“You’ve been in my chambers enough for one visit, Sir.” - Janeway

By Wolfen Moondaughter

That was quite a thrill-ride — almost too thrilling. It was exhausting to watch, with the constant tension (I’ve never been so grateful for commercial beaks), and the hour seemed to fly by! But it was good: interesting concept; nice psychological scariness (my fave kind of scary); some great lines; and some really nice character moments, especially between Rodney and Teyla. (I do, however, confess to being a little disappointed that we didn’t get to see Rod again.)

5.4: “The Daedalus Variations”

Walking with him to the control room, Rodney whines to Sheppard about not being allowed to see little Torren. It seems Teyla has been making excuses, like that he’s just gone down for a nap, after Rodney apparently dropped him (or, as McKay claims, he “jumped”, despite such a small baby really having no mobility at all, as opposed to one several months old, which will wriggle and flail all over the place …). McKay insists that it’s no big deal, the baby wasn’t hurt, as the fall was “only like two feet” (which is nothing, if you’re a colt), adding that he was dropped on his head “at least a dozen times” himself. John makes the obligatory observation that “that explains a lot.” (Okay, yes, I can see how that would be considered funny, I guess it’s in character for Rodney — well, for an earlier Rodney — and it does set up a lovely scene for later, but that whole bit just makes me very uncomfortable rather than making me laugh. I do find it funny — as in strange, not ha-ha — however, that he would drop Torren after making such a big deal about having caught him and not dropped him when he was born.) When John points out that Rodney doesn’t even like kids, Rodney explains that it’s the principle — why shouldn’t he get to hold Torren when everyone else does? (I know he’s really just feeling left out, but his air of entitlement — coupled with a lack of logic — annoys me in that it seems like quite a backslide for the character, But I guess the end scene is worth it, and it’s just for a moment anyway.)

Chuck (yay, Chuck!) announces that a ship has appeared in orbit; when John questions how they didn’t detect it sooner, Chuck insists that it appeared in a blink, out of nowhere, without even a hyperspace window. McKay identifies it, via their IFF, as the Daedalus, which confounds them all, as it was supposed to be on its way back to Earth. Things get more puzzling, as Rodney reveals that there aren’t any lifesigns aboard. John points out that it couldn’t have flown there by itself; Rodney agrees (and is, happily, civil while doing so, bouncing back to his current state of character development), but adds that that doesn’t change the fact that there are no lifesigns. (Love the worried look they exchange! Were I them, though, I would be thinking that there were Replicator survivors and that the pesky nanites had captured the ship ….)

The team takes a jumper tout heading for the Daedalus. Along the way, Chuck radios to tell them that the SGC reports the Daedalus as being in the Milky way, just two days away from Earth. (Well, at least that question’s taken care of! And rightly so — I would have been disappointed if they hadn’t been able to confirm that, unless they came up with a really good explanation as to why not.) The team ponders the situation, with Teyla suggesting the ship before them is one of their other ships. McKay points out (somewhat crankily/derisively, particularly for the first few beats — he’s sliding again, but it again lays groundwork for a scene later) that another ship wouldn’t have the IFF of the Daedalus, adding that even if it were a different ship, it wouldn’t explain why the ship is there or why it’s empty. John flies them in closer. (Was anyone else amused by how all of our boys moved their heads in the same way, simultaneously, as if they are all looking at/tracking the exact same spot on the very big ship? *Snicker*) As they get closer, we can see carbon scoring, which Rodney and John take note of. They suddenly pick up an energy reading from the ship, but Rodney can’t tell what it is. (Happily, he’s nice about it and doesn’t snap at Teyla for asking if it’s dangerous ….) John asks if Rodney can get the bay doors open; Rodney replies (reasonably) that “if the ship’s command system is as familiar as the rest of it, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

(Doubtless you’re all wondering why I keep making a big deal out of Rodney’s differing reactions. I consider his change in temperament over the seasons is strongly indicative of his change in his level of confidence, and I’ve been loving the change/growth in him. I think, for a long time, he was always snapping at people because he was terrified of failing and worried that he was being questioned because the questioner was accusing him of failing in front of everyone; therefore, his massive ego was a defense mechanism, like a porcupine puffing itself up to make itself seem bigger and scarier, to keep danger away. He fooled himself as well, and wasn’t nearly as confident in his own abilities as his ego made himself out to be, hence the events of “Trinity”. Now that he has been growing calmer and not so defensive, he’s also proving to be more confident when it’s actually called for, and more honest about what he can’t do — not just in not claiming to do things he can when he really can’t, but in convincing John that he can’t do something when he honestly can’t. I think his pessimism in the past has been an effort to keep himself out of situations where he might fail — he can’t fail what he doesn’t attempt in the first place. Statements like the one he just made to John, though, unlike his typical replies from a couple of seasons ago, seem just a matter of answering John’s question and providing John with realistic expectations, rather than boasting his skills or trying to downplay his abilities in an effort to prevent himself from being placed into a situation with a high probability of failure. And that, in turn, goes to show how comfortable he has become with these three. But yes, a little backsliding is understandable, even as I get disappointed by it — especially in a situation like this, where he may feel Teyla is ostracising him, and therefore takes out his fear of losing her on her. It was rather subtle, though, so on the surface it annoyed me — I really had to look deep to appreciate it why he’s backslid, and not see it as being done arbitrarily just for the sake of a later plot point. At any rate, it’s worth noting when it happens, I think, as a study of his character ….)

