06x05 - Nightwalkers

[bunniefuu]

Hello.

- Is this Major Samantha Carter?
- Who is this?

My name is Richard Flemming.
You don't know me, but I need your help.

- It's two in the morning.
- I know what happened to you.

I know about Adrian Conrad.

- Who are you?
- They never shut the project down,

- and now it's out of control.
- What project?

You have to protect me. They know I...

Hello? Hello?

His name is Dr Richard Flemming.

He's a biologist, formally a professor
of advanced genetics at Stanford.

He's famous for developing hybrid strains
of disease- resistant corn and cotton.

I read an article on him in The American
Journal for Evolutionary Science.

The base library has a subscription.

Well, what the article didn't say is that
two years ago he accepted a position

with a company
called Immunitech Research,

which, it turns out, is a wholly- owned
subsidiary of Zetatron Industries.

Adrian Conrad.

Who?

You don't know?

Adrian Conrad was a man who had
himself implanted with a stolen symbiote

in order to cure himself
of a deadly disease.

That was ten months ago. At the time
Immunitech was located in Phoenix.

One week after we took Adrian Conrad
into custody, operations were scaled back

and they moved to a small town
on the coast of Oregon called Steveston.

We need to talk to this Dr Flemming.

He was reported missing this morning.
They found his car totalled, but no body.

This warrants further investigation.

I'll have transportation
arranged for the three of you.

Colonel O'Neill won't join us?

The Tok'ra are still looking for
a suitable host for his symbiote.

You'll have to do your best
without him. Dismissed.

You knew who Adrian Conrad was,
didn't you?

I've memorised all mission reports. I just
don't want people thinking I'm... strange.

People don't think you're strange.

What about Colonel O'Neill?

Let's get some lunch.

- What are you doing?
- Keeping a visual record.

I'll catalogue the images
when we get back to the base.

Teal'c.

See? The image appears
right there on the back.

I'm gonna go talk to the sheriff.
Keep an eye on Teal'c.

Keep an eye on Jonas.

- Excuse me. Hi.
- Hi. Can I help you?

Major Samantha Carter with the Air Force.
I'm looking for Sheriff Knox.

I'm Sheriff Knox.

Welcome to Steveston, Major.
Hey, those doughnuts? Want anything?

Oh, no, thank you.

Sure thing.

Have a seat, Major.

So, you're looking for information
about Dr Richard Flemming.

That's right. I understand he's missing.

We found his car in a ditch
outside of town.

It was pretty badly smashed up,
but there was no sign of him.

Can I see the car?

- You think he walked away from this?
- Look, no offence, but this is my problem.

The Air Force has no jurisdiction here.

I know I can't force you
to tell me anything,

but Flemming may have had information
pertaining to a matter of national security.

I'm askingfor your help.

We haven't had a m*rder
in this county in eight years.

So you don't think it was an accident?

Well, at the very least,
someone didn't want us to find the body.

Did you know him?

The people at Immunitech
didn't mix too much with the locals,

but according to his co- workers
he was acting a little strange lately.

- Strange, how?
- Nervous, agitated.

We found these in his glove compartment.

- Amphetamines.
- He had no history of drug use.

I'd like to see his lab, if I may.

There was a fire last night at Immunitech.
The place was gutted.

Flemming's lab was destroyed in a fire.

- So what now?
- We check out his house.

- Find anything?
- Nothing of interest.

Me neither. There's nothing on
the hard drive, there's no disks, no notes.

There's not even a credit- card bill.
This place has been cleaned.

Major Carter.

- Can you sign for this?
- Uh, sure.

- Thanks.
- Thank you.

- Well, this is odd.
- What is it?

This package to Dr Richard Flemming
was sent from Dr Richard Flemming.

- Why'd he send something to himself?
- Maybe he knew they'd search the house.

It's a good way to hide something
for a couple of days.

Police found amphetamines.
We found a syringe.

There's a possibility Flemming suffered
from some kind of drug- induced paranoia.

Perhaps his paranoia was well- founded.
He is missing.

His place of work was destroyed and
all evidence was removed from his home.

Conrad's scientists were studying this
symbiote to create a kind of superdrug.

