Zero Hour/Transcript

Episode Guide

 * 8.04 "Zero Hour" Episode Guide

Transcript
TEASER

PREVIOUSLY ON STARGATE SG-1

[Flashbacks from 6.06 "Abyss"]

[O'Neill is attached to the web. Ba'al is sitting at the throne.]

BA'AL I am Ba'al.

O'NEILL As in Bocce?

[Ba'al aims a knife at O'Neill. He lets go and the knife shoots into O'Neill, who moans in pain.]

[Flashbacks from "Lost City Part 1" and "Lost City Part 2", Season 7.]

DANIEL The city we've been looking for is under the ice of Antarctica

CARTER We came all this way just to find out&hellip;that we have to go all the way back.

[O'Neill is attached to a device.]

O'NEILL No.

[Carter removes a glowing orb from the device.]

CARTER Power source.

[Flashbacks from "New Order Part 1" and "New Order Part 2", Season 8.]

[The System Lords, Daniel and Weir are in the Briefing Room at the SGC.]

AMATERASU This Ancient weapon&hellip;such an advanced piece of technology. The power requirements must be enormous.

[Weir visits Camulus in his cell.]

CAMULUS I wish to request asylum. My fleet was destroyed before I came here. Perhaps I could be of some use to you here.

[Weir is talking to O'Neill in her office.]

WEIR General Hammond is being promoted.

O'NEILL Any idea who we're going to be stuck with?

WEIR Brigadier General Jack O'Neill.

O'NEILL I've spent my whole life sticking it to the man. I don't think I can be the man.

END FLASHBACKS

'''EXT&mdash;CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN. DAY'''

FIVE DAYS TO ZERO HOUR

INT&mdash;SGC CORRIDOR

[O'Neill exits an elevator. Sergeant Harriman greets him with a mug of coffee, which O'Neill takes.]

HARRIMAN Morning, sir.

O'NEILL Walter.

[They begin walking.]

HARRIMAN At 0730 this morning, SG-8 made scheduled contact from P6J-908. They requested permission to bring an alien life form back to base for further study.

[O'Neill sniffs the contents of the mug but stops and turns to Harriman in alarm.]

HARRIMAN Sir, it's just a plant!

[They start walking again.]

HARRIMAN Your 0830 debriefing is SG-2, regarding their recent mission to P8F-809. Folder's on your desk, along with the personnel files you have yet to review.

O'NEILL How many do I have left?

HARRIMAN All of them.

O'NEILL Right.

INT&mdash;SGC BRIEFING ROOM

[Three men are standing at the conference table, two in USAF clothing.]

HARRIMAN Colonel Rudnell has asked me to show you some bunting samples, and uh&hellip;Captain Corrigan is still waiting approval on the buffet menu.

[O'Neill and Harriman enter the briefing room via the stairs.]

O'NEILL Bunting.

[Harriman shrugs.]

O'NEILL John!

[The men at the table turn to face O'Neill.]

JOHN General.

O'NEILL You are aware of the fact that this is the most secure military facility on the face of the planet.

JOHN Well, actually, sir, there are still a number of issues to be resolved.

HARRIMAN (quietly, to O'Neill) Ten Hundred hours, sir.

O'NEILL (to Harriman) Thank you.

[O'Neill walks towards his office.]

INT&mdash;SGC O'NEILL'S OFFICE

[As O'Neill enters, he sees a man sitting in front of his desk. O'Neill stops in the doorway as the man rises. O'Neill turns towards the briefing room.]

O'NEILL Walter?

HARRIMAN Sorry, sir.

[Harriman appears in the doorway.]

HARRIMAN General O'Neill. Mark Gilmor. He's your new administrative aide.

GILMOR General.

O'NEILL (to Harriman) Did I order one of these?

HARRIMAN No, sir

O'NEILL (to Harriman) Do I really need&hellip;?

HARRIMAN Yes, sir.

O'NEILL (to Gilmor) Civilian?

GILMOR I've been an analyst at the CIA for the last eight years. Mostly background checks, but I did have top level clearance.

HARRIMAN He was assigned by General Hammond.

O'NEILL Ah! Well, in that case, welcome aboard.

[O'Neill walks to Gilmor and they shake hands.]

O'NEILL How about if I give you a tour around?

GILMOR Ah! Had one, sir.

O'NEILL Dang!

GILMOR Very exciting to finally see it all in action.

O'NEILL Hmmm.

HARRIMAN General, your 0830.

O'NEILL Yes. (to Gilmor) You're here to assist me right? How about if you dive into those&hellip;

HARRIMAN Sir, sir, sir. You really need to read the file yourself. (quietly, as O'Neill turns to him) Yeah, yeah.

O'NEILL Thank you, Walter. Does Mister Gilmor have&hellip;?

HARRIMAN (to Gilmor) Follow me.

[Harriman leads Gilmor out of the office.]

INT&mdash;OUTSIDE GILMOR'S OFFICE

GILMOR Well, he's not like other generals.

HARRIMAN Actually, he's not like other people.

[Gilmor notices a large pile of paperwork on his desk.]

GILMOR I take it I've got some catching up to do.

HARRIMAN Yeah, and those are just the files pertinent to today's agenda, so&hellip;

GILMOR I'd better get started.

INT&mdash;SGC GILMOR'S OFFICE

[Gilmor enters the office as Harriman stands in the doorway.]

HARRIMAN I can't tell you how happy we all are to have you here.

GILMOR Thank you, Sergeant.

HARRIMAN Really, really happy.

GILMOR Thank you&hellip;Sergeant.

[As Harriman leaves, Gilmor reaches for the phone to make a call.]

GILMOR (into phone) I'm in position. No, sir, he does not suspect a thing.

END TEASER

OPENING CREDITS

'''INT&mdash;SGC. O'NEILL'S OFFICE'''

[O'Neill and Harriman are standing in the office.]

O'NEILL Nothing in peridot?

[Harriman is holding a large piece of bunting.]

HARRIMAN Well, traditionally, sir, this type of event calls for red, white and blue.

[Gilmor knocks at the door.]

