Light-years away from the admiring eyes of your father, or your drill sergeant, or whoever's approval it is you so desperately seek."

- Nicholas Rush

Matthew Scott also known as Matt is a Tau'ri with the rank of Lieutenant who was assigned to Icarus Base. Scott was the second-in-command to Colonel Everett Young. Green around the edges at the time he was stranded aboard the Destiny, Scott was thrust into a leadership role before he was entirely ready for it. Because of this, he had to learn how to command, earn respect through action, as well as how to manage the differing personalities stuck aboard the ship. .

Early life
"Why? I'm the one who's weak. It's my fault."

- Scott

Matthew Scott's parents died in a car crash when he was 4 and he was raised by a Priest. At some point in his early life, Scott had confessed to his adoptive father that he had unintentionally impregnated a 16 year old girl that he barely knew. He would go on to believe that she had aborted the baby with his faith called into question. Up until this point of weakness, he had thought joining the priesthood was his calling. The priest, his adoptive father, died of liver failure due to alcoholism when Scott was 16.

2009
"You're a fine young officer. You've got a heart as big as a house."

- Everett Young

Though he remains religious, Scott did not become a priest like he had envisioned and by 2009 was a Lieutenant in the United States Air Force, stationed at Icarus Base. When the base came under the attack of three Ha'tak vessels under command of the Lucian Alliance, he led the evacuation through the Stargate to the nine-symbol address - the Ancient ship, Destiny. He was then put in charge of the new expedition when his commanding officer, Colonel Everett Young was critically injured during the evacuation.

During this time, he was hiding a sexual relationship with Vanessa James, though Master Sergeant Ronald Greer seemed to be aware.

When it was discovered that Destiny's life-support was failing, Scott led an expedition through the Stargate to the desert planet chosen by Destiny computers. In order to search the planet for Lime more efficiently (and slightly irritated at being slowed down by Eli Wallace), Scott split the expedition into two teams. He ordered Eli to lead Franklin, Curtis and Palmer in one direction while he, Rush and Greer went in another. A while later, he began seeing a sort of life form, though he did not mention it to the others, possibly believing it to be a mirage. When Dr. Rush could go no farther, Scott then ordered Greer to take Rush back to the Stargate and continued his search alone.

Alone in the desert, Scott saw the dust devil life form again wich started leading him to the Lime after he gave it water, began to hallucinate and had a "vision" of his past. He lost consciousness on the bank of a dry lake bed, but was wakened when the life form sprung water from beneath the sand. He tested the lake bed for Lime and, finding some, shoveled it into his pack and began making his way back to the Gate. Somewhere on the path back, he lost consciousness again; fortunately, he was found by Sgt. Greer and they returned to Destiny together.

After refilling the CO2 scrubbers, it was discovered that Destiny was losing power. During this time, Scott was familiarizing himself with the control systems of the only available Ancient shuttle. Though his only flight experience had been in an F-302 simulator, he expressed interest in taking the shuttle for a "joy ride". He made rubbings of the ancient lettering on the controls and had them translated by Adam Brody. He then posted the translated English notes with each button and switch, though, as Dr. Rush, pointed out, he got some backward.

Later Scott took part in the "Hoth" planet mission to recover frozen water for the mysteriously vanishing supplies on the Destiny. When it was discovered that culprit for the missing water was Scott's old friends (the dust bugs he encountered on the desert planet), Scott defended the aliens when they team considered them dangerous after learning about Gorman's attack by explaining how the aliens helped him find the Lime that Destiny needed. On "Hoth", Scott's life was in danger when he fell in to a crevice during a tremor, damaging his suit and exposing him to the planet's lethal atmosphere. Col. Young was forced to carry him back to the Stargate where he had another encounter with the aliens, that had been thrown through the Gate in a drum of water. While Rush had warned the pair of them to remain still, the aliens apparently recognized the injured Scott and flew over to him as if to greet him. Their presence brought Scott briefly back to consciousness as the aliens formed a face that smiled reassuringly at him. They then flew off to explore their new world.

