Stargate: Atlantis s05e17 Episode Script

Previously on Stargate: Atlantis Lower your weapons.
We've come up with a gene therapy.
We think we can make it so that you will never need to feed on humans again.
How did you do that? Surely you don't think we had anything to do with this? What the hell's going on? Where's Caldwell? We need everyone we can.
We're taking the ship back.
Todd let us take her back without so much as a fight, but he's locked us out of the controls and retreated to one of the 302 bays.
That's how he's going to destroy the facility, by ramming us into it.
What'd you do? Opened up a hyperspace window big enough for the both of us.
We just traveled through the planet.
- How long till they get here? - Just a matter of minutes.
- Are we prepared to cloak the City? - Yes, I've made all the necessary modifications, but for the record, I still say the shield is a better idea.
Look, that cloak offers us no protection whatsoever.
- If that hive opens up on us - How could they do that? - They'd have to know our exact position on the planet.
- What, you're assuming they don't? Look, we've been tracking them for days! They're headed straight for us.
I think it's safe to say they've got some inside information! Even so, it's better not to confirm our location until we know for sure.
No sense in giving them an easy target to shoot at.
Colonel Sheppard, what's your status? - Standing by.
- Be prepared to fire drones on my mark.
Copy that.
Just say the word.
Well, I suppose we're as prepared as we can be.
Engage the cloak.
All right.
Okay.
Cloak's engaged.
They should be here momentarily.
- What's happening? - Nothing.
- From what I can tell, they're just sitting there.
- Do they know we're here? Hang on.
I'm receiving a transmission.
- It's a file of some kind.
- Pull it up on a firewalled computer.
- What's it say? - It's nothing just a random bunch of - Wait a second.
- What is it? Well, it's encrypted.
Using the same kind of algorithm we use on the Daedalus.
Hold your fire Gene therapy developed by Dr.
Keller - What's going on? - I don't know.
Looks like the file's corrupted somehow.
initial results unable to counteract the disease Help us.
What on Earth does that mean? I have no idea.
Season 5 Episode 17 Infection (v.
1.
00) What do you mean, you didn't understand him? The file was corrupted.
We were only able to catch a few words here and there.
Though, from what we could tell, it seemed like he was asking for our help.
With what? Something to do with Jennifer's gene therapy? Well, we gave him a chance to test it.
He double-crossed us.
I say we blow him out of the sky.
I can't say I disagree with you.
Though I do find it odd he would just show up here, knowing that would likely be our reaction.
And why send a file? Why not just radio us directly? Whatever he wants, it must be really important.
Perhaps we should answer back.
Tell him that we did not receive the file properly? If we do that, we might as well just drop the cloak.
They'll be able to trace our radio signal, know exactly where we are.
No.
We might be able to do it from a Jumper, though.
Approach the hive cloaked, and communicate with them from there.
But then they would be able to pinpoint the Jumper's exact location.
Yes, but the Jumper's a lot more maneuverable than the City.
Look, besides, this isn't the first time we've flown up to Todd's doorstep in a Jumper.
Any chance you could clean up that video? - Piece together more of what he's saying? - No, there's too much data missing.
That is as good as we're going to get.
All right.
Colonel? On my way.
Coming up on it now.
This is Colonel John Sheppard.
Please come in.
We didn't receive your video transmission correctly.
Please respond.
Are they getting this? Yeah, they should be.
I mean, there's no reason why they - What is it? - I'm not picking up any life-signs on board.
- What? - I believe Rodney is correct.
I have also not been able to detect the presence of any Wraith.
I thought it was because we were too far, but this makes more sense.
It does? This better not be a Wraith ship from another reality.
We've been tracking their approach for a few days now, remember? It didn't just pop into our space like that other Daedalus did.
Look, we know that they don't show up on our scans when they're hibernating.
I'd say that's probably a more logical explanation.
Hibernating.
All of them? Well, they could've pre-programmed the ship to fly here on its own, enter orbit, even send a pre-recorded signal.
- Why? - Well, there's only one way to find out.
We're receiving a signal.
It's Colonel Sheppard on a secure channel.
Patch me in.
Colonel, what's happening up there? Well, the Wraith have thrown us a little curve ball here.