GILMOR Excuse me, sir. General Hammond is on the phone from the Pentagon and SG-1 is here for the 1300 briefing.

O'NEILL Thank you.

[O'Neill waves his hand at Gilmor, dismissing him. Gilmor leaves. O'Neill turns back to Harriman, who is still holding the bunting. Harriman shrugs at O'Neill.]

O'NEILL Walter, I just don't have the decorating gene. Would you mind?

HARRIMAN Yes, sir.

[Harriman leaves and O'Neill picks up the phone as he sits at the desk.]

O'NEILL (into phone) Sir! General, how are you? I know, sir, but every time I open my mouth to say George, General comes out.

INT&mdash;SGC BRIEFING ROOM

[Carter looks over at O'Neill who can be seen and barely heard on the phone. O'Neill raises a finger to Carter in acknowledgement. Teal'c is sitting at the table while Daniel, looking out of the large window, checks his watch. Gilmor is pacing behind Carter. O'Neill concludes his phone call and enters from his office.]

O'NEILL Okay.

CARTER General.

O'NEILL Colonel! You've all met?

DANIEL Yes, actually, we know each other's life stories.

O'NEILL (to Daniel) That snippiness?

DANIEL Is that a word?

O'NEILL (to Carter) What have you got?

DANIEL A Gate address. For a planet formerly in Anubis' domain that apparently Ba'al hasn't discovered yet.

CARTER We believe it may be home to an abandoned base.

[Teal'c gets up from the chair, holding a device.]

O'NEILL And just chock full of abandoned weapons?

DANIEL One can hope.

TEAL'C This device was procured from Jaffa formerly loyal to Anubis. It should allow us access to the base.

[Teal'c hands the device to O'Neill, who studies it.]

O'NEILL (to Gilmor) When's the next opening?

GILMOR 0800 tomorrow morning.

CARTER Tomorrow?

O'NEILL I got 14 teams out there.

CARTER I'm sorry. Operations protocol?

O'NEILL Is it?

[O'Neill hands the device back to Teal'c.]

CARTER Sir, the MALP showed no indication of any Goa'uld activity.

O'NEILL I still want SG-3 to cover your flanks.

CARTER It's just recon.

O'NEILL All the more reason you can wait another day.

[The Gate alarms sound and the Gate activates.]

VOICE OVER PA SYSTEM Incoming wormhole!

[O'Neill looks over to Gilmor, eyebrow raised.]

GILMOR SG-5 and the representatives from Amora to discuss the pending trade agreement.

O'NEILL (to SG-1) Oy! Love to stay and chat.

DANIEL Jack, if those rebel Jaffa know about it, it's only a matter of time before Ba'al knows about it.

O'NEILL One day, Daniel. One day.

[Carter looks at Daniel, shakes her head and walks away as Daniel and Teal'c walk to the window overlooking the gateroom. They watch as the Gate opens and the two Amora delegates walk down the ramp, flanked by SG-5. They are met at the bottom of the ramp by Major Davis.]

DANIEL Here comes one negotiation I'm glad I'm not part of.

'''INT&mdash;SGC. DR. LEE'S LAB'''

[O'Neill is looking at a plant through a magnifying glass.]

O'NEILL It's a plant.

LEE Exactly! 20 minutes ago it was a seed.

GILMOR Excuse me, sir, if you don't mind my asking. Is it really wise to be bringing alien life forms through the 'Gate?

O'NEILL It's a plant.

LEE Yeah, and besides, offworld teams follow strict safety protocols in determining what to bring back to Earth. You know, if human kind is going to benefit from what we find out there, we have to be able to study it in controlled situations.

O'NEILL It's a plant.

LEE I know, I know, and I know our mandate is to seek out new weapons and technology to defend the planet from our enemies, but&hellip;wouldn't it be cool if we could exploit the wonders of the galaxy for other beneficial purposes, like curing disease, or, well, in this case&hellip;possibly&hellip;solving world hunger.

[O'Neill looks at his watch.]

O'NEILL Speaking of which.

[As O'Neill leaves the room the phone rings. Lee answers it.]

LEE (into phone) Doctor Lee speaking.

[He covers the receiver and shouts after O'Neill.]

LEE General? They want you in the briefing room.

'''INT&mdash;SGC. CARTER'S LAB'''

[Daniel and Teal'c enter the lab. Carter is working at a laptop.]

DANIEL Hey! You&hellip;uh&hellip;want to get some lunch?

CARTER No, I'm fine.

DANIEL You just going to sit in here all day and uh&hellip;

CARTER I'm not sulking.

DANIEL Working, going to say working.

TEAL'C O'Neill merely believes that&hellip;

CARTER Guys, I'm fine.

DANIEL You know, you can hardly blame him for wanting to send backup. I'm sure it has nothing to do with you&hellip;

CARTER I understand. He's just being cautious.

[Teal'c and Daniel smile gently at Carter.]

CARTER Thanks, guys.

[Teal'c and Daniel leave the lab.]

INT&mdash;SGC CORRIDOR

[O'Neill and Gilmor exit an elevator to be met by Major Davis.]

DAVIS General, if I might have a moment with you. We're completely stalled, the Amorans can't agree with each other, let alone us. They're like&hellip;bickering children.

O'NEILL Maybe they need a time-out.

[O'Neill and Gilmor walk down the corridor, leaving Davis looking after them.]

INT&mdash;SGC BRIEFING ROOM

[The two delegates are standing in the room, face to face. A number of guards and other personnel are standing around them.]

AMORAN #1 The plains of Goran are sacred ground!

AMORAN #2 To the plainsmen.

AMORAN #1 I am a plainsman.

AMORAN #2 I know.

AMORAN #1 I take offence at that!

AMORAN #2 Offence, now there's an idea.

[O'Neill and Gilmor enter the room.]

O'NEILL Hi, folks.

AMORAN #1 General, I think it would be better&hellip;

O'NEILL What do you say we take a little break. All this negotiating, it's just exhausting. And you've been at it a whole&hellip;hour, already. We've prepared special quarters for you. You can relax, get a massage, room service, whatever you need. Come on, I'll show you.

[O'Neill gestures for the Amorans to follow him and leaves the room.]

