05x04 - The Daedalus Variations

[bunniefuu]

What are you talking about?

I'm telling you, she's
hiding him from me.

- She's not hiding him.
- Oh, yeah?

Every time I go to see him, she
tells me that he's just settled down.

- Can you blame her? You dropped him.
- I did not drop him, he jumped.

- Jumped?
- Well, he wiggled out of my arms.

I said I was sorry. Besides, how much
damage could I possibly have done?

He fell, like, maybe two feet.
Stuff like that happens all the time.

I mean, I was dropped, like,
a dozen times when I was a kid.

Well, that explains a lot.

Why do you even care?
You don't even like kids.

It's the principle of the thing.

Everyone else gets to
hold him, why shouldn't I?

Colonel, we've got a new
contact. Looks like a ship.

- How far out?
- It's in orbit.

- Well, how come we didn't detect it?
- I don't know.

We didn't even detect
a hyperspace window.

It just appeared out of nowhere.

Hang on a second, we're getting IFF.

It's the Daedalus.

The Daedalus? How can that be?
They're on their way back to Earth.

Well, they were. Or
they were supposed to be.

Open up a channel.

Daedalus, this is
Atlantis, please come in.

Daedalus, please respond.

- They're not going to answer.
- Why not?

Because I'm not reading any lifesigns.

What are you telling me, Rodney?
This thing flew here by itself?

I don't know how they got here,
but there's no one on board.

At least, no one alive.

Colonel, we just got confirmation
from Stargate Command.

The Daedalus is in the Milky
Way, on course and on schedule.

They expect to reach
Earth within two days.

Understood.

So that's not the Daedalus, then?

Well, not unless it can
be in two places at once.

Perhaps the Apollo or
one of your other ships...

They wouldn't be sending Daedalus IFF.

Plus, it doesn't explain
how they got here,

or why we're not picking
up lifesign readings.

All right, I'm taking
us in for a closer look.

Wow, you see that?

Yeah, some scorch marks.

You think weaponsfire?

Wherever she's been, she's been
through some pretty hard times.

- What's that?
- I'm picking up an energy reading.

- It's coming from the ship.
- Is it dangerous?

I don't think so, but I have
no idea what's causing it.

Can you get the bay doors open?

If the ship's command systems
are as familiar as the rest of it,

it shouldn't be a problem.

No F-302s, but there's a Jumper.

You sure there's no one else inside?

As far as I can tell.

All right, we're going in.

Why is it so cold in here?

The ship's operating on emergency power.

Look, some of the systems
were barely registering.

- Except for the whole weird energy thing.
- That's right.

Can you do something about
it? It's freezing in here.

Oh, sure, I just have
to get to engineering.

You and Ronon are together.

Teyla, you and I are going
to check out the bridge.

Radio me if you find anything.

No bodies in here.

Colonel...

It's the Daedalus, all right.

McKay, is that you?

Of course it was me.
Who else would it be?

You think we've got a
ghost on board or something?

Will you please not touch anything?

What's our status?

I've restored basic
power to most of the ship.

It should be warming up any second now.

Good.

Check on that energy reading.

Try to figure out what it is, all right?

I'm on it.

Colonel, ship's log, last entry.

Preparations are almost complete.

We've beamed down the
last of our supplies

and any equipment we
think might be useful.

I'll be taking the last
of the F-302s down myself.

Of course, we haven't had
time to do a proper survey

of the planet's surface, but
it seems habitable enough.

Plenty of fresh water, arable soil
not that different from our own...

I realize our chance of rescue is slim,

but it's become obvious that
we no longer have a choice.

This is Colonel Sobel, commander
of the Da edalus, signing off.

- Do you recognize her?
- I've never seen her before in my life.

Well, it appears as
if they abandoned ship.

Yeah. The question is, why?

I'll check previous entries.

Man, this ship has been
through the wringer.

No hyperdrive, subspace communications
are all damaged beyond repair,

the shields are virtually depleted...

What is it?

It's the energy reading. It's spiking.

- Sheppard, come in.
-Go ahead.

Something's happening.

The energy reading,
it's going off the chart.

- Do something. Turn it off.
- I don't know how.

