Continuing Stargate

[s09119]

Who wants an episode list?

13x15 "Pandora"
13x16 "Cold War"
13x17 "It Takes a Thief"
13x18 "TBA" (Haven't quite found a name yet)
13x19 "The Time Traveler"
13x20 "Xenocide" (Part 1 of 2)

See if you can glean anything from just those names alone... and look out for an Ancient in one of the upcoming episodes!

[Lt. Col. Mcoy]

After two days, only the faithful Lt. Col. Mcoy comments... alas, but at least it was positive

Well, I had mentioned in "Shatterpoint" that Jack and Sam wanted to be together, and I couldn't just ignore the ship if they were both in the same room.

Anyone have any feedback storywise, though? I was expecting somewhat of a backlash for having Sam cross the line interrogating the Trust agents, and another slew of gasps for bringing Kinsey back from the dead.

But of course.


I wait all week for these.

Who wants an episode list?



See if you can glean anything from just those names alone... and look out for an Ancient in one of the upcoming episodes!

Interesting. I'd have to guess 'Time Traveler' for the one with the Ancient.

[s09119]

But of course.


I wait all week for these.

Good to know

Interesting. I'd have to guess 'Time Traveler' for the one with the Ancient.

I posted a summary of "The Time Traveler" a few weeks ago. Maybe you should refresh your memory

[Lt. Col. Mcoy]

Man! Where? I can't find it!



Oye...can't believe I forgot.

[s09119]

Man! Where? I can't find it!



Oye...can't believe I forgot.

Here it is: http://forum.gateworld.net/showpost....&postcount=156

[Apollo214]

I could be wrong about the sam/daniel heaviness, but the Jonas story sounds good, and the xenocide sounds really cool, I love those episodes where they debate morality, or even better when they dont debate it, and just do it like with the Fran story in Atlantis, or the Ark.....

[s09119]

So I've decided to release the details on "Pandora" since, in my opinion, it could very well be the best episode of the season:

Next up, prepare to meet "Pandora"!

Atlantis is under siege, the Ancients are fleeing to the safety of Earth... but one woman stays behind. Elizabeth Weir believed herself to be the last person in the City of the Ancestors after the exodus to the Milky Way, but was she right? After all these years, Dr. Rodney McKay will stumble upon a secret nearly as old as the legend of the lost city itself; Pandora's Box, long thought to be a myth, is quite real.

And it may be the key to stopping the Der'kal once and for all.

While SG-1 scours their past thirteen years of adventures for clues, the story of the brilliant but troubled Lantean genius Pandora will unfold, from her early days of apprenticeship to the trouble-making Janus to her final stand against the Lantean High Council. For she finally surpassed her mentor and his time machine by creating something far more sinister... a device capable of storing enough stellar energy to crack planets apart and obliterate entire fleets or starships. Seen by Pandora as the final solution to the Wraith, the Box was deemed too powerful for any race, even the Ancients, to possess. But the Lantean scientist refused to give up her creation, and when her people fled, she stayed behind to ensure its survival.

Now, 10,000 years in the distant future, Earth faces utter annhiliation at the hands of the Der'kal, an enemy so numerous and powerful even the Ancients themselves would be hardpressed to defeat. But Pandora's Box has long been lost to time, and it will take the resources of the entire Alliance to locate the doomsday device...

...assuming SG-1 finds it first.

[Apollo214]

Ok very cool I much look forward to that

[Sector]

I'm not going to speculate because that might ruin surprises, even for me. But let's say that I cannot wait for the next episode, I love these episodes where Ancients or their experimental devices are a part of.

[TheJunkyardDog]

i luv this stuff

[s09119]

"Pandora" should be out by Friday or Saturday (sorry about the one-week wait, but studies do come first!), so in the meantime I figured I'd give you a heads-up on how the galaxy's doing.

As of "A Family Affair," there have been several major skirmishes both on- and off-screen between the Alliance and the Der'kal. Battles with victories for the Alliance are marked by blue tags, and victories for the Der'kal are marked with red. The ones we know of are:

<> The Battle of P9X-335 ("Shatterpoint")
<> The Battle of Hebridan ("Inroads, Part 1," "Inroads, Part 2")
<>/<> The skirmish at Telin/ISGC space station ("Routed")
<> The Battle of Deraan ("Frontlines")
<> Skirmish over Hebridan ("Friendly Fire")
<> The Battle of Ankgor ("Rogues, Part 1," "Rogues, Part 2")

As you can see, things stand fairly even from what we've seen on-screen, with a slight tilt toward the invaders. However, there have several other major conflicts that have not gone quite so well. The (rough) map below gives a good idea of how far into the Milky Way the Der'kal have gotten, which tells a story far more representative than the above list:

Hope this was a nice little refresher (and possibly updater), and stick around for "Pandora" at the week's end!

[Lt. Col. Mcoy]

Cool. Can't wait.