INT&mdash;SGC VIP QUARTERS

[An SF opens the door and O'Neill enters the room, followed by the Amoran delegates. A bowl of fruit is on a table, and O'Neill picks up an apple.]

O'NEILL Ha? Fellas. What do you think. All right, so it's not the Ritz but we do what we can around here. Knock twice when you're ready to talk like adults, all right?

[O'Neill walks over to the door, ready to leave.]

AMORAN #1 Whoa! Wait! General!

AMORAN #2 You don't expect us to share one room?

O'NEILL Not&hellip;amicably, at first. But I have great hope for you boys.

[As the two Amorans rush to the door, O'Neill slams it shut, and locks it. He waves the key at the small window in the door, where the two Amorans are standing.]

AMORAN #1 You can't do this!

AMORAN #2 Open this door at once.

O'NEILL (to guard) Nobody gets out.

[O'Neill throws the keys to the guard.]

'''INT&mdash;SGC. O'NEILL'S OFFICE'''

[O'Neill enters his office and sits behind the desk. He moves a pile of papers from the top of the laptop and opens it. He dictates the letter as he types.]

O'NEILL Dear General Hammond. Wish you were here, and that I was not.

[The phone rings and O'Neill answers it.]

O'NEILL (into phone) O'Neill.

FOUR DAYS TO ZERO HOUR

INT&mdash;SGC CORRIDOR'

[O'Neill exits the elevator to be met by Gilmor. O'Neill briefly turns away then starts walking down the corridor with Gilmor.]

GILMOR Good morning, sir. The delegates from Amora are furious. They're demanding they be released and say there's no chance that a trade agreement will ever happen between our governments now.

O'NEILL Did they try the doughnuts? You made sure they were krispy kremes right?

GILMOR Shall I release them and send them home, sir?

O'NEILL Give them another day.

GILMOR But, sir, I&hellip;

O'NEILL No coffee?

GILMOR I'm sorry, I can get some.

O'NEILL What's next?

GILMOR Well, Doctor Lee needs to see you right away concerning the plant from P6J-908. SG-1 and 3 are in the gateroom, preparing to embark, and it turns out that the red, white and blue bunting is unavailable.

O'NEILL No bunting?

GILMOR They can get some blue and white. And mix in some red.

[O'Neill puts his hand on Gilmor's shoulder.]

O'NEILL It just won't be the same.

INT&mdash;SGC GATEROOM

[The Stargate activates as O'Neill and Gilmor enter the gateroom.]

CARTER Sir!

O'NEILL Good morning, people.

[O'Neill walks up to Daniel and Carter.]

O'NEILL Sure wish I was going with you. But I got a big day planned&hellip;

[Daniel walks away as O'Neill looks after him.] O'NEILL &hellip;tasting menu items for the buffet.

CARTER Have fun, sir.

O'NEILL You know I will. Watch your backs.

[SG-3 walk up the ramp, followed by Carter. Teal'c walks up to O'Neill.]

O'NEILL Mind the curfew.

[Teal'c bows his head and smiles slightly. O'Neill watches them leave, obviously not happy that he's not with them.]

EXT&mdash;ALIEN PLANET

[SG-1 and SG-3 come through the Gate to a green forested area.]

CARTER SG-3, hold here.

REYNOLDS Colonel?

CARTER Colonel?

REYNOLDS Bosco and Peterson can watch the Gate.

CARTER We're fine, simple recon, we'll stay in radio contact.

[Reynolds nods at her as SG-1 walk away.]

REYNOLDS Standard perimeter.

'''INT&mdash;SGC. DR. LEE'S LAB'''

[Siler is hacking away at a plant which has completely overgrown the lab. Lee walks through a corridor of leaves towards O'Neill.]

LEE Well, the good news is it hasn't eaten anybody yet.

O'NEILL Well, thank you, Seymour.

[Lee laughs.]

LEE Obviously we underestimated its growth properties. It seems to respond really dramatically to any kind of visible light.

[O'Neill looks around, then reaches back to switch off the lights.]

LEE Yeah, well, I thought of that. I just thought you might like to see it.

[O'Neill grimaces and turns away.]

LEE Don't worry, we'll get it under control. Sir?

[Lee looks up at the plant and laughs.]

EXT&mdash;ALIEN PLANET WOOD AREA

[Carter, Daniel and Teal'c are reconnoitring the area. Teal'c stops and crouches. He is holding the access device.]

TEAL'C There are signs of recent Jaffa activity in the area.

CARTER Try the wrist device again.

[Carter and Daniel walk over to Teal'c.]

TEAL'C I have tried it several times.

CARTER I'm getting some faint energy readings.

[Suddenly the three are circled by transportation rings and disappear.]

EXT&mdash;ALIEN PLANET GATE AREA

[Reynolds checks his watch.]

REYNOLDS (into radio) SG-1 leader, this is SG-3 leader, come in.

[There is no reply.]

REYNOLDS Peterson? You're with me. Bosco, if we don't make radio contact in ten minutes, dial Earth and report in.

[Suddenly, an Alkesh appears low overhead.]

REYNOLDS Take cover!

[SG-3 crouch down as the alkesh flies over them.]

REYNOLDS Son of a bitch!

'''INT&mdash;SGC. O'NEILL'S OFFICE'''

[O'Neill is sitting at his desk, doing paperwork. Gilmor knocks on the door.]

GILMOR Sir, Colonel Reynolds has dialled in from P2X-887. He's lost contact with SG-1.

INT&mdash;SGC CONTROL ROOM

[Reynolds talks to O'Neill over the video link.]

REYNOLDS One Alkesh. It buzzed the Gate and flew off. No sign of the enemy since that, sir. I've been unable to make radio contact with SG-1 going on 19 minutes. Requesting backup and permission to begin searching.

O'NEILL (To Gilmor) SG-10 and 12. (to Reynolds) Back up on the way.

REYNOLDS Thank you, sir.

INT&mdash;SGC CORRIDORS

[O'Neill and Lee are walking through the corridors, which are covered in leaves and vines.]

