Pain

"Pain" is the seventeenth episode of the first season of Stargate Universe.

Synopsis
When the crew suffers from vivid hallucinations that tap into their personal fears, Tamara Johansen isolates the affected from the rest and then tries to seek out the cause of the affliction as it spreads and becomes life-threatening.

Plot
Vanessa James is having sex with Matthew Scott. Once they finish, he tries to leave, claiming that they can't be doing this. She blocks him, demanding that he choose between her and Chloe Armstrong. They get into a struggle, and in a moment of anger she strikes him with a lamp on the head, killing him. She is shocked at what she has done.

Dale Volker gets ready for work, but the door to his quarters won't open. He radios for help, but receives no response. As he pounds on the door, he is met by Hunter Riley. He explains that his door isn't working, but Riley opens the door from both sides to test it, seeing no problem. Ronald Greer sees Camile Wray working on a console in the gate room alone. He asks her what she's doing, and she explains that she's updating personnel files. She claims both Nicholas Rush and Everett Young know of her activities, and he promises to check with them. Eli comes in, asking where Matthew Scott is; Greer doesn't know.

James is still in her room, in shock. Young calls in asking why she's late to her shift. She claims that she just lost track of time and will be there shortly, but doesn't move. In a hallway, Volker unexpectedly comes across a dead end. When he turns around, he finds another wall, boxing him in. He begins to panic, but is snapped out of it by Scott, who is clearly unharmed. Scott recommends that Volker get some rest. As Volker leaves, Scott sees his son run down a corridor and gives chase. Young and Rush speak with Wray about a report from Greer on her earlier actions with the console. All three have no idea what he's talking about. In the mess hall, Darren Becker talks to a group of military personnel about how Young called off the search for Jeremy Franklin. Dunning is not surprised, since Franklin just vanished. His group gets up to leave, but Dunning pauses, scratching at his arm as if something is there. The others snap him out of it.

While chasing after his son, Scott is met by Chloe Armstrong, who did not see his son pass by. Lisa Park frantically calls for help over the radio. Dunning is clawing the skin off his arm, convinced that there's a snake beneath. Scott comes in just as he is restrained. Scott sees his son once more, but rubs his eyes and dispels the vision. Dunning is brought to the infirmary and sedated. Young asks Lisa if she's seen any unusual behavior from him, but as far as she knows he's been acting normally.

In the mess hall, Eli, Chloe, Riley, and Greer discuss the recent accident, assuming stress to be the cause. Riley is surprised nothing like this happened sooner. Greer watches Rush and Wray intently. He is snapped out of it by Chloe and Riley, then excuses himself. Riley comments that he always assumed Greer would snap first. In the control interface room, Rush sees a shadow and believes Greer is spying on him, but the only person nearby is Adam Brody. Volker wakes up to find himself trapped in a box. Scott is still following his son.

When James fails to report for duty and can't be reached on the radio, Young goes to her quarters. When he enters, she asks for forgiveness, to Young's confusion. Scott, meanwhile, has caught up to his son and has a conversation with him. His son asks why he left. Scott is called to the infirmary by Young to show James that she did not kill him. Scott admits that he's been hallucinating, too. All those known to be hallucinating have been on a recent off-world mission. Barnes and Volker are the only ones unaccounted for. Riley finds Volker in the middle of his hallucination, while Barnes is fine.

Young talks with Chloe about the hallucinations, assuring her that the situation is contained. He is called to the infirmary by Tamara Johansen, and Chloe follow. TJ has found a tick-like bug attached to the neck of those infected. Scott volunteers to go first, but it stops his heart and burrows deeper when she touches it. TJ believes she can remove it, but needs more time.

Chloe sees her father as she passes by the shuttle. She knows it's a hallucination and tries to ignore it, but gives in and uses the opportunity to talk to him. They go to the observation deck. He claims that he always wanted her to live a life of adventure, and that now she is doing just that. Greer is still spying on Wray, and follows her into the control interface room, where she's talking with Rush. He accuses them of plotting another coup d'etat. Rush simply says Greer has no proof, then he and Wray go their separate ways.

