Vengeance/Transcript

Episode Guide
Vengeance" Episode Guide

Previously
PREVIOUSLY ON STARGATE ATLANTIS

''[Excerpts from 1.04 "Thirty-Eight Minutes", 2.07 "Instinct", and 2.08 "Conversion" are shown.]

END EXCERPTS

Episode
TEASER

EXT&mdash;ATLANTIS, DAY

INT&mdash;ATLANTIS WORK OUT ROOM

[Ronon stares down his opponent.]

RONON Eyes straight ahead. Focus on me. Never, ever look away from your enemy. Shows weakness. Are you weak?

MCKAY (weakly) Uh&hellip; No?

[Ronon faces McKay. Both are holding blunt sticks shaped like swords. McKay is dressed in a gii too big for him. A protective covering and yellow belt are strapped around his waist.]

RONON Good. Are you ready?

MCKAY Uh&hellip;

[Ronon raises his hand to strike. McKay raises his own arms anticipating to counter. Ronon takes advantage of his unprotected abdomen and strikes, causing McKay to groan and double over.]

RONON McKay, what did I say? Don't take your eyes off me! Got to anticipate the next move. You all right?

[McKay wheezes and groans, unable to speak from the blow. He nods and gives the thumbs-up sign. Ronon claps him on the shoulder.]

RONON All right. Well, I'm trying to ease up so I don't hurt you.

MCKAY (voice a whisper) Thanks.

RONON You're getting better.

MCKAY Really?

RONON No.

MCKAY (disappointed) Oh.

[They get back into fighting positions again. The door opens, and Sheppard and Weir enter.]

SHEPPARD How're the Ninja lessons going, Jet Li?

MCKAY What do you want?

WEIR We lost contact with the Taranans.

RONON You mean the volcano people?

SHEPPARD Super volcano people.

MCKAY What happened to them?

WEIR Well, we don't know.

SHEPPARD Seeing how we lost contact with them.

WEIR They usually check in from time to time from their new settlement. We've been sending them food, medical supplies.

[Ronon signs for McKay to keep his eyes on Ronon's own, anticipating the next attack. McKay keeps his back to Sheppard and Weir.]

SHEPPARD It's the least we can do since getting the Orion blown up.

WEIR But we haven't heard from them for a few months. I tried to contact them by radio, but no response.

MCKAY Ah, so send a MALP.

SHEPPARD Eh, we just did. Everything looks okay, but the, uh, settlement's a couple kilometers from the gate, so we don't know anything yet.

WEIR I want you to check it out.

[McKay lowers his hands and turns around, surprised.]

MCKAY (annoyed) What?

[Ronon shouts and strikes at that unguarded moment, again striking McKay in the shielded part of his abdomen. Sheppard winces in sympathy. McKay looks up, whimpering, and pantomimes he was supposed to keep his eyes on Ronon.]

RONON (nodding) Eyes. Yes.

SHEPPARD (drily) May want to change first.

MCKAY (whimpering) Right.

[Sheppard and Weir leave. McKay looks up to see Ronon approaching; he flinches, but Ronon just claps him on the shoulder as he too leaves. McKay sighs.]

WORMHOLE EFFECT

EXT&mdash;NEW TENARA, DAY

[Sheppard's team approaches the settlement. It is a small town, with well-masoned houses and shops.]

MCKAY They've gotten a lot done in the short time they've been here.

TEYLA Well, they're hard-working people. I've made several trips to assist them in getting settled.

SHEPPARD (into radio) This is Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard from Atlantis calling anyone in the Taranan settlement. Please respond.

[There is no response.]

SHEPPARD I thought I'd give it a shot. All right, let's go.

[He puts on his glasses, and they continue to the settlement.]

INT&mdash;TERANAN OFFICE

[The team enters an office, filled with furniture and equipment similar to Earth in the mid-twentieth century. The computers are modern.]

SHEPPARD Anybody home?

MCKAY Well, it looks like they abandoned the place.

RONON Well, maybe they found somewhere better to live.

TEYLA They left everything behind. Why would they do that?

SHEPPARD Let's get these workstations powered up. Maybe we can figure out where these people went.

[McKay checks his scanner.]

MCKAY Oh. I got something. A single lifesign.

TEYLA Where is it?

MCKAY It's below us.

[He studies the device, showing a single blip far underground.]

MCKAY Quite a way below us.

SHEPPARD They built underground?

TEYLA No. One of the previous civilizations that lived here was similar to the Genii, living below the surface to avoid detection by the Wraith. They left behind several underground passages, but the Taranans didn't utilize them.

MCKAY Well, someone is.

SHEPPARD How do we get there?

[Teyla leads the way.]

INT&mdash;TERANAN UNDERGROUND CHAMBERS

[Ronon is the last to repel down to the chamber, sliding down easily in one swoop. They turn on the flashlights on their rifles. The area is a cement underground bunker.]

SHEPPARD Rodney?

[McKay points, and Sheppard leads the way down a corridor. The team patrols together, Ronon checking a side passage, and watching their rear. Teyla opens a door, finding a mucus-encrusted large sack.]

TEYLA Wait!

RONON Whoa! What is that?

TEYLA It looks like a cocoon of some sort.

RONON What's inside it?

[Ronon stoops to investigate.]

SHEPPARD Well, whatever it is, it's not inside anymore.

[He looks at the empty cocoon. McKay continues to watch the single life sign as the team exchange worried looks.]