LEE We have to close down the entire level, seal it off. Not only does it have amazing growth properties but it's proving extremely difficult to eradicate.

[They come across Siler who is using a blow torch on the plant, with no success. Lee sneezes.]

LEE We think it's using the ventilation shafts to spread airborne spores.

[The alarms sound.]

INT&mdash;SGC GATEROOM ENTRANCE

[O'Neill walks towards the gateroom. He meets Reynolds exiting the gateroom.]

REYNOLDS We looked everywhere. No sign of them. I'm sorry, sir.

O'NEILL You were there to watch their backs.

REYNOLDS Yes, sir.

[O'Neill shakes his head, unhappy.]

REYNOLDS Colonel Carter insisted we secure the Gate.

[The Gate alarms sound.]

VOICE OVER PA SYSTEM Unauthorised incoming wormhole.

INT&mdash;SGC GATEROOM

[O'Neill enters the gateroom and looks up to Sergeant Harriman in the control room.]

HARRIMAN No IDC yet, sir.

[A hologram of Ba'al appears at the foot of the ramp. The guards raise their weapons.]

O'NEILL (to guards) Stand down, boys. (to Ba'al) And what do you want?

BA'AL I have your friends.

[O'Neill gestures with his hands for Ba'al to continue.]

O'NEILL And?

BA'AL I propose an exchange.

O'NEILL For what?

BA'AL Not what, whom.

O'NEILL Whatever.

BA'AL Camulus.

O'NEILL Who?

BA'AL I'll transmit the Gate address. You will send him to me, if you want to see your friends alive again.

O'NEILL Let me think about it.

BA'AL You have one day.

O'NEILL Is that like&hellip;one Earth day? Or&hellip;

[The hologram disappears.]

THREE DAYS TO ZERO HOUR

INT&mdash;SGC CORRIDOR

[O'Neill exits the elevator to be met by Gilmor who hands him a small flask of coffee.]

GILMOR Nothing to report from the teams in the field. The rebel Jaffa&hellip;Tok'ra&hellip;

[As they walk away from the elevator, O'Neill hands the flask to a passing Siler.]

GILMOR &hellip;no one seems to have any intel on SG-1, and as ordered Camulus is being transferred here from the facility where he was being held. He should be here shortly.

'''INT&mdash;SGC. O'NEILL'S OFFICE'''

[O'Neill is handed a report by Reynolds.]

REYNOLDS Even if we did comply and send Camulus to the address Ba'al transmitted we can't risk opening the iris here to let SG-1 through. This could all be a trick to get us to do just that.

O'NEILL I know.

REYNOLDS Any type of exchange would have to involve a Stargate on another planet. I made some suggestions.

[Gilmor walks up to the open door of the office.]

REYNOLDS Are you really considering turning Camulus over to Ba'al?

O'NEILL It's on the table.

[Gilmor knocks on the door. O'Neill gestures for him to enter.]

GILMOR He's here.

[Gilmor hands O'Neill another report.]

O'NEILL Colonel, have your team ready.

REYNOLDS Yes, sir.

[O'Neill leaves the office.]

GILMOR Isn't it already too late?

REYNOLDS (quietly, with feeling) General O'Neill was once captured by Ba'al. He was tortured, killed, and brought back to life using a sarcophagus more times than you would care to imagine. SG-1 never gave up then, and General O'Neill won't now. There isn't a man or woman on this base that would.

[Reynolds leaves the office.]

INT&mdash;SGC HOLDING CELL

[Camulus is sitting at a table in the cell. He is wearing a grey prison-type jump-suit. A couple of SFs are standing behind him. O'Neill enters.]

O'NEILL Ba'al has three of my people, and he's offered up an exchange.

CAMULUS For me.

O'NEILL Any idea why?

CAMULUS There are many possible reasons.

O'NEILL Pick one.

[Camulus is silent.]

O'NEILL Nothing? You offered to help us if we granted you asylum.

CAMULUS I did not expect to be treated like a prisoner.

O'NEILL You're a Goa'uld.

CAMULUS What are you going to do?

O'NEILL Give me one good reason why I shouldn't turn you over.

CAMULUS Ba'al cannot be trusted.

O'NEILL Yeah?

CAMULUS No matter what you do he will never return your friends to you.

INT&mdash;SGC CORRIDORS

[A hand-cuffed Camulus is escorted down a corridor by a couple of SFs with O'Neill following. Gilmor watches Camulus pass and joins O'Neill.]

GILMOR I thought you were just going to question him.

O'NEILL He didn't have the right answers.

GILMOR General, this goes against official policy regarding prisoner exchanges.

O'NEILL He's not a prisoner. He requested asylum. I'm ungranting it.

GILMOR You could be court-martialed.

O'NEILL You know, if it gets my team back, I don't care.

GILMOR But you know it won't. You're sacrificing him for nothing.

[O'Neill turns and walks into the gateroom.]

INT&mdash;SGC GATEROOM

[Camulus and the SFs have paused inside the doorway. More SFs are in the room.]

O'NEILL Go, go, go.

INT&mdash;SGC CONTROL ROOM

[Gilmor enters the control room. The Gate is activated. Gilmor and Sergeant Harriman watch as Camulus is held at the base of the ramp.]

INT&mdash;SGC GATEROOM

[O'Neill and Camulus are at the base of the ramp.]

O'NEILL Let's take a walk, you and me. Come on.

[O'Neill takes Camulus' arm and leads him up the ramp. They stop just before the event horizon and turn to face each other.]

O'NEILL I've done everything I can. It's up to you. Last chance.

CAMULUS In spite of what you think, I am not a coward.

O'NEILL I think you are.

[Camulus turns to face the event horizon. O'Neill rolls his eyes.]

O'NEILL Well, it was worth a try.

[O'Neill turns Camulus away from the Stargate and leads him down the ramp.]

O'NEILL Take him back to his cell.

INT&mdash;SGC CONTROL ROOM

[Gilmor turns to Harriman, obviously puzzled.]

GILMOR It was a bluff?

[In the gateroom, O'Neill, still on the ramp, raises his arms in a shrug.]