They head into the bay and discover that, while there are no F-302s, there is a ‘jumper. (Even if I hadn’t known what this ep was about, I would have pondered the possibility of other versions of themselves being present at this point, despite Rodney reconfirming the lack of life-signs here, for the simple fact that only Atlantis has ‘jumpers. Things are getting very eerie!) Teyla notes that it’s cold, and Rodney reports that many systems are barely registering, as the ship is on auxiliary power. John asks if he can so something about it, pointing out that it’s freezing; “Oh, sure,” Rodney snaps, then with a bit more patience says that he just needs to get to engineering. (It nicely illustrates what I was saying earlier — Rodney’s coming to understand that John’s questions aren’t criticisms. Even if it’s kind of a stupid thing to ask, as of course Rodney would fix the heat if he could, but one can argue that it’s John’s job as leader to ask — and his purpose as exposition-prompt to let us know for sure whether Rodney can fix a problem. And, well, maybe he thinks Rodney, being Canadian, wouldn’t mind the cold. *Snicker*) John announces that Rodney will go with Ronon, while he and Teyla check out the bridge. (Haaa! I get the impression John did that as a sort of punishment because Rodney snapped at him! *Snicker*)

They don’t find any bodies on the bridge, but they do confirm that they’re on the Daedalus when they find a plaque on the wall. (I would have been wondering if the whole ship wasn’t a Replicator ploy at that point.) The lights come on; John asks over the radio if it’s McKay. McKay says, without heat (but with a fair amount of derision), that of course it is, then teases John, asking of the man thinks there’s a ghost on board. A crash behind him startles McKay; Ronon’s knocked something over. Rodney snaps at him not to touch anything. (*Snicker* That’s becoming a habit with those two — remember when Ronon accidentally turned on the HUD of the Wraith cruiser back in “Spoils of War”?) John asks for a status report; Rodney tells him that he’s restored “basic power” and that it should start to warm up. Praising him(well, that’s something), John then tells him to concentrate on the strange energy reading next. (Duh!) Clearly irritated that John feels the need to point out the obvious again, but reining his temper in, McKay says simply that he’s on it.

Teyla finds the last entry of the ship’s log; a woman that they don’t know — but who calls herself the commander of the Daedalus — reports that the crew have moved down to the surface of what seems to be a habitable planet, with all supplies and useful equipment in tow (uh-oh), including the F-302s (well that explains that), and with the knowledge that rescue is unlikely. (How sad! At this point, if I didn’t already know the plot, I would have made the shift from suspecting the involvement of Replicators to suspecting that the ship is from an alternate universe.) Of course, she does not say why they had to leave or why rescue is unlikely. Teyla looks into it. Rodney remarks to Ronon how badly the ship is damaged: no hyperdrive, subspace damaged beyond repair, shields nearly depleted. (Nice set-up, so we’ll know just how screwed they are later!) His tablet beeps, revealing that the strange energy reading is spiking. Rodney reports it to John, who tells him to turn it off; Rodney protests that he doesn’t know how, adding that it’s not coming from the main systems. Lorne (yay, Lorne!) radios them, reporting the spike — which Zelenka says is increasing — and asking if he should send another jumper; John tells him to stand by. The sip starts to shake; John orders everyone back to the ‘jumper, but before they get more than a couple of steps, there’s a flash of light and the ship disappears …. (It’s times like this when one really has to wonder at the wisdom of the CMO and the HOS both heading out into potential danger like that — it’s the show’s biggest logistical issue. Can’t blame the writers so much though, as Star Trek set the precedent for it; viewers want the characters to be superheroes, the best of the best in all respects. That, and this way the writers can focus on a smaller group of people who can do more, as opposed to having to develop both commanders and subordinates. But it still hinders believability a bit for me ….)

When the light fades, John asks what that was; Rodney doesn’t know, but reports that the energy reading has gone back to what it had been when they’d arrived. Sheppard hails Atlantis, but gets no response. Lorne hails Sheppard; likewise, no response. (Even knowing that the ship is jumping realities, I can appreciate the creepiness of this scene!) Zelenka reveals that the ship has vanished. John reports his comm problem to McKay, who in turn reveals that he can’t find Atlantis on any of his screens. “What are you talking about?” John asks warily. (I love Flanigan’s delivery there) Rodney explains that he sees nothing but ocean. John suggests that Atlantis cloaked; Rodney asks why they would do that without telling them. Understandably frustrated, John says maybe there’s a Wraith ship nearby; Rodney protests (without snapping, mind) that he’s not picking up one. Teyla wisely asks if they beamed to some other planet; Rodney says that the instruments say that they haven’t changed position. (And readings can’t be wrong, nor sensors fooled or malfunctioning?) John asks if Rodney wants him to believe that Atlantis just disappeared. (Hey, you asked; Rodney gave you an honest report of what the instruments say …) Rodney (frustrated but civil) tells him to let him look into it, adding that he’s pinpointed the location of the energy reading; McKay gives Ronon a look as he mentions the location, and the Satedan heads out to investigate. John tells Rodney to keep trying to reach Atlantis while they check it out; he and Teyla head for the location in question, Deck 9.

As they make their way, Rodney hails Sheppard, revealing his findings regarding the energy reading: it’s similar to those from the opening of a hyperspace window, but different enough that the sensors wouldn’t pick them up automatically. (The sensors don’t automatically report sudden, unfamiliar energy readings? Eh, that seems a little too convenient.) He has some back and forth with John and Teyla; we learn that the energy is coming form some sort of drive — a new kind, possibly malfunctioning. (I like this way of telling the story, having the team doing different stuff in different places, but still staying in contact via the radios! Not the first time they’ve done this, but I think it’s the most extensive use in one episode — and I wouldn’t mind seeing more of it.) Suddenly anxious, Rodney hails John, who tells him to stand by. Rodney protests that it’s important, explaining that he recognises the energy readings now as being similar to when his double, Rod, came to Atlantis — the drive sends you into alternate realities! (Heh, kind of gives a new meaning to the phrase “difference engine”, ey?) While Rodney speaks, Ronon calls Sheppard over to an area of the room that Rodney had directed them to. Looking a bit horrified — as do Ronon and Teyla — John tells Rodney that what he just said explains a lot; we see duplicates of the team lying on the floor, dead. (Well, that explains the jumper. How depressing, though! … So in some reality, the crew of the Daedalus decided to settle on the planet that, in at least two other realities, was settled by Atlantis instead. Interesting coincidence! Gives credence to the idea of some places being a sort of nexus for major events …. Why did they all die in the same area like that, particularly on the floor, I wonder? Especially since they’re not in a circle, facing each other as if waiting death out in each other’s company, nor laying as if they’d all been shot by blaster fire ….)

