Awakening

"Awakening" is the third episode of the second season of Stargate Universe, and the 23rd episode overall.

Synopsis
The Destiny expedition encounters a ship, similar in design to Destiny, which may provide the means to return to Earth.

Plot
On the observation deck, Camile Wray joins Eli Wallace, Everett Young, Nicholas Rush, and Lisa Park, who are watching as as Destiny closes in on an unknown object. Young orders Adam Brody and Dale Volker to ready Destiny's weapons. Rush doesn't believe there will be any need for that. As the object comes within visual range, Wray identifies it as a ship. Eli notes that the design is similar to Destiny, and has to be of Ancient design. The ship isn't slowing down, and Brody determines that they're on a collision course. Young orders Brody to ready the main guns, but Rush states that Destiny is planning to dock with the other ship. Sure enough, Destiny slows itself down and engages a docking clamp on the underside of the hull. Young asks if Rush has any more predictions, so Rush sarcastically "predicts" that Young will be sending a team to the ship.

In the control interface room, Young questions Rush on how he knew the ship was going to dock. Rush claims he just assumed it from the available facts. The ship is one of the seed ships, sent ahead of Destiny to seed gates for it to use. Young indicates an active display, and Rush explains that Destiny is exchanging data with the ship. Brody believes that the seed ship experienced some kind of malfunction which has left it dead in space, hence why they managed to catch up with it. Young wants to know what the data pertains to, but Rush says it will take a while to decode, so Young suggests he get started right away. Rush wants to put it off for now, instead wishing to explore the seed ship. Young denies his request; he wants Rush to decode the data as quickly as possible. Young notes the countdown clock isn't active. Volker assumes that the ship is giving them however much time they need, and Eli estimates that it will take about two hours for the download to complete. Young sends Brody and Volker as part of a team to explore the ship with that time frame in mind. Rush tries to protest, wanting to go himself, but is cut short by Young.

David Telford meets with Wray, who assumed he was busy doing a debriefing with Homeworld Command. Telford is more interested in the ship Destiny has docked with. She tells him about the data transfer and the team sent by Young. Telford quickly leaves, ignoring Wray's attempts to get his attention.

Matthew Scott and Ronald Greer lead the military team sent with Brody and Volker. They meet at the airlock leading to the seed ship. Rush pressurizes it, and Eli informs them that the seed ship has active life support. Greer takes point, followed by Scott. Brody and Volker follow behind them, releasing a Kino for the people in the control room to see through. Young urges caution, as the seed ship is even older than Destiny.

Eli is excited at the prospect of what the data being transferred to Destiny might contain. Rush, visibly annoyed at being stuck in the control room, excuses himself to use the restroom. Rush enters the bridge and begins examining the data on the consoles. The hallucination of Gloria appears behind Rush to comment on the readings his console is showing. Rush confirms that the seed ship has a way of getting the crew home. Gloria knows he won't tell anyone, though Rush figures that they'll likely discover it on their own.

On the observation deck, Chloe Armstrong comes in looking for Tamara Johansen, who was supposed to meet her in the infirmary about 20 minutes ago. As they begin to leave, Chloe tries to get TJ to open up about the death of her unborn child. TJ doesn't want to talk about it in public. Chloe recommends that she talk to someone about it, though not necessarily Chloe herself. TJ asserts that it's not that she doesn't want to talk to Chloe, but that there's nothing to talk about. Her baby is gone, but she might be in a better place, and that might be for the best. Chloe doesn't think TJ's being honest, but TJ changes the subject, deciding to go to the infirmary so she can check Chloe's leg wound. Chloe tells her that it has almost completely healed. TJ wants to know how that is possible, but Chloe has no idea, either.

On the seed ship, Volker suggests splitting up to cover more ground. Scott denies that course of action. Volker instead suggests setting the Kino to search mode, which Scott is fine with. The Kino moves down an adjacent corridor, leaving the team behind. They eventually come upon a room with several consoles. Brody assumes it to be the ship's control center. Brody and Volker begin bringing systems online despite Scott's misgivings. Scott radios Young to inform them of their progress; Young simply tells Scott to keep him updated. Brody and Volker manage to restore power to the ship, bringing on the lights. Elsewhere on the vessel, a pod opens, from which an alien hand reaches out.