END TEASER

OPENING CREDITS

EXT&mdash;ATLANTIS, DAY

INT&mdash;ATLANTIS CONTROL ROOM

[Weir approaches Chuck.]

WEIR Has Colonel Sheppard's team dialed in with a status report yet?

CHUCK Well, not yet, but they haven't been gone that long.

WEIR Go ahead and dial them.

[Chuck does so.]

INT&mdash;TERANAN UNDERGROUND CHAMBERS

[The conversation switches between Atlantis and Sheppard's team.]

WEIR (over radio) How's it going there?

SHEPPARD I think I know why we lost contact with the Taranans.

WEIR Why?

SHEPPARD They're gone.

WEIR What? All of them?

SHEPPARD Looks like it. The entire settlement is deserted. Rodney's picked up a lifesign underneath the tunnel, but we're tracking it. We don't think it's human, though.

WEIR Why not?

TEYLA We discovered a large cocoon in one of the rooms under the settlement. We think whatever hatched from it is what we're detecting.

WEIR Did you just say "cocoon"?

SHEPPARD Yeah, it's like a big, slimy&hellip;

MCKAY It's a pod.

SHEPPARD I was going to say "egg," but who knows what the hell it is.

WEIR I'm sending in back up.

RONON We can handle it.

WEIR I know you can handle it, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I'll send in a team of Marines to assist you.

SHEPPARD (resigned) All right, if you feel the need.

WEIR I feel the need. Weir out.

[McKay's lifesigns detector starts beeping more rapidly.]

SHEPPARD It's a hell of a complex down here.

RONON It's like a maze.

MCKAY We're closer.

SHEPPARD How far?

MCKAY Forty meters? It's stopped moving, so we're gaining ground.

[Sheppard glances back to the rest of his team.]

SHEPPARD All right, good. Look, if it makes any sudden moves, I want you to make sure that&mdash;

[Belatedly, Sheppard realizes that Ronon has disappeared.]

SHEPPARD Where's Ronon? Ronon!

INT&mdash;TERANAN UNDERGROUND ROOM

RONON (coughing) In here.

[Ronon looks disgusted and upset. His teammates join him to see the source of his distress. It is filled with human corpses piled onto each other.]

MCKAY Oh, my God.

TEYLA Taranans.

SHEPPARD Wounds on their neck, all of them. Does this look familiar?

MCKAY Looks disturbingly familiar.

SHEPPARD You don't think, uh&hellip;

[He looks up, noticing Ronon has once again disappeared.]

SHEPPARD Ronon? (annoyed) Oh, for God's sakes&hellip;

TEYLA Ronon!

RONON (calling from another room) In here.

INT&mdash;IRATUS BUG LAB

[Sheppard, Teyla, and McKay join Ronon in this lab. Ronon is looking at a table with straps to hold down humans. An iratus bug sits in a liquid chamber.]

SHEPPARD You can't wander off like that. You got to&hellip; (noticing the room's contents) Oh, no&hellip;

MCKAY The Iratus bug.

SHEPPARD I hate those things.

MCKAY That explains why the wounds look so familiar.

TEYLA What is it doing here? Iratus bugs are not indigenous to this planet.

RONON Well, somebody brought it here.

MCKAY Let's hope it's the only bug they brought.

SHEPPARD So, some kind of a Wraith experiment?

MCKAY I doubt the Taranans did this to themselves.

TEYLA I do not sense any Wraith in the settlement.

[McKay notices his detector beeping more rapidly.]

MCKAY Oh&hellip;our little friend is on the move. It's headed right for us.

SHEPPARD How fast?

MCKAY Very fast.

RONON It knows we're here.

[Ronon heads out to meet the threat.]

SHEPPARD Ronon. Stun.

RONON (furious) Why?

SHEPPARD Stun!

[Ronon sets his gun as they all warily watch the room of corpses, looking for danger. McKay's scanner beeping quickly. They watch, growing increasingly nervous.]

NEGLEY (over radio) Colonel Sheppard, come in.

[Sheppard jumps, startled.]

EXT&mdash;NEW TARANAS FOREST, DAY

[Negley's team of marines patrols the forest.]

NEGLEY (into radio) Colonel Sheppard, this is Lieutenant Negley, do you copy?

INT&mdash;IRATUS BUG LAB

[The conversation switches between the forest and underground chamber.]

SHEPPARD (whispering, impatient) Yes, Lieutenant.

NEGLEY Sir, my team has just come through the gate, and we're proceeding to the settlement north&mdash;

SHEPPARD (cutting him off sharply) Great, terrific. We'll meet you there. Right now I need radio silence. Sheppard out.

[McKay checks the steady beeping of his scanner.]

MCKAY It stopped.

SHEPPARD Why?

MCKAY How am I supposed to know?

SHEPPARD Where is it?

MCKAY Well, I think it's out in the tunnel.

[Sheppard leads the way.]

INT&mdash;CORRIDOR, TERANAN UNDERGROUND COMPLEX

[Sheppard's team warily goes through the room of corpses and out into the tunnel.]

MCKAY (whispering) It's close.

[They cautiously move forward. From a side passage, a half-man, half-insect creature attacks Ronon, pinning him to the wall. Sheppard, Teyla, and McKay open fire on it. It screams in pain and backs off, knocking down Sheppard. Ronon unsheathes his sword and chops off one of its limbs. It runs down the hall on its human legs. They continue to shoot at it as it disappears down the corridor.]