INT&mdash;SGC CORRIDOR

[O'Neill passes his card through the elevator access panel. As the elevator arrives, Gilmor walks up to him.]

GILMOR You could have told me, sir. How can I do my job if you don't trust me.

O'NEILL Not my problem.

[O'Neill enters the elevator and presses a button. The doors start to close.]

GILMOR Wait, wait, wait. Camulus would like to talk to you.

INT&mdash;SGC HOLDING CELL

[An SF opens the door to allow O'Neill to enter.]

CAMULUS (agitated) I cannot stay here. If Ba'al is truly so determined to have revenge he won't stop at this. It is not safe for you to harbour me anymore.

O'NEILL So what?

CAMULUS I am saying I am willing to leave.

O'NEILL Out of the goodness of your heart?

CAMULUS Of course not! When I asked for asylum I did not expect to rot in a cell for the rest of my life.

O'NEILL Well, work with me, give me something! I'll see what I can do.

CAMULUS I can tell you of a planet, where there is a device created by the Ancients.

O'NEILL What's it do?

CAMULUS I do not know. I never could discover its secrets. Perhaps you can.

O'NEILL You think this is what Ba'al's really after?

CAMULUS While I never disclosed its location, I once made the mistake of bragging that I'd found the device, at a meeting of the System Lords.

O'NEILL Hard to believe, you bragging.

'''INT&mdash;SGC. O'NEILL'S OFFICE'''

[O'Neill is once again dictating the letter to General Hammond.]

O'NEILL I knew it wasn't easy for you. But had I known what it was really like, I would have tried to be less of a pain in the ass. At least I would have tried harder.

[The alarms sound.]

VOICE OVER PA SYSTEM Unscheduled offworld activation.

INT&mdash;SGC CONTROL ROOM

[O'Neill enters the control room and goes to Harriman who is at the monitor.]

O'NEILL Walter?

HARRIMAN Receiving SG-3's IDC, sir.

O'NEILL Open it.

HARRIMAN Yes, sir.

[O'Neill leaves the Control Room as Harriman places his hand on the panel to activate the opening of the Stargate.]

INT&mdash;SGC GATEROOM

[SG-3 come through the Gate and are met by O'Neill.]

REYNOLDS Just like you said, sir. Some sort of Ancient device the size of a large room.

O'NEILL Any idea what it does?

REYNOLDS I'll&hellip;leave that up to the tech guys. But I can tell you this. I know why I couldn't turn it on.

INT&mdash;SGC BRIEFING ROOM

[Reynolds opens a case containing a ZPM.]

REYNOLDS It wasn't plugged in.

GILMOR What&hellip;what is it?

O'NEILL It's a ZPM.

GILMOR What is that?

{Lee enters the room.]

LEE A Zero Point Module. It's an Ancient power source that draws its energy from subspace.

REYNOLDS It's the only thing powerful enough to activate the Ancient defence weapons SG-1 found down in Antarctica.

[A beeping is heard in the room.]

REYNOLDS The one we have is pretty much dead.

[Lee is studying the ZPM.]

LEE Well, this one sure isn't.

GILMOR How good is it?

LEE Well, I'm going to have to do some more detailed analysis, but these preliminary readings indicate at least fifty percent capacity.

GILMOR Well, that's&hellip;that's good, isn't it.

[O'Neill shrugs, just as the lights go out. Green emergency lights go on.]

LEE Excuse me.

[Lee leaves the room.]

O'NEILL It's that damn plant.

INT&mdash;SGC CONTROL ROOM

[Harriman is sitting at a keyboard in the green-lit room. Suddenly, all monitors lose power and backup generators obviously do not kick-in. He makes a call on an internal phone.]

HARRIMAN (into phone) We've lost power to all control systems&hellip;Yes, sir!

INT&mdash;SGC CORRIDOR

[O'Neill exits an elevator into a plant-covered corridor.]

O'NEILL We paid the electric bill. I checked.

LEE The plant is in the wall. It's interfering with power and communication lines.

O'NEILL There's no light in the walls.

LEE I know, but as long as any part of it is exposed to light then it seems like it can feed the unexposed areas. I'm recommending we keep the whole base on minimal emergency lighting. Just until we get the problem under control.

O'NEILL How long?

LEE Well, that's a little difficult to say, because first we have to figure out how to get the problem under control.

[Lee sneezes.]

INT&mdash;SGC CONTROL ROOM

[O'Neill enters the room and walks up to Harriman who is still at the keyboard. One of the monitors switches on.]

O'NEILL Where are we?

HARRIMAN The dialling computer's offline.

[Siler is under a desk, working on the system.]

SILER There must be a circuit board that got fried when we tried to restore power to the system.

HARRIMAN Incoming wormholes will connect and we can still receive radio communication and IDCs, but&hellip;

O'NEILL The iris?

HARRIMAN Manual control.

O'NEILL What about dialling the Gate? Manually?

SILER Um, that's a problem. The inner ring seems to be locked in place. We tried disconnecting the control interface, but&hellip;

HARRIMAN There was a 'gate diagnostic running when the power went down. It could be something to do with the commands being exchanged at the time.

[O'Neill sighs.]

O'NEILL Bottom line.

HARRIMAN We can't dial out.

O'NEILL Okay.

TWO DAYS TO ZERO HOUR

INT&mdash;SGC SLEEPING QUARTERS

[Gilmor opens the door to private quarters. The corridor is still lit by the green emergency light. O'Neill is asleep on a bed. Gilmor walks up to him and pats him on the back. There is no response from O'Neill. Gilmor shakes him.]

O'NEILL What? Oh, God!

GILMOR Sorry to wake you, sir.

[O'Neill rubs his eyes.]

O'NEILL It feels like it's been ten minutes.

[O'Neill looks at his watch.]

GILMOR Yeah&hellip;uh&hellip;it has. There's an incoming wormhole. Ba'al wants to talk.

INT&mdash;SGC GATEROOM

[O'Neill and Gilmor enter the gateroom. The Ba'al holoimage is again at the base of the ramp.]

O'NEILL Ba'al. Sorry to keep you waiting. Just taking a little nap.

BA'AL The deadline has passed.