When the IOA enacted a plan to return the crew home, Scott was hesitant to agree with their course of action. He knew something had to be done but out of loyalty to the chain of command he didn't take immediate action. When Rush enacted a plan to prevent the plan from being implemented, Scott was vaguely aware of his plans though didn't know Rush's course of action. When Telford and his team abandoned ship and after Rush ended the rouse, he assured people that they were safe.

During the daily routine on the Destiny, he lead the crew in a physical fitness regiment. He included general exercises as well as a run on a marked course on the ship. During his trip to Earth via the Long range communication stone, he had plans to visit a friend at Edwards Air Force Base. He changed his plans when he got a letter from Annie Balic. When he finally met with her, he discovered that she didn't abort her pregnancy eight years previous. She had given birth and raised Matthew Balic, his son. When he offered to help financially, she informed him that she could handle it herself. The revelation of his son and that he was so far away affected him quite severely.

While exploring underground ruins on a deserted planet, Scott, Eli Wallace, Chloe Armstrong and Ronald Greer become trapped and Destiny reenters FTL before they can escape. By making a series of Stargate jumps that lead them back to the planet with the alien spacecraft wreck where Nicholas Rush had been abandoned, they find a map of the Stargates in their immediate neighborhood, and follow the path Destiny has taken. When Destiny makes its last scheduled stop before entering the intergalactic void, their attempt to dial fails because the rescue team searching them returns simultaneously. However, due to sabotage by the blueberry aliens, the ship exits FTL while still in range of the Stargate, and the four are able to dial to the ship again.

When several crew members were infected by alien ticks that induced hallucinations, Scott saw his young son on Destiny.

When Dr. Rush had a dream containing residual memories from using the Long range communication stones in conjunction with Colonel David Telford, the subsequent covert operation to, again, swap consciousnesses with Telford (Rush posing as another member of the Destiny Expedition) sparked an interrogation on Colonel Everett Young's part. After a verbal confrontation by Young who accused Telford of conspiring with the Lucian Alliance against the SGC and Destiny expedition, Telford attacked Young. This drew the immediate attention of Greer who flew in and swiftly and brutally beat Colonel Telford, inflicting multiple facial wounds. Greer was pulled off of Telford by Scott and both of them were ordered out of Telford's quarters.

After receiving authorization from Jack O'Neill to further the interrogation "by any means necessary", Colonel Young saw fit to order Adam Brody to vent the atmosphere in Telford's room. As the oxygen levels lowered, Young continued to implore Telford to tell them the information they needed to know. Telford refused and suffocated to death (while still inside Rush's body—causing Rush, inside Telford's body, to convulse and suffocate as well), however Telford's suffocation resulted in the breaking of the brain washing that had been inflicted on him by the Lucian Alliance. As Telford suffocated, he and Camile Wray both protested Young's judgment while Greer remained calm and awaited for Young's next move. With the bonds of the brainwashing broken, Telford divulged that the Lucian Alliance was enacting a plan to dial the ninth chevron and board Destiny as they spoke. With defensive options minimal and little time to act, Young assigned Scott to a team with Greer as part of the ships infantry defenses against the Lucian Alliance's unwarranted boarding of Destiny.

With control of Destiny essentially split in half between the expedition and the Lucian Alliance, Scott remained in the control room of Destiny, one of the soldiers who had not been captured by the Alliance. With the radiation bursts from the nearby Binary pulsar system growing more dangerous, Greer and Scott don the Ancient environmental suit and, after a negotiation between Camile Wray and Commander Kiva, pass through Alliance controlled territory of the ship to a hull breach that had been sealed off by the ship's shields. They pass through the hull and go for a space walk in order to locate one of Destiny's shield emitters in order to adjust it to withstand the next burst of radiation from the pulsar. While Greer and Scott are on their space walk a coup erupts between the expedition and the Alliance, affecting control of the ship's system and compromising Greer and Scott's ability to re-enter Destiny the way they exited. With the help of Eli, Rush and Brody, Greer and Scott are able to run along the outside of the hull to an airlock in an unexplored area of the ship.