TEYLA (to Ronon) Are you all right?

RONON Yeah, I'm good.

MCKAY What the hell was that thing?

TEYLA (looking down) What is that?

[Ronon crouches with a sigh and picks up the appendage he sliced off. It looks like a forearm with a three-fingered insect "hand".]

RONON That's a piece of an arm, it looks like.

SHEPPARD Let's hope that slows him down.

MCKAY Well, maybe it'll bleed to death.

RONON Or just grow another arm.

[He drops the arm back onto the floor.]

EXT&mdash;TARANAS SETTLEMENT, DAY

[Negley's team are still close to the Stargate when they hear the wormhole activating behind them. Negley turns to spot a dart flying through.]

NEGLEY Dart!

[His team take defensive positions and start to fire on it, but the dart's culling beam swallows them all.]

INT&mdash;TARANAS UNDERGROUND COMPLEX

[McKay watches his scanner, tracking the creature.]

MCKAY It's still moving away from us.

SHEPPARD Let's hope losing a chunk of his arm slows him down.

RONON We need to finish it off to make sure.

SHEPPARD Couldn't agree with you more.

MCKAY Yeah, and how are we going to do that? Huh? Am I the only one who noticed that our bullets had no effect on it?

TEYLA It appears to have a hardened shell on its back.

SHEPPARD (indicating Ronon's gun) Set that thing to "kill" again. (into radio) Lieutenant Negley, this is Sheppard. How far away from the settlement are you? Negley, this is Sheppard, come in.

MCKAY You did say "radio silence."

SHEPPARD (worried, into radio) Negley. Respond! (frustrated) Aw, great.

[McKay taps Sheppard on the arm and points to a side passage.]

MCKAY It's through that doorway.

[Sheppard heads to a sealed metal door. Getting into defensive positions, they open it, then cautiously step inside. They find a room filled with cocoons.]

SHEPPARD This is not good.

EXT&mdash;ATLANTIS, DAY

INT&mdash;WEIR'S OFFICE

[Chuck enters the office. Weir is at her desk, studying some papers.]

CHUCK Dr. Weir, we just received a data transmission from the Taranan settlement&hellip; Lieutenant Negley, checking in.

WEIR And how're they doing?

TECHNICIAN Well, they've contacted Colonel Sheppard's team, who are about ten kilometers further inland from the settlement. Negley and his team are on their way to meet up with them.

WEIR Ten kilometers inland? What are they doing there?

CHUCK Well, they found the Taranans. Apparently they've abandoned their settlement for a better location inland.

WEIR What about the cocoon, and the lifesign they were tracking?

CHUCK There was no mention about it. It was a brief transmission. They were almost out of range.

WEIR Okay. Good. Keep me posted.

[Chuck leaves.]

INT&mdash;TARANAN UNDERGROUND COMPLEX ROOM

[Sheppard and Ronon exit the room, rejoining Teyla and McKay, already in the hall.]

SHEPPARD We searched the whole room. That thing ain't in there. Just a bunch of unhatched eggs.

MCKAY Pods.

SHEPPARD Whatever.

TEYLA Is there another way out?

RONON No, that's the only door to the room.

MCKAY Yeah, well, they must've found another way out, because it is still on the move.

[Sheppard looks up at the ceiling.]

SHEPPARD Alien.

[They all stare blankly at him.]

SHEPPARD The movie Alien. They use the airshafts to move around the ship.

MCKAY (annoyed) And then systematically killed the entire crew, one by one. Thank you for bringing that up.

SHEPPARD (innocently) They didn't kill them all.

TEYLA What do we do now?

RONON Track this thing down and kill it.

SHEPPARD Agreed, but&hellip;first things first.

INT&mdash;POD ROOM

[Sheppard's team sets C-4 explosives on the various cocoon pods.]

TEYLA The structure is very peculiar.

MCKAY Yeah&hellip;I believe the word is "disgusting."

INT&mdash;TARANAN UNDERGROUND COMPLEX CORRIDOR

[Ronon unsheathes his sword and looks around.]

INT&mdash;POD ROOM

[Teyla approaches. One of the creatures starts to break through, grabbing at Teyla and McKay. They both back away, frightened.]

MCKAY (panicked) Go! Go! Go! Go! Sheppard! They're hatching!

[Sheppard sets the last explosive.]

SHEPPARD We're good! Let's go!

INT&mdash;TARANAN UNDERGROUND COMPLEX CORRIDOR

[Ronon spins to see Teyla, McKay and Sheppard running out. A creature growls behind them.]

MCKAY Shut the door. Shut the door!

[Ronon and Sheppard shove the door closed, but the creature gets two of its appendages leaning out. Sheppard aims his rifle inside the room and fires. The creature drops back, screaming. They seal the door and run for cover. Once they are a safe distance, Sheppard keys his remote detonator.]

SHEPPARD Fire in the hole.

[A fireball appears further down the hall where the chamber was.]

SHEPPARD Everyone okay?

TEYLA Yes.

RONON I'm good.

MCKAY I think you singed my eyebrows. Think you used enough dynamite there, Butch?

[The others ignore McKay as they go investigate.]

INT&mdash;POD ROOM

[The room is filled with smoke and debris. The pods have been destroyed. McKay looks at his scanner.]

SHEPPARD Rodney?