Got no life signs on board.
We think they're hibernating.
Why would they do that? That's what we'd like to find out, but it means boarding the ship.
Are you sure that's wise? What if it's a trap? Well, if it is, it's a pretty lousy one.
If they ambush us, you can still take 'em out from down there.
Sacrificing your lives.
I'm flattered you think Todd would go to so much trouble to kill me.
Look, taking out a hive ship is always a good idea, far as I'm concerned, but we did come all this way, and got all dressed up.
All right.
No sign of 'em yet.
Why is it that I find empty Hives even creepier than the ones that are full of Wraith? Trust me, we're better off this way.
Bridge should be up here.
All right, just give me a few seconds.
All right.
Well, I was right.
They're all in their hibernation pods.
- Where? - There's several large chambers in the aft section of the hive.
The weird thing is, though, if I'm reading this right, they haven't given themselves a wake-up call.
What are you talking about? Well, the normal operating procedure would be to leave a few crew members awake so that they could monitor the pods and bring the others out when it's time, but since they all went in, I would assume there'd be some kind of an automatic or timed shut-down protocol, but I can't find one.
So if we do not wake them - Then they never will.
- Sounds good to me.
Do you do not find it odd that Todd would leave himself and his entire crew to our mercy? Especially after our last encounter? Maybe he's not as smart as you think he is.
- What was that? - Some kind of power fluctuation.
I'm reading minor malfunctions in several of the ship's systems.
Hang on I got Todd's video file.
Looks like it's intact.
- I thought you said it was corrupted.
- Well, it must've happened in transmission, some kind of a glitch in the comm system.
- The original, it's all there.
All right.
- Let's see it.
Hold your fire.
We mean you no harm.
Allow me to explain our presence here before you take any action.
If you are seeing this message, my ship has arrived safely at Atlantis.
I'm coming to you because my crew and I have been stricken with a disease A complication to the gene therapy developed by Dr.
Keller - Wait a second.
We didn't give 'em - I acquired some of the formulation while my crew and I were occupying the Daedalus.
I admit, I wanted to see if it would actually work.
And it did.
The initial results were nothing short of astonishing.
See for yourself.
I was so impressed, I decided to treat my entire crew.
It was only then that we began to notice problems.
The first group grew sick and died.
Before long, others began to get sick as well.
Our natural healing ability was unable to counteract the disease.
I have come here as a matter of last resort.
I realize we have had our differences of late, and you may be reluctant to help us But remember this If we die, any hope you may have of distributing this treatment in the future dies with us.
The choice is yours.
All right, so, now that we know what happened, we can just fire drones at 'em, and close the file and move on.
You said his feeding hand was clean Which means the treatment worked, at least for a while.
Well, then it started killing them, so I don't know if they're going to exactly line up for this one.
Which is why we need to find out exactly what went wrong.
We need to examine every scrap of medical data on that Hive.
We may even need to revive a few of the Wraith so Dr.
Keller can perform a complete physical evaluation.
I'm sorry, but the IOA is strongly committed to the development of this gene therapy.
It's one of the only things they all agree on.
If it's simply not workable, so be it, but they're going to want to see some proof.
I say it works fine.
It kills Wraith.
What more do you want? You're suggesting we keep the formula as is, and find a way of exposing them involuntarily.
Why not? Get rid of the Wraith once and for all.
Don't tell me the IOA would have a problem with that.
The problem is in the delivery systems.
We just went down this road with Beckett's retrovirus.
And even if we do succeed in weaponizing the treatment, it is unlikely that we would wipe out the Wraith entirely.
At best, we would weaken them.
- I don't have a problem with that.
- On the other hand, if we do succeed in eliminating their need to feed, we might be able convince their entire population to take the treatment willingly.
Either way, whether it's perfecting the formula as a treatment or a weapon, we need to gather as much information as we possibly can, which brings me back to the same conclusion We need to go back up there.
This time, have Dr.
Keller accompany you, as well as Major Lorne's team and another unit of Marines.
Are you still not sure if it's a trap? Let's just say I've learned to exercise an abundance of caution when dealing with Todd.
All right.
My men have established a perimeter.
They'll be checking in every hour.
I know! I know! Power fluctuations.
