Episode 6: WaterSergeants Riley and Greer are talking about a group of miners that survived a cave-in for six days by drinking their own urine. Young interrupts by saying the water levels are lower than they should be, and Riley tells Young that the only person who came by was Sgt. Spencer, who wanted to look inside but Riley told him no.
After, Eli, Young, and Rush are discussing the problem. Eli suggest it evaporated when they passed through the star, but Rush tells him it’s a closed system and protected. Young says that the recycling center Rush is trying to get online could have caused a leak, but Eli tells him the computer says it’s fine. They have lost over half of their water. Young tells Rush he wants to try redialing the gate since the ship is recharged, but Rush insists that they are only at 40% or original design capacity. Now that they ships is thousands of years old, it can’t function the same way. Young orders Rush to use Brody (an engineer) to help him while he borrows Eli.
Young has Eli use a Kino to find out what people are saying (without being seen). In the mess area, some of the civilians are saying that there’s more water than Young is saying. “You know the military. As long as they control the water, they control us”. Young tells Eli to keep monitoring everyone so he knows who he can trust. Eli continues to watch the Kino, so he doesn’t notice when a cloud of sand exits the room after Young.
Greer is walking down one of the hallways when he hears something behind him (another sand cloud). He stops and looks, as Young comes around the corner. Young tells him he’s headed to the gateroom; they have dropped out of FTL and there is a planet in range that could have water. When they send the Kino through, it’s snowing heavily (the temperature is -47 C, -53 F). The atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide, but they need to look for water. Young calls for Scott to come to the gateroom, but he doesn’t respond. He sends Lt. James to find him, and she finds Scott and Chloe making out. There are only two spacesuits ready (and undamaged), so Young and Scott get ready to head out. Young puts TJ in charge while he’s gone.
Once on the planet, Young and Scott begin sampling the ice to find anything drinkable. The surface ice has high concentrations of ammonia. They see some rocky outcroppings and decide to look there. Scott is unsure, since the farther they have to haul the ice, the less they can bring back. Eli has an idea; he puts a stretcher on a bunch of kinos-they can use it like a hovering dolly. As they walk away from the gate, there are some tremors.
TJ checks the water levels and they have dropped significantly, again. The guard insists no one has been in there, so she orders a search of the ship and everyone’s quarters. As TJ walks around, she sees the sand cloud that has been traveling around the ship. It comes up to her and stops in front of her and mirrors her face. When her radio beeps, it takes off. Greer (via radio) tells her he found something in Spencer’s room. When she arrives, she sees Spencer has two containers of water and a backpack full of protein bars, all stolen. TJ has Spencer locked up. Greer continues to look for stolen water. While he’s searching Chloe’s room, Dr. Franklin walks by and tells him that they people on board have rights and that the search is ridiculous.
On the planet, Young and Scott find a frozen water fall that tests clean. They begin to break it into pieces. They use one of the guns to start breaking it faster, when the plasma cutter takes too long.
On the ship, TJ explains what she saw to Eli and Rush. Rush tells them it’s the same thing Lt. Scott claimed he saw on the desert planet. TJ agrees, and thinks maybe some followed them back. They would have gone unnoticed if only a few followed, but the water has been dropping faster because they’re multiplying. She orders everyone to remain in their quarters until they can figure something out.
Young and Scott have loaded the kino-dolly with ice and start heading back to the gate. In the ship, Corporal Gorman heads to the gateroom to help unload the ice, and meets the sand cloud in the hallway. He fires on it, and the cloud responds by attacking him. Meanwhile, in the gateroom, the first shipment of ice arrives and they begin unloading. Eli tells Young that aliens have “shredded” Gorman, but he is alive. Rush insists that they don’t need to come back, and they think it’s the same type of creature Scott encountered. Scott insists they weren’t dangerous, but Gorman probably provoked him. Rush insists there’s nothing Young can do now, but they do need more ice. Young agrees and they head back out. Rush yells at Eli for telling Young, and that he is acting like a child for not prioritizing (and being upset about everyone lying).
Greer says they should torch the aliens, while TJ insists they were acting in self defense. Eli realizes the aliens were drinking the water. TJ tells Greer to look for the aliens, but not to antagonize them. Greer finds them, and TJ tells him not to lose them.
On the planet, Young and Scott are loading up the ice on the dolly, when a crack opens in the surface and Scott falls through. He’s wedged about 20 feet down, with an even deeper crack beneath him. Young throws a rope down, but Scott is so stuck so tightly that Young can’t pull him out. Scott tries to dig himself out, but the tremors pinch him tighter and puncture the suit.
On the ship Lt. James tells Chloe that Scott is stuck (as a gesture of goodwill). Chloe joins Rush, TJ, and Eli in the gateroom to hear the communications between them and Young and Scott. Scott tells them that he can’t see the hole, but he can hear air escaping. When Rush suggests that Young leave Scott, Young tells him he isn’t returning without him. Chloe yells at Rush for even suggesting it. Meanwhile, Greer locks the aliens in a room and Rush cuts the air to the room.
Young tries to pull Scott out again, but can’t. Scott tells him to go back without him.
Meanwhile, the aliens become more agitated and some break through the door.
On the planet, Scott has lost consciousness, and Young considers going back without him. Another tremor (the largest yet) breaks the crevasse open, freeing Scott, but the rope holding Scott begins to fly down. Young jumps to grab it, and barely gets a hold of it. Young yells until Scott wakes up, and Young pulls while Scott climbs. Young pulls Scott up, but once at the top Scott looses consciousness again.
TJ brings a canister of water to the room, hoping to lure the aliens in. Greer wants to stay in case they attack, but TJ orders him out. Once alone, Eli opens the door and offers the open water canister to the aliens. She orders Eli to seal off everything from the room she’s in to the gateroom so she has a clear path. The aliens head for the water and she seals them in and rushes for the gate room. Eli dials out just as Young arrives with Scott. Young tells them to shut the gate down so he can dial out, but Rush tells him to move away from the gate because the aliens are coming through. TJ tosses the canister into the gate, and once the canister lands on the planet, the aliens break out. They head for Scott, who wakes up and looks at them. The mimic his face, and then fly off. The gate shuts down, and Young dials in. He comes through with Scott on the kino-dolly, which prevented him from bringing more ice. The ship returns to FTL.
Young releases Spencer, but tells him that if he steps out of line again, he will be dealt with by Young. As Young leaves, Dr. Franklin demands that he talk to him about the behavior of one of his men, while Lisa Park insists that the rationing conditions are more important and she needs to speak to Young first. Another person argues that he needs to talk to him as well, but Young keeps walking.
Young records a Kino message: at 3am Cpl. Gorman died of his injuries resulting from the aliens. Services will be held in the morning.
Interested in the aliens? See the first encounter with something like them in Stargate SG-1: Season 4, Episode 19 “Prodigy” http://www.hulu.com/watch/76389/stargate-sg-1-prodigy
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