MCKAY I think we got them all.

SHEPPARD That's good.

MCKAY Except for our armless friend. He's still on the move.

SHEPPARD Let's go get him.

[They leave.]

INT&mdash;TARANAN UNDERGROUND COMPLEX

SHEPPARD (into radio) Lieutenant Negley, this is Sheppard. do you read? Negley? Respond. (to self) Dammit.

TEYLA Perhaps they encountered the creature.

RONON And what, it killed all four of them?

SHEPPARD No way. One creature isn't going to take out four Marines.

MCKAY It almost killed all of us.

RONON But it didn't.

SHEPPARD We need to find them.

TEYLA If they were alive, we would see them on the lifesigns detector.

MCKAY Not if they didn't make it to the settlement. This thing only has a range of a hundred meters.

SHEPPARD Where's the creature now?

[McKay checks his scanner and stops.]

MCKAY Wait a minute. It's back that way.

[He nods back the way they came.]

SHEPPARD Behind us?

RONON You just said it was that way.

MCKAY I did. Well, it was, but it must have-must've doubled back.

SHEPPARD Damn air shafts.

TEYLA Obviously it knows its way around this place better than we do. Perhaps we should consider returning to the gate.

RONON What, you mean give up?

TEYLA No, not give up. We can find out what happened to the Marines and request additional backup so that we may do a proper search of the settlement.

MCKAY I like this plan. I mean, if we're taking a vote.

RONON (to Sheppard) Sounds like giving up to me.

SHEPPARD Teyla's right. Enough of this cat and mouse. We're better off doing a full-scale sweep of this area.

MCKAY Including the airshafts.

SHEPPARD All right, how do we get out of here?

TEYLA This way.

EXT&mdash;NEW TARANAS CLEARING

[The team walks through a forest clearing.]

TEYLA In all the worlds I have been to, I've never encountered anything like it.

SHEPPARD Did anybody get a good look at that thing?

SHEPPARD Aside from the severed appendage, no. That thing moved incredibly fast.

RONON In some ways, it looked almost like a human.

MCKAY If by "human" you mean clad in a grotesquely proportioned exoskeleton, yes, very human.

RONON I meant it looked like it had two arms and two legs.

SHEPPARD It looked like a giant bug to me. I hate those things.

TEYLA If it was indeed a Wraith experiment, well, perhaps it was created by combining the genetic elements of the Iratus bug with the Taranans.

MCKAY Which is, as we know, exactly how the Wraith evolved. The Iratus bug bites human, human DNA mixes with theirs, a thousand years go by&mdash;Wraith.

RONON So, what, they're trying to create more Wraith?

SHEPPARD That doesn't make any more sense. If they wanted to create more Wraith, wouldn't it be easier to get a male and female, you know&hellip;get a room?

MCKAY It doesn't work that way with the Wraith, all right? At least, we don't think it does. We're not entirely sure as to the Wraith's reproductive methods.

SHEPPARD I don't want to be around to watch that film.

MCKAY Anyway&hellip; look. It's probably less likely they were trying to create another Wraith than they were actually trying to create some kind of a hybrid creature, probably to use as a weapon.

SHEPPARD Super-Wraith? That's all we need.

EXT&mdash;NEW TARANAS STARGATE

SHEPPARD Well, that's the whole distance from the settlement, and I don't see any sign of the Marines yet.

MCKAY Maybe they went back to Atlantis.

SHEPPARD No, they would've radioed us.

TEYLA They must have encountered the creature. There's no other explanation for why they are not responding to us.

MCKAY If that thing took them all out, then that is one nasty bug&hellip;person.

SHEPPARD Dial us out.

MCKAY Right.

[McKay tries to dial the Stargate. The first glyph makes a flat sound. He tries again with the same result.]

MCKAY No.

RONON What?

[McKay bends down and reaches into the DHD control panel.]

MCKAY No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

SHEPPARD Rodney?

MCKAY The control crystal's missing.

TEYLA Missing?

RONON We can't dial out?

SHEPPARD Well, fix it!

MCKAY This is not a matter of fixing, okay? The crystal is just gone. Someone has removed it to prevent anyone else from dialing out.

[Teyla sighs in frustration.]

INT&mdash;TARANAN UNDERGROUND COMPLEX

[Michael walks down a corridor by the pod room. He steps inside and stares in horror at the destruction, and breathes heavily with fury.]

EXT&mdash;NEW TARANAS STARGATE AREA

RONON Stay here?

RODNEY Hey, Elizabeth will wonder why we haven't checked in. She'll dial up, get our status, we can request backup, also a puddle jumper to come get us.

SHEPPARD We don't know how long that'll be. That could be hours.

TEYLA We'll be safe here. The lifesigns detector will alert us if the creature's nearby.

MCKAY She's right. We can set up a&mdash; a&mdash;what do you call it? A-a-a perimeter. Wait it out.

SHEPPARD We're not leaving without those marines. Let's go back to the settlement.

[Ronon and Teyla exchange looks but follow him away.]

INT&mdash;TARANAN UNDERGROUND COMPLEX CORRIDOR

[The team walk down a corridor. Teyla stops, her breath quickening.]

SHEPPARD What?

TEYLA I am sensing something.

RONON Wraith?

TEYLA I cannot be certain.

SHEPPARD Rodney?

MCKAY No. No, I've still just got the one reading. He's still on the move, heading, uh&mdash; No! No, I'm picking up another lifesign. It's popped up out of nowhere.