Maybe this is what they came up with.

Well, if that's true, then a lot of people
would k*ll to get their hands on it.

We won't know anything for sure until
we send a sample of this back to base.

Tomorrow we'll talk to
other people at Immunitech.

We need to figure out
what was going on at that lab.

As some of you may already know,
we have three uninvited guests in town.

They are asking questions.

The chances are they won't find anything.

But if they do,

then we will have to deal with them.

Hey.

Mm.

Nice lunch.

Mm. I'm really starting to enjoy
this traditional American food. Mm.

We have another tradition.
It's called hardened arteries.

- Were you able to learn anything?
- No one at Immunitech wants to talk.

Our attempts to gather information
from locals prove equally fruitless.

I wouldn't say that.

Don't tell me you haven't noticed how
strangely people have been acting here.

What are you talking about?

Well, for instance,
that man there, right behind Teal'c.

He doesn't realise it,
but he put eight sugars in his coffee.

And that lady over at the counter has been
reading the same article for half an hour.

Since we sat down,
that waitress has dropped her tray twice,

the cook has gotten three orders wrong,
including my burger,

which I ordered medium- rare,
but is well- done.

I've been noticing similar behaviour all
morning. It's like the town's half- asleep.

Major Carter, sorry to bother you.

Sheriff Knox would like to see you.

You and your colleagues have been
asking questions around town.

Yeah. Is that a problem?

We found gasoline residue at the lab.
A lot of it.

- So the fire was deliberate.
- It means the stakes have gotten higher.

- If you know something...
- Sheriff, I already told you.

- My investigation pertains to a matter of...
- National security. I know.

- I didn't get any useful information today.
- I'm not surprised.

Everyone at the lab had a confidentiality
agreement. Nobody wants to get sued.

Now we know it was arson, maybe
the company will be willing to cooperate.

I wouldn't be too sure about that.

Well, they're gonna wanna know
who burned their lab down.

There's something you don't know.

Two months ago, another Immunitech
researcher named Peter Stofer vanished.

- The case was never solved.
- Why didn't you tell me?

The town's been through
some rough times, Major.

Shipyard shut down two years ago,
put everybody out of work.

When Immunitech came,
they brought a lot of money to the area.

- So nobody says anything bad about'em.
- There was no solid evidence of foul play.

Stofer just didn't show up for work
one day and hasn't been seen since.

But I did get the feeling
the company had something to hide.

What do you mean?

We subpoenaed documents from them.

This is what we got.

Did Stofer work with Dr Flemming?

They were partners.

I'm gonna need to borrow these.

Well, this is interesting.
It's a shipping invoice.

Flemming and Stofer ordered all
the latest material on stem- cell research.

Really? Hm.

There's no record of Immunitech
doing research in that area.

- I know.
- Why would they keep that a secret?

Stem cells can be used
to create skin grafts or organs,

but, theoretically, they can also
be used to create human clones.

Which is illegal.

So if they were cloning and
Flemming decided to blow the whistle...

He would have to be silenced.

But why would he call you?

It must have something
to do with Adrian Conrad.

We should go through the rest
of this stuff, see if anything turns up.

This town certainly
does get quiet at night.

Evening.

What can I get you?

Ginger ale.

I'll have the same.

It does not appear we are welcome.

Well, it's natural for small- town people
to be suspicious of strangers, right?

We just have to give it more of an effort.

Hey, guys.

- You have much to learn about humans.
- That's kind of my point.

How are we supposed to fit in
when we spend all our time on base?

Thanks.

- I have a sufficient grasp of Earth culture.
- But you'll never be one of them.

This is not my home.

When my time with SG-1 is done,
I will return to Chulak with my son.

I guess that's the difference between us.

I don't think I'll be able to go back.

You're in our seats.

There are many empty seats.

But these are ours.

Is there a problem here?

No.

Apparently we were in their seats.

- What was that?
- They're not fit to be in our presence.

If you do anything
to jeopardise this operation,

I will k*ll you myself.

I spoke with Janet this morning. She did a
preliminary analysis on the sample I sent.

She thinks the liquid in the syringe might
be some sort of sulphur- based antibiotic.

So, some kind of miracle drug.

