SGU Stargate Universe (2009–2011): Season 2, Episode 7 - The Greater Good - full transcript

RUSH: This is what Destiny intended from
the moment it entered the star system.

YOUNG: That ship is the best chance
we have of getting home.

Are we done?

We'll never be done.

WRAY: You shouldn't have left him
on the planet.

YOUNG: You think I don't know that?

CHLOE: Everyone thinks we're safe.
They think that they'll never find us again.

Why did you take
one of our people prisoner?

(SNARLS)

CHLOE: We're not safe, are we?

- TELFORD: They're coming!
- Who's coming?



Lucian Alliance.
They're coming to take Destiny.

RUSH: There's only one way
this is going to end if we wait.

YOUNG: I'm not
surrendering this ship.

What if we can increase
the FTL drive's efficiency?

- Who's the best?
- RUSH: Amanda Perry.

- Nick...
- RUSH: For all her abilities,

there are certain disabilities
of which you should be made aware.

YOUNG: This ship is affecting
the crew's dreams?

RUSH: But what if this is a test?

WRAY: A test he's failing.

GINN: I'd like to offer my help.

I spent over a year studying Ancient
systems to prepare for the trip.

We can't spend the rest of our days
here on this ship as prisoners.

YOUNG: Should have thought about
that before you attacked us.



I may be on the verge

of discovering the true nature
of Destiny's mission.

WRAY OVER RADIO: Colonel Young.

Yeah.

Morning briefing. You're late.

She's been the most cooperative
of all the Lucian Alliance members.

Homeworld Security
wants to talk to her now.

About the planned attack on Earth?

Some of Ginn's people,
a clan from her home planet,

are believed to be the ones behind it.

She may know the location of their base.

Or at least point us to the people
who do know.

Okay.

Is she in there?

Yeah. But you should know she's...

Hello, Ginn.

Our people on Earth
have asked if you could use

the communication stones
to come and talk with them.

(PANTING) Oh. Um, sure.

I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?

No. I, uh, was just, um, sleeping.

Anyway, they were hoping
to talk to you this afternoon,

if that's all right with you.

- Sure.
- Good.

I'll come by later, fill you in on
the protocol involving the stones.

Of course.

Thank you.

BRODY: Twelve hours
on the countdown clock

but the gate's not dialing.

No planets in range. We tried calling Rush.

No response, as usual.

Rush, come in.

(CONSOLE CHIMES)

Wait a minute.

There is something out there,
straight ahead of us.

VOLKER: What is it?

Some kind of ship.

Definitely not a seed ship.

JOHANSEN: It doesn't look like the aliens
we encountered before, either.

New friends.

Yay.

♪ Stargate Universe: "The Greater Good" ♪
Season 2 Episode 7

Original Airdate Nov. 9, 2010

JOHANSEN: Looks like
it's been through a battle.

GREER: And got its ass kicked.

(ENGINES POWERING)

BRODY: Looks deserted. Whoever was
on board must have evacuated.

Where the hell were you?

I was working.

I want to know
what the hell you were doing.

I was busy. I'm here now.
Can we deal with the matter in hand?

VOLKER: We sent over a Kino.

RUSH: Have you found anything?

Ship's empty.

Looks like they were in a battle,
probably abandoned ship.

We should send over a boarding party.

We got no shuttle.

We could use the space suits.

What, to just jump over?

Yes. Destiny stopped
here for a reason.

Who knows what kind of data
or technology could be salvaged.

Well, who's going to go?

I'll go.

Kind of risky for you to be...

The ship is deserted. I'm the expert
in alien technology. I should go.

You have just over
six hours of suit air,

in case you can't get the ship's
life support online.

All right, Colonel,
maybe I should go with him instead.

You say that now
that I'm already in the suit?

I'm just not sure it's such a good idea
for you to be doing this.

The crew needs you here...

I need to keep an eye on him.
Don't worry, Lieutenant.

I'm not going to
leave him behind.

Rush and Young are going to go over
and check it out,

see if there's anything worth salvaging.

What's this?

Oh, some equations
Rush asked me to look at.

You understand all this?

I'm sorry I haven't been by
as much lately.

I've been really...

It's okay.

I heard you and one
of the Lucian Alliance people

have been working together a lot. Ginn?

Yeah.

Who told you?

- Matt.
- Ah. (CHUCKLES)

See, we were working together
on this thing,

the dialing from inside a star,
and I got to know her.

And she is really...

I don't know.

We became friends,
and then, out of nowhere...

Hey.

I'm happy for you.