O'NEILL Yeah, look, we're having a little technical difficulty here.

BA'AL Are your friends' lives meaningless to you?

O'NEILL Hey! This is not a stall tactic. I would have called you sooner but we can't dial out at the moment.

BA'AL Why not?

O'NEILL Well, I'm not really sure. Here's some irony for you. Carter? Have this thing fixed like that!

[O'Neill clicks his fingers. He then turns to the Control Room where Siler is standing at a monitor.]

O'NEILL No offence there, Siler.

SILER (over intercom) Uh&hellip;none taken, sir.

[O'Neill turns back to Ba'al.]

O'NEILL So, why don't you just send her on through. Before you know it you'll have ole camelass back in your grubby little mitts.

BA'AL You dare mock me.

O'NEILL Ba'al, come on. You should know. Of course I dare mock you.

[Gilmor is looking at O'Neill, very uncertain.]

BA'AL You have one more day.

[The hologram disappears. O'Neill looks at his watch.]

GILMOR Is it really wise to provoke him?

[O'Neill turns to Gilmor and stares at him for a short while.]

O'NEILL It's what I do.

[O'Neill and Gilmor walk away.]

'''INT&mdash;SGC. O'NEILL'S OFFICE'''

[Major Davis and Reynolds are sitting in front of O'Neill's desk.]

DAVIS Over two years ago, the Tok'ra provided us with the formula to the Goa'uld poison they developed. We've been modifying it. Manufacturing as much as we can use as a defensive option in the event of another attack on Earth. Area 51 is confirming that there is currently enough to negate a sizeable enemy force.

REYNOLDS We think we can effectively neutralise and invade three Goa'uld occupied planets.

DAVIS Now, the poison is non persistent so there would be a limited time before potential reinforcements become a factor.

REYNOLDS And determining which of Ba'al's planets to target is still an educated guess.

DAVIS We're still gathering intel on exactly where SG-1's being held.

O'NEILL This poison. Does it kill Jaffa as well as Goa'uld?

DAVIS That's right.

O'NEILL How many casualties are we talking about?

REYNOLDS Thousands. Tens of thousands.

O'NEILL So, it's not really a rescue plan. It's a full scale attack.

REYNOLDS That would most certainly provoke a reaction. Possibly another attack on Earth.

[O'Neill shakes his head.]

DAVIS But, considering the fact that we now have a ZPM to power the Ancient defences I don't think&hellip;

[Gilmor knocks on the door.]

GILMOR Sorry to interrupt, sir, but Camulus is insisting that he speak with you again.

INT&mdash;SGC HOLDING CELL

CAMULUS (angrily) Did you not find something of value on the planet of which I spoke?

O'NEILL Oh yeah, we did.

CAMULUS Then why have you not released me? Or do you still believe you can trade me for your friends?

INT&mdash;SGC CORRIDOR

[Gilmor and Lee are walking along the plant-covered corridor. Lee is in full .]

LEE Gamma radiation seems to work. We're preparing a method of delivering a strong enough level to the entire base all at once. Now, non essential personnel are going to have to be evacuated. Everyone else is going to have to wear protective suits. You have to get General O'Neill to sign off on this right away.

GILMOR You know, he hasn't slept in over two days.

LEE Yeah, that's why I'm asking you to do it.

GILMOR Right.

INT&mdash;SGC ANOTHER CORRIDOR

[O'Neill and John&mdash;the President's aide&mdash;are walking along the corridor. Both are in full biohazard gear.]

JOHN I'm cancelling the President's visit.

O'NEILL Really? Why would you do that?

JOHN I'm surprised you can joke at a time like this.

O'NEILL That's pretty much all I can do at the moment.

JOHN Your flagship team is in the hands of the enemy. You can't dial the Stargate. The base is overrun by an alien plant.

[Personnel are hacking away at the plant.]

O'NEILL We did find a ZPM.

JOHN True.

[They walk up to an elevator and O'Neill passes his card through the access panel.]

O'NEILL Give it another day.

JOHN You think you can get everything resolved by then?

O'NEILL Wait a minute. I think there's a joke in there somewhere.

[The elevator doors open and they enter.]

O'NEILL Got nothing!

'''INT&mdash;SGC. O'NEILL'S OFFICE'''

[O'Neill is once again dictating the letter to General Hammond.]

O'NEILL And so, I regretfully submit my resignation. And to be clear, the regret is not so much about the resigning part, but the fact that I was deluded enough to think I had possessed even one iota of the ability needed to fill your sizeable and shiny shoes.

[The power comes back on. Gilmor knocks on the door.]

GILMOR Doctor Lee just called down, sir. He feels confident the plant has been fully eradicated.

O'NEILL I wish I did.

GILMOR Oh, and the dialling computer is back online.

INT&mdash;SGC CORRIDOR

[Camulus is being escorted by SFs.]

INT&mdash;SGC CONTROL ROOM

[Sergeant Harriman is at the monitor. Gilmor and O'Neill are standing, looking out at the gateroom. The Stargate is being activated.]

HARRIMAN Chevron 4 encoded.

GILMOR You're releasing him?

O'NEILL I made a deal. We got a ZPM.

GILMOR Look, I know we can finally dial Pegasus again and still defend Earth if we have to, but&hellip;

HARRIMAN Chevron 5 encoded.

[The phone rings and Gilmor goes to answer it.]

GILMOR (into phone) Control room.

[Gilmor listens then turns to O'Neill.]

GILMOR It's Doctor Lee. He says it's important.

[O'Neill takes the phone.]

O'NEILL (into phone) Yeah. (to Harriman) Abort the dialling procedure.

INT&mdash;SGC GATEROOM

[As the Stargate deactivates, Camulus looks up to the Control room.]

'''INT&mdash;SGC. DR. LEE'S LAB'''

[The ZPM is standing on a desk, glowing brightly.]

LEE Basically, it shouldn't be glowing like this.

O'NEILL Why is it?

LEE Well, it's funny really.

O'NEILL I like funny.

[Lee is standing on one side of the desk, a pair of infra-red goggles on his forehead. O'Neill is on the other side of the desk with Gilmor standing behind him.]

