((And now, the season premiere of Stargate: SG-1!))
(Which I was, thankfully, able to condense to one post!)
(Which I was, thankfully, able to condense to one post!)
13x01 "Inroads, Part 1" (Part 2 of 3)
Synopsis: As the Alliance retreats from its disasterous confrontation with the Der'kal, SG-1 struggles to come to terms with what has happened. Meanwhile, the alien armada first detected by the Tok'ra is about to arrive...
Spoiler:
((60 Second Recap of "Shatterpoint"))
As even more of the Alliance fleet is blown away, Col. Sanders orders a sharp break to starboard, and the Aurora pulls out of the battle, heading away from the planet. Almost at once, though, Carter and Daniel demand that they head back, shouting that Teal'c is still fighting with the Jaffa and the Nox and that they can't just leave.
But Sanders turns to them and shouts her own retort; Earth needs this ship. They just lost the Valiant, and they can't afford to lose two cruisers in a single day. After a tense debate, though, SG-1 manages to convince her that it's worth the risk, and she reluctantly turns the 304 back around to the fray. Unfortunately, things have deteriorated... a lot. Only three Nox ships remain, and all but five ha'tak have been destroyed (3 being Jaffa, two Tok'ra). Hoping that maybe she can re-route some more power to the shields, Carter rushes out of the bridge, heading for the auxillary control room.
Thankfully, though, there is some hope. The Nox ships concentrate their fire on the lead enemy ship, and it is blown to pieces after a moment when its shields fail. The Aurora weaves in and out of the line of fire, blasting away with Asgard weaponry at the Der'kal cruisers. At first, it seems the enemy shields are simply too strong, but then, after several hits, one ship finally gives in and starts to take direct hull damage, a sight which is cheered on the bridge. As long as these enemies can be hurt, they have a chance at salvaging this battle.
But any positive momentum is lost when the last of the Tok'ra ha'tak are destroyed, and one of the remaining Nox cruisers begins to explode in the background. Now the alien fleet is focusing most of their attacks on the Aurora, which simply can't take all the punishment. Mitchell radios Teal'c and says that they have to pull out, and she recommends the Jaffa battle group join them in the retreat. The Aurora dives down and around the enemy fleet, heading back to the remaining Alliance ships, but it continues to take heavy fire to the rear shields. Any moment now, Col. Sanders informs them, the shields will fail; they simply waited too long.
As the team braces for the end, though, the ship suddenly stops shaking. Amazed at their luck, the team allows themselves to hope that maybe the enemy has thought twice... but then Carter radios from the rear of the ship, sounding horrified; the only reason they aren't taking damage is because Teal'c has moved his ship directly in the line of fire! From her position, Sam is forced to watch as the mothership's shields fail and it begins to break up. She radios the bridge to beam their friend out... but it's too late; they can't get a lock on his locator beacon.
With the sole remaining Nox ship pulling up to join them, a despair-filled Aurora jumps into hyperspace for Earth—this round is over, and they've lost.
Back on Earth, Talbot has ordered Chulak dialed, to see if the Jaffa have heard anything about the attack on Garrin's stronghold. But Bra'tac has nothing to offer her other than a confirmation of what she already knows; Tok'ra intelligence has detected a massive armada heading towards the Milky Way, and Garrin's planet in particular. The Jaffa have already dispatched a scout ship to warn the Alliance fleet, but even Bra'tac guesses that it won't arrive until the conflict is over, and then it may be too late to warn them. Still, Talbot has hope that with the advanced warships they sent things will work out okay.
Meanwhile, SG-1 has gathered in the Aurora's mess hall. Carter is sobbing in Daniel's arms, and the others are looking on with tear-filled eyes themselves. The loss of Teal'c is hard on them all, but Vala can hardly believe he's really gone. She reminds everyone of the things the Jaffa warrior has gone through, of all the trials he has faced that would have surely broken any other. The passing of such an extraordinary person is difficult to accept. Jackson remembers when he first met Teal'c, a soldier who knew that his gods were full of lies and deceit. How ironic, then, that he should die at the hands of beings who seemed to be the exact opposite... a race that from the start dispelled any notion of godhood. Even through the sadness, however, Mitchell reminds everyone that they still have a fight ahead of them, and they need to warn Earth about the impending invasion if they don't know already.
The four of them depart for the bridge, but Carter pauses at the doorway, pulling away from Daniel. She says for them to go on; she needs a minute alone to just come to terms with this. Mitchell moves to comfort her, but Daniel simply grabs his shoulder and shakes his head. Realizing that all warriors can be broken, the other three members of SG-1 head out, leaving Carter alone to her sorrow.
They arrive on the bridge to find the ship just dropping out of hyperspace (alone, as the Nox ship went back to the Nox homeworld). Before them is the grand sight of the Thor and several BC-303s (belonging to various nations), as well as the Asgard-designed orbital defense grid of satellite weapons (installed in Season 11). At once, ISGC comms them and welcomes them back on a mission well-done, assuming that their return indicates a victory. But then the comm officer's voice softens, as he no-doubt notices the lack of the Valiant.
Col. Sanders explains that the battle was won rather easily after Garrin's facility was destroyed. She gives a short but effective summary of events, from the revelation of what Garrin truly was and his death to the arrival of the Der'kal fleet. She pauses for a moment, glancing at SG-1, as she adds that Teal'c was killed when the Jaffa fleet blocked enemy fire so they could escape—no one on the team says anything, or even looks her way.