However they were not able to reach the airlock before the pulsar's next burst of radiation and were presumed dead by Rush and Brody. However Scott radioed in moments after the burst past, revealing that he and Greer had hid themselves on the underside of the ships hull in order to block the radiation. They then returned to the airlock they were attempting to enter and were let in by Eli. After re-entering Destiny and regrouping with Eli, Chloe, Rush and Brody; Scott and Greer decide to go on a reconnaissance mission to assess the condition of the ship's personnel. While they are away a small contingent of Alliance soldiers pinpoints Eli, Chloe, Rush and Brody's location but before any prisoners can be taken Scott and Greer arrive on the scene and kill the Alliance soldiers. They decide to follow Rush's plan of sealing themselves off in the Hydroponics lab, the safest location on Destiny from the radiation burst, and allow the next burst to kill off the remaining Alliance members. Scott and Greer make their way to the infirmary in order to grab Lt. Tamara Johansen and Camile Wray. Unfortunately the Alliance launches an attack and pins them in the infirmary. Scott radios Rush and tells him to seal the door despite the fact that they aren't with them. Rush's true plan is effective and the threat of death by radiation burst convinces the remaining Alliance forces to surrender control of Destiny back to the Destiny expedition. Scott is among the skeleton crew aboard Destiny who welcomes back the expedition that were evacuated off Destiny by the Alliance and was congratulated by Colonel Everett Young when he arrived in the Destiny Gate room.

Shortly after the invasion, he was part of a team that was sent to an unnamed planet in the Ancient shuttle to replenish the food and water supply. During reentry the shuttle lost power and crashed on the planet. After Scott and the rest of the team unburied the Stargate, he returned to Destiny.

While on a mission to an unnamed planet, Scott is infected by the spores of an alien plant that covers him in an alien fungus. While the team struggles to find a remedy Scott experiences a vision were he is set to marry Chloe Armstrong. In the vision he is warned subtly he needs to see the truth. By the end of the vision he is shocked to see Chloe's face has half transformed by the Blueberry alien pathogen. He awakens later to find the team cured him with a transfusion of Chloe's infected blood but he may now be infected with the pathogen.

A short time later, it is revealed Scott's body has appeared to have rid it self of the pathogen. He is then released back in to the general population much to the relief of Chloe who feared she had doomed him as a result of rumors and gossip she picked up on. Scott reveals he is not angry with her saying if she were a monster she would have let him die and he is grateful she saved him. He is concerned and fearful when he see's his vision play out before him when Chloe shows him her skin is starting to become like the alien skin. He is later approached by Dr. Nicholas Rush and Camile Wray who want him to take over the Destiny. Camile due to concerns for Colonel Everett Young's failing confidence as a result of recent events and Rush for his own purposes. Scott is angered by their suggestions and heads off to confront Young himself. After a verbal and slightly physical confrontation he gets Young to snap out of his depression by reminding him that a leader leads for the sake of others and not for himself and that Young is the perfect choice for the job.

Scott lead a team sent to recover the escaped Lucian Alliance soldier Simeon as he has pivotal information on the attack on Earth. This mission is hampered by Dr. Nicholas Rush who is looking to avenge the death of Dr. Amanda Perry who Simeon killed. Curious about the signal he is shot down by Rush who scathingly tells him it is probably not a sign from God. Later when Rush returns from having killed Simeon Scott and a group of soldiers confront him. Showing a more developing level of wisdom and control he calmly berates Rush for costing them a chance at helping Earth and ask Rush in an almost mocking voice if Simeon's death was worth it. He is also disgusted when he learns that Rush has been using Chloe's condition for his own uses and leaves through the gate not bothering to see if Rush is following.

As Chloe's condition deteriorates further, Scott becomes more upset, especially after his vision while infected by the alien plant. When Chloe is no longer allowed visitors he nearly attacks Greer when he says that sooner or later Chloe will turn and their is nothing that can be done except put her down. He is near tears at the sight of Chloe's goodbye message to him.