Ronon covers the dead Rodney’s body with a thermal blanket, the others already covered. (Convenient, that, having our Rodney in another area of the ship, so Hewlett could play Dead!Rodney!) Ronon asks how long they’ve been dead; Sheppard points out that with the ship having been so cold, they could have been that way for months. (So did the ship power down on its own, from lack of use? Or did they purposefully power-down, figuring dying from the cold was better than prolonged death by starvation?) Teyla is vastly unsettled by it. Rodney, having rejoined them outside the drive room, discovers that a tablet he’s found actually belonged to the dead McKay — and that the late foursome were not in the original crew, but rather came there to investigate, just as our foursome had done. John ruminates that this explains the other ‘jumper. (I realises that we have to be shown that our gang has figured this stuff out, but I’m getting a little tired of being told the obvious.) McKay goes on to reveal that the ship had jumped, and the dead team had no way to get back to their own dimension; they ran out of supplies …. “Mystery solved’; let’s move on,” John says uncomfortably, starting to walk. (Heh, you read my mind ….) Rodney stops him, pointing out that the dead were them, and they failed. (Enter: Rodney’s true fear.) “No, they’re not us — we’re still alive. Let’s go!” John orders. (I’m totally behind John on that one. Rodney apparently has forgotten how different Rod was from himself.)

They come back into the drive room, where John asks Rodney to power up the systems. (Rodney did say earlier that he’d restored power to most of the ship, so it’s not exactly a mistake that it’s not on now, but I wonder why the power didn’t come back up in there? Especially since, as we learn later, this drive is indeed tied in to the rest of the ship’s systems ….) Ronon discovers a massive, sealed door ; behind it, they find the Alternate Reality Drive. (Why does this make me think of Hitchhikers Guide?) John asks if Rodney can control it; getting a little snippy (but still vastly improved over past reactions), Rodney replies, “Offhand, I’d say no.” He goes on to explain, pleadingly, that his other self hadn’t done it after weeks of trying. “Rodney,” John says, giving Rodney a stern look. (*Snicker* This, I approve of — just because it looks hopeless doesn’t mean Rodney shouldn’t try, and John was just firm, not harsh.) Rodney sighs and says he’ll use the other McKay’s research to give him a head start. Satisfied, John says that the rest of them will look for supplies. Rodney protests that the other versions of them probably already tried that. (He has a point, but since they have nothing better to do, it’s worth a shot — especially since the other them might not have been as competent.) Already on his way out, John firmly orders McKay to get to work, brooking no argument. (*Snicker*)

As Ronon pokes through some boxes in another room, Teyla comes in, asking if he’s found anything, then suggesting they go to the planet to look for supplies. Ronon says that Sheppard already nixed that idea, worried that the drive would kick in, leaving them stuck there. (Do I detect a tone of hero-worship from Ronon there? … I like the insinuation that Ronon had already considered the notion of going planetside himself. I would have thought beaming down to the planet and risking being stranded would have been preferable to starving, though. Well, maybe the other team went through a long stretch of the planet either not being there or not being hospitable, and so they couldn’t get down. It would have made more sense to simply say that the beaming tech didn’t work, though.) Teyla gets contemplative, wondering about the lives of the fallen team, and how similar their lives were. Ronon’s not interested; they’ve seen their doubles before. Teyla protests that these people were not copies, but “real people with real lives”. (I’m a little irritated at that sentiment, as the Repli-team had real feelings, and were alive, even if their lives turned out to not be their own. I mean, shouldn’t they be worthy of such ponderings as well? And what about Clone!Carson? How does she feel about him, then?) She wonders if the other Teyla had anyone waiting for her; Ronon realises that she’s wondering if there is a Torren who is now motherless. (Nice reiteration of what will likely always be a constant concern for Teyla while she’s on the team.) Ronon says how McKay’s talked of alternate realities before, saying that there’s millions with every possible outcome, which means there could be millions of Torrens. (Cool, Ronon’s actually been paying attention to what McKay says, rather than just ignoring it as ramblings! Glad to see that he’s keeping up the effort of his “science lessons” …) “You gonna worry about every one of ‘em?” Ronon asks wisely. “No,” she assures him firmly. “It’s difficult enough worrying about one.” (Yes, another contraction! Funny, though, that I have such a hard time dealing with her lack of them in the past, yet seem fine with Teal’c not using them even now …. Anyway, it’s a really sweet scene. Teyla’s usually the one advising people; I like the notion of the rough-and-tumble Ronon being so sage for her.)