We won't know anything for sure
until we get more test results back.

That's the guy from the bar.

- Hi.
- Hello.

Sorry about our...
misunderstanding last night.

- Excuse me?
- At the bar, our little confrontation.

My friend and I were in your seats.

I'm afraid you've got me mistaken
for someone else.

I don't think so.

Last night I was home in bed.

That's a little strange.
He didn't seem to remember us.

- Perhaps he'd had too much alcohol.
- I thought of that, but he wasn't hungover.

- Or didn't tell his wife he was in the bar.
- He didn't have a wedding ring.

We are being watched.

The silver car.

He's from the sheriff's office.
He was outside when we first got in town.

He was in the restaurant yesterday.

OK, take it easy.

- Why are you following us?
- I don't know what you mean.

- Teal'c.
- All right, all right, all right!

- I wasn't sure if you could be trusted.
- With what?

I was a security guard at Immunitech.

- I think Dr Flemming was m*rder*d.
- Why would you say that?

About a week ago he wanted to know
if I could get him a g*n.

Said he was in danger and
I was the only one that could help him.

- Why you?
- Well, that's the weird part.

He said the people after him only come
out at night while everyone's asleep.

Since I worked a graveyard shift,
I guess he figured I wasn't one of'em.

First I thought that he was crazy,

and then he went missing.

That's when I decided that working
for Immunitech was a little too dangerous.

Why didn't you tell the sheriff?

Flemming said that
no one in the town could be trusted,

but I figured I owed the guy
to tell someone.

If it hadn't been for him,
I would have died in that fire.

"They only come out at night. "
What exactly is that supposed to mean?

Maybe this has something to do with
what happened to us at the bar.

- What did happen to you at the bar?
- We were met with hostility.

You didn't say anything weird, did you?

Why are you looking at me?

Anyway, random aggressiveness
in a bar isn't unusual.

But why didn't the man remember me?

- Are you sure it was the same guy?
- Positive.

Jonas Quinn is correct.
It was the same man.

You said there was evidence Flemming
and Stofer were researching cloning.

No. There was evidence
they were reading up on stem cells.

Which can be used
to create human clones.

What if the man doesn't remember
because the man in the bar wasn't him?

- He was a clone.
- No, you can't create fully grown people.

They'd be infants.

Still, the people of this town
are behaving strangely.

Even for humans.

The town's been through a lot.

First the shipyard was shut down,
then the lab was destroyed.

The entire future of the town's
in jeopardy.

What?

- You noticed these marks from the road?
- I didn't think much of'em at the time.

This area has been well travelled,
and recently.

There are many footprints
as well as tyre tracks.

Let's check it out.

You have got
to teach me how to do that.

Wormhole theory,
motorcycle riding and lock- picking.

Not necessarily in that order.

In there.

Somebody's been busy.

These appear to be schematics.

Yeah, but for what?

I got a pretty good idea.

Near as we can tell, sir, it's some
kind of alien ship, partially constructed.

No, sir. We shouldn't do anything drastic
until we have more information.

Yes, sir. Understood.

Hammond won't call in the troops until we
figure out who built this thing and why.

All the disks we got from the shipyard
are encoded. I can't read any of them.

- Let me try.
- Yeah.

Adrian Conrad illegally acquired
a symbiote from Colonel Maybourne.

It is possible he also
acquired alien technology.

I don't know. This is unlike anything
the Russians or the NID ever had.

Then there must be
an alien presence in town.

It looks that way,
but how did they get here?

- It is not probable they used the Stargate.
- If they came by ship, why build another?

Perhaps an accident or a malfunction.

They're not finished,
which means they'll be back.

My guess is they work
under the cover of darkness.

They only come out at night.

OK. I think I can break this code,
but it's gonna take a while.

Teal'c, is there any activity?

Negative. How is the
decryption progressing?

Slowly.

Something's happening.

Here we go.

Oh, my God.

Teal'c, come in.

Major Carter. Many of the townspeople
have arrived at the shipyard.

They're Goa'uld. Repeat:
the people building the ship are Goa'uld.

- How is that possible?
- Flemming and Stofer were cloning,

only it was Adrian Conrad's
symbiote they cloned.