YOUNG OVER RADIO:
Okay, we're good. Open the door.

Looks like the bridge is destroyed.

Okay, I'm in. Line's secured.
Come on over.

Destiny, we are on board the ship.

Copy that.

YOUNG: Bulkhead's sealed.

Is there life support?

Not yet, but we have gravity,
so that is a start.

The place is pretty banged up.

Hopefully we can find a way
to access control of the...

Colonel, you still there?

Yeah, we're here. Is that...

RUSH: It is.

ELI: What? What? What is it?

RUSH: Pods.

The aliens we encountered
on the seed ship.

Maybe you should come back,
not take any chances?

YOUNG: Don't worry,
the pods are empty.

Well, there could be pods elsewhere
on the ship that aren't empty.

RUSH: If there was anything still alive on
this ship, the Kino would've noticed it.

YOUNG: Is that a control panel?

(HUMMING)

Are you getting this?

ELI: Uh, yeah, yeah, we got it.

What is that, a control room?

Some kind of engineering station.
It appears to only have limited control,

but I think I can seal off
some other bulkheads and...

(POWER SURGES)

We have life support.

Power's coming on in other parts
of the ship as well.

Right.

I'm going to try switching over
to the ship's communications.

Do you read?

BRODY: Loud and clear.

Okay, I'm also going to...

What the hell just happened?

I don't know. The engines have engaged.

- What did you do?
- I didn't do anything!

Turn them off!

I can't from here!

The engines have shut off on their own.

The power's nearly drained.

Doesn't matter. We're ballistic,
moving away from Destiny.

Turn us around, Rush.

I can't.

Navigation and propulsion
cannot be controlled from here.

ELI: No power at all?

Emergency reserves.

The ship's systems
took too much damage.

YOUNG: If we can't turn
this thing around,

we're going to have to
find another solution.

Well, there's not much
we can do from here.

Without control of Destiny's core
systems, we can't steer back to you.

Maybe Destiny will realize there's
a problem and turn around on its own.

We can't take a chance on something
that may or may not happen.

- What?
- I don't know.

You tell me.

I've been doing some work,

writing a program which would allow me
to override Destiny's autopilot

and manually fire the ship's
maneuvering thrusters.

You what?
Why didn't you tell any of us?

Because I haven't been successful
as yet. It's extremely complex.

Destiny's command programming
is not something

that can be easily manipulated.

Okay, so fill me in. I can help with it.

No! Uh... Well, I mean, yes, of course.

You and the others can handle
some of it, but most of it,

that's going to require someone
with a far greater knowledge

of Ancient drive systems.

Someone such as...

Amanda Perry. She could do it.

All right, let's bring her on board.

VOLKER: The suits consume power
while wearing them.

You might want to get out of them.

(KNOCKING)

Nice room. It's bigger than mine.

- What do you want?
- Can I come in?

I hear you've been getting friendly
with some of the people on the ship.

The problem is when you get
close to someone,

you start letting your guard down,
and then you say things you shouldn't.

You haven't done that, have you?

Oh. Excuse me.

Uh, Ginn? We're all set, if you're ready.

Ready for what?

Nothing that concerns you.

- Are you okay with this?
- Yes.

She's given her consent.

She's fully aware of
the communication stones protocol.

I'm fine, Eli. Really.

We may need you to remain on Earth

until Dr. Perry is finished
helping us with our problem.

Is that all right with you?

Just place the stone on the device
when you're ready.

See you soon.

(DEVICE CHIMES)

WRAY: Dr. Perry?

Camile.

Welcome aboard Destiny.

Were they able to brief you
on our situation?

Yes.

Hello, Eli.

Hi.

RUSH: How are you getting on with
those algorithms I gave you?

BRODY OVER RADIO: Slow.

And Dr. Park?

She went to the engineering control
room, like you told her.

She'll radio you when she's got something,

though she didn't look too optimistic
when she left.

Okay, how about Eli?

Communications lab.
He's getting Dr. Perry.

Colonel, it seems there's another
undamaged area of the ship.

I've pressurized it.

Might be worth taking a look,

see if there's a shuttle,
escape pod, something like that.

Keep me posted on your progress.

Of course.

Nicholas?

Mandy?

Yes, I'm here. I can see you.
Tell me what to do.

Good, good. Is Eli with you?

Yeah, I'm here.

Good. Go help Dr. Park.

What? Why?

Because she's going to need you
far more than Dr. Perry will.

All right, all right. I'm going.

Can you read this?

Yes.

Good. This is the first of several
heuristic algorithms I need you to run.