Look, it's like I said, some of the ship's systems are acting up a little.
- Well, get it fixed.
- Yeah, give me a few minutes.
Major Lorne, this is Lieutenant Williams.
Go ahead.
Sir, you wanted us to report anything unusual? Yeah, that's right, lieutenant.
What do you got? Well, Sir, I was standing watch, and I heard a noise, and Well, the wall is melting.
Sorry? Come again? Wait a minute I think it stopped.
Stand by.
Williams, come in.
Lieutenant, please respond.
How you doing? That good? I don't know, I mean, I I guess I'm making progress.
- I found out what was killing them.
- You did? The treatment worked exactly like it was supposed to It eliminated their feeding hands, it activated their digestive systems, just like it did in the simulation, but, unfortunately, it also created a virulent cancer-like disease at the same time that it was weakening their immune systems.
That's what killed them.
Well, is there anything you can do about it? I don't know.
Maybe.
It's possible.
What? I just feel like I'm in over my head.
What are you talking about? I look at you, and Colonel Sheppard, the rest of the team You guys are so used to making decisions that affect the lives of thousands, and even millions of people.
I'm not so used to having the fate of the galaxy hang in the balance.
Oh, that.
You get used to it.
Helps to have a massive ego.
Look, I don't know much about Wraith physiology, but I know you.
And if anyone can make this work, you can.
Well This is his last known position.
Colonel! We got something over here! Hasn't been fired.
Should I call up for some more personnel to help track him down? No, I got a better idea.
Rodney? Are the ship's schematics loaded into the life-signs detector? - Yeah, I did it when we first got here.
Why? - Well, we're gonna need 'em.
- Anything? - No, it's just us.
Ronon, Teyla, anything on your end? I'm afraid not, Colonel.
All right.
Stay in touch.
What the hell is this? It's supposed to be an open corridor.
- Let me see.
- Here.
Rodney? This schematic you gave us is a piece of crap.
- What are you talking about? - There's a dead end that's not on the map.
That's impossible! - Look, I'm staring at it right now.
- Look, I don't know what to tell you, all right? I pulled that schematic directly from the ship's database.
Great.
We have to double back.
Colonel Sheppard, this is Teyla, please respond.
- Go ahead.
- We found Lieutenant Williams.
I'm afraid he's dead.
- What happened? - He was attacked.
By who? I don't know, but whatever it was, it tried to eat him.
You mean feed on him? No.
I mean eat him.
With teeth, like an animal.
What? All right Radio back, try to get somebody to pick up the body.
In the meantime, we're gonna have to figure out who the hell Hang on.
We got something.
Move back to our position.
Sir? In here.
Another dead end.
Well, this doesn't make any sense.
The signal's right on top of us.
Is everybody okay? - Yeah.
I think so.
- What the hell is that? A Wraith soldier without the mask.
I didn't think they ever took those things off.
No feeding hand, remember? How else is he gonna eat? Oh, great.
So now we have to contend with starving Wraith who are just learning to use their teeth? This is my fault.
I'm the one that took away the only practical feeding mechanism they ever knew.
All right, look, I admit that it's a little disturbing, but it's not like they were man's best friend before.
This is just a different version of the same thing.
- The question is, how did it get out? - Well, the power fluctuations.
They must be more widespread than I thought.
So? So, there must be a safety protocol of some kind.
When there's an interruption of the power, the pods shut down - and automatically release their occupant.
- But you stabilized it.
Right? I mean All the other pods are fine? They might be.
I'm I never actually figured out what was wrong, so Is there any way to determine if any of the other pods have been compromised? Well, I don't know.
Maybe.
I suppose we could go down and look.
I got a better idea.
Let's get the hell out of here.
Except I haven't finished sorting through the relevant data.
- I mean, the IOA - The IOA can sue me.
Let's go.
- What? - I know this is the way, because we came by here this morning, but this looks different.
You're probably imagining it.
Or not.
Where the hell did that wall come from? It wasn't there when we came in.
- How's that possible? - I don't know! We need to figure out another way out of here.
Okay It looks like if we go back the way we came a bit, we should be able to hook up with another corridor that loops around the other side of the dart bay.
- Lead the way.
- All right, well All right, this is it.