LEE No, this isn't the good kind of funny. I think it was the gamma radiation we used to kill the plant that revealed this.

O'NEILL Revealed what?

LEE It illuminated a substance foreign to what we know to be the normal molecular make-up of a ZPM.

O'NEILL And?

LEE Well, we managed to scrape some microscopic fragments from the casing and run some tests and uh&hellip;You're going to want these.

[He hands two pairs of goggles to O'Neill who passes one over to Gilmor. Lee puts his goggles on then asks a lab technician to leave. Lee closes the lenses down. He moves over to a bank of computers. A metal tray is sitting on a steel table.]

LEE This is what happens when you introduce a constant electric charge.

[O'Neill closes the lenses down on his goggles. As Lee flicks a switch on the computer, the tray explodes. Lee and O'Neill raise the lenses on their goggles, while Gilmor takes his goggles off and looks in amazement at the tray.]

O'NEILL The ZPM is booby trapped?

[Lee nods.]

LEE (shocked) We were going to send it to Antarctica. Can you imagine if someone had taken it and plugged it into the chair in the Ancient Outpost? I can't even imagine the magnitude of the explosion. A charged ZPM detonating that? I don't know, I mean, it could have destroyed the whole planet.

GILMOR That's why Camulus was so eager to leave.

[O'Neill raises the goggles to his forehead.]

O'NEILL Can you undo it?

LEE Uh&hellip;well, you know we haven't actually&hellip;

O'NEILL Yes or no?

[Lee shakes his head.]

INT&mdash;SGC HOLDING CELL

CAMULUS I have no idea what you're talking about.

O'NEILL When you couldn't figure out what the Ancient device was for, you tampered with the power source so nobody else could.

CAMULUS I did nothing of the kind.

O'NEILL (chidingly) Cammy.

CAMULUS Worth a try.

O'NEILL Here's the deal. How would you like a chance to kill Ba'al?

CAMULUS In exchange, you want me to use the Ancient device to trade for the lives of your friends.

O'NEILL Exactly.

CAMULUS Amusing.

INT&mdash;SGC GATEROOM

[The Gate is activated. The gateroom is full of SFs. Camulus is standing at the base of the ramp with Reynolds and is in his own clothing. O'Neill enters and places a case flat in Reynolds' hands. He opens the case to show Camulus that it contains the ZPM.]

O'NEILL All right?

[Camulus nods and O'Neill closes the case.]

CAMULUS (to Reynolds) Coming with me?

REYNOLDS We're taking you to another planet first. We'll wait for SG-1 there.

[Reynolds moves Camulus up to the ramp, followed by an SG team. They go through the Stargate.]

'''EXT&mdash;SGC CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN. NIGHT'''

INT&mdash;SGC GATEROOM

[O'Neill enters the gateroom.]

HARRIMAN (over intercom) Receiving SG-3's IDC, sir.

O'NEILL (to Harriman) Open it!

[The iris opens and Reynolds and the SG team come through the Gate.]

O'NEILL You're late.

REYNOLDS We thought we'd give it an extra hour, sir. We knew it was a long shot.

O'NEILL Thank you, Colonel. Dismissed.

[O'Neill stares at the Stargate, then leaves.]

ONE DAY TO ZERO HOUR

'''INT&mdash;SGC. O'NEILL'S OFFICE'''

[O'Neill is sitting at his desk, typing. Gilmor knocks on the door.]

GILMOR Sir. Uh&hellip;Colonel Reynolds would like a moment.

O'NEILL Fine.

GILMOR He's in the gateroom, sir.

[Gilmor walks away as O'Neill keeps typing.]

INT&mdash;SGC GATEROOM

[O'Neill enters the gateroom to find that many of the SG teams are gathered there. He walks up to Reynolds.]

O'NEILL What's going on?

REYNOLDS General, we just wanted you to know. Whatever you decide. We're behind you one hundred percent. You just need to give the order and we're ready to go.

O'NEILL I know you are, Colonel. Thank you.

[O'Neill looks around at the teams, obviously moved.]

O'NEILL All of you. Dismissed.

[O'Neill leaves.]

INT&mdash;SGC LOCKER ROOM

[O'Neill is sitting on a bench, having changed out of uniform. He moves to his locker and as he closes the door, he sees the names on the two lockers next to his&mdash;Teal'c and D. Jackson. He looks at them for a while, then walks away.]

INT&mdash;SGC CORRIDOR

[A cleaning bucket and mop is being pushed down the corridor. O'Neill turns into the corridor and calls for the elevator. Siler walks up behind him.]

SILER Goodnight, sir.

[Siler turns down the corridor. O'Neill turns towards him.]

O'NEILL Goodnight, Siler.

[O'Neill gets on to the elevator and pushes a button. As the doors start to close, the alarm sounds. He puts his arm in the doorway to stop them from closing and pushes them open.]

VOICE OVER PA SYSTEM Unscheduled offworld activation.

INT&mdash;SGC CORRIDOR

A number of SFs and O'Neill are running along the corridor. Gilmor runs to meet O'Neill.]

GILMOR It's SG-1's identification code. Sergeant O'Brian transmitted a whole signal back through the Gate and is awaiting your instruction.

INT&mdash;SGC CONTROL ROOM

[O'Neill and Gilmor enter the Control room and go to O'Brian, who is at the monitor.]

O'NEILL O'Brian?

O'BRIAN We have audio contact, sir. It's Colonel Carter.

O'NEILL (into microphone) Carter?

[The sound of gunfire can be heard over the radio.]

CARTER (over radio) We're under heavy fire, sir. Open the iris.

O'NEILL (into microphone) Negative.

EXT&mdash;ALIEN PLANET

[SG-1 are under attack.]

INT&mdash;SGC CONTROL ROOM

O'NEILL (into microphone) Can you re-route?

EXT&mdash;ALIEN PLANET

CARTER (into radio) Negative, the DHD is no longer accessible.

[Carter is crouched by the MALP, shooting at a number of Jaffa. Daniel is also shooting.]

DANIEL (into radio) Jack, what's going on?

O'NEILL (over radio) You've been in enemy hands.

