Stargate Universe s02e12 Episode Script

I may be on the verge of discovering the true nature of Destiny's mission.
You've had control of this ship the whole time! Why wouldn't you tell anyone? The Lucian Alliance is planning an attack on Earth.
I killed Riley.
I suffocated him with my own hands.
You are a good commander.
There is no mission other than getting these people home.
It was never about going home, it's about getting us to where we're going.
That is the mission.
I've just been going over the shuttle's navigational data trying to figure out the path you took back to Destiny.
It seems you were there, and then you were here.
Nothing in between.
Every square inch of this thing is in perfect factory condition.
There's hundreds of these things! There's no way we're going to be able to shoot them all down! How's that damage report coming? I'll arrange a briefing when we're ready, but it's not going to be pretty.
I'm supposed to be back to normal.
You managed to retain some of the knowledge you gained.
I should think that's a good thing.
Because I can still be useful.
Everyone on this ship is useful.
We all belong here.
All right, somebody say something.
How bad is it? It isn't any one thing, it's the accumulation.
This ship just wasn't up to fighting a battle like that.
A big chunk of the life support is still down, too.
Well, you can repair it, right? With what? Even if we knew how, we don't have the spare parts.
I mean, I'm talking about things that are broken and burnt out, that I don't even know what they do.
Now, if life support was our only problem we might be able to figure something out.
But there are dozens of systems on the brink of failure.
Weapons, shields Well, they're operating.
And at mission critical levels? We are down to one last everything.
There's practically no redundancy.
"Practically no redundancy.
" - Wasn't funny the first three times! - Well, I'm very tired.
Okay, we know what the problems are.
What are the solutions? Well, what I think we're trying to say We make do as best we can and carry on with the mission.
Well, it doesn't sound like that's what they were trying to say.
You're talking like we have a choice here.
- Actually - Eli, please Ginn and I figured out how to dial the ninth chevron back to Earth while Destiny recharges in a star.
- Without blowing up the ship, you mean? - Yeah.
- No.
- Here we go.
Look, Eli's solution however brilliant, fails to consider the thousand things that could go wrong when attempting to open a wormhole in a star.
I can show you the simulation.
More to the point, it could cause the same kind of overload that happened on Icarus.
Well, who cares if we're not even going to be here? Well, I do, Lieutenant.
Along with anyone else who cares to remain aboard this ship.
Rush, come on, man.
Nobody in their right mind would stay.
You said you understood how important this mission was.
- I did.
- So what's changed? Nicholas, you know what's changed.
Look, I was all aboard with this, you know that, but if the ship can't fly, there is no mission.
It's not like we're just giving up here.
Well, that's exactly what we're doing.
Well, fortunately for the people on this ship, the decision is not yours to make.
Well, thankfully it's not your bloody decision either - Rush! - We can get through this! They are just being defeatist! My first responsibility is the safety of these people.
I'm sorry.
Yeah, right.
- Oh, whoa.
- Stand aside, Sergeant.
- I can't do that.
Colonel's orders.
- Since when? Just now.
Did he say why? I didn't ask.
Okay, could you tell me where else I've been banned from? Save me wasting my time.
Pretty much any place that you can push buttons.
Ah.
And I've got people where all the buttons are.
Destiny's course is taking us toward a star roughly 18 hours ahead, we assume to recharge.
We should be ready.
Oh, we've been ready for a long time.
I'm ready, and I just got here.
I can only imagine what it's like for you.
Hi.
We've been expecting you.
Well, it seems you can predict my every move.
Well, I had to make sure you didn't lock us out of the dialing programs.
The thought never crossed my mind.
I see the elders have gathered.
You should know Eli is using the stones right now to run his calculations by the best people on Earth.
They'll tell him what I told him.
The work is brilliant, but what works on paper does not necessarily work within a star.
Well, Eli said that he's taken that into consideration.
Eli is not an astrophysicist.
Inside a star there are magnetic fields, enormous pressures, solar flares, conditions that make events unpredictable by any mathematics.
Now, will Eli's connection to Earth work? Possibly.
But what happens the moment that wormhole has been established is anybody's guess.
It could blow a hole in the fabric of space-time.
He's out of his freaking mind, you know that? All right.
So, what are you asking us to do? Let me talk to the crew.
At least some of them understand how important it is to remain on this ship.
Nobody is going to agree to that! You say you have no choice but to leave.
I have no choice but to stay.