The ISGC officer acknowledges, and asks if SG-1 can be beamed down for a debriefing. Sanders asks if she should send them right down to the ISGC briefing room, but the officer quickly steps in, saying that she has misunderstood him. SG-1's presence has been requested by the Pentagon in light of "recent Alliance intelligence gains," and they are wanted ASAP. Surprised but understanding, Sanders agrees to beam the team down to Washington and cuts the transmission link. For a moment, everyone is silent, but then Daniel mentions that someone has to tell Sam they're leaving, a task Vala volunteers for.
Some time later, Sam and Vala come onto the bridge. Carter's eyes are still red from crying, but she seems to have composed herself again, and says she's ready to go. Col. Sanders wishes them luck, then has the team beamed planet-side. Immediately upon arrival in the Pentagon, SG-1 is ushered to the officer of non-other than General Jack O'Neill, the Secretary of Homeworld Defense. O'Neill is ecstatic to see the team, embracing Daniel and Sam straight away... and then noticing the looks on all of their faces. He asks what's wrong, and nearly drops the stack of folders he's holding when Mitchell explains Teal'c's sacrifice.
Jack turns away for a moment, then appologizes. He explains that they can't think about that right now, not with everything that's going on. Mitchell quickly explains the arrival of the Der'kal... but O'Neill merely holds up a hand. He asks if these "Der'kal" showed up with about two dozen ships, to which Carter replies that that number sounds right. Jack quickly brings up an image on his computer monitor, saying that this is the most recent Tok'ra intelligence reports they've recieved; it shows slightly less than 2 dozen ships in orbit around P9X-335 (the Der'kal fleet minus the few SG-1 destroyed).
Looking at the screen, Daniel agrees that what they're seeing is, indeed, the enemy fleet. Then Jack drops the bombshell on them; he pulls back the display to reveal the rest of the galaxy, as well as the hundreds-strong fleet continuing to approach the Milky Way from the galactic void. Mitchell guesses that, given the circumstances, that must be more Der'kal ships. And if that's the case, given what they've just been through, they're in trouble. Jack claims that the Nox have already agreed to send another battle group to try and head off the enemy, but Earth has precious little to lend to the assault. Regardless, Carter says that they have to at least try and stop this invasion before it begins, and they prepare to head back out.
As the others file out, Daniel hangs back with Jack. He asks his old friend if he's going to be okay, to which O'Neill merely replies that they've faced worse... but Jackson points out that he was referring to Teal'c. Jack is silent for a long moment, but when he speaks again, his voice is full of the anguish he is surely feeling. He asks Daniel what the odds are that someone was looking out for the Jaffa warrior like Oma was always watching him... that maybe, just maybe, he found a way out of death. But Jackson has no answer to that, and after a final good-bye, he follows after his team.
Back at P9X-335, the Der'kal fleet has established a defensive perimeter around the planet, and various smaller craft can be seen scouting the wreckage of the Alliance fleet. On the planet itself, surviving Jaffa, Tok'ra, and Hebridanian soldiers are being rounded up by hulking alien warriors. The Der'kal soldiers wear ornate, delicate-looking armor, yet when a Jaffa lunges at one, his punches don't leave so much as a small dent. A nearby officer (at least, what appears to be an officer) calmly pulls out an ornate-looking pistol and fires a single emerald plasma blast into the Jaffa's skull, killing him.
One of the alien soldiers approaches the officer, saying that another craft is inbound with more prisoners (presumably those trapped on disabled ships that weren't completely blown up). The commander acknowledges and asks for a communications terminal to be made ready; a counterattack will no doubt soon be launched, and they need to be ready for it. It is very clear that these aliens are not conversing in English, but instead their own language. Presumably they know both, and perhaps others.
As the officer turns back to supervising the prisoner round-up, he mentions to a nearby warrior to prepare the soldiers for their first attacks; the fleet will launch its first strike as soon as the second battle group arrives, and their target as already been chosen... Hebridan (it should be noted the Hebridan is relatively close by, being on the edge of the galaxy itself).
Then he moves down into the makeshift camp that has been erected, where numerous examples of Der'kal technology can be seen; walls of energy shields make up on-the-fly "cells" for captured enemies. Also visible is a structure very similar to a ring platform, suggesting that the Der'kal have encountered Alteran technology in the past. Pushing past many soldiers and prisoners, the officer finally arrives at a "cell" at the far end of the complex, deactivating the energy field and stepping inside. He greets the prisoner there as "infidel," grinning maliciously and showing two rows of razor-sharp teeth.
The camera then pans to reveal exactly who is sitting there... and in shock, a very-bloodied Teal'c is seen, held roughly be two Der'kal soldiers. His nightmare, apparently, has only just begun.
((To Be Continued))
In any event, the original post has links to everything, so no need to sift through all these pages to find episodes. And as I said, this season will debute realtively slowly, so the next episode probably won't be out for another half-a-week/a full week. That should give you plenty of time to get up to speed.
Thanks! It'll be a walk in the park ... a very scary park, filled with monsters who are trying to kill me.
I like the yellow ones.
OH CRAP!!!
You need someone dumber than you are.... You may have come to the right place.
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