TJ decides to sedate the ticks using squiggler venom, but when she tries to test it on Scott, she discovers that his tick is gone. The others still have theirs, so it is assumed that it moved to someone else. TJ checks herself and Young, finding nothing. They then realize that Chloe was near Scott earlier. Scott, now awake, goes to find her. Eli Wallace catches Chloe talking to herself. She tells Eli about the ticks and assures him that she's fine for now, convincing him to give her some time alone with the hallucination.

Rush walks down the corridor and believes Greer is following him again. He turns around and finds nothing, then is suddenly trapped inside a blueberry alien holding tank. The hallucination ends before the tank completely fills, and he goes back to his room. A blueberry alien walks by the door, so he quickly shuts it. He radios Young, but gets no response. The alien has vanished by the time he opens the door.

TJ uses squiggler venom on James' tick, successfully removing it. Young crushes it with the butt of his gun. Scott finds Eli, who leads him to Chloe. Chloe denies seeing anything, but Eli tells Scott about the hallucination. Chloe refuses to abandon the hallucination, so she has to be dragged to the infirmary by them. Chloe is reluctant to have it removed, but Young insists. TJ removes it so Scott can kill it.

Rush begins to wander the ship, seeing more aliens entering through the Stargate. Meanwhile, Greer is confronted by Wray, who accuses him of lying about her activities to Young. Rush spies on them from a nearby corridor, believing them to be aliens. Greer catches sight of Rush and chases him. On the radio, Greer tells Young that the civilians are trying to take over the ship. Young tells him to stand down, but Greer ignores the order and requests Young's permission to use deadly force. Young repeats the order, but to no avail; Greer is hallucinating the responses he wants to hear. A team is mobilized to subdue him. Since Greer was not on the team that carried the ticks in, TJ believes that they may have brought in more than just those attached to them. Young orders TJ to examine the entire crew.

Greer chases Rush into a supply room, followed by Wray. As Rush prepares to stab him with a screwdriver, Wray walks in to check on Greer, so he stabs her instead. Greer uses the opportunity to knock Rush out then holds Wray at gunpoint, shooting out the door controls so it can't be opened. Scott radios Young, telling him that although he has yet to locate Greer, Wray and Rush are also missing. Young mobilizes additional teams to find them, leaving TJ to examine the crew. Eli wonders why some hallucinations were more vivid than others. Volker suggests that the ticks affect the limbic system, enhancing negative emotions such as guilt, fear, and anger, which is why so many hallucinations manifested personal fears. Chloe, Scott, Volker, and Dunning each reveal the issues behind their hallucinations, but James does not.

Greer talks to the hallucination of Young over the radio, claiming that he is interrogating Wray and will have to kill her at some point. Wray tries to dissuade him. Scott and his team come upon the supply room, but cannot convince Greer to listen. They prepare to blow the door open. Greer decides to kill Wray, being urged to do so by a vision of his father. Rush awakens and hits him with a metal pipe before he can fire. Greer recovers, but at that moment the door is destroyed, knocking them both down. Greer is restrained, followed shortly by Rush after he begins attacking everyone in sight.

With the crew cleared, TJ suspects that things should get back to normal. Everyone is a bit uneasy after recent events. Destiny drops out of FTL and dials to a habitable planet. Young orders Scott to form a team to explore it.

Background notes

 * The episode aired on the Ukrainian television station K1 TV before the original U.S. and Canadian airdates.

Production

 * The episode was originally slated to be the 18th episode of season one. However writer/producer Joseph Mallozzi wrote the season one finale as a two-parter; Pain became the 17th episode and the episode that was slated as 17th will air sometime in season two.
 * The song playing at the beginning of the episode is "What Do You Want Me To Do?" by The Heavy.
 * The song playing at the end is "Agony" by Eels.
 * This Episode is apparently set after they have reached the new Galaxy or is a flashback. But it really can't be a flashback because LT Johansen is showing greater signs of pregnancy. The episode ends with another wormhole opening in the gateroom,