We're going to brief everyone in the Gate Room the minute we come out of FTL.
You can address them then.
It would carry far more weight if you were standing alongside me.
I can do that.
Thank you.
You're not serious.
Oh, I think he is.
We've run the simulation a dozen times.
It works.
So, the gamer came up with power flow algorithm? Eli, yeah.
I gotta say, you know, when we tried to solve this back on Earth, there were a lot of smart people in that room.
Yeah, well, don't tell him I said this, but he's arguably the smartest person I've ever met You all right? - I'm fine.
I'm back.
- What did they say? The math works, so we're on.
Who was the smartest person you were just talking about? Einstein.
Einstein? Yeah, he was He was pretty smart.
But don't ever tell him you said that? All right, come on, let's go tell the Colonel the news.
- Hey, T.
J.
, can you give us a minute? - Yeah.
Can you keep this ship flying? Yeah, with help.
Then I need to know an absolute minimum number of personnel you need to do it.
Well, as many as possible, obviously.
I need a number.
I'll say a dozen.
Plus you and me? No, including us.
So, 10.
Yeah, look, I've written down most of what I intend to say.
If you've got anything you might want to add Everett, is Rush in the Gate Room with you? Yeah, what is it? I need both of you on the bridge.
We don't have time for this just now.
David, we were just gonna talk to the crew.
Can it wait? Negative! Get up here.
Trust me.
We have time.
Yeah.
Time they might need to decide.
Just keep everyone here.
We'll be right back.
Uh, sure.
What is it? It was in orbit around the star.
Destiny picked it up when it turned towards us, and then we got the radio broadcast.
From who? You.
I don't understand.
Neither do we.
Wait for it.
Wait for what? I repeat, this is Dr.
Nicholas Rush calling the Destiny.
I'm aboard the shuttle headed your way.
Please respond.
Well, isn't this an interesting turn of events? What is this? Well, I wouldn't know, Colonel.
How about you tell me? Well, it's not a recording, if that's what you're thinking.
It's a subspace broadcast, and beyond the fact that it sounds exactly like Rush, I can tell that that's our shuttle, and it's on an intercept course.
Even though according to this, the shuttle is still docked with Destiny.
Again, this is Dr.
Rush.
I need assistance with the docking procedure.
I know you can hear me.
Have we responded yet? No, not yet.
Well, best not to keep me waiting.
Hello, this is also Dr.
Nicholas Rush.
How can we be of assistance? Tell them not to try and dial Earth.
It won't work.
If they go through with it, they're all going to die.
This is Colonel Young.
Dr.
Rush is sitting right next to me.
Yes, obviously.
We've just spoken.
The only reasonable explanation is that somehow I've come back through time.
Reasonable explanation? I couldn't be sure until I seen you dropping out of FTL, which happened roughly 12 hours ago in my timeline.
And we're supposed to just take your word for this? Shortly after we dropped out of FTL, Colonel, you asked me for a number.
I told you 10, plus two.
Twelve? That's well calculated, Mr.
Volker, but I think you're missing the point here.
Is that true? Did you just have that conversation? Yeah.
Yeah, we did.
It's weird.
I was completely stoked about this mission.
Yeah, we all were.
All of a sudden I can't wait to see my kid.
Wow.
Gosh, and I thought the hardest thing was going to be introducing you to my mom.
Okay, that makes me more nervous than going through the dang gate.
Hey, when we get back, we're all still gonna hang out, right? - Yeah, of course we will.
- We will have a reunion every year.
I was thinking more along the lines of Fridays.
Depends on whether you're stationed Earth-side.
I can guarantee you that Earth will be my station.
But you're joining Stargate Command.
Like they're gonna ask me.
They'll ask you, Eli.
You'll be right up there with the other SGC brainiacs, like Dr.
Jackson and Colonel Carter, and, uh, what was that guy's name who kept staring at your Ugh, McKay.
Yeah, McKay.
They'll ask you right when we get back.
Lieutenant Scott, come in.
Yes, sir, is there a problem? Yeah.
Join up with Greer, head to Shuttle Bay 2.
Open it.
Easy! Don't listen to him! He's gonna try and kill you all! What in the hell? T.
J.
, this is Young.
Yes, sir, the gang's all here.
Yeah, they're going to have to wait.
We need you in the infirmary.
- How did you get the burn? - There was an overload.
I couldn't stop it.
Explosions all over the ship one after another.
The air became so toxic, I had no choice but to abandon.