- Why did we not sense them?
- There's no naqahdah in their blood.

There's way too many of'em.

Get back here.
I'll see if I can translate more.

Affirmative.

Hold it. Leave the weapons on the dash.

Put your hands in the air
and get out of the car.

- What is this?
- Get in the van.

- Where are you taking us?
- Back to the motel.

We want you out of town by daybreak.

I'm Agent Cross. That's Agent Singer.

NID.

- So you know what's going on here?
- We've monitored it for three months.

- They are waiting till the ship is complete.
- It'll be our first line of planetary defence.

- You set this whole thing up?
- No, just took advantage of the situation.

Immunitech cloned the symbiotes,
then there was an accident.

We figure Flemming got infected,
then went after the other townspeople.

Flemming is the one who tipped us off.

The symbiotes are immature. They are
too weak to assert permanent control.

But when the hosts go to sleep
they take over.

When people wake up the next morning
they're tired, but none the wiser.

That's why Flemming
was on amphetamines.

- You get a ship, but what of the people?
- We have ways of dealing with them.

- We will report this to SGC.
- Go ahead. This is no rogue operation.

We have the full support of our superiors.

When it is over, we'll have succeeded
where the SGC failed for five years.

We have all the angles covered.

Sam?

Sam?

They took her.

- You have to do something.
- We've a containment team on stand- by.

We can have this town
quarantined in 45 minutes.

Then do so.

Your operation is blown, Agent Cross.
The symbiotes know we're onto'em.

This is Cross. We have a code six.
I repeat: a code six.

This is not a drill.

We just lost 500 years
of technical advancement.

It's much worse than that.

Sam.

You all right?

What's going on?

You should only speak when spoken to.

OK.

Welcome, brother.

- Do you know where you are?
- I have the memories of my host.

Good. When the
containment team gets here,

you and Singer will take the symbiotes
and report back to NID headquarters.

- What about the rest of us?
- We'll be detained.

It'll only be a matter of days before
we've taken control of the organisation.

That's an ambitious plan.

Easy, OK? Sorry.

The irony is we only wanted
to get off this pathetic planet.

But when we realised they were
watching us, we came up with a new plan.

Wait! Major Carter was
writing a report on her computer.

It would be better if
the containment team didn't find it.

Get the computer first.

Should we use these two as hosts?

No.

This one is Jaffa.

Shol'va.

You should be serving your god.

Apophis, the false god, is dead.

Really?

What about this one?

He's an alien.
The humans don't really trust him.

We'll have to k*ll them.

Sergeant Krieger.

- Agent Cross.
- What's our status?

Perimeter's in place.
We're ready to round up the citizens.

Excellent. Agent Singer and I
need transportation to headquarters.

I'll call in the chopper.

Get out of the car!
Keep your hands where we can see'em!

I'm Major Carter, United States Air Force.

I have important information
for Agent Cross.

Let her through.

Why are you here? You were
supposed to be detained with the others.

Major Carter's more valuable to you
if she hasn't been exposed.

- That wasn't part of the plan.
- No, she's right.

While we're taking over the NID,
she can infiltrate Stargate Command.

- It's too risky.
- You worry too much.

The humans have no idea
what's going on.

Oh, I wouldn't exactly say that.

You guys aren't nearly as smart
as you think you are.

I translated enough of the writing

to know Immunitech had engineered
the symbiotes with a built- in k*ll switch,

a susceptibility to a particular antibiotic.

- The syringe. So we had it all along.
- When I saw the Goa'uld coming,

I had nothing to lose, so I injected myself
and it acted like a vaccine.

Took a few minutes to k*ll the symbiote,
then I just played along.

We had similar results with the
townspeople. They responded positively.

Each dead symbiote will break down
and be absorbed into the host body.

Do the townspeople recall these events?

As far as they know, they were inoculated
against an outbreak of meningitis.

- So what about the ship?
- It's been transferred to Area 51.

Even though it's not complete,
it may still prove valuable.

All right. Dismissed.

So when we were in the sheriff's office...

- you were in complete control?
- That's right.

And you felt it absolutely necessary
to really slap me?

I had to make it look good.

Let's get some lunch.