[Vampyr]

Hellloooo, did someone say enchilada?

[s09119]

Okay, with my current timeframe, "Pandora" is looking at a very late release tonight or one tomorrow afternoon, keeping with my original estimate of Friday or Saturday. Also, I've done some overhaul work on the OP of the thread, so check there from now on for updated episode listings and spoilers!

[s09119]

13x15 "Pandora"
Synopsis: Dr. McKay contacts Earth with an amazing discovery from Atlantis that may help turn the tide in the war against the Der'kal.

Spoiler:

Atlantis: 10,000 Years Ago

As a voice comes over the intercom asking for all remaining Lantean personnel to evacuate via the gate room, a lone female Ancient scientist pulls off her communication device and places it on the computer terminal before her, ignoring all calls to leave. In these waning hours of the Ancestral War, the city is being emptied as the defeated yet proud civilization flees to the safety of Earth... yet this one woman stays behind.

A nearby monitor activates, and the face of Janus ("Before I Sleep")appears onscreen, looking both concerned and relieved at the same time. He asks if everything is alright and going according to plan, to which the Ancient female says it is. She then adds that "all preparations have been made for the humans," nodding to Elizabeth Weir, who can just be seen behind Janus examining a Lantean stasis pod. A strange looks comes over the male Ancient, and he nods slowly in reply. After checking to make sure Weir cannot hear him, he asks if she's sure it will survive until it's needed, a question that the Lantean woman can only offer a cryptic, "Time shall tell."

With that, Janus says good-bye and wishes her good-luck, then calls out to Elizabeth and cuts the link. Smiling to herself, the Ancient scientist turns away from the monitor and inputs a final command into the computer banks. A hologram of a glowing and beautiful orb appears, about the size of an Earth basketball. She closes down the hologram and picks up a datapad lying nearby. Then, after checking a monitor to ensure that the last of the Ancients are about to depart, she mutters, echoing the future words of the human still with her, "It's time to begin..."

Atlantis: 2010 (Present Day)

Dr. Rodney McKay has just pried open the door to a sealed Lantean lab that, as he tells Major Lorne, has been closed off for the last 10,000 years. Lorne doesn't seem all that interested, and cooly remarks that he only came along because Col. Sheppard asked him to check the area for danger before the scientists were allowed in.

As the two venture farther into the lab (which is now obviously the same one as the Ancient lady was in from the previous scene), the lights come on... as does the hologram terminal, which immediately projects an image of the glowing orb seen earlier. Before either of the two humans can say anything, though, her voice begins speaking from internal speakers, thanking them for so nicely breaking into her sanctuary unbidden. Lorne asks what the chances are this Ancient lady built a defense system into her lab, but McKay tells him to shut up. Words are scrolling by on the monitors, and he's already grabbing his tablet and plugging it into the nearest computer to download whatever is being shown.

Finally the message ends and the hologram fades, but one sentence continues to flash on the monitors. When Lorne asks what it is, McKay answers in amazement, "May it serve you well. - Pandora."

Light-years away, on Earth, Lt. Col. Mitchell is sipping a cup of coffee in the control room at the ISGC. Walter is preparing to dial the Tok'ra homeworld for a check-in when, suddenly, the stargate comes online and a wormhole is established. Before the defense team can even move, though, Dr. McKay calls through the radio not to worry. He's just contacting Earth to let them know about something incredible he's found; a device that may be capable of stopping the Der'kal--and any other enemy that threatens them--in their tracks. He invites SG-1 to Atlantis as soon as possible to follow up on this discovery, and Mitchell tosses his coffee to Walter as he rushes to find Sam.

About an hour later, the SG-1 team assembles in the gate room in their barracks uniforms (loose-fitting green shirts with loose black pants). Sam has a small napsack which she says has all her basic scientific instruments, and Daniel's carrying his notebook, but other than that they don't have any sort of "offworld" gear. From the control room, Talbot orders the gate dialed (Carter mentions that the ZPM previously onboard the Odyssey was given to the ISGC after the ship was destroyed over Chulak in "Amazing Grace"), and a moment later a wormhole connects to Atlantis. The doctor wishes the team good luck and a speedy return, and then watches as SG-1 steps through the stargate and heads to Pegasus.

Atlantis: 10,000 Years Ago

The Lantean scientist Pandora steps through the stargate into the Atlantis gate room, immediately ducking out of the way as Wraith stunner blasts arch through the wormhole. Pulling out an energy pistol (identical to the ones seen in "Aurora"), she shoots the first Wraith soldier to run through in the back, loosing two golden energy pulses that send the alien to the floor. As she backs up the staircase to the control room, she continues to fire down on Wraith entering the city, and finally cuts off the flow of enemies by raising the stargate shield. Looking quite weary, the scientist slumps down into a nearby chair and breathes a sigh of relief.