And at which point, you somehow went back 12 hours in time? No, no, no, that would have to happen inside the star.
The ship itself must have passed very near a solar flare, in the exact moment we locked the ninth chevron address.
A temporal event, like we've seen, cause time travel through wormholes.
It somehow affected the entire ship.
One of those unpredictable things I remember warning you about.
What are you smiling at? Well, you should know.
What, fascinating, is it? Well, you wouldn't think so if you'd been through what I've been through.
Well, I won't have to now, will I? Look, we can still do this if we could just learn from your mistakes.
My mistakes? The only mistake was trying it in the first place! No, no, wait a second, she's right.
Just because it went wrong the first time round Wait, isn't it the same time again? No, not entirely.
We'd end up with two of us staying behind next time.
If we kept going long enough, we'd soon have an entire crew.
We still have an hour before we run Eli's program.
Tell us what happened.
Up to the point you received my radio signal, you know what happened.
I need a number.
I'll say a dozen.
Plus you and me? No, including us.
So, 10.
Yeah, look, I've written down most of what I intend to say.
If you've got anything you might want to add So, I'll speak when you're done.
But just so we're clear, if we don't get the 10 volunteers We will.
Okay.
You were true to your word, Colonel.
You stood alongside me.
Ladies and gentlemen, if I could have your attention, please? Dr.
Rush would like to say a few words.
My friends Well, yes, perhaps that's an overstatement, but we are at least shipmates, who have, up until now, shared great adversity.
I know a lot of you, probably most of you, also share the hope of going home.
It is a fact that the conditions inside a star bode very poorly for the sustained viability of a wormhole, and I owe it to you all to tell you that.
Stop trying to scare people and get on with this.
The Ancients did not devote the efforts of an entire generation to build this ship on a whim.
Neither was Destiny named on a whim.
Over a million years ago, the Ancients discovered a complex structure buried deep within the background radiation, the fingerprints of an intelligence that existed very near the beginning of time itself.
Destiny was launched in search of that intelligence.
Who knows how close we are to finding it? How close we are to learning, in the Ancients' words, "The destiny of all things.
" I don't pretend to know when that's going to be, in which stars it will happen, or even how that will change our view of the universe.
I only know that Destiny has come this far, and if we abandon her now, there'll be no coming back.
All of that knowledge will be lost forever.
I believe this journey is the reason I'm here, but I can't hope to do it alone.
I ask you to come with me.
Now, I believe that those of you who want to go home deserve that chance.
But I joined Stargate Command for a reason, so I, too, am willing to stay aboard.
What we are looking for are 10 volunteers, so I am asking, those of you who want to be here, please step forward.
All right, listen to me! You've already accomplished the damn mission! Our goal was to investigate the ninth chevron address, and you've done that.
Now, I do not deny that there once was a mission, but if it was as important as Rush claims it to be, they sure as hell couldn't expect us to do it.
There is no noble voyage to save the universe or to meet God, or whatever it is that Rush has sold you on! There is only the day that this ship dies! David, we don't know that.
I've got a good mind to try to take you all back by force.
Good luck with that.
Those of you still taking part in the evacuation are going to form two lines.
Everything we carry with us becomes a projectile in a nine-chevron transit, so we are going home with the clothes on our backs, nothing more.
Eli has warned them to expect us, but it seems that a radio signal does not reach across a nine chevron connection, so I'll go first to warn them that we're on our way.
You will follow in three-second intervals, two at a time.
Eli, are we ready? Yeah, the program's all set.
You're good to go.
Fifteen minutes, people, and we go home! And 15 minutes after that, you were dead.
If all those people stayed aboard, why were you the only survivor? I told you, there was an overload.
It doesn't matter.
We have a second chance now.
You just need to tell us what went wrong, what can we do differently.
Eli's program is based on precise timing in the recharging process.
A time which is fast approaching.
All right, so you dialed the ninth chevron and And it worked.
We made the connection.
Chevron nine is locked! Wait three seconds, then follow me! - No, no, wait, wait! - Stop! - What is it? - The wormhole's unstable.
See for yourself.
- Well, shut it down.
- I can't.
One of the mains blew out, my program can't compensate.
We'll have to configure the power levels on the fly.
Yes, Eli, that's what I'm doing.
I've almost got it.
Everybody, stand by! That's as stable as we're gonna get.