[He shows Sheppard the display indicating the four of them, and two separate life signs.]

RONON How is that possible?

SHEPPARD Maybe one of those eggs hatched.

MCKAY Well, maybe. That, or-or part of this settlement is shielded.

RONON Maybe it's one of the marines.

SHEPPARD Well, if it is one of those marines, the something Teyla's sensing is heading right toward him.

[They head down a staircase. McKay's scanner beeps more rapidly.]

MCKAY They're close.

[They nervously aim at every opening with their weapons as they pass by. Teyla spots something in a darkened room and enters to investigate. The door shuts behind her.]

[The others hear the door slam.]

SHEPPARD What was that?

[McKay turns to find Teyla is gone.]

MCKAY Teyla!

RONON Teyla!

[They run to the shut door. A pipe bursts over them, spraying them in steam. The creature tries to attack in the confusion.]

INT&mdash;TARANAN UNDERGROUND COMPLEX ROOM

[Teyla smacks at the door, trapped inside.]

TEYLA Ronon!

INT&mdash;TARANAN UNDERGROUND COMPLEX CORRIDOR

[The creature moves, but does not seem to be able to see the team, who don't fire at it for fear of striking a teammate with the limited vision.]

INT&mdash;TARANAN UNDERGROUND COMPLEX ROOM

[Teyla pounds on the door from her side.]

TEYLA John!

[Teyla can hear the creature out there. Sensing something behind her, she spins, her rifle light showing Michael standing there.]

INT&mdash;TARANAN UNDERGROUND COMPLEX CORRIDOR

[The creature appears out of the steam. Everyone shoots at it. It falls. McKay gasps as they assure it's dead. Sheppard uses his combat knife to pry open the door. The room is empty.]

MCKAY Where'd she go?

[He checks his scanner.]

MCKAY I'm reading two lifesigns moving away from us, but one floor up, I think, that, or more air shafts.

SHEPPARD Let's go.

[They head down the corridor.]

MCKAY Wait! They disappeared.

SHEPPARD What?

MCKAY The lifesigns, they just vanished. I was right, part of the settlement must be shielded.

[Sheppard and Ronon move faster.]

MCKAY Wait, no, we won't be able to track them!

INT&mdash;MICHAEL'S LAB

[Teyla awakens to find herself strapped down to a table. She does not notice Michael next to her.]

TEYLA What&hellip;?

MICHAEL This will proceed much more quickly if you don't resist.

TEYLA (fearful) Oh&hellip;Michael?

MICHAEL Hello, Teyla.

INT&mdash;TARANAN UNDERGROUND COMPLEX CORRIDOR

MCKAY You need to aim for the stomach area. It seems to be more vulnerable. It's a soft underbelly. You were able to kill it when you hit it there before.

RONON (annoyed) Thanks.

SHEPPARD Which way?

MCKAY I don't know. It's not showing me anything. It's useless.

RONON This way.

[They follow Ronon's lead.]

INT&mdash;MICHAEL'S LAB

TEYLA You are the one who's done all this?

MICHAEL "All this"?

TEYLA This&hellip;experiment. You murdered those people. You allowed those bugs to feed on them.

MICHAEL A necessary step in the process.

TEYLA To create these creatures? Why are you doing this?

MICHAEL Do you not recall our last encounter? How you left me to die on that desolate planet? The hive that finally rescued me&mdash;they could tell something was different. They sensed the human in me. To them&hellip;I was unclean. I barely escaped that hive with my life. So now I find myself hunted by both humans and Wraith. So you can understand my need to protect myself. To&hellip;survive.

[Michael goes to a table full of forceps and scalpels and other large and sharp instruments, picking and choosing. Teyla strains against her bindings.]

TEYLA It did not have to be like this. You could have lived with us.

MICHAEL As a human? My consciousness erased by your retrovirus? No. I will live the rest of my life as I choose&mdash;but I can't do it alone. So, having taken my cue from the experiment your people performed on me&hellip; I figured out how to reverse the process&hellip;to create a being even more formidable than a Wraith. It began with the feeding&hellip;

FLASHBACK

[Michael watches as an Iratus bug feeds on a screaming Taranan man in the very chamber where Teyla now is.]

MICHAEL (voiceover) I allowed the bug to gorge itself, to absorb as much human DNA as possible. This, of course, led to the death of the subject. The timing of the feeding was critical, ensuring that the bug laid its next egg quickly, before the genetic material could filter out of its body.

[Michael discards the body in the room carelessly on a pile with many other Taranans the room of corpses Ronon discovered.]

[Later in his lab, Michael injects serum into the eggs. And later still, he watches the pods as they develop.]

MICHAEL (continued voiceover) The embryo then contained enough human DNA for me to manipulate. I accelerated the development, augmenting the complexity of its physiology. There were several adjustments&hellip;several mistakes&hellip;until I finally found the perfect balance between strength, agility, and resilience.

END FLASHBACK

MICHAEL A perfect animal to do my bidding.

[Michael gazes rapturously to the doorway. A growling can be heard. Teyla, frightened, looks to the door. One of the creatures stands there.]

INT&mdash;TARANAN UNDERGROUND COMPLEX CORRIDOR

[The rest of the team runs to the end of a corridor, where a metal door is sealed shut. They can't open it.]

MCKAY Must be some kind of security lockdown. Whoever took Teyla no doubt triggered it.