Through here, about a hundred meters, and we are there.
Oh, my God.
- Oh, this This is not good.
- You're telling me? The dart bay's on the other side of that.
This is the only way out of here.
You wanna tell me how a giant hole magically appears in the middle of a ship? - Actually, I have a theory about that.
- You do? Look, these glitches we've been experiencing, they're not confined to power regulation.
They're in every major system.
I wouldn't call 'em "glitches.
" This is a major renovation.
I know, but think about it.
The Wraith ships are basically organic, right? I mean, they're capable of self-regeneration when they're damaged, but not just the hull.
The same systems regulate internal structure as well, so if those systems are malfunctioning along with the others You think the ship is repairing itself incorrectly? Not repairing so much as reconfiguring.
Look, before he was killed, Williams said he saw the wall melt.
We've experienced it ourselves, I mean, dead ends popping up when there's supposed to be open corridors.
And this reconfiguration has completely cut us off from the dart bay? - From what I can tell, yes.
- All right, get on the line to Atlantis.
Tell 'em to send some Jumpers and combat engineers.
We need to figure out how to get the hell outta here.
Actually, I can't do that, because the communications systems are now completely offline.
- Rodney - Look, what do you want me to do? I mean, if I knew what causing this, I could do something about it, but these malfunctions are showing up everywhere.
I mean, they seem to be entirely random! - So we're stuck here? - For the time being, yes.
I do have an idea.
- We revive Todd.
- What? He knows more about this ship than anyone.
Maybe he can help me figure out what's wrong with it.
You do remember the last Wraith that came out of one of those pods ate one of our marines? He was just a warrior drone.
Look, we've long suspected that they spend the majority of their life under the controlling mental influence of the other Wraith.
It's not surprising if you remove that influence they revert to an animal state.
- But that shouldn't happen with Todd, theoretically.
- Yeah, but you're forgetting one thing I haven't found a cure for the disease that was killing them.
I mean, we take him out, and he might not last long.
Well, that's the one thing I like about the plan.
Oh, great! Okay, so navigation's acting up.
Look, whatever we decide, we got to do it quickly, because I cannot stay ahead of these malfunctions for much longer.
You sure about this? How you feeling? I did not think you would come.
What are friends for? Your ship is malfunctioning.
We need you to fix it.
- You woke me for this? - That's right.
We've got work to do.
You know, I did I tried that already.
Okay, all right.
You know what? You just go ahead.
Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the pod this morning.
This makes no sense.
- These systems are behaving erratically.
- That's what I've been trying to tell you! - What have you done to them? - I haven't done anything! They've been acting screwy since the moment we came on board! Nothing's responding the way it should.
It's almost as if What? No, it's not possible.
What's not possible? I believe I know why the ship is malfunctioning.
The disease is in the ship? It is the only explanation that makes sense.
If you say so.
How is that even possible? During the process of hibernation, there is a continuous exchange of fluid between Wraith and hive.
The disease must have been transmitted in this manner.
Great.
So we're flying around in a giant tumor.
With no way off.
As time goes on and the disease progresses, more and more systems will become affected Inertial dampeners, life support, hull integrity Can we land it? Landing a hive is a tricky proposition in the best of circumstances.
Under these conditions, I would not recommend it.
So, what do we do? There is only one thing we can do.
- We must cure this disease.
- Wait a second.
I've barely scratched the surface on what went wrong here.
I mean, it could take months to analyze the data.
At the current level of the ship's degradation, I estimate we have four days before it becomes uninhabitable.
Well, you better get to work.
How's it going, Rodney? Well, aside from the fact that every time I try to fix something, something else breaks, fine.
So we can expect more of these power fluctuations? - I think it's more than likely.
Probably gonna get worse.
- Then we've got a problem.
- The other Wraith.
- We can't afford to let them get out anymore.
Well, I have been able to identify that safety protocol I was talking about.
I won't be able to override it completely, but I should be able to make a few key alterations.
- Yeah? Like what? - Well, I mean, the simplest thing to do would be to make it so the pods don't release the Wraith when they shut down, but That would kill them.
Basically suffocate them.
Great.
They're Wraith.
Yeah, but are they? I mean, they've taken the treatment, they no longer feed.
