Light

"Light" is the fifth episode in Stargate Universe.

Synopsis
Destiny is on a seemingly unalterable collision course with a star, and despite finding three suitable planets, Colonel Young tells everyone that only seventeen people can go in the shuttle and a lottery will determine their fate.

Prologue
A team of ill prepared soldiers, scientists and civilians evacuate Icarus Base to the Destiny and is subsequently trapped there. They discover that the ship has depleted its energy reserves and now heads directly to a star.

Plot
While Destiny flies to the star, Everett Young gathers the crew in gate room. He says that the ship is going to crash into the sun and there is no way to avoid it. He also believes that the ship arrived here for a reason and one of the three planets in this star system may be habitable. The crew is going to have a lottery which will determinate the 15 people who will become passengers of the Ancient shuttle. Two more people will be chosen by Young himself, to pilot the shuttle to the planet. Young himself will not participate in the lottery and will stay aboard Destiny. Then he sends the crew back to their quarters.

While visiting Young, Camile Wray tries persuade Young to pick everyone who will go aboard shuttle by himself and include herself. Young refuses and threatens to remove her name out of lottery if she continues to argue about it.

Eli Wallace is shown waking up in his room on Earth with his mother insisting on him to wake up and to attend a job interview. As Eli wakes up in his quarters aboard Destiny, the event was revealed to be nothing but a dream.

Eli asks the future shuttle crew to take a Kino along with them, to allow the crew aboard Destiny to watch the ship from outside.

Young visits Nicholas Rush as he is preparing the shuttle for departure. He had already checked two planets out of the three present in the solar system, the third planet being out of reach as it is on the other side of the star. The nearby planets were uninhabitable, the other being too hot and the other being too cold. The third planet was orbiting in a zone between these two planets, Rush suggests it might be habitable but recommends not to wait until Destiny will be close enough. Young suggests to use the shuttle engines to push Destiny off course, but Rush dismisses this idea, as the shuttle engines aren't powerful enough for it. As Young departs, Rush requests for him to be excluded from the lottery list.

In the lottery, Young declares that he and Dr. Rush have decided to exclude their names from the lottery list. Young informs that Lt. Matthew Scott and Lt. Tamara Johansen were the two crew members of his choice. Darren Becker, David Walters, Camille Wray, Lt. Vanessa James, Lisa Park, Adam Brody, Sgt. Hunter Riley and Boone among others are shown to make it into the shuttle crew. Sgt. Spencer was not chosen by the lottery and he refused to accept his fate aboard the ship, but is subsequently knocked out by Sgt. Greer. The shuttle departs.

Using the kino given to the shuttle crew, Eli, Rush, Young and Chloe were able to see Destiny from outside. Subsequently, Rush apologizes to Eli for involving him into the mission.

Facing imminent destruction, the crew tries to find solace in their final moments. In private, Young and Greer are shown reminiscing Greer's assault on Colonel Telford, which led to Greer's detention, as seen in Air. Sergeant Spencer wakes up on the Destiny gate room floor and locates the other survivors, who are now split into groups of people playing card games and another group, praying. Rush listens to music and reads a book in his quarters while Eli and Chloe Armstrong gaze at the red dwarf star in the observation room.

Meanwhile, the shuttle has finished its scan of the planet. Brody believes that survival, while possible, will be very difficult. Back on Destiny Rush realises they are still alive and the ship should have been destroyed by now. He storms to the central computer consoles and realises that the crew and Destiny are going to survive. He explains to Young that Destiny had intended to go to the sun all along in order to replenish its power. Destiny is shown deploying its ram scoops to collect deuterium from the star's photosphere.

On the shuttle, the crew is preparing to enter the third planet's orbit. Colonel Young informs the shuttle crew of Destiny's survival. Relieved, Scott plots an intercept course immediately, but fails due to Destiny's speed being too great for the shuttle to match. Rush suggests doing a gravitational slingshot around the planet. As Destiny had slowed its speed by flying through the atmosphere of a gas giant, a maneuver known as aerobraking, the resulting speed increase from the slingshot would give the shuttle the needed speed to match that of Destiny. The shuttle completes this maneuver successfully, but cannot accelerate fast enough to be able to dock without crashing into Destiny. Using the shuttle's maneuvering thrusters to provide a small boost, the shuttle is able to dock successfully, narrowly avoiding destruction.

Later, in the Destiny mess hall, the crew are celebrating their survival and reunion. Young commends Rush on his efforts and thanks him for their survival, but Rush dismisses it, saying their situation isn't any better than before. Young tries to convince Rush that he did a good deed by sacrifing himself, but Young soon starts suspecting Rush had known about Destiny's plan all along.

Background notes
People who left Kino messages in this episode were Ronald Greer, Camile Wray, Chloe Armstrong and Everett Young.

International airdates

 * Canada: October 23, 2009 (Space)
 * United Kingdom: October 27, 2009 (Sky1)
 * Australia: October, 30, 2009 (Sci Fi Australia)

Production

 * This episode was originally titled "Fire", however, since the script ran for 20 minutes longer than any episode, it was extended to cover two episodes, and was renamed "Darkness", and "Light"