John comes into the drive room and asks why the blast doors to the drive are closed (in a way that suggests he doesn’t think they should be, rather than as a point of curiosity). “Hello? Residual radiation?” Rodney replies. “Oh. Right,” says John, chagrined. (*Chortle* Very cute.) John asks if Rodney’s made any progress. “As a matter of fact, yes, we have,” Rodney says. “We?” John asks. (*Snicker* As reader Robin pointed out in the comments last week, Rodney often refers to himself as “we” to deflect blame. John shouldn’t be so surprised to hear it here — although maybe he’s surprised by the context, since Rodney’s not talking about a failure, heheheh.) Rodney excitedly informs John that the dead McKay was, in fact, another genius — and that it seems the drive was created by a third McKay, as indicated by a “certain elegance to the design”. “I’m sure that’s what the crew was saying when they abandoned ship!” John quips. (And the other team, as they died!) Rodney (reverting to old form — in, unfortunately, a very believable context in which for him to do so), concedes that there are problems but insists that it’s “still a monumental achievement.” John asks if they can just go in reverse to get home; through their subsequent discussion of the situation, we learn that the ship had a sort of coordinate system set up that should have been able to lead the crew back to their home dimension, but it didn’t work for some reason. (Thus explaining why they would make the attempt in the first place — they thought they could get home. Again, it’s a bit convenient of a plot point, though.) Rodney adds that that’s not what’s bothering him. “Yeah, it kind of bothers me,” John says, somewhat testily. (*Snicker*) Ignoring the remark, Rodney elaborates that jumping like that would have ZPM-level power requirements, but they didn’t have a ZPM — instead, they have some sort of capacitor that constantly draws power from sub-space. There’s a beeping; Rodney says it looks like the thing is almost charged. (Hello! Why can’t you make something like that for Atlantis, Rodney?? And what exactly is the thing about this that’s bothering you, anyway?) John asks if this is Rodney’s long-winded way of saying he can’t turn the drive off. Rodney explains that the capacitor is “like a tap filling a bucket; when the bucket us full, the drive engages. Except … this tap has no valve,” he finishes wearily. John comments that this sounds like a serious design flaw. John’s jab is ineffectual, McKay deflecting it by saying that it leads him to believe that the people tampered with it in an effort to get more power, feeling they needed it as they got further from home. (Which would still suggest a design flaw, wouldn’t it. McKay? That there wasn’t enough power?) The capacitors fills, and the drive engages.

John asks where they are; his earlier elation having faded already, McKay explains that he can’t access that information in the drive room. John radios the others, telling them to meet him at the bridge. “Keep it up, Rodney,” John tosses over his shoulder as he leaves, pointing a warning finger at McKay. (*Snicker* His tone sounds more like an angry parent daring their kid to keep misbehaving and see what happens, rather than encouragement.)

Standing before the screen where they’d watched the log, Teyla informs Sheppard that she’s now picking up Atlantis on the sensors. He raises a brow, asking, “You know how to work this stuff?” She explains that Marks offered to teach her and Ronon both. (Well, it’s about time! … Hey, does she know how to work anything in Atlantis?) She throws Ronon a pointed look; “I was busy,” he returns cattily. (Heeee! That was brilliant! I guess Ronon’s wanting to learn science doesn’t extend to a ship’s systems ….) Sheppard tries hailing Atlantis, to no avail; Ronon suggest they already have a Sheppard. A thought occurs to John, and he asks Rodney what the odds of them returning to their own dimension randomly is; slim to none, Rodney replies. (The woe-is-me look on John’s face is priceless!) Teyla reports picking up another ship on the sensors, and brings it up on the screen; they don’t recognise the style, nor the emblem on it. Teyla informs them that it seems the new ship is powering weapons, but their own shields are minimal. The new ship fires on Atlantis, whose shields quickly begin failing. John asks Rodney if he can bring the Asgard beam online, explaining the situation. Rodney thinks they should just stay out of it, since it’s not their Atlantis and they don’t know who’s down there. “He has a point — for all they know, in this dimension the city could be overrun by the Wraith or evil Earthers, and the people in the new ship are the good guys.) Teyla insists that the city will be destroyed in they don’t help; John adds that they, themselves, need help, and his says that they’re better off with the city’s inhabitants than the people on the ship. (Also a valid point — it’s not like they have time to investigate, and the new ship did fire first.) Rodney acquiesces.

John fires on the ship, damaging it. Like a stirred hornets’ nest, fighters spill out. Telling the Satedan that he should have taken Marks up when he had the chance, John calls Ronon over and gives him a quick explanation of the controls, then takes the other chair. (It amuses me that Ronon has to remove his big honking blaster in order to sit down. Not terribly practical, ‘ey?) Cue space battle. Things start sparking where Rodney is, and, freaked out, he asks what’s going on. (What do you think??) John fills him in, then asks if he can get the hyperdrive back online; Rodney reminds him that he already said it was completely shot. (At least he sounds despairing and baffled rather than ticked off.) For now, John takes him at his word. Ronon has a crisis of confidence, saying there’s too many and that he “can’t do this”. (Interesting to see him with a weapon he can’t handle!) John tells him to just keep trying. A fighter collides with them, and they take extensive damage, John announcing that they’ve lost sub-light. (They were working to begin with?) Teyla says that the hull’s been breached and they’re venting atmosphere, but she doesn’t know what to do about it. (I’m thinking John should order all members of the teams to have training sessions on the Daedalus — the other one — next time it’s at Atlantis ….) John comes over and tells her to seal off the affected areas, saying that should do for now. “Don’t be too sure of that,” Ronon growls. (Okay, when did he get to be such a vocal pessimist? Poor John, as if McKay wasn’t enough to deal with ….) As the ship is battered, Rodney tells John about an idea he has: he’s reworked things a bit so that the drive will hopefully be more efficient and they can jump sooner — the catch being that once they start doing that, they can’t reverse it, and will jump sooner each time. John tells him to do it. They jump just as more fighters approach.

Alas, the next jump doesn’t allow them to catch their breath. Ronon scowls and asks where they are. Teyla reports that the hull temperature is rising, and no wonder; As John and Ronon look out the front view, we see a red giant star in place of the planet! Teyla informs them that they’re just 2 million kilometres away; John points out that he thought they were supposed to stay in the same relative place when they jump. An alarm sounds, and Teyla informs them the heat of the hull is reaching a critical level.

