Line in the Sand

"Line in the Sand" is the twelfth episode of the tenth season of Stargate SG-1.

Synopsis
After the loss of Dr. Daniel Jackson, SG-1 learn that P9C-882 is in the Ori's path. In order to protect the planet's village, they plan to use Merlin's Arthur's Mantle to cloak the entire village from the Ori, but doesn't go according to plan.

Plot
SG-1 (sans Dr. Daniel Jackson) return from a test run of a new device using Merlin's Arthur's Mantle to shift a person into a hidden dimension. In a debriefing the team learns that the planet P9C-882 has recently been visited by a Prior, and that he is returning soon. Major General Henry Landry informs the team, Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter in particular, that the device will be taken "out of the lab" and used to hide the entire village. Stunned, Carter objects saying she has no way to know if it can hide a village. Landry believes this would be a good way to test the device. Overjoyed with the situation, Vala Mal Doran agrees to save the villagers, to which Landry replies "good" and leaves despite Carter's doubts about testing the device on such a scale.

Upon arriving on the planet, SG-1 is greeted by the villager’s leader Thilana, a strong and principled young leader. She and Matar, her right hand man, are extremely grateful for SG-1's assistance. Carter hooks up three Naquadah generators for a test run. After a phase shift distortion the village cloaks. In a blinding flash of light witnessed by another SG team guarding the gate the village vanishes. Believing their job done, the other SG team dials home.

Night falls and the villagers are celebrating with a feast. Thilana and the villagers thank the team for their good deeds. Unfortunately, a few seconds after another phase shift happens, decloaking the village. Carter reasons something is wrong with the generators and leaves to solve the problem. Back at the generator Carter tells the team that she built in a failsafe which, when the power supply is disrupted or fluctuates, causes the generators to shut down. She now has to find a way to feed the power more evenly but is not sure if she can do it on time.

Day breaks, and Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell checks up on Carter who has been working all night. That moment Teal'c reports in to warn of incoming ships approaching the city. Teal'c sees the ships depositing Transportation rings on the surface. He stays to stall the invaders from reaching the city. Matar now has doubts about SG-1's plan and tells Thilana to accept the teaching of the Ori. Thilana is resolute; she and her people were formerly slaves of the Goa'uld, and she will not be enslaved to false gods once again. Mitchell instructs Matar on firing a P-90, which Mitchell says is like a simple point and pull method. Many other villagers see the demonstration and decide to help.

SG-1 defends the city with a barricade; both sides take casualties. An Ori general tells his men to flank the enemy. Mitchell notices and heads off to intercept them. An Ori guard appears behind Carter who is still frantically working on the devices. She spots the guard and attempts to dodge the staff shot; she avoids a direct hit, but still sustains a severe wound. The shot continued through her and destroyed two of the generators. The Ori guard moves in for the kill, but is shot from behind by Mitchell. The battle outside has taken a turn for the worse as most of the Earth weapons are now out of ammunition, and their ten second training did not include lessons in reloading their weapons. The villagers and Vala surrender. Mitchell asks Carter to help him with the generators. Carter, who is in a massive amount of pain, asks how many generators are working, and Mitchell replies "only one". Carter tells him to bypass the other two and just hook up the one that works and press the macro on the laptop, and then Carter passes out. An Ori guard outside catches a glimpse of movement in the building and walks forward to investigate. Despite many different items showing up on the Laptop, Mitchell finds the macro and activates it. From the guard's perspective the building vanishes in front of him. He runs back and inquires the captured villagers about the building. Vala responds saying "perhaps it was the will of the gods.".

A soldier is about to execute Vala when a new Ori general appears and orders that Vala be removed from the group. He then reveals himself to be Tomin, Vala's husband, and orders the rest to be killed. Vala desperately tries to persuade him to do otherwise but fails. Carter wakes to Mitchell stitching her wound. In the corner of her eye she sees an Ori guard appear and tells Mitchell to watch out. He does but puts his gun down. Mitchell tells a confused and in pain Carter that the generator is working and they are safe. He injects morphine and continues stitching up her back.

Teal'c in hooded attire reappears in the village and finds Thilana attending to the wounded. She questions Teal'c about the rest of his team, but he was about to ask her the same question. Matar, seeing what the Ori have done, asks Thilana to accept the Ori and their teaching. She doesn't and still believes there is a way to win. Carter awakes in a groggy state, and Mitchell says he's "been thinking, yes I know it’s a dangerous thing" about placing C-4 around the village as a distraction so that he can get Carter out. Carter persists that he can't save her due to her injuries and state, and he can also not leave the device as it would fall into enemy hands.