In the control room, Rush finally comes back in, and Young asks where he's been, having been unable to contact him by radio. Rush merely claims he stopped by the mess hall, dismissing the issue of having ignored the radio calls. Telford enters and asks to speak with Young, so they move into the corridor. He is upset that Young did not notify him that a team was being sent to the seed ship. Young asserts that, as the commanding officer, he doesn't have to run everything by Telford. Telford isn't disputing his command, but would like to be kept in the loop. He says he wants to help, but Young claims he doesn't need it. Telford denies this; Young's been working alone since the incursion and it's been taking a toll. It isn't just about Young, but the people under his command, and Telford feels that he hasn't been up to the task of leading them as of late. He suggests that Young either pull himself together or step aside. He knows Young is tired, and again offers his help. Convinced, he jokes that Telford is a "stubborn son of a bitch." Telford feels he owes Young for saving his life. Young points out he had to kill Telford to do it, and Telford assures him that he'd do the same for Young. Young tells Telford about the discovery of the control center, and that the plan is to gather as much information as possible before time runs out.

Young enters the prisoner hold, where he is confronted by Ginn, who wants to go to the seed ship, since she believes she can be of help. Young refuses the request, not intending to let any of them near the ship. Varro, who had asked Young to come, takes over the conversation. He wants to know how long they'll be locked up. Young plans to play it by ear. Varro notes that his people have been cooperative with Homeworld Command by providing information, but Young counters that they would have been left behind had they not. He also brings up Dannic, who they killed to give control of the ship back to the expedition. Young treats this as merely saving their own lives, but Varro adds that the lives of several of Young's people were also saved, in addition to his earlier. Young thanks him for the effort, even though he believes Varro did it because he felt the crew was more useful alive. Simeon slams his hand on a crate, angrily stating that they can't remain prisoners forever. Young retorts that they should have considered the possibility before they attacked, and things could be a lot worse. Varro decides to get to the point: he wants to know what they can do to earn their freedom. Young tells him that they need to prove they aren't a threat, and doesn't think they can do so. As Young leaves, Varro shouts at him that they are no longer enemies. Once Young has left, Simeon simply says, "told you."

On the seed ship, Scott asks if Brody and Volker have made any progress. They have, so he decides to take Greer and do some exploring. Brody is fine with it. Meanwhile, Eli asks if he's reading some data on his panel right. Rush dismissively states that he's probably reading it wrong if he needs confirmation, but he insists that someone check out the power readings he's monitoring. Park comes over to check his findings, surprised by what she sees, and thinks that Rush needs to see it.

In the hydroponics lab, Wray is watering the plants. Young comes in, having determined that she informed the prisoners of the seed ship. She claims they had a right to know, but he responds that, as prisoners who attacked the ship, they have no rights. Wray states that they have to live with them, but Young doesn't think so. She notes that there are only a handful of them left, and that they made a deal to provide intel to Homeworld Command so they would get to stay on the ship. Young counters that Homeworld Command doesn't have to live with the deal. Wray believes that this is why they should be treating them better, since many of them aren't dangerous and had no choice but to work with the Lucian Alliance. Young doesn't care; his first concern is to the crew, and he doesn't want to risk their welfare for the sake of these prisoners. Wray notes it's not just their lives at risk; the planned attack on Earth by the Alliance has been confirmed, and the prisoners may have information to avert it. Young thinks they could be supplying false information, but Wray believes it's worth the risk. Wray tries to talk about the how the last few days have been hard on him, but Young interrupts, simply asking her to be more careful with what information she gives the prisoners. Wray tells him that a funeral service will be held for Riley later in the week. Young agrees to say a few words.

On the seed ship, Scott is taking guesses at who Greer has been involved with on the ship. His first guesses are Jan and Ramirez, the latter a red-headed civilian contractor. Greer tells him that he was involved with Park, noting that a hamstring injury he said he got doing squats in fact happened during his time with her.