- Tell that to Lieutenant Williams.
- What about Todd? If significant numbers of his crew are killed, he will demand to know why.
Just another malfunction.
Do it.
All right.
You all right? It will pass.
I'm sorry.
I never meant for any of this to happen.
I honestly thought the treatment would make things better for everyone.
What's funny? I find it amusing, human apologizing to Wraith.
That's because you don't understand compassion.
You just view it as a sign of weakness.
Isn't it? No, not by a long shot.
I'm not sure Colonel Sheppard would agree with you.
Colonel Sheppard's a soldier.
I'm a Doctor.
Ah, yes.
His job is to take lives, and yours is to save them.
No, his job is also to save lives.
He just has a different set of tools.
All right I've created a program to override the safety protocol.
You sure you want me to do this? - Go ahead.
- All right.
What is that? It's one of the hibernation chambers.
It's not accepting the new commands.
No, it's no good.
I can't access it from here.
How many of them are in there? Well, it's one of the smaller auxiliary chambers, so a couple of dozen at the most.
All right, we're gonna have to figure out another way to deal with these guys.
Colonel Well, that's not a good sign.
Let's move.
Power fluctuations.
More of them could be out.
This is what I was afraid of.
We just figured out why you weren't able to access the last chamber.
What? What is it? We're too late.
The pods are opened.
How many got out? All of them.
Alright, we're gonna split into teams.
We're gonna divide each deck into four sections, we're gonna sweep through, starting from this position.
Don't take any chances.
Shoot anything that moves.
Everyone clear? All right, let's move out.
It says here you attempted to use Iratus DNA in your treatment.
I thought using the pure DNA of an Iratus bug would help prevent the deterioration of your Wraith abilities.
Got the idea from Michael, if you can believe that, but, unfortunately, it didn't work, so What is it? I have an idea.
- Colonel Sheppard, come in, please? - This is Sheppard.
We need you to come down to the lab right away.
Todd needs to speak to you.
I'm a little busy right now.
Can it wait? Apparently not.
Meet up with Teyla and Ramirez till I get back.
- What's so damn important? - He says there's a way to fix this.
Fix what? - Cure the disease? - Not cure it, but undo it.
What are you talking about? As you know, healthy Wraith have an inherent ability to heal themselves of almost any ailment, but this has not always been the case.
Hundreds of thousands of years ago, there was a treatment of last resort.
All right, spare me the history lessons.
A terminally ill Wraith could occasionally restore himself to perfect health if he allowed an Iratus "bug", as you call them, specifically a queen, to feed on him.
And you're just bringing this up now? The process was abandoned long ago because it is dangerous, almost always resulting in the death of the Wraith in question.
I only consider it now because it would appear that we are beyond hope.
Now, there is a planet less than three days' journey where we will find what we need.
McKay can barely keep this thing in orbit, and you want to take it into hyperspace? I can manage it.
Well, forget about it.
We're gonna come up with a solution right here.
- This is the only way to save my crew.
- Well, we're not leaving.
At least do me the courtesy of being honest.
This is not about not you not wanting to risk a jump to hyperspace on a damaged ship.
You do not want me to go because I'll be restoring the lives of hundreds of unhealthy Wraith, including myself.
I got to admit, that did cross my mind.
This disease is your responsibility.
If I had not agreed to meet with you to discuss this innovation of yours, my crew and I would not be in this predicament! Well, I might be feeling a little more charitable if you hadn't tried to kill half my people last time we decided to trust each other! You owe me this, Sheppard.
I don't owe you anything.
Get him out of here.
Well, I guess I can't count on his help anymore.
- What was that? - Sheppard, you're gonna wanna get up here.
Keep working.
What the hell was that? like Todd's estimate of how long the ship's gonna last is a little off.
- What are you talking about? - You remember that hole we saw? It's getting bigger.
It's beginning to threaten the hull integrity, but that's not the biggest problem.
See that? That is a line of structural weakness right across the width of the hive.
If there's an explosive decompression, this entire thing could be ripped in half.
This is Sheppard, all teams fall back.
Fall back immediately.
We're not finished dealing with the Wraith yet.
Just leave 'em.
The hull's failing.
Get the hell out of there.
You heard the man.