She reactivates the lock-out mechanism so that only Earth can dial the city, then pulls the plastic coverings back over the control panels. Pulling out a datapad, she mutters that "everything's ready" and begins dialing an address on the DHD. After the wormhole is established (to Earth, as the symbols can be seen on the DHD), she takes a moment to get one last look at the only home she has ever known, then walks through the gate.

Atlantis: Present Day

Lt. Col. John Sheppard stands before the Atlantis stargate, waiting for his guests to arrive from Earth. A few meters behind him, Dr. McKay approaches munching on a sandwich, which he quickly gulps down as Samantha Carter and the rest of SG-1 step through the puddle. Sheppard quickly explains that they have two teams of scientists and experts on the Ancients going over Pandora's lab, but so far they haven't been able to access anything; there are simply too many layers of safeguards and encryptions. Carter and Daniel immediately volunteer their services to help, and McKay hurriedly escorts them to the nearest transporter.

While they leave, Mitchell asks Sheppard what he and Vala are supposed to do here. The Atlantis military commander offers them a chance to sit in on a meeting of what the Atlanteans are calling the "Pegasus Alliance"; a group of the galaxy's most powerful civilizations. Members in attendance include Larrin of the Travelers, Ladon of the Genii, and many representatives of smaller factions. Not seeing much else to do, the two remaining SG-1 members agree to attend.

Meanwhile, down in the bowels of the city, Carter, Jackson, and McKay have arrived at Pandora's lab. The science teams are attempting to hack into the Lantean computer terminals, but the chorus of negative-sounding beeps and boops seems to imply that they're having very limited success. Daniel heads over to where Major Lorne is watching a group of linguists attempt to analyze a brief bit of data they've decoded, and Sam and Rodney join Dr. Zelenka and his team as they try to override Pandora's firewalls. The Lantean was apparently a genius programmer, and some of her systems are even more complex and advanced than the digital defenses of Atlantis itself. Zelenka notes that, insofar, it almost seems like she didn't want them to get anything more from her files.

While the others continue their work, McKay shows Sam the holographic image of Pandora's Box, which continues to hang in midair over the hologram terminal. Carter at once points out the remarkable similarity in the device to Merlin's Sangraal, and even goes so far as to hypothesize that the two worked together on a joint project some time. But Rodney quickly shoots that theory down, claiming that what the database told them about Pandora shows that such a scenario was rather unlikely...

Atlantis: 10,000 Years Ago

Time has jumped back quite a few years, back before the Lanteans abandoned their city. Janus and Pandora are debating over the science behind one of the former's newest inventions, and it is clear that they are both younger (Pandora would appear to be around the human age of 18). As the argument starts to heat up, the door to the laboratory opens, revealing the High Councilor of Atlantis, Moros (who would later take the name Merlin). The Councilor demands to know why Janus is having Pandora work on yet more weapons of war when they have already decided that they will begin calling back personnel from their offworld bases and evacuate the city in a few years. Since they will not be fighting the Wraith for much longer, why doesn't he have her persue more useful things?

Before her mentor can say anything, though, Pandora stands and declares that she is a genius in her own right, clearly rivaling Janus and the others on Atlantis. It was her invention, she says, that jammed Wraith sensors so they could defeat the enemy armada in orbit over Manara two years ago, and it was her tactical brilliance that headed off a Wraith scouting party attempting to run the Ancient blockade around Lantea. She, unlike her people, has yet to give up to fate, and is determined to fight on to the bitter end.

Still, Moros orders her to cease her research into new, more powerful weapons. The Lantean fleet with perform a holding action as long as it can, and when that has failed, they will evacuate. It is that simple. The Ancestral War is finally ending, and they have lost. Apparently, the Council thinks it's time Pandora learned this.

After the Councilor leaves, satisfied, Janus asks Pandora if she has any intention of doing as asked. She says that she'll begin working on some pet project to satisfy Moros, but she's not going to abandon her research. According to her, she has an idea that may end up being enough to turn the tide of the war, and she won't stop until she's either dead or there's no one left for her inventions to save.

Atlantis: Present Day

Still looking at the Box's hologram, Carter asks if they have any idea where the device actually is. McKay starts to answer, but Zelenka heads him off with a shout of success as they crack through one layer of firewalls, opening up a cache of files. The data is transferred at once to the primary terminal in the room, and a stream of information scrolls down the screen.

Daniel comes over and, along with McKay, begins translating; it's a transcript of some of Pandora's last inventions, mostly menial things related to trash recycling, power re-allocation, and increased stardrive speed. One item catches Sam's eye, though, and she asks for the data to be halted. The file in question outlines a prototype warship based off of Furling designs, possibly utilizing their ahead-of-the-game AI technology. Carter quickly explains for McKay's benefit the story of the Furling's demise, and points out how odd it is that she would suggest experimenting with AIs after the debacle in the Milky Way. Jackson suggests that maybe she found a way to control the machine intelligence better, but either way, it's still a dubious idea.

(Too long. See next post for end.)