They're crucial to discovering a way
to manually program an override

to Destiny's propulsion systems.

First of several?

And you thought this wasn't
going to be any fun, huh?

Yeah, very funny, Mr. Brody.
Time is of the essence.

Did you get it?

Yeah, got it.

Okay. Here's the next one.

Rush, come in.

RUSH OVER RADIO: Yes, Colonel.

There's no sign of a shuttle or escape pod,

and if there was, they probably
used it to get the hell out of here.

I'm going to check out
a few more compartments,

then I will head back. Young out.

PERRY: Nicholas?

Yes, Mandy?

These heuristics you gave me...

- Do you understand them?
- I think so.

Are you asking me to go to...

Yes. Now. Please.

I'll be right back.

BRODY: Need some help with something?

No, thanks. I'll be fine.
I'll let you know.

We need to talk.

I'm sorry?

Oh, I'm not... I'm Dr. Amanda Perry.

We used the communication stones?

I was brought aboard to help
with the current situation...

Where's Ginn?

She's on Earth.

Look, I'm sorry, but I need to...

- No, no, no, we're not done here.
- GREER: Hey!

Is there a problem?

Sergeant, I'm Dr. Amanda Perry.

I used the stones to switch with Ginn.

I heard.

Welcome aboard.

Thank you. Look, I've got quite a bit
of work to do, and, uh...

Then, by all means,
do not let this man stop you.

Thank you.

Off you go now.

That way.

- Nicholas?
- Mandy, are you there?

- Did you find it?
- Yes.

- BRODY OVER RADIO: Rush, come in.
- Yes, I'm here.

We just lost the Kino feeds.

Yeah, probably out of range.
It was going to happen sooner or later.

Don't worry about it.
Just keep working.

- Mandy, are you still there?
- Yes, Nick.

Good. This is a discreet channel.
No one else on the ship can hear us.

So this is the bridge.

Indeed it is.
Now we can finally get to work.

- What's going on here, Nick?
- Oh, Mandy, I'm sorry for all the puzzles.

I had to find a way of getting you
on the bridge without anyone else knowing.

- Why the secrecy?
- Because I've done it.

I've broken Destiny's master code.

I now have complete control
over all its systems.

Wait a minute. You have control
over navigation and propulsion?

Yes, all of it.

Then why do you need me?

You could've had any
of these people...

I needed you because
you're the only one I can trust.

I can't tell the others. Not yet.

- Why not?
- Look, I'll explain in time.

Right now, I need you to turn
Destiny around and come and get us.

All right. Tell me what to do.

- We lost the Kino feed.
- Yeah, out of range.

Where's Dr. Perry?

I thought she was going to your lab.

ELI OVER RADIO: Dr.
Perry, do you read?

Dr. Perry, please come in.

Where are you?

- Nick, your friends are calling me.
- Don't answer. Not yet.

(SIGHS)

(ENGINES POWERING)

Uh, guys? We're changing course.

The Destiny just turned
in the direction of the alien ship.

PERRY: Okay, we're on our way.

Well done, well done.

So, what am I supposed to tell the others?

Tell them I sent you
to the engine control room.

You were able to enter
the correct programming

that allowed you to fire
the ship's maneuvering thrusters.

You're brilliant. They'll believe you.

What is going on here, Nick?

Why don't you want me
to tell anyone the truth?

Look, things have changed
since you last came aboard this ship.

You know me better than anyone, Mandy.

Please believe me when I say
I've got good reasons for this secrecy.

ELI OVER RADIO:
Dr. Perry, please respond.

We really need to talk to you.

We just need to know
that you're okay.

Yes, Eli. I'm fine.

I am in the engine control room.

I was able to execute
Dr. Rush's programming override.

Really? So you turned the ship around?

Yes. I was able to manually fire
the maneuvering thrusters.

Wow. Okay.

Do you need any help?

- I can come down, and...
- No, no, it's okay.

I'm, uh, almost finished here.

I should be coming back
to the Control Room shortly.

All right.

What was she doing before she left?

Working on the heuristics Rush gave her.

She took her work with her.

What?

The Kino feed, before we lost it?
I always record everything.

Can you read this?

PERRY: Yes.

This is the first of several heuristic
algorithms I need you to run.

PERRY OVER RADIO: Well,
so far, so good.

My calculations put us at your
doorstep within the hour.

I knew it was a good idea
getting you on board the ship.

Well, you did say you'd find a way
to bring me back aboard.

(LAUGHS) I did at that.

What the hell?

Mandy, who's that?