SHEPPARD We've got to open this up.

RONON Stand back.

[Ronon immediately fires at it. McKay and Sheppard can barely duck in time. The blast has no affect on the door.]

SHEPPARD Jeez! You mind giving us a little more "heads up" before you start blasting everything?

RONON You got any more C-4?

INT&mdash;MICHAEL'S LAB

MICHAEL I saw how you and your team destroyed the incubation room. But don't think that's the only one in this complex. And don't think that this is the only planet from which I am conducting this experiment.

[Teyla looks horrified as the creature moves away.]

MICHAEL That's right. Soon, hundreds of these creatures will be at my disposal, and their numbers will continue to grow&mdash;so long as I have human subjects in supply. And now that you're here&hellip;I do.

[Michael moves away. Teyla tries to get out of her bindings.]

INT&mdash;TARANAN UNDERGROUND COMPLEX CORRIDOR

[McKay, Ronon, and Sheppard take cover at a side corridor.]

SHEPPARD All right, that's the last of the C-4. Let's hope it's enough. Ready?

[He triggers the detonator. Nothing happens.]

MCKAY What happened?

[Sheppard peeks around the corner. The explosion finally happens, and Sheppard barely ducks in time. The door is blown.]

SHEPPARD All right. Let's go.

[They run to the broken door and cautiously enter. McKay's scanner beeps.]

MCKAY Whoa. Serious energy spike.

RONON What does that mean?

MCKAY We've probably just entered the shielded section of the settlement.

INT&mdash;MICHAEL'S LAB

[A red light appears.]

MICHAEL Your friends are coming for you. They'll meet the same fate as you&hellip;one by one.

[He nods to the creature at the doorway, who leaves.]

TEYLA Others will come for us. Dr. Weir will send&mdash;

MICHAEL Don't concern yourself with Dr. Weir. She thinks your team has met up with the Taranan people, and all is well. One of the marines she sent to help you was&hellip;kind enough to assist me in transmitting a message back to Atlantis.

TEYLA (sighing, pleading) Oh&hellip;Michael&hellip;please don't do this.

MICHAEL After what you did to me&hellip;twice&hellip;how could you expect anything less?

TEYLA What happened back on the planet&mdash;

MICHAEL (interrupting) No more excuses. Your experiment failed. You decided to kill us.

[Michael picks up a small box and brings it over to the foot of Teyla's table.]

TEYLA We believed we were left with no choice.

MICHAEL And now I'm in the same position. You drove me to this.

[He opens the box. An Iratus bug comes out and starts climbing up Teyla's body.]

INT&mdash;TARANAN UNDERGROUND COMPLEX CORRIDOR

MCKAY Oh, my god.

[Sheppard and McKay crouch by the bodies of two of Negley's team.]

RONON Where are the others?

[He moves ahead.]

RONON Sheppard. Over here.

[Sheppard and McKay run ahead to where Ronon crouches over the other two dead marines. Sheppard pulls Negley's dogtags. There is a chirping of insects.]

RONON You hear that?

MCKAY Oh, it sounds like bugs.

SHEPPARD Come on.

[He and McKay head out. Ronon takes the other man's dogtags and closes his eyes.]

[Sheppard leads the group while McKay works with his scanner.]

SHEPPARD Put that thing away. I thought you said it didn't work in this area anyway.

MCKAY Please, I-I just thought I could recalibrate it to take into effect the&mdash;

[The creature tackles McKay. Sheppard turns and starts shooting at it. Ronon fires at it as well.]

INT&mdash;MICHAEL'S LAB

[Michael hears the shrieking of the creature and gunfire in the distance. Teyla also hears. Michael stalks away.]

INT&mdash;TARANAN UNDERGROUND COMPLEX CORRIDOR

[The trio stand over the creature's limp body.]

SHEPPARD It's dead.

[McKay collapses in relief.]

INT&mdash;MICHAEL'S LAB

[The bug chirps as it climbs up Teyla's leg and torso towards her throat.]

TEYLA John! John!

[The bug backs up a few steps, frightened by Teyla's screams, but hisses and decides to strike. Ronon's gun blasts it away. He and Sheppard stand in the doorway.]

SHEPPARD (to Ronon) Nice shot! (To Teyla) You okay?

[The three men rush in and start to unstrap Teyla's bindings.]

TEYLA Yes. It's Michael. He is the one doing this.

SHEPPARD (surprised) Michael? Our Michael?

MCKAY He's alive?

TEYLA Yes. He created the creatures, and he's attempting to build an army of them.

RONON Where is he?

TEYLA I don't know. He ran off as soon as he heard the gunfire.

SHEPPARD All right, we need to come up with the best plan here.

RONON The best plan is to kill him.

[Ronon starts after him.]

SHEPPARD Hey, just hang on a sec.

MCKAY Maybe I should check out these workstations. There might be some intel&hellip;

RONON We don't have any time.

MCKAY (continuing, insistent) &hellip;such as how many of these creatures he created, and if they have any weaknesses that we might be able to exploit.

SHEPPARD All right. Teyla, you stay with Rodney. Ronon and I are going after Michael. We'll stay in touch on the radio.

MCKAY Can't. Shielded, remember? Look, the energy spike, it fouls with radio communications as well.

SHEPPARD Well, then un-shield it. Let's go.

[Sheppard and Ronon leave. McKay sighs and gets to work.]