Okay, go, go, go! It's beginning to overload! Well, we were supposed to be gone by now! We can't stay ahead of this! We're losing her! That's it, everyone, we're going through! Let's go! All right, you heard him.
Let's go! Come on! Eli, there's nothing more you can do.
Eli, get the hell out of here! - Rush - I can't maintain a stable connection, and argue with you at the same time.
Now, please go.
Go! I don't really know how long I stayed there.
It felt like hours.
I kept waiting for the end to come, but Destiny fought to stay alive.
How are you sure that we They all didn't make it? I didn't say they all didn't make it.
I'm Dr.
Rush.
How many of them made it through? I'm sorry, sir.
Only one, hours ago.
He's been waiting to switch with someone to see why the others didn't follow.
The connection was made, but you were the only one who made it through to Earth.
We were told we'd be leaving for Earth by now.
What's happening? Some funky, funky stuff, man.
Lieutenant Scott, come in.
Sir, you are cutting it awful close here.
Stand down, Lieutenant, we've decided not to go ahead.
- You've got to be kidding me.
- Sir? We have reason to believe the evacuees will not make it through alive.
Send everyone to their quarters.
Understood.
- You made the right decision.
- Yeah, about bloody time.
I want to use the stones to confirm his story.
Well, we've never used the stones inside a star, and I don't think now is the time to start it, but I'll tell you what, you can go talk to yourself once we're safely on the other side.
Safely.
I think now we all need to be on the bridge.
Oh, well, at least I'll have someone to engage in a decent conversation.
There it is.
Well, I think that's confirmation, don't you? We're altering course and accelerating.
But we're close enough to get a decent look at her.
There but for the grace of God, huh? It's my fault.
Everybody on that ship died because of me.
Yeah, well, the only reason we're even in this situation is because you were all trying to save me.
Do you guys see what I see? What? The damage is confined mostly to the engineering spaces.
The main living compartments look intact.
So? I've got an idea.
Out of the way, out of the way! Move, move, move! You just said it was falling back toward the star.
- That was me, actually.
- Okay I'm telling you, we need to get over to that ship.
It might be worth the risk if we can salvage ammunition, food, supplies No, no, that's not what he's talking about - Well, what is it, then? - Spare parts.
I had the same idea.
I ran the whole way, too, so Hmm.
How much time do we have before we're out of range? Well, we can't take a shuttle, the other ship is too close to the star, and Destiny is accelerating away.
We can arrange a short FTL jump, use the stargate.
It's the same gate.
Can it dial itself? I don't see why not.
Destiny's address isn't based on a fixed point in space.
We'll have to input the distance calculation, but you guys should be able to work that out, right? Yeah, between me, Eli, and me.
All right, well, let's, uh, let's start putting together a list.
Yeah.
I'd like to lead the team over there.
I should go as well.
I'm the only one who knows which systems were affected by the overload.
Listen, Rush, I don't even know if that's what I should call you.
Well, it is my name.
Fine.
What I'm trying to say is that you've been through hell and back.
You don't got to do this.
The man wants to help, Everett, let him help.
We're gonna need all hands for this.
Okay.
These are priority number one! We want as many as we can get our hands on.
This one's burnt out.
This one's good.
Now, they're in every console, power relay, and pretty much every piece of equipment aboard the ship.
Open 'em up, pull 'em out and move on.
What do you call those things? I don't know"Things that make it go.
" We should find concentrations of working parts in the bridge, control interface and neural interface rooms.
Number two, these things, and don't ask me what they're called.
I'm not even sure how they work.
We also have to get our hands on the other repair robot, and shield emitter relays.
We'll get everything on the list.
If there's still time, we'll move on to our secondary objectives.
Yeah, how much time do we have? We'll assess that once we're aboard.
The conditions will be difficult and they will be dangerous, but make no mistake, we need to salvage these things if we are going to survive.
Dial the gate.
Everyone step back.
Send the Kino.
It's getting hot already, but the air is still breathable.
I'd call it a green light.
Let's move.
Form into your teams and standby.
Okay, I'm reading power and life support in both the bridge and Control Interface Room.
Forty minutes till the shield fails.
Then that's the time we have.
Lieutenant, that means your team heads straight to the armory.
Got it.
You know your assignments, let's go! This is Telford.
We are proceeding.
Okay, let's go.
- David, be careful.
- Will do.
Someone should report to Homeworld Command, explain what's been going on.
Well, you go ahead, and when you're back, you can explain it to me.
They must think we're all dead.