- Rush?
- ELI: I don't believe this.

- You cracked Destiny's master code?
- RUSH: Eli, listen to me...

You've had control
of this ship the whole time?

Why... Why wouldn't you tell any...

- Look, Colonel, I had every intention of...
- You broke the code?

- Yes.
- When?

- Does it matter?
- When?

Shortly after the Lucian Alliance attack.

I wanted to tell you,
but I had to make sure I knew

everything about this
before I let it... (GRUNTS)

I should've killed you
when I had the chance.

(BOTH GRUNTING)

Know what, it's your fault
we lost the shuttle, that Riley's dead.

Your fault!

YOUNG: You murdered that boy!

(GROANS)

(BOTH PANTING)

So, that's it? That was your plan?
Just keep this whole thing a secret?

See how long you can get away with it?

- I had no choice.
- Yeah, you did.

- You could've told me, Rush.
- I couldn't trust you.

I'm not the only one who feels this way.

- Several of the crew have voiced their...
- It's all about control with you. Power...

Well, someone's got to lead these people.

You think anyone's gonna
follow you after this?

No, no, no, not me.

But not you, either.

Come on, Colonel, look at yourself.

You can hardly get out of bed
in the morning,

never mind make command decisions.

Wow, look at that.
You got me all figured out, don't you?

Well, anyone can see it.
You know it's true.

Look, when I unlocked the code,

the amount of information
it revealed was overwhelming.

I had to make sure I had
a proper handle on this stuff

before letting anyone have access to it.

If any one of those systems
had been improperly handled...

Resulting in the shuttle crashing,
one of our best young men dying.

You mean something like that?

Yeah.

I know I made mistakes.

The simulation the ship
just put me through,

was that your doing as well?

No, no, no, that was... That was the ship.

Except the part at the end.

I had to override the program
to make Destiny jump back into FTL.

Look, with all that's happened recently,

the Lucian Alliance trying to take the
ship, lives lost as a result of that,

Lieutenant Johansen's baby...

It's a heavy burden to carry, I know, but
you have to ask yourself this question...

"Am I fit to lead these people?"

Well, maybe at one time, yeah,
but not now.

I couldn't tell you about
the code, Colonel.

How can I trust you
when you don't even trust yourself?

Rush, are you there? Rush, come in.

Out of range?

Probably shut off the radio.

Why didn't you tell us?

I'm sorry. I should have, I know.

He was just so emphatic
about me keeping quiet.

He said there was a good reason.

Well, at least we're heading
towards them now, right?

If Rush is still alive when we get there.

So, what happens now?

Well, Destiny picks us up,
and then you tell us everything

that you've learned since
breaking the code.

Come on, you had to know that
this game wasn't going to last forever.

It's not a game, Colonel.

Destiny's mission requires
a level of commitment

I doubt anyone on that ship
is prepared to make.

What mission? There is no mission
other than getting these people home.

You're wrong.

It was never about going home.

It's about getting us to where we're going.

What the hell's that supposed to mean?

You know, these past few weeks,
I've learned so much more about the ship,

about its mission.

It's far more important
than we ever thought.

Okay, let's... Let's hear it.

Are you familiar with the cosmic
microwave background radiation?

Noise left over from the Big Bang.

A long time ago,
the Ancients made a discovery.

They found evidence of a structure

buried deep within
the background radiation.

They believed that at one time
this structure had genuine complexity...

Coherence.

Therefore, it could not
have occurred naturally.

How is that even possible?

It's not, at least not according
to our current understanding of physics,

nor could we even see
this structure with our technology.

Okay, so, what are we talking about,
some kind of code? A message?

A message, perhaps,
or a sign of intelligence

from the beginning of time.

- Sent by?
- Hmm.

Well, that's the very question
they sought to answer

when they launched Destiny.

That is the mission.

We're talking about a mystery
rooted in the foundation of reality.

A puzzle with pieces scattered across the
length and breadth of the universe itself.

I swear to God, Rush,
if this is another one of your hoaxes...

Once I'd broken the code, I had access
to the ship's complete archive.

There are thousands
of pages devoted to this,

scientific research,
philosophical debate...

If we don't have the technology
to see this thing,

how the hell am I supposed to believe...

Because Destiny is not
our technology, Colonel.

The Ancients left us their data
as well as their ship.

And you've seen this data?

I'll show it to you.

I don't promise you're going
to understand it, but it's there.

Someone's got to see this mission through.

We're here. Why not us?

Stop saying we don't belong on that ship.

Embrace it. Move forward,
stop looking behind us.