INT&mdash;TARANAN UNDERGROUND COMPLEX CORRIDOR

SHEPPARD You go that way, I'll go the other. Oh, hey, wait. Set your gun to stun.

RONON (exasperated) What?

SHEPPARD Yeah, we're going to need to question him.

RONON No.

RONON No more talking, no more questioning. I'm going to do what we should've done the first time we captured him.

SHEPPARD Ronon, listen to me&mdash;

RONON (interrupting) No, you listen to me, John. This whole retrovirus thing was a mistake. I said it then, no one listened to me. It was a bad idea.

SHEPPARD We had to try. If it worked, we wouldn't have to&mdash;

RONON But it didn't work! Admit it. It just made things worse. How long do you want to keep paying for it?

INT&mdash;MICHAEL'S LAB

MCKAY It is amazing how much work he's been able to get done in such a short amount of time. He's quite the industrious little fella&hellip;or Wraith&hellip; or whatever. What does he look like now? I mean, is he full-on Wraith again?

TEYLA Not quite. There are still human characteristics present in him. No doubt it's why I was confused when I first felt his presence.

MCKAY You would think that the human side of him would temper his aggression a bit.

TEYLA (sarcastically) Yes&hellip;because we humans aren't aggressive at all.

MCKAY Well, certainly less aggressive than&mdash; Oh, sarcasm. Yeah. Nice.

TEYLA What Michael is doing right now must be stopped, and he cannot be allowed to escape. He's far too dangerous.

MCKAY Eh, you're preaching to the choir, my dear.

TEYLA But I understand his anger. His life has been destroyed. He no longer has a home or a family&hellip;

MCKAY He had a family?

TEYLA I don't know. But I've often wondered what he left behind when he was captured by us. We know nothing of his past, other than he was a Wraith.

[McKay studies Michael's data.]

MCKAY A very smart Wraith.

TEYLA Perhaps he was a scientist.

MCKAY Sure. Probably. Why not? One of their very best, I would wager.

TEYLA Like you.

MCKAY Right. Wait a minute.

TEYLA What is it?

MCKAY I think I just figured out how to disable the EM interference that is causing the shielding. (into radio) Sheppard, you there?

[The exchange switches between the lab and the corridor where Sheppard patrols.]

SHEPPARD Yeah, I'm here.

MCKAY I got the shielding disabled.

SHEPPARD So I see.

MCKAY Any luck finding Michael?

SHEPPARD No sign of him yet. Is that lifesigns detector working yet?

MCKAY Oh. Of course.

[He pulls out the lifesigns detector and checks it. He sees several dots massed in front of Sheppard's life sign.]

MCKAY Oh, my god.

SHEPPARD What?

[Teyla joins McKay to look over his shoulder.]

MCKAY I am reading a ton of lifesigns near you.

SHEPPARD Well, define "ton" and define "near."

MCKAY A few dozen? I mean, they're all bunched together.

SHEPPARD Prisoners in a holding cell, maybe?

TEYLA Or worse.

[Teyla goes back to keep watch on the corridor.]

INT&mdash;TARANAN UNDERGROUND COMPLEX CORRIDOR

[Michael goes to a closed door and opens it. Several of the creatures walk out.]

MCKAY Whatever they are, someone just released them, and they're headed your way.

SHEPPARD Oh, crap.

INT&mdash;TARANAN UNDERGROUND COMPLEX

[Ronon moves down a corridor. He's attacked by a creature as he turns a corner. He distracts it with a knife and then blasts it in the vulnerable underbelly, killing it.]

[Sheppard patrols another corridor.]

MCKAY (into radio) Keep going, straight up the tunnel. Ronon should be coming around the corner towards you&hellip;now.

[Michael comes around the corner, his weapon at ready. Sheppard raises his own sidearm.]

SHEPPARD It's not Ronon.

INT&mdash;MICHAEL'S LAB

MCKAY (afraid) It's one of the bugs?

SHEPPARD Michael.

[Teyla and McKay exchange looks.]

INT&mdash;TARANAN UNDERGROUND COMPLEX CORRIDOR

MICHAEL Colonel Sheppard.

SHEPPARD No offense, but I was kind of hoping never to see you again.

MICHAEL I had hoped just the opposite.

SHEPPARD Well, then. You've seen me. Now, say your goodbyes&hellip;but first, give me the control crystals to the DHD.

MICHAEL I don't think so.

SHEPPARD Or I can just kill you.

MICHAEL Unless I stun you first.

[They can hear a creature approaching.]

SHEPPARD As much as I'd like to sit around chatting&hellip;

MICHAEL Extraordinary, aren't they?

SHEPPARD Your army of bug people?

MICHAEL I thought you'd be impressed.

SHEPPARD Not so much.

MICHAEL After all, I'm merely continuing the experiment your people began.

SHEPPARD What then? Take over the entire galaxy? That's a little too "Dr. Evil," if you ask me.

MCKAY (over radio) Sheppard, the creatures are closing in on you fast. You better get moving.

SHEPPARD You and Teyla go to the gate. We'll meet you there.

MCKAY (over radio) All right.

SHEPPARD Give me the control crystal.

MICHAEL I can't do that, Colonel.

SHEPPARD Just so we're clear, I have no problem killing you.

[Michael lowers his stunner and steps forward.]

MICHAEL And I have no problem with dying. Because even if you kill me right now&hellip;I'll die knowing that you and your team did not get off this planet alive.