- It didn't happen.
- Yeah, it did.
Not to us, Eli.
You can say anything you like.
Tell me to take one timeline at a time, but if Rush wasn't sent back by a freak of physics, we'd all be dead by now.
I'll start here.
Let's make this quick.
Spread out.
Over here, guys.
Want to try to get that alarm off? Start at the back! Guess we're not going in there.
So, this must be pretty weird for you two, huh? Yes.
Half the ones I'm pulling are burnt out from the overload.
I'll take what we can get.
Go get your CO2 nodes.
We need to breathe, too.
Penhall, you're with me.
That's half time, start packing it up! Get back to the stargate, quickly as you can.
Go! - Gettin' hot, huh? - Yeah, but it's a dry heat.
All right, that's it, we're out of here.
Move.
Get back to the Gate Room.
Double time! - How we doing? - We eat tonight.
- Excellent.
Get out of here.
- Pack it up.
Come on, let's go.
All right, that's it, let's go! What do you think? I think it's not on our list.
It could double the amount of weapons we could bring online.
Do we even have time for this? Colonel, we've come across a piece of equipment that could significantly increase our weapons capability, but we're up against the clock.
For that, we should risk it! For once, he agrees with me.
Okay, I'll go and I'll bring back the proper tools.
Be careful not to touch the damaged one.
About 1000 volts running through that.
Do you think I might know that? Didn't mean to sneak up on you.
This is it? Yeah.
The others took the parts we had back to the Gate Room.
My younger self is coming back to help, but I don't want to wait for him.
You don't trust him either, huh? - So what went wrong? - What are you talking about? Not that I think you would kill them all deliberately.
I tried to save them! You don't think I buy that story? Rush valiantly keeping the gate open while the ship explodes all around him? I don't care what you think.
It wouldn't be the first time you sabotaged the ship to make an ass out of me, would it? The last time we tried to dial Earth from inside a star comes to mind, among others.
- So, what went wrong? - The wormhole was unstable! I'm talking about what really happened.
Their blood is on your hands, not mine.
They would all have made it home, but you did something! I was trying to buy them some time! Oh, and there's not a single person left alive to confirm that Get your hands off of me! You're the coward! You're the one who didn't believe in the mission! You're the one that killed them! Oh, no.
Oh, no.
All right, right over here! Hey, Rush, where's your other, uh He's found something for the weapons systems.
- There's no time! - We still have time.
- I'm just going back to help.
- All right, I'll go with you! Dial the gate and keep it open for us.
T.
J.
, get these people out of here.
Don't stay too long! All right, everybody, move out, we're going to dial the gate! They're dialing back.
Good.
That was fast.
I wasn't finished reporting, but when Colonel Telford found out that we were still here, he insisted that he be allowed to use the stones to switch with someone, preferably himself.
That's weird.
Yeah, well, that can wait.
At least they know we're alive.
Oh, no.
Lieutenant Scott, where the hell are you? Going after something that's supposed to double the weapons capability, sir.
Negative.
You don't have time for that.
I need you to locate Colonel Telford.
He's not answering his radio.
Roger that, sir, we're comin' right around Scott, say again? You were cut off.
We found the Colonel, sir.
He's dead.
Where's Rush? He's right beside me.
I don't know where the other one is.
I do.
Hey, hey, Rush! Sir, Rush just ran off on me.
- Let him go.
- Sir! You only have a few minutes before the shield fails.
Let him go, that is an order, Lieutenant.
It was an accident.
I believe you, but they won't.
No.
Tell me, when you, uh, dialed Earth, what really happened? I told you what happened.
And so now you're trying to decide whether or not to sit in that chair.
Well, wouldn't you, in my place? I'm not sure if even the knowledge of the Ancients can help you now.
Well, I really don't have anything to lose at this point.
Imagine what I could learn.
Well, you won't have much time.
Well, time's relative.
We've just proved that, haven't we? So, what are you waiting for? I need your help.
Thank you.
Goodbye.
Come on, come on, come on! You're welcome.
I'm okay, I'm okay.
Nicholas.
Yeah? Where's the other Rush? - I don't know.
- You told Scott you knew where he went.
I was wrong.
I went looking for him, couldn't find him.
Maybe he decided to go down with his ship.
That doesn't sound like me.
Still, you must, uh You must be pleased about one thing.
What's that? Well, we can fix the ship, get on with the mission.
Yeah, of course.
Get on with the mission.