Young walks into the control room, having been called by Eli. Eli informs him that, after checking and rechecking their findings, they have discovered that the seed ship has a sizable energy reserve, enough to dial the gate back to Earth. Rush tells Young that he needs to open certain conduits to set up a transfer, which can only be done from the seed ship. Young lets him leave. As Rush makes his way to the airlock, the Kino feed is suddenly cut off. Leaving it to Park, he moves to Rush's console so he can open the airlock.

At the airlock, Rush is met by Scott, who has something he believes Rush will want to see. Rush doesn't believe he'll be impressed. Scott brings him to the ship's gate factory, which houses many Stargates the ship had yet to launch before it stopped functioning. Rush takes a moment to admire it, then asks to be taken to the control center now that they're done with the "distraction"; Scott merely chuckles and obliges him. Meanwhile, Brody leaves Volker in the control room alone, as their is a damaged power relay on the next level which he wants to repair. After a few minutes, Volker hears something behind him and assumes its Brody. Turning around, he finds himself staring at an alien, who is merely staring back. Volker holds up his hands in surrender, trying to placate it, only to be confused when it collapses in front of him. He radios Scott to inform him of the alien's presence.

TJ is treating the prisoners for any remaining injuries. Simeon is first. She warns him that his cut will reopen if he's not careful. He responds that he can't help it because he likes to play rough. He asks her if she does, too, and tries to grab her arm. TJ quickly twists his arm and motions to the guard that she has everything in hand. She tells him that she does like to play rough, and asks if he can handle her while further twisting his wrist. Over the pain, he simply says "no." She responds, "I didn't think so," then releases him. Varro is next. She notes that his wound is healing nicely. He jokes that he was hoping for a manly scar, then apologizes for the loss of her child. He tells her about how he lost his wife when a shelter collapsed on her and six others. He finds it ironic that for all the risks he's taken and lived through, she would die simply for getting caught in the rain. He got over the grief by coming to the understanding that "life is loss." Over the radio, Young calls for TJ's assistance on the seed ship, not explaining exactly why.

Young informs TJ that the alien Volker found appears to be alive but unresponsive. He offers to have someone come in using the long-range communication device, but TJ wants to examine the alien herself. Telford meets them at the airlock, wanting to join her. Young notes that she already has an escort, but Telford wants to do something, so he gives the go-ahead.

Scott and Greer have the alien under guard. TJ comes in and moves to examine it, but it suddenly wakes up, surprising her. Everyone trains their guns on it. After looking around, it moves to a sitting position and begins speaking in an incomprehensible language. Telford asks Rush for assistance, as the resident alien expert, but Rush notes that he works with different aliens. All he can recommend is to lower their weapons. Slowly, the alien stands up. Scott takes the initiative and tries to open a limited dialog, but the alien doesn't comprehend what he's doing, instead just sitting down again. Scott decides to try giving it some food. Volker has a piece of dried fruit, which Brody thinks tastes horrible, but Scott takes it anyway. He takes a bite to demonstrate, then hands the rest to the alien. It takes the piece of fruit, but it spits it back up, which Brody notes is because it tastes horrible. Rush recommends that they search for others of its kind. Scott, Telford, and Greer split up to search, leaving Rush and TJ with Dunning and one other soldier. Scott and Telford eventually end up running into each other, while Greer finds about a dozen more open pods in another room. He radios Scott and Telford to inform them of the discovery.

In the control room, Eli follows Rush's instructions for diverting power from the seed ship to the gate. His efforts go smoothly, and they are ready to dial. As everyone packs up to leave through the gate, Wray orders everyone to gather in the gate room over the intercom, as they don't know how long they can hold the connection to Earth.

As Young heads for the gate room, Telford informs him of the alien presence. Rush assumes them to be some sort of research team left to study the ship. Unwilling to risk staying when their friends might come back, he recalls the team to the gate room. Rush refuses to go, since he needs to monitor the power transfer. Young is concerned about the alien, not accepting Rush's assessment that it is docile, but Rush insists that he has to stay. Young decides to send reinforcements against Rush's recommendations, so Rush compromises and offers to leave once the wormhole has connected. Dunning is left to guard Rush while everyone else is ordered back to the ship. Young wants the alien brought with them.