I just want to get these people home.

Well, I'm starting to think

that seeing this mission through
may be our only chance of ever doing that.

- But what does that even mean?
- We're talking about a level of order

present at the very beginning of space-time

that goes beyond anything
we ever conceived.

I believe that the more we learn,
the more pieces Destiny uncovers,

then the greater our power
to control everything around us will be.

- So it is about power.
- Yes, Colonel.

The power to change things,

control our fate, right the wrongs.

- To play God?
- No...

To gain greater understanding...

- What the hell do you want from me?
- I want you to work with me,

together, side by side,
for the benefit of everyone.

Well, it'd be a hell of lot easier
if you stopped keeping secrets.

It's fair to say we've had our differences,
but that ends today.

You have my word.

(LAUGHS) Oh, man, you are a lot of work.

Radio. Radio, let's go.

RUSH OVER RADIO: Mandy?

Yes, Nick, we're here. What happened?

No, we're fine,
but your angle and speed are off.

I need you to circle back, line up Destiny's
airlock as close to the ship as possible.

Where's Colonel Young?

Eli, I'm here. We're going to sort
all of this out later.

Let's just get us
back on board first.

We should get back in the suits.

- Try not to come in so sharply.
- Yeah, you just want to pull alongside.

Maybe Brody should be driving.
No offense...

- Just shut up!
- Okay.

- Easy, easy.
- Keep an eye on your starboard.

- Watch your angle...
- SCOTT: What the hell's going on here?

No time. There's no time.

You've got to ease up.
That's very sensitive.

- ELI: Back off as you come in...
- Is she flying the ship?

- Do you know what you're doing?
- Guys!

Not now!

RUSH: Kino's damaged.

I won't be able to use it
to take us back to the ship.

YOUNG: Well, there's another one in search
mode somewhere still on the ship.

If we can find it.

Reverse! You're too close!

I'm trying!

YOUNG: What the hell just happened?

I'm sorry, Colonel.

We came in too close.
Maybe I should give it a try.

BRODY: No, no, no, we're okay.

We've matched their speed.

Yeah, but how the hell are we going
to get them off of that ship?

PERRY OVER RADIO:
Nick, are you all right?

RUSH: I'm okay.
The rotation's slow enough.

YOUNG: We've got a bigger problem.
The Kino is damaged.

We're not going to be able
to use it to get back on the ship.

- What about the other one?
- RUSH: It's lost...

Somewhere on the ship.

They don't have time to go looking for it.

- Are you back in the space suits?
- Yeah.

ELI: Okay, good. So this is easy.

You're just going to use the ship's
centripetal force to propel you the distance.

Easy? That ship's just not spinning,
it's wobbling.

You'll have to calculate
each jump separately.

The speed of rotation,
the mass of each person,

- the angle of trajectory...
- I'm already on it.

- Eli, if they miss the ship...
- They won't.

YOUNG: We're making our way
to the opening in the hull.

RUSH: Eli, how are you coming
with the calculations?

I've got your jump worked out,
so you'll go first.

I'm almost done with Colonel Young's.
You have to release when I say,

the exact moment, don't hesitate.

RUSH: Okay, I'm in position.

Tell me when.

Ready?

Now!

ELI: Engage your mag boots!

RUSH: Destiny, I'm on board.

ELI: Okay. Okay, I got this.

Colonel, are you ready?

- Yeah.
- ELI: Okay.

Get ready to release.

Now!

RUSH: His angle is off!

BRODY: He jumped too early.

ELI: It's ridiculous,
the amount of information here.

Just keep looking for that message.

BRODY: Colonel,
we've got an opportunity ahead.

Several planets in range.
Looks pretty good.

All right. Let's see if this works.

Hey.

Hi.

Compliments of Mr. Brody's still.

(CHUCKLES)

Oh, how I've missed
its lone redeeming quality.

How's the crew?

Angry, but the truth is out now,

so that can only be a good thing.

And, uh, Colonel Young?

I know you didn't trust him before.
Can you trust him now?

I've got no choice.

Here, cheers.

I'm sorry, Mandy.

I know I put you in a
very difficult position.

It's okay. In fact, I'm flattered.

Of all people, you chose to confide in me.

Well, of course.

You're the finest person I know.

I've thought a lot about you,
about seeing you again.

Me, too.

This time...

This time is different.

Colonel Young wants to
see you on the bridge.

Can it wait?

No, he said to come now. It's urgent.

I'll be back soon.

You know, sometimes, with the stones,

it's easy to forget
you're in another person's body.