Prior to the battle with the drone ships Scott again visits Chloe in issolation to keep her informed on day to day events. He is still confident a cure can be found but Chloe reveals the mutation of her skin is spreading faster and more agressivly. Despite this Scott still insists he cares for her and a cure can be found but Chloe says while he is not consiously aware of it a part of him is pulling him away from her and he should listen to it because soon their wont be anything of her left.

When the ailen influence takes over after tricking Eli in to helping Chloe escape her cell Scott tracks her down to a terminal in a part of the ship where she is writing an equation that is pperently damaging Destiney. When he cant get her attention with words he pulls her away from the consoul with the alien influence mockingly telling him he is to late. It has not yet been revealed what has been done to Destiney.

Alternate Timelines

 * In the first alternate timeline, Scott is part of the team that investigates the Jungle planet and gets trapped when any wormhole dialed to Destiny becomes unstable and everyone grows sick. During the first night he gets bitten by one of the creatures and falls into a coma.  When he wakes up a couple days later, everyone is dead and while his wound hurts him, he is mysteriously cured of his illness.  Desperate, he dials Destiny and sends the Kino through the still unstable wormhole hoping to make contact with anyone there and then follow it through.  When he throws the Kino through the wormhole, he inadvertently sends it back in time creating the second alternate timeline.  His fate after this is unknown.
 * In the second alternate timeline, Scott is once again part of the team that travels to the jungle planet, but they head back after finding the remains of Rush from the first timeline and the Kino his own alternate self sent through the Stargate. After learning of the illness, he along with everyone else quarantines themselves, but learn that the disease is from the contaminated water supply.  After learning from the Kino about his being cured in the first timeline, Rush figures out that a solar flare caused the unstable wormhole and time travel and that they have an hour before it hits.  Realizing that the creatures on the planet's venom could cure the disease, Scott joins a team that heads to the planet to find and capture the creatures.  Scott is shocked and horrified to learn of Chloe Armstrong's death of the illness.  The team gets attacked by the creatures and all but Scott are killed.  Desperate, he dials the Destiny, waits until the wormhole becomes unstable due to the solar flare and records a message about the illness and how the creatures venom can cure it, before tossing the Kino through the Stargate into the past.

Annie Balic
Though the two barely knew each other, in what Scott considers a "mistake", Annie became pregnant with his son at 16 years old. With all the pressures Scott was going through at the time, Annie decided to tell him she would abort it, but she had actually kept the baby. She informed him in a letter sent eight years later, after he had become stranded aboard Destiny. He wished to help her and offered his monthly USAF cheque, but she was independent and adamant that she could do it on her own.

Vanessa James
Prior the attack on Icarus Base, Scott and James had an intimate physical relationship. The relationship deteriorated following Scott's start of a relationship with Chloe, though she is still supportive of him. She showed great concern when he was trapped on Hoth.

Eli Wallace
After becoming stranded on Destiny Scott and Eli developed a good friendship which had its beginings when they met in Icarus Base where Scott was assigned to guide Eli and the other civilans. Matthew trusts Eli, and Eli helps Matthew when he needs it most, most notably when keeping him and the rest of the military personnel appraised of the deteriorating morale among the civilians aboard Destiny. When it appeared that Colonel Young was unfairly accused of murdering Spencer, Matthew went to Eli to help him solve it. The two were able to uncover evidence that exonerated Young. When Matthew was trapped during the end of the Lucian Alliance invasion of Destiny, Eli fought to get Rush not to sacrifice him when he came up with a way to stop the Alliance.

Chloe Armstrong
Chloe leaned heavily on Scott following her father's death. He helped her to realize that he sacrificed himself out of love for her. When the ship was bound for a star, they began a physical relationship. The two are very much connected. She was supportive of him, though stunned, when she discovered he had a child.

Family
Matthew Scott's parents died in a car crash when he was 4 and he was raised by a Priest. Matthew currently has an eight year old son named after him who he believed hadn't been born.