“Are you sure about this?” Rodney asks, disbelieving. “Well, we’re not imagining it, Rodney!” John replies. Rodney starts to announce that he’s transferring the sensors down to his station, and stops short as he takes in the sight of the sun. “”You’re definitely not imagining that,” he informs them. “Thanks for the vote of confidence!” John snarks back. (*Snicker* Nice parallel to John’s disbelief over Atlantis being missing. Turnabout is fair play, John!) Rodney’s thrown for a moment, but quickly figures it out, remembering what John had said about the sun becoming a red giant: no, they aren’t travelling through time, but it’s conceivable that events happen sooner in some dimensions than in others. (That kind of event? I can see people making differing choices, but shouldn’t events that don’t hinge on decisions happen pretty much the same? What kind of altered chaotic factors could add up in such a way as to cause the sun to become a giant 25,000 years sooner? Heh, maybe the McKay in this dimension somehow cause this similarly to the way ours blew up a solar system …. ) “So how does this help us?” Ronon asks. “I … I don’t know, I just … found it interesting,” Rodney admits sheepishly. (And, well, John asked and Rodney were explaining, so Ronon’s question — or worse, Rodney’s reply to that question — doesn’t make sense to me.) Getting testy (hey, come on, he answered your question), John suggests Rodney concentrate on getting sub-light back up so they can leave; Rodney suggests concentrating on the shields instead and riding things out until the next jump. Problem is, Rodney doesn’t know how long of a wait it will be till the next jump. “You’re not exactly selling the plan here, Rodney!” John says, a bit exasperated. (*Snicker*) Rodney points out that he has no idea how long it would take to fix sub-light either, but transferring power to the shields should be easy. Accepting this idea, Johns asks what they need to do; Rodney tells them to head to engineering.

They arrive in engineering, and McKay gives them instructions on pulling up a list of override commands, so that they can turn off power to unessential areas. While Teyla does what Rodney bids and John oversees them, Ronon’s spider sense is apparently tingling, and he wanders off. He’s almost about to shrug the feeling off and go back when he hears something. Drawing his blaster, he opens a blast door, and finds an alien on the other side, who gets the better of him. (Another humanoid-but-not-human alien, albeit one we’ve never seen. I wish we could see some non-bipedal aliens ….) Meanwhile, Teyla finished with the tasks Rodney sets her, but they still don’t have enough power, so at John’s (more gentle, this time) prompting, McKay has them try the auxiliary sources, on the off-chance that those aren’t depleted. “Well, there you go!” John says encouragingly, nodding (and looking, to me, like he doesn’t understand a word McKay is saying). Ronon, meanwhile, pinned and being throttled (poor guy’s getting a lot of that this season), manages to fire his weapon several times, drawing his companion’s attention and eliciting a worried cry of “Is that gunfire??” from McKay.

Finally noting that Ronon’s not there, Sheppard tells Teyla to keep working and goes off to investigate. Teyla encouragingly tells Rodney to stay focused (which I find sweet somehow — proof that she’ll be a patient mother for Torren), and Rodney lets out a little mew of fear. (Awwww.) She tells him to tell her what to do, and he gets down to business. Sheppard finds Ronon and opens fire on his opponent with the P-90; the alien starts to go after him, and Ronon shoots the thing from behind. Finally, it falls. John confirms Ronon is all right and they look at the fallen alien; John notes a symbol on it that matches the one he saw on the alien ship. (Ahhh, so somehow it survived its fighter crashing into the ship, and because Teyla didn’t know what to do, it managed to sneak inside before Sheppard sealed the hull breach off. I guess there was enough atmo venting to keep it alive until it could get somewhere pressurised — or else they’re as resilient as D’Argo on Farscape and can survive without a suit in space ….) Ronon wonders if it crashed into them on purpose, then. (Hmm, I wonder if this will come up in another ep — like we’ll finally see these aliens in our own universe later, and one of them will pull the same trick.) Ronon picks up the thing’s own blaster and fires it down the hall. John wants to try it, but an answering volley comes down the hall at them before he can take it. Teyla announces that she’s finished, and tells Rodney that she must go help Sheppard and Ronon — we can clearly hear the weapons fire. He stops her, saying there’s still not enough power — the drive is only up to seventy percent, and with the amount of radiation they’re being bombarded with, the shields will fail before it reaches full capacity. She protests that they have no more power. On the verge of a breakdown, he tells her to give him a second.

Elsewhere, the firefight continues. Teyla reiterates that Sheppard and Ronon need help. Rodney tells her to drop the shields, saying that hopefully that power will be enough to cover what they need. “Hopefully?” she asks, clearly not pleased with that. (She’s channeling Sheppard!) Rodney stresses that it’s the only option they have, and the longer they argue, the less likely it will work. (He has a point — better a lousy option then no option, especially if you’d be dead anyway.) Teyla does as he bids, and an alarm starts to sound — the hull temperature is reaching critical. To Rodney’s dismay, the shield’s power wasn’t enough to fill the drive — two percent left to go. After an excruciating wait, the drive fills the rest of the way with power from subspace. After the ship jumps, Ronon and Sheppard use the distraction to take the other two aliens out. (Jeez, that must have been a big fighter!)

“Nice work, Rodney,” John says earnestly. (*Squee* Okay, yeah, I’m a sucker for whenever John praises Rodney. Especially since, before this season, it didn’t seem to happen too often, and now we get it twice in one episode. I mean, that’s a record, right?) Rodney admits that John “may want to hold off on the congratulations,” explaining, “I think I’ve overtaxed the drive …” (Hey! He said “I’ve“, not “We’ve“! Even though in this case he would have been well within his rights to!) He says that there’s still a few jumps left, but then they’ll be “stranded forever.” (Knowing full well that they will get out of this, I still find myself letting out a mew of dismay here!)

In the new reality, Teyla and Ronon look out the bridge window at an asteroid field, Teyla informing Ronon that Rodney believes that the planet was destroyed by some sort of impact long ago. (Foreshadowing, possibly?) Rodney comes onto the bridge, bearing his ever-present data pad, having figured out how to solve their problem. He says that his mistake — on which he blames their constant brushes with death lately (and honestly, I cant blame him; fighting off death is probably about the best excuse for being distracted there is) — was trying to fix the navigation system. (Oh, right, the coordinate thing.) Now, though, he’s come up with an impressive mathematical feat that will allow them to retrace their steps, hence negating the need for navigation. John puts two and two together, and asks if Rodney’s talking about putting the thing in reverse; Rodney confirms this. “I just suggested that two hours ago,” John points out. (Haaaa! Okay, I wouldn’t blame John now if he went ballistic. Although, to be fair to Rodney, when you rely on eyes to see, you need them for going backwards as much as for forwards, and the navigation system was the ship’s eyes as far as reality-jumping was concerned, so I can see how it wouldn’t occur to him that there could be another way ….) “And naturally I dismissed it out of hand,” Rodney says off-handedly. (Ow! Okay, Rodney deserves a smack for that, and Teyla looks like she’s ready to do it on John’s behalf. Still, it was funny, especially since Rodney seems so totally oblivious to how insulting he’s being throughout this scene.)