[The creature attacks Sheppard, throwing him down the corridor. Michael runs away. From the other direction, Ronon arrives, blasting the creature off of Sheppard.]

INT&mdash;TARANAN UNDERGROUND COMPLEX

[Teyla and McKay hurry to where their rappelling equipment is hooked up.]

TEYLA Go!

MCKAY Rope climbing's the reason I got bronze instead of silver in the ParticipAction program.

TEYLA What?

[Creatures get closer. Teyla looks down the corridor.]

TEYLA Hurry! They're coming!

[She fires at them while McKay hurries to climb up.]

INT&mdash;TARANAN UNDERGROUND COMPLEX CORRIDOR

[Ronon and Sheppard run down the corridor, firing at creatures as they meet them.]

SHEPPARD This is messed up. (seeing something to the side) This must be where they got up.

RONON What?

SHEPPARD Air shafts. It's about time we used them.

[He and Ronon climb into an air shaft ladder.]

EXT&mdash;TARANAN FOREST, NIGHT

[Sheppard and Ronon reach the surface. Ronon blasts away some creatures trying to follow them. They look around, spotting a dart parked on the surface.]

RONON Michael's.

SHEPPARD No doubt.

RONON You thinking what I'm thinking?

SHEPPARD I fly it, pick you, Rodney, and Teyla up. We use the dart's DHD to dial the gate.

RONON (considering) I was thinking "blow it up," but your idea's better. Get moving.

[Sheppard runs to the dart. Ronon blasts some creatures climbing up the air shaft. He hears more converging on them in the forest. They appear out of the fog, surrounding him.]

RONON Sheppard!

[The dart powers up. Ronon starts firing on them. The dart culls Ronon.]

EXT&mdash;NEW TARANAS FOREST, NIGHT

[Teyla and McKay run through the forest. McKay checks his scanner.]

MCKAY Wait!

TEYLA What is it?

MCKAY Lifesigns up ahead.

TEYLA Colonel Sheppard? Ronon?

[They hear the creatures growling nearby.]

MCKAY Doesn't sound like it. Lifesigns behind us, too. It's closing in fast. Oh, god.

[The scanner beeps frantically and McKay spots dots on all sides drawing closer to Teyla and McKay.]

MCKAY We're surrounded.

[Teyla and McKay stand back to back, searching for enemies. Teyla is hit by a Wraith stun blast. She falls. McKay turns, but he too is felled by the stunner. Michael strides forward. A dart flies overhead. It culls Teyla and McKay before Michael can get to them. He breathes heavily, looking frustrated.]

INT&mdash;ATLANTIS CONTROL ROOM

[The Stargate activates. Weir approaches Chuck's station.]

CHUCK Incoming wormhole. Colonel Sheppard's IDC.

WEIR Lower the shield.

INT&mdash;ATLANTIS GATE ROOM

[The shield lowers as Weir approaches the Stargate. Sheppard's team walks through.]

WEIR Are you all right? Where are the marines?

SHEPPARD Didn't make it.

WEIR What?

MCKAY We barely made it ourselves. We had to commandeer a Wraith dart just to dial out.

SHEPPARD We ditched it on another planet. We didn't want to risk damaging the control room. Daedalus can pick it up later.

WEIR What happened to the Taranans?

RONON They're dead, all of them.

WEIR Wait a minute. Lieutenant Negley sent a message saying they just relocated to a new settlement.

TEYLA No. It was Michael. He sent the transmission. He's the one that's killed the Taranans.

WEIR (shocked) Michael?

SHEPPARD We'll tell you about it in a minute, but first, is the Daedalus here yet?

WEIR It's still a few days out. Why?

SHEPPARD We're going to need it to make another stop on the way.

WEIR Okay.

EXT&mdash;ATLANTIS, NIGHT

INT&mdash;ATLANTIS CORRIDOR

[Weir walks down a corridor, deep in thought and looking disturbed. Teyla meets her in the passageway and notices her demeanor.]

TEYLA Elizabeth?

WEIR I just came from McKay's lab. He's been examining the research he was able to upload from Michael's experiment.

TEYLA Has he been able to determine just how many more of those creatures Michael was able to create?

WEIR Well, not an exact figure, no, but Rodney believes it's well into the hundreds.

[Teyla gasps in shock.]

WEIR Yeah, and it appears Michael has similar labs on at least three different planets.

TEYLA It's amazing how quickly he's been able to incorporate our science into his.

[Weir is still deep in thought.]

TEYLA What is it?

WEIR Michael found out about the Taranan settlement through information the Wraith hacked from our database during our brief alliance with them last year. We led Michael straight to them.

[She walks away.]

INT&mdash;WEIR'S OFFICE

[Weir studies a tablet computer. Sheppard enters.]

SHEPPARD Colonel Caldwell just radioed. They did a full sweep of the planet. No lifesigns. They searched the settlement. No Michael, no creatures.

WEIR He already dialed out.

SHEPPARD Yep. Got the control crystal back in the DHD. Rodney's trying to figure out the last address dialed, but, uh, well, you know how long that takes.

WEIR Yeah, I'm sure Michael immediately dialed elsewhere to cover his tracks.

SHEPPARD Yeah, you can count on that.

WEIR We need to find him. He's already too dangerous.

SHEPPARD And I'm sure we're number one on his hit list.

FADE OUT

END CREDITS

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