Dust bugs
Matthew was the first member of the Destiny crew to have an encounter with an alien life form and even seemed to develop a rapport with the Dust Devil life form. When Matthew noticed he was being followed by what was believed to be a hallucination, he tested the entity's sentience by pouring some water in to the sand. The creatures responded positively to this gesture and proceeded to follow Scott across the planet and even aided him in his search for Lime. Then, out of possible curiosity or a desire for more water, several entities followed Matthew back to the ship. Later Matthew defended the creatures from the rest of the crew who considered them dangerous after they responded to an assault by Gorman. The aliens also appeared to heal Scott of some of his injuries during the accident on Hoth when they met again.

Personality
Scott has been shown to be a brave and level headed person when faced with dangerous situations and also very caring for those around him. He was the first person through the gate on to the Destiny quickly taking charge and helping others who followed him through the gate. Young once commented on Scott's caring nature as being a good thing while Rush does not think much of him, thinking him too naive and just out to prove something. In a video message to Scott in Visatation Chloe coments that Scott is the heart of Desriney and that he is more important to holding the crew together than he is aware. She asks him to take care of Eli and others and to forgive Greer for exacuting her when the time comes.

Scott has also appeared to have adapted well to life on the Destiny, forming close relationships with many of the opposing groups and is generally well liked by the crew who he has risked his life several times for. In the mutiny he is unwilling to kill any of the civilians and instructs his men not to harm them saying "We still have to live with these people tomorrow". He is however hurt when he discoverers Chloe sided with Rush and the rest of the mutineers. When Chloe says he would not have understood her reasons or her experiences he responds "You never asked me".

Scott is also an honest person and Chloe claims that he has an inability to lie which she thinks is his most indearing quality.

Despite showing a lot of skill and promise Scott is slightly insecure about his skills and fearful of assuming command. Talking with the apparition/ avatar of the priest who raised him he claims he feels weak due to his past mistakes. The apparition tells him he is stronger than he knows and what happened in the past is not his fault.

Scott is also shown have a high level of wisdom despite his youth and inexperience. When Young is questioning his abilities and right to command Destiny, Scott confronts him saying that he needs to come back. When Young says someone like Rush or Scott himself would be a better leader he says that Young is perfect. Rush would not care about the moral implications of command, Scott would care too much, but Young cares just enough so he does not act irrationally or inhumanly. In the end he tells Young leadership will always be hard but that's the point of the matter.

When Rush returns after killing Simeon in revenge for a murder Scott and a group of soldiers confront him. Trying to lie Scott catches him out; but showing a better level of control he says he is disappointed because they have lost a chance to help people back on Earth and ponders allowed to Rush if his kill was worth it. He is however disgusted with Rush for using Chloe's condition to further his own ends especially since their may be consequences further down the road. However showing himself to be a better person than Rush he leaves through the gate before any harm can be brought to Rush.

Visions
Scott has periodically experienced visions since coming to Destiny. Though they have happened in life or death experiences they have offered him momements of clarity and foresight. In Air part three a set of visions Scott experiences appear to be a method of comunication between himself and the native life of the planet which lead him to the Lyme Destiny needs.

In Cloverdale, Scott enters another vision where he is set to marry Chloe back on Earth. Through the vision familiar faces warn him he needs to see the truth. By the end of the vision he sees Chloe's face half transformed by the alien virus before he awakens. Later, the vision starts to come true in Trial and Error when Chloe shows him that her skin is starting to mutate which greatly distresses him.

Personal Effects
This is a list of the known supplies Lt. Scott brought with him when he evacuated Icarus Base:
 * 1 Standard Icarus Base Uniform
 * 1 Standard Battle Vest
 * 1 Backpack
 * 1 Razor
 * 1 G36
 * 1 Beretta sidearm
 * 1 Radio

Behind the scenes

 * Matthew Scott was originally named Jared Nash, then Jared Scott before being changed to Matthew Scott before production of the episodes began.