INT&mdash;SGC CONTROL ROOM

O'NEILL (into microphone) You know the protocol. We have no way of knowing if your iris code is secure.

EXT&mdash;ALIEN PLANET

DANIEL (into radio) What the hell are you talking about?

O'NEILL (over radio) You were captured by Ba'al.

DANIEL (into radio) Ba'al? We're on P2X-887. We were trapped in Anubis' secret base. When we came out we had Jaffa waiting for us at the Gate.

[Teal'c shoots a number of Jaffa with his staff weapon, then turns to Carter.]

TEAL'C It appears these Jaffa are loyal to Ba'al.

CARTER (into radio) Sir, the Gate's going to shut down and we won't be able to dial out again.

INT&mdash;SGC CONTROL ROOM

[O'Brian and Gilmor look at O'Neill as he considers.]

O'NEILL (to O'Brian) Open it.

[The iris opens.]

O'NEILL (into microphone) You're clear.

INT&mdash;SGC GATEROOM

[Staff blasts come through the Gate and hit the gateroom. Carter, Teal'c and Daniel come running through the Gate.]

INT&mdash;SGC CONTROL ROOM

O'NEILL Nice.

[O'Neill leaves the Control room.]

INT&mdash;SGC GATEROOM

[O'Neill enters the gateroom and walks up to SG-1.]

O'NEILL Hey, guys.

CARTER Thank you, sir.

O'NEILL So&hellip;trapped in a secret base, all this time. Go figure.

TEAL'C The wrist device allowed us access.

DANIEL We couldn't get back out.

CARTER You thought Ba'al had captured us?

O'NEILL That's what he said.

CARTER How did he even know we were missing?

O'NEILL Reynolds saw an Alkesh.

DANIEL Ba'al must have had his Jaffa looking for the base.

CARTER Probably intercepted any radio chatter.

TEAL'C That would explain the ambush.

CARTER Ba'al's Jaffa couldn't find the base, but they figured if we turned up&hellip;

O'NEILL It's a great story. More importantly&hellip;did Anubis leave anything cool behind?

DANIEL Not really, no.

O'NEILL Nuts!

'''EXT&mdash;SGC CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN. DAY'''

INT&mdash;SGC CORRIDOR

[Carter and O'Neill meet in the corridor. Carter is in dress blues. The corridor is decorated in bunting.]

O'NEILL Colonel Carter. How are you?

CARTER I'm good, thanks for asking. You're not going to dress for the occasion, sir?

[O'Neill looks down at himself.]

O'NEILL Well, you know me, I love dressing up. I was just on my way.

CARTER Sir, I wanted to talk to you&hellip;

O'NEILL Carter. Your evaluation is done, and I think you'd be very pleased.

CARTER Really?

O'NEILL You had doubts?

CARTER Honestly? I was wondering whether you were completely confident in my leadership skills.

O'NEILL Aren't you?

CARTER I've been second guessing myself for ordering SG-3 to remain at the Gate.

O'NEILL Oh, phshaw!

[They begin walking down the corridor.]

O'NEILL Standard recon. Your tactics in dealing with the ambush, perfect. You should read what Teal'c and Daniel wrote about your conduct under fire.

CARTER Can I?

O'NEILL No.

CARTER Damn!

O'NEILL Teal'c said you were an animal.

CARTER Such an exaggerator.

O'NEILL Yeah. Isn't he? Well, this is where I go to take off the clothes I prefer, and don the clothes I abhor.

[O'Neill opens the door to the quarters.]

CARTER Um&hellip;sir, quickly. I&hellip;I wanted to talk to you about something else. I was reading Doctor Lee's report about the tainted ZPM? I think he may have underestimated the explosive potential. It could have actually destroyed the entire solar system.

O'NEILL What's the difference?

CARTER Well, my point is, if we figured it out so could Ba'al. He could use it as a weapon against us.

O'NEILL All true, Carter. Which is exactly why I didn't give Camulus the tainted one.

CARTER Sir?

O'NEILL I gave him the dead one. It's worthless, right?

[Carter nods.]

CARTER Ba'al's going to be pretty pissed at Camulus.

O'NEILL Yeah.

[Carter smiles.]

ZERO HOUR

'''INT&mdash;SGC. O'NEILL'S OFFICE'''

[O'Neill is sitting at his desk, reading a couple of sheets of paper in front of him. Gilmor knocks and enters.]

GILMOR General, the President's motorcade is through the gates. He should be getting on the elevator momentarily.

[O'Neill nods.]

GILMOR Uh&hellip;Sir, I&hellip;I think you should know, I'll be leaving tomorrow.

O'NEILL Really?

GILMOR Yes, sir. The truth is, I've been here on a temporary special assignment from the President.

O'NEILL Oh?

GILMOR Sort of a civilian audit, if you will.

O'NEILL Of the SGC?

GILMOR Of you.

[O'Neill stands and moves to stand in front of Gilmor.]

O'NEILL I know.

GILMOR You do?

O'NEILL General Hammond told me.

GILMOR Well, he wasn't supposed to.

O'NEILL Well, don't tell anyone.

GILMOR Well, um&hellip;then you know the President wanted to make sure you were settling in before he came and shook your hand and fully endorsed you as the leader of this base.

O'NEILL Uh-huh.

GILMOR Obviously, he's here, so&hellip;uh&hellip;what I mean is, I just want you to know how much respect I have for what you do here. And for you.

O'NEILL Thanks.

[Gilmor nods.]

O'NEILL Shall we?

[O'Neill puts on his dress blues jacket.]

O'NEILL Oh, by the way. Did you let those Amoran delegates go?

GILMOR I did, sir, yes. Major Davis said they seemed much more willing to negotiate now.

O'NEILL Do you think they liked the fruit basket?

GILMOR I think so, sir.

O'NEILL Good. I put a lot of thought into that.

[They both leave the room. The paperwork on the desk is the resignation letter which O'Neill was writing to Hammond. Above O'Neill's signature are the words, Never mind.]

FADE OUT

CLOSING CREDITS

Transcribed by Helen for Solutions 28 Aug 2004

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