Look, it's not coming from
any of the main systems.

LORNE ON RADIO: Colonel
Sheppard, this is Atlantis.

We're picking up some kind of
power surge coming from the ship.

Yeah, we noticed it. We're
trying to check it out ourselves.

The levels are still rising.

Colonel, should we send
another Jumper to assist?

Stand by.

All right, that's our cue to
leave. Everyone, back in the Jumper.

- McKay, what the hell was that?
- I have no idea,

but the energy reading's
gone back down the way it was.

Atlantis, you reading anything unusual?

Atlantis, come in.

Atlantis, do you read?

Colonel Sheppard, do you read?

Daedalus, this is
Atlantis, please respond.

- What the hell's going on?
-I don't know.

One moment they were there, and
the next minute, they were gone.

Rodney? I'm having problems
with communications.

Can't reach Atlantis.

Wait a second. That can't be right.

What?

I'm not seeing the city
on any of my screens.

What are you talking about?

I just did a sensor sweep, and
there's nothing down there but ocean.

Well, maybe they cloaked.

Well, they wouldn't have
done that without telling us.

Well, I don't know, maybe
there's a Wraith ship in the area.

I'm not reading anything.

Are we certain it's the same planet?

Perhaps the energy burst
shifted our position.

No, according to our instruments,
we haven't moved at all.

What do you want me to believe, Rodney?

That Atlantis just disappeared?

Look, I don't know. Just give me a
second, I'll figure it out, all right?

In the meantime, I've managed
to localize the energy reading.

It's coming from a hold on Deck 9.

All right, keep trying to reach
Atlantis. We'll check it out.

Sheppard, I think I've got something.

It's the residual
radiation from the flash.

It's similar to what happens
when you open a hyperspace window,

but different enough that the sensors
wouldn't have picked it up automatically.

What the hell does that mean?

I think we're looking
at a new kind of drive.

I thought you said
we didn't go anywhere.

We didn't. At least not according
to the ship's navigational systems.

So, a malfunctioning drive?

Maybe. Just hang on.

Oh, my God, Sheppard...

Stand by, Rodney.

No, you don't understand,
I know what it is.

Look, the residual radiation,

it's exactly what we recorded
when my double arrived on Atlantis

from an alternate reality.

I can't believe I
didn't see this before.

Sheppard, hey.

It's a drive, all right, but
it didn't move us through space.

I think it's moved us
into a parallel universe.

That would explain a lot of things.

How long have they been dead for?

This place was like a meat locker.

They could've been preserved
like this for months.

They look just like us.

That's because they are us, the
alternate reality versions of us.

I feel like someone just
walked over my grave.

Take it easy. Everything's fine.

- Oh, no, no, no, this is very bad.
- What?

Look, this tablet belonged
to the other McKay.

They weren't part of the original
crew. They came here just like us.

Look, a ship appeared in
orbit over their Atlantis.

They came to check it out.

That would explain the
other Jumper in the bay.

The ship jumped to another
reality and they were stuck,

they couldn't get back.

Look, eventually their
supplies ran out, and they...

All right, all right,
mystery solved. Let's move on.

No, don't you realize what this means?

They were us, and they failed.

Well, they're not us.
We're still alive. Let's go.

The answer's in here somewhere.
Can you power up the systems?

Yeah, just hold on.

All right...

All right, that's a start.

What's behind here?

That's a good question.

I'm guessing that's our
alternate reality drive.

Can you figure out how to control it?

Offhand, I'd say no.

That's what the other McKay was
trying to do, and he had weeks.

Rodney...

Fine. I'll start with his research.
It'll at least give us a head start.

Yeah, that's better. We're
going to go look for supplies.

What, you don't think the other us
wouldn't have already tried that?

Get to work.

Did you find anything?

Not unless you know a way to cook this.

Then perhaps we should consider going
down to the planet to collect supplies.

Sheppard says it's too risky.

The drive could kick in and the
ship could take off without us.

Then we'd be stuck here.

The others that we found,

do you think their lives
were very similar to ours?

Who cares?

How can you say that?

We've seen our doubles before.

Replicator-manufactured copies.

These were real people, with real lives.