Rodney goes on to say that it occurred to him then neither of his counterparts were able to make it all work, so he decided to try not thinking like himself, and he couldn’t get any opposite of himself than John. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” John replies, somewhat pointedly. (Haaaaaa! Definitely one of my fave scenes in the ep. Although, truth be told, I think Ronon or Teyla are more likely to wins the Thinks the Least Like Rodney award. There have been plenty of times when Rodney and John were eerily on the same wavelength ….) Ronon then gets to the heart of the matter (as we can always trust him to do), asking the all-important question of whether this means they can get back. Rodney explains that they can, but not directly— they have to go back through each of the realities they came through. As Rodney sits at a console and starts pressing buttons, John points out that they barely made it out of those other realities alive, Teyla adding that without the shields, the red giant would kill them next time. Rodney explains how momentum, not just position, carries through between dimensions: if they use the maneuvering thrusters continuously starting now, it will get them far enough away that, by the time they go back to that dimension, they’ll have a higher orbit. Teyla asks if this means the radiation won’t effect them. (Ahhh, she knows him all too well.)”Well, I wouldn’t go that far,” he admits, “but at least it’ll be not quite as deadly?” He pushes more buttons; a moment later, he announces the course plotted. (I’m impressed with how confident and together he seems in this scene. He’s not really whiny, nor plaintive — although I actually find that endearing when he is — nor cranky, is being patient in answering their questions, and is even being somewhat reassuring.)

Sheppard brings up the aliens, worried that they’ll remember that they shot at them; Ronon suggests that maybe they’ll be gone. Rodney tells him not to count on it, pointing out that, as time passes at the same rate between the realities, it hasn’t been that long. No, to get past the aliens, he says they’ll need the sub-light engines. He gets up and starts to leave the room, saying that he’ll need to fix them in time. (Okay, Rodney being take-charge, can-do, and responsible without being obnoxious or needing to be prodded — that’s really, really hot. Of course, the fact that he’s taken his coat off and is in that lovely black t-shirt doesn’t hurt. *Cough*) Sheppard stops him, reminding Rodney that he’d said he doesn’t even know what’s wrong with the engines. Rodney points out that he hasn’t had time to look, adding, exasperated (and reasonably so), “I’m sorry, I can’t do ten things at once!” (And really, he has been working his ass off this ep — not that the others haven’t helped or been through hell too, but the bulk of their long-term survival has been resting on his shoulders, along with the stress. But I don’t blame Sheppard for his questions or concerns — it’s still stressful for the rest of them too, especially since they are mostly powerless to effect their ultimate problem: getting the drive to work.) He reminds Sheppard that the drive will burn out soon, pointing out that the next reality might be worse, and hurries off.

A cut later, Rodney announces that the drive modifications are done. They jump to the reality with the sun; Teyla informs Rodney that his plan worked. Rodney tells them that he’s heading to engineering to work on the sub-light engines. (Life would have been so much easier if the drive had been near engineering, ‘ey?) Sheppard asks Teyla for a status report, and we lean that, while the hull temp is rising, it’s not doing it nearly as rapidly as before; she thinks they’ll be all right.

A little later, we see Rodney working with some (old-skool) control crystals when Teyla comes in, asking how it’s going. He mournfully informs her that “the main systems are completely fried,” and he’s “gonna have to do a full bypass”. She asks if she can help; “I doubt it,” he replies, then initiates something. Sparks start flying, taking him by surprise. (The gods frown on hubris, Rodney. I know you’ve gotten used to having to take care of everything yourself, and she hasn’t had the training, but you could have been nicer about it, and told her you’d let her know if you could think of something! I wonder, though — was that reaction an unconscious way of shutting her out the way he sort of feels she’s been doing with him regarding Torren?) Teyla hurries to the control console and shuts the power down. Clearing his throat and feigning nonchalance, he thanks her. “Perhaps a diagnostic of the auxiliary systems would be useful,” she suggests. (Teyla, you rock! Again, it’s about time they gave her a chance to work with the more technical details — her people were only primitive because of the Wraith, not because they lacked the intelligence.) Surprised, he agrees in a small voice. She sits down; a moment later, she says she wanted to thank him. “For what?” he asks, baffled. “For not giving up,” she tells him. Perplexed for a moment, he then thinks he’s figured out what the thank you is all about. “It’s your first mission back. Look, I’m not about to let it be your last, okay?” he assures her, smiling. (For a moment, I assumed he was thinking she was pulling reverse psychology, but I guess he really thought she was just being maudlin and saying goodbye.) She smiles back. A momentary beeping goes off; McKay says he was afraid of this, explaining that the drive is recharging much faster now. He notifies Sheppard of this; John asks how the sub-lights are coming. Haltingly, McKay says he’s going to need a few more minutes; Sheppard asks if that have that. “I doubt it,” McKay admits unhappily. Sheppard suggests to Ronon that they split the gun positions, telling Ronon to take forward while he takes aft; Ronon asks if he really thinks that will make a difference. (Watch it, Ronon, or I’m going to start calling you “Eeyore!”) Sheppard admits that, without shields, probably not, but points out that they don’t really have a choice. And they jump.