Vala is joined by Tomin who thinks he can convert her to Origin. He claims to have no feelings for her at all and that it is only the standing orders of the Orici that Vala not be harmed that stop him from burning her himself. In the middle of his reciting the book of Origin, Vala asks where in the book is the murdering of innocent lives preached. Tomin continues, and an argument between the two ensues. Vala, upon saying "the Ori are not Gods" is slapped, and Tomin leaves the room in a rage. Meanwhile Ori guards enter Teal'c's location and begin to question the villagers about the vanishing building. Thilana asks why the Ori are unable to find it. Matar stands up and tells the guards that Teal'c is not of this village and knows what happened. The Ori guards take Teal'c, Matar and Thilana outside to meet the Prior. Tomin returns to Vala and apologies for his behavior, telling her that she will not see him again. Vala however takes the opportunity to continue her conversation and relates the history of the Ancients and of Ori ascending and feeding off their worshipers...and the reason they would never want others to ascend and feed with them. Tomin leaves and asks the prior to reassign him back to command of ground troops on the planet. He is rebuked and then unsure when the Prior incorrectly cites a fable in the book of Origin to justify the annihilation of the village below, twisting the meaning dramatically for his own purposes.

Carter wakes up again and has a talk with Mitchell about how she has spent "the last 10 years of science to take down and tell people about false gods". In her current condition, she believes her time is up and wonders if there is a God and if she believes in one. Mitchell reaffirms that whatever she believes in, she will survive.

Outside the Prior asks Teal'c about the vanishing building. Teal'c, typically, doesn't respond, and is assaulted by the Priors power until he collapses. Mitchell now sees the Prior walk towards the area where the building vanished. He stops in the same room as Mitchell and Carter are in and attempts to use his power to find them. A blinding light appears from the Priors staff but he can't find them. Mitchell smirks at how the Prior is now confused since his powers are not working. The Prior then threatens to destroy the village if they don't reveal themselves and when they do not answer, the Prior leaves.

Thilana sees the Ori guards fleeing the city and Teal'c awakens. Matar bursts in with a few other villagers and proclaims that Teal'c must be sacrificed so that they can be seen as followers and be spared. Thilana says that "any god that wants a sacrifice is not a god". Matar, now nervous, hears Thilana and hands over his weapon. Meanwhile, Carter informs Mitchell that the original crystals had been replaced with Naquadah generators, of which two out of the three are disabled. The Ori staff weapons however are powered by a power crystal of Ori design, similar enough to Merlin's Ancient based device to be compatible and retaining enough energy to hide the village for at least a short time. Following Carter's instructions he tries to interface the Ori crystal with the Ancient technology, then brings her laptop to Carter who, though in great pain, forces herself to try and make the device work.

Tomin goes to the Prior and questions him about proceeding with this course of action as the villagers have pledged their loyalty and will follow the teaching of Origin. He passionately believes that the Ori would never want a village of innocents destroyed and indeed that his oath is to protect such followers of the Ori. It makes no difference to the Prior who dogmatically and blindly defends his actions. Telling him to witness the power of the Ori, he opens fire with the ships weapons and blasts the village from orbit, after which the ship prepares to depart.

Tomin leaves and finds Vala, leading her to the teleportation rings. She tells him to come with her, but he refuses and tells Vala he still loves her. He teleports her down to the planet. Vala, walking through the location of the village, sees nothing but craters. Suddenly around her the village reappears with the villagers safe; she is delighted to see Teal'c and jumps on him. Mitchell informs the team that they are going to head back and get Carter medical attention.

Back at Stargate Command, Carter is recuperating in infirmary and Mitchell appears with a present: some snacks from an old family recipe. Carter says she is still feeling bad but Mitchell persists. After tasting one she says they are good, but Mitchell seeing her facial expressions inquires "you hate it" and she agrees. Mitchell is glad to see Carter is doing well.

Goofs

 * When Prior returns to the ship, you can see that the planet is, in fact, Earth.
 * after Carter wakes up in out of phase with Cameron, he sais he has tried to contact vala and teal'c by radio, despite telling SG3 that when out of phase they would be out of radio contact

In other languages

 * French: La Grande Illusion (The Great Illusion)
 * Italian: Un Solco nella Sabbia (A Line in the Sand)
 * Spanish: Una Línea en la Arena (A Line in the Sand)
 * Czech: Čára v písku
 * German: Die Linie im Sand (The Line in the Sand)