With most of the crew gathered in the gate room, they begin dialling Earth. Eli calls Rush to inform him that the dialling has begun, and is told to call again once a connection is made. However, the gate shuts down. Young calls Eli, who notes that the power transfer has been interrupted. He calls Rush, who can't offer an explanation. Dunning is suddenly stunned by an energy weapon, and Rush turns slowly to regard the attacker. Power then fluctuates throughout the ship; the power transfer has been reversed, drawing power away from Destiny, and if it continues Destiny will be drained beyond any ability to recover. Eli cannot reach Rush to correct the problem. The aliens have stunned him, and are operating the consoles. Telford, Scott, and Greer are already on their way to investigate. Young comes in to check on Eli and Park; their efforts to stop the drain aren't working. Young suggests cutting the connection, but they don't know how.

On the seed ship, the alien being escorted by TJ's group suddenly runs off, avoiding gunfire and crawling up a nearby ladder. TJ reports this to Young. Telford, Scott, and Greer arrive in the control center, which is now empty save for Rush and Dunning, both still unconscious. He radios Young to inform him of their condition. Young wants to disconnect the two ships, and orders Telford back to Destiny. Telford, however, sees this as their one way home and wants to fix it. Young doesn't want to risk the lives of the crew for a chance to dial home, but Telford just asks him to put Eli on. He thinks that he can reverse the transfer from the control center, which Eli believes is possible, and tells Eli to walk him through it. Telford orders Scott and Greer to evacuate Rush and Dunning, ignoring the threat the aliens still pose. He has 15 minutes to correct the problem.

TJ's team makes it through the airlock, only to have the door seal behind them. Elsewhere, Scott and Greer continue to drag Rush and Dunning when the path to the control center is sealed by another door. Scott tells Greer to ignore it and keep moving. At the airlock, the soldiers are unable to open the door when it suddenly opened from the other side. They train their weapons, but it's Scott, Greer, Rush, and Dunning, the latter two having regained consciousness. Scott orders everyone to fall back, and Rush immediately leaves the group behind.

Telford is making progress in reversing the power drain, but time is running out and Young wants to know if they can break the connection. Park tells him that they need Rush. He asks Scott to get Rush for him, but Rush is nowhere to be found. Eli convinces Young that disconnecting is not an option with so little time, and so their only hope is Telford. Telford is nearly finished rerouting power, but the ship begins shaking; Destiny is disengaging from the seed ship. Young looks to Eli and Park, but they aren't responsible. From the bridge, Rush has undocked the two ships. He tells Gloria that he had no choice. She asks if he did it to save the crew or to save his dream. With Destiny preparing to jump to FTL, Young informs Telford that they have no way of retrieving him. Telford tells him to take care of the crew and himself. Destiny jumps to FTL, and Telford calls over the radio to see if they're still there. Now alone, he is confronted by the aliens.

Tj delivers some blankets to the prisoners in gratitude for Varro making sure she was cared for during the incursion, even though he didn't have to. Varro responds that he did have to. She thanks him, and leaves. Simeon watches from the back wall. Eli sits alone in his room, sulking. Young gets a bottle of Brody's liquor. Wray and Greer pack up Riley's belongings. Chloe writes on a notepad, stopping to examine her leg. Rush sits alone on the bridge.

Goofs

 * When the crew begin dialing the gate, the gate starts producing the spinning sound effect before it even begins spinning.

Production

 * The title was revealed by Joseph Mallozzi's weblog on January 10, 2009, where the first draft has been written. He came up with the original title "The Awakening" as it fit the description of what the episode is about. However, it has since changed to "Awakenings", before settling with "Awakening" (without the "s" at the end).
 * During the initial set up for the first five episodes, the episode (written by Mallozzi) is the third episode in the second season, but would be the fourth to be filmed.
 * The episode was among the hardest works written by Mallozzi, as it took weeks to write, and several parts needed modifying after the first draft.
 * The cost of the special effects for this episode was larger than expected, and thus parts of the episode were trimmed to bring it down to a more reasonable, but still large, cost.