It’s quiet and empty when they arrive. Ronon suggests maybe the aliens left. (Man, he’s really stuck on that notion — I think he’s really afraid of having to use the ships guns again!) John’s console beeps. “No such luck,” Sheppard announces, the aliens coming up behind them, fighters deploying once again. John updates Rodney and asks how it’s going down there; Rodney tells him to give him a second. John does, literally, before saying, “Rodney,” pointedly. (While I understand John’s anxiousness, this is another instance where it’ll be done when it’s done, Rodney doesn’t have anything more to tell him, and a distraction’s not going to help ….) Ignoring him, Rodney gives Teyla a signal. She powers the system up; Rodney declares that’s it, he’s got it, and tells John to “Gogogogo!” John activates the sub-light, and they take off. McKay (pulling an impatiently inquisitive “John” moment) asks, “Sheppaaard? …. How we doin? …” (Ohmygods, I love Hewlett’s delivery there!!) Sheppard informs him that the aliens are gaining, asking if he can give him more speed. Rodney freaks a bit, plaintively saying he’s barely fixed it, adding that they’re taxed as it is and they’ll blow the system if they push them any more. (And I hear Scotty in my head going, “I’m givin’ yeh all she’s got, Captain!”) “Well, than we’ve go a real problem,” John states (thankfully not yelling); we see the fighters closing in on them on his screen. (And then it’s a commercial break and I’m growling in anxious frustration.)

Ronon announces that the ships are within weapon’s-range; as if to accentuate that fact, they get hit, sparks flying in the bridge. Sheppard orders him to return fire. “I’m trying!” Ronon growls. More hits from the enemy; a fire starts in the bridge. Ronon starts banging his fists on the controls, grunting with the effort. “Easy, Chewie! Those-th-those … buttons are your friends! Just keep trying!” John tells him, pointing at the controls (a callback to his pointing at Rodney?), distractedly attempting to get the Satedan in line while firing on the enemy himself. “I’m trying!” Ronon snarls back. (Heeeeeee! It’s nice to see someone else get frustrated with Sheppard’s order-barking, even if John’s entirely within his rights to so it. *Snicker* I suppose it’s too much to hope Ronon will be sympathetic towards McKay when it happens in the future ….) Engineering gets its share of sparks, and the sub-light engines go down — “for good, this time,” Rodney declares.

F-302s to the rescue! John says it’s Atlantis. (That’s odd, seeing as their own Atlantis has no F-302s — although maybe after this John should work to change that, since they seem pretty handy!) Cue awesome (sorry, Hewlett) space battle! Rodney asks what’s happening; John tells them they’re getting help from friends, saying that they must have been on the right side after all. A voice comes over the intercom, from one of the fighters — it’s this reality’s John Sheppard, hailing them. Our John is caught off-guard (the look Ronon throws him is priceless), but just replies as Daedalus. “Who? Who is this?” the Alt-Sheppard asks. Our John says it’s a long story and doesn’t elaborate. Alt-John says that they appreciated the help they gave a little while ago ( as a long-time voice-chaser, I swear this line sounds like Kavan Smith right there, not Joe Flanigan, and thought for sure it was supposed to be Lorne the first time I watched it — perhaps they had a problem with the line and Smith had to fill in ADR-ing it for Flanigan), and that the least they could do was return the favour (they show his face and it sounds more like Sheppard now, a voice distinctly different-sounding from the line just before — at least to me). Our John thanks him. An alarm goes off; Ronon coughs, says “Uhhhh … Sheppard …” (*snicker*) and points to the window, where an enemy ship gets hit — a moment later, it’s flying straight for them. (Yikes!) They brace for impact. John fires at it and manages to destroy it just before it can hit, the debris still striking them. Alt-John apologises for letting it get through and compliments our John’s shooting. (Although right there, I’m iffy again about whether that’s Flanigan’s voice or actually Smith’s. It is Sheppard’s face that we see, at least.)

The battle ends, and Alt-Sheppard (sounding more clearly like Sheppard) asks now what. As Teyla and McKay come onto the bridge, our John replies that they will go their separate ways. Alt-Sheppard says they have a few questions, seeing as the Daedalus they know was destroyed in a battle with the Replicators two years past. John says that this isn’t exactly their own Daedalus, they’re just “borrowing” it. “Okay, I have no idea what that means,” Alt-Sheppard says. (*Snicker*) John reiterates that it’s a long story; Alt-Sheppard relents and wishes them luck. Our John decides to add what a pleasure it’s been working with him, droning on and on about how wonderful the colonel is, earning disgusted looks from Ronon and McKay, the latter of whom tries to ignore the speech by working, and a smile of amusement from Teyla. (*Wipes away a tear of laughter* Oh, nice callback to Rodney’s little moment with his own duplicate in “This Mortal Coil”!) Alt-John says he was about to say the same. The F-302s head home, and the Daedalus jumps.

Rodney confirms that the next reality is the first one they’d jumped to. (It seems like it should be smooth sailing, so you know something awful is going to happen!) On their way to the hangar bay, Rodney’s eyes are on his tablet; he opens a door without actually looking, and doesn’t note and alien beyond it, down the corridor, until it’s too late. He gets shot in the arm with the alien blaster, his sleeve catching on fire. (He got whumped!! Yay!! Granted, it’s used as a tool for comedy yet again, but it’s also used as a tool for sympathy later, so I’ll take what I can get.) He screams in shock and agony while Teyla hurries him out of the way; he’s still crying and yelling about being shot as his companions fire on the alien. It takes a while, but the enemy finally falls. Ronon and Sheppard approach the body warily, with Ronon wondering if there are more and Sheppard saying he’s not waiting around to find out. One of the alien’s arms flops to the die, revealing a grenade of some kind in its hand. Ronon and John hurry back down the corridor, getting clear just in time; a blast door slides closed, shielding them from the green explosion.