Let's move! Let's go! Come on! Hurry up! Are you all right? Let's get the hell out of here.
What is it? The door's jammed.
Won't open.
Rodney, this is Teyla.
We are stuck behind a door that will not open.
- Can you help us? - Look, the controls are malfunctioning.
I can't seem to override them.
Just give me a minute.
We might not have a minute, Rodney.
Crap.
Uh, guys? You need to get out of there now.
You hear me? Get out of there now! Sheppard! Come in! Please! - Yeah, we're here.
- Oh, thank God.
- I take it the bulkhead held? - Yeah, for now.
Look, I was able to seal off the section so we won't depressurize, but you need to get down here What now? The force of the ship tearing itself apart, it's shifted our trajectory.
We're headed straight for the planet! What's our status, Rodney? I would say "screwed" is an apt description.
- Are we going to burn up? - No, we're gonna survive re-entry.
In fact, it'll even slow us down a little, but nowhere near enough.
- Can you get us over the water? - Land, water, at the speed we're traveling, - we're going to be vaporized on impact.
- We've got to do something.
- Like what? - Think! I don't know Okay, right.
Forward maneuvering thrusters.
They should be unaffected.
But they're not getting any power because the propulsion conduits have been ripped in half.
I may be able to reroute power to them so they can slow our descent.
- All right, now you're talking.
I haven't a clue how to do it! Even if the systems weren't all malfunctioning, it would still take me a few hours to create that kind of work-around.
All right, just keep working on it.
- Where the hell are you going? - I'm gonna go get some help.
- Get up.
- You can't quite leave me be.
I don't have time to play games.
- You know what that shaking is? - Oh, I can guess.
We've lost orbit.
We're entering the atmosphere, which means in a few minutes, we're gonna slam into that planet.
A quick death will be a welcome reprieve.
I didn't think you were such a quitter.
Look, you get this ship on the ground, I'll take you to your bug planet.
And you expect me to believe that? My word.
And my crew? They're dead.
The ship sheared in two.
We lost the entire rear section.
If we'd gone to the planet when I suggested it, none of this would have happened! We would have never made it there, you know it.
The hull was too badly damaged.
Now, I understand you're pissed off about your crew, but we're about to join 'em unless somebody manages to slow us down, so are you gonna help us out? We're in the atmosphere.
Altitude 100,000 feet.
It is no use.
I cannot control it.
Move aside! - You sure about this? - What can he do? We're in a free fall.
I believe I can successfully create a bypass that will deliver power to the forward thrusters, but it will take a few moments.
- You just take your time.
- Impact in 15 seconds.
Not if I can help it.
Firing thrusters! Still descending too fast.
- It's not enough! - Instead of criticizing, perhaps you could work at getting me some more power! I'm on it! Angle the thrusters.
Try to get the ship level.
We can fly her across the water.
Trust me.
I've done this before.
- 10,000 feet.
- That's it.
That's all the power we've got.
This is it! We're about to lose inertial dampeners! They just hit the water.
I've got the coordinates.
Relay them to the rescue Jumpers immediately.
Colonel.
Good to see you back on your feet.
- How's the rest of your team? - You know, recovering.
We took quite a jolt when we hit the water.
I can imagine.
You were lucky.
By the time Major Kersey and his team were able to blast their way down to your position, the hive, what remained of it, was already half full of water.
It sank minutes after they extracted you.
Wish I was awake to see that.
- How is he? - Not well.
He hasn't responded to any treatment.
I received your request.
And? Forgive me if I'm wrong, but weren't you the one who wanted to destroy his ship when it first appeared? Sounds vaguely familiar.
And now you want me to go against protocol and let him go.
- Well, he is the reason we're alive.
- I realize that, Colonel.
He's also the reason you were in danger in the first place, not to mention an incredible security risk.
All right, look, he's probably gonna die anyway.
- And if he survives? - If he survives, he'sHe's gonna remember what we did.
Like it or not, he's the best ally we've had in the fight against the Wraith.
If we ever get around to perfecting this gene therapy, we're gonna need his help to deploy it.
You realize this is the kind of decision that could cost me my job.
Well, aren't they all? I appreciate your decision to let me go.
A deal's a deal.
I will remember this, John Sheppard.