Panting and hissing in pain, Rodney hurried over to a computer terminal while an alarm sounds; he learns that there’s been a hull breach with sections depressurised and, panicking, shouts that they’ve lost the ‘jumpers. “Our stop is coming up, Rodney — it’s time to get off this train!” John barks. Rodney protests that there’s no way off. (Really, why does he always have to be the one to figure things out anyway? Shouldn’t alternate escape plans be more the military’s bailiwick?) Teyla calmly suggests that when they arrive in their home dimension, Atlantis will detect their reappearance and send help. (What kind of help? They don’t have Asgard beaming tech there, and without an accessible hangar ….) Rodney points out that their momentum has carried them too far away; a ‘jumper wouldn’t reach them in time. (You know, Rodney, maybe you should convert another ‘jumper so that it has a hyperdrive …) Ronon suggests blowing the drive with C-4 once they reach their own dimension; still hysterical, Rodney says that could work, or they could tear a hole in the fabric of space and time and destroy the solar system. (A whole solar system this time? … Seriously, though, I whimpered out loud at this.) “Well, we’d better think of somethin’ fast,” John says. (Hey, he said we! He’s not putting it all on McKay! … Er, unless that’s a callback too Rodney’s earlier “we”. *snicker*)

Cut to Atlantis. (I let out a cry at the abrupt shift from the tension of the previous scene to this serene, sunny day — especially at such a moment, when I wanted desperately to know how they would get out of that!) Chuck informs Lorne that another ship has appeared, Zelenka adding that it’s too far out to tell the IFF. Lorne hails Sheppard on subspace. (And, of course, we know the subspace comm on the Daedalus is down.) After not getting any reply, Lorne asks Chuck if there was a hyperspace window; Chuck says no, it just appeared. Lorne figures it must be them, telling Chuck to notify Woolsey and telling Zelenka to come with him. (I like the Lorne/Zelenka duo — have ever since “Sunday” ….)

Lorne and Zelenka approach the ship in the jumper and try the radio, but there’s too much static. Zelenka picks up a spiking energy reading. (Silly of me, I know the team wouldn’t be lost, but I’m freaking out.) The Daedalus jumps. (”No!” I cry out despite myself, wondering how the hell they’re got out of this one.) Lorne and Zelenka are stunned and baffled. Then Zelenka picks up four life signs. (”Are they just floating in space??” I wonder, still freaking.) As they get closer, we see four tiny dots, Lorne asks via radio if it’s Sheppard, and Sheppard quips that it’s nice of Lorne to stop by, seeing how hard it is to get a cab out there. (They are, of course, in space suits, and I feel incredibly stupid for not thinking of that. Nice callback to “Midway” and how Sheppard survived the venting of the station!)

Later, Rodney sits in an infirmary bed, working away at his tablet, John sitting nearby, playing a video game. (Yay! A McSheppy hospital moment!) John asks Rodney how many jumps he thinks the drive has left; Rodney replies a half-dozen, tops, before it becomes inert forever. Sheppard is relived, hating to think someone else might get trapped. (Yeah, well, whatever reality it stops in, there might be a McKay to pick the technology apart and copy it, and start it all over again. And as if he’s read my mind ….) McKay starts to babble about how he can make it work; Sheppard tells him to forget about it. Rodney keeps going; John repeats himself firmly. (I have to agree with him on this one.) before Rodney can try to plead his case again, John notes Teyla coming towards them with Torren.

She asks Rodney how his shoulder is. (First they use paddles on Sheppard’s stomach, and now they’re calling Rodney’s upper arm his “shoulder” — okay, who on the show needs the anatomy lessons?) Looking like he’s daring not to hope why she’s there with Torren, he timidly answers that it’s pretty bad but doing better, and thanks her. She asks if it’s well enough to hold the baby; John gives him a pointed look. (I wonder if John talked her into it?) “Really?” Rodney asks, like he’s still not ready to believe she’s letting him. (Awww.) “Don’t drop him,” John warns helpfully as Teyla eases the baby into his arms. (Stinker!) The hold is stiff — and painful — but Rodney beams. (It’s a testament to Hewlett’s acting that Rodney looks so awkward, while Hewlett himself looked perfectly at ease with his own newborn in the photos he shared on his blog.) Rodney remarks that he thinks the baby likes him; Teyla says it suits him, and that she thinks he’ll make an excellent father someday. Rodney looks less than thrilled; John looks downright appalled as he gets up and walks away, saying, “I’ve seen a lot of scary things in my time, but that thought scares me the most …” (I let out a little McSheppy *Squee* at that line — McKay having a kid would mean Rodney being with someone other than John, after all, so yeah, scary thought! *Wink* I know, I know, that’s not how John meant it, but a girl can dream, eh? At any rate, I do agree with John the way he did mean it, too, and am deliriously glad that the writers didn’t run with the idea of Katie Brown being the one pregnant after all, as Mallozzi revealed they originally intended. Would it be too inappropriate for me to shout out a huge thank-you to Rachel Luttrell for getting pregnant, seeing as the writers dumped the Rodney/Katie-family storyline in favour of writing her pregnancy in?) After a moment more, Rodney asks if she wants to take him back. As she takes the baby, Rodney warns, “You gotta watch out, they wiggle!” (Heeee! Nice little final touch to the callback of the opening scene! Yeah, despite my irritation over the “dropping” lines, this is such a sweet bonding moment between Rodney and Teyla, it’s worth it ….)

So there you have it. While I still prefer “Adrift” in terms of actually story, this ep was certainly as good at keeping me on the edge of my seat, with disaster after disaster! And the story itself was still pretty darn good, even if I have like a number of other episodes better in that regard. Let’s say this one might be in my top twenty, but probably not my top ten. Still, that’s nothing to sneeze at!

See you in two weeks, for “Ghost in the Machine”. (No, not the anime ….)

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Wolfen Moondaughter is on the editorial board for the comics industry webzine Sequential Tart, for which she has written since late 2001. She’s an artist, too, having done spot illustrations for Dragonlance, among other things. In her spare time, she’s a rabid fanficcer/fanartist. See more of her work at her site, Wolfen’s Webworld.