I can't help but wondering who
might still be waiting for her

back on her Atlantis.

Do you mean, did she also have a son?

The thought had crossed my mind.

Look, you know,

I've heard McKay talk
about this stuff before,

and supposedly, there's a million
different realities out there,

with every possible variation,

which also means there's a
million different Torrens.

You going to worry
about every one of them?

No.

It's difficult enough
worrying about one.

I'll bet it is. Come on.

Why is the blast door closed?

- Hello? Residual radiation?
- Oh, right.

Have you made any progress?

- As a matter of fact, yes, we have.
- "We"?

Me and the other McKay, who,
unsurprisingly, is a genius.

Not only that, but it looks
like the drive was created

by yet another McKay
from the original reality.

What makes you say that?

Well, there's a certain elegance
to the design that I recognize.

I'm sure that's what the crew was
saying when they abandoned ship.

Well, admittedly there are problems,
but it is still a monumental achievement.

All right. So, what do we do? Can
we just throw this thing in reverse?

Yeah, it's a little more
complicated than that.

The first problem is navigation.

They've developed a coordinate system
to identify the various realities

and allow them to get back,
but obviously that didn't work.

Obviously.

- That's not what bothers me.
- Well, do you know, it kind of bothers me.

It's power generation.

I mean, jumping from
one reality to another

requires massive amounts of power.

We're talking ZPM levels here.

Obviously, they didn't have
one of those rattling around,

so they created a capacitor

that's constantly drawing
power from subspace.

And it looks like it's almost charged.

Is this your long-winded way of
telling me you just can't turn it off?

Think of it like a tap
pouring water into a bucket.

When the bucket is full, the drive engages,
except this particular tap has no valve.

That seems like a pretty serious
design flaw, don't you think?

Exactly. Which leads me to
believe they were tampering with it

in a vain attempt to
generate more power.

As they got further and
further from their own reality,

I guess they figured
they'd need it to get back.

And here we go.

Okay.

Where are we?

Don't look at me.

I haven't had time to route the
main systems to these control panels.

I'm flying blind down here.

- Ronon, Teyla, meet me at the bridge.
-On our way.

- Keep it up, Rodney.
- Hmm.

Colonel, Atlantis is back. I'm
picking them up on the sensors.

You know how to work this stuff?

The last time the Daedalus was in
orbit, Major Marks generously offered

to give both of us some
preliminary training.

- I was busy.
- Atlantis, this is Sheppard, come in.

Atlantis, do you read?

Atlantis, this is Sheppard, come in.

Maybe they already have a Sheppard.

Rodney, what are the odds

of us randomly jumping
back into our own reality?

I'd say slim to none.

I'm detecting another ship in orbit.

What kind?

I'll see if I can pull it up on screen.

I don't recognize it.

What's that?

-You know it?
- No.

Colonel, I believe the
ship is powering weapons.

- What's our shield status?
- Minimal.

It's f*ring on Atlantis.

The city's shields are failing.

Rodney, do we have enough juice
to power up the Asgard beam?

Maybe. I mean, you might be able
to get a couple of sh*ts off. Why?

There's some alien
ship attacking Atlantis.

- So?
- What do you mean, "So?" It's Atlantis!

It's not our Atlantis. We
have no idea who's down there.

Look, we should just stay out of it.

If we do not intervene,
the city will be destroyed.

Yeah, we need help. My gut
tells me we're better off

going with the people on that
planet than whoever's on that ship.

-I hope you're right.
- Yeah, well, me too.

The ship's been damaged.
It's stopped f*ring.

Hopefully, we took out its main weapons.

Wait, something's happening.

They're launching fighters.

Ronon...

You should've took Marks
up when you had the chance.

Now you're going to have to learn fast.

Railgun targeting systems.

Button's on the right. Control,
radar, tracking and target acquisition,

use the red button to fire.

- What the hell was that?
-We're under att*ck.

Any chance of getting that
hyperdrive back online?

No, it's completely sh*t!
I already told you that!

Great.

There's too many of
them. I can't do this.

Keep trying!

We've lost sublight.

We have a hull breach.

We're venting atmosphere.
I don't know what to do.

Seal off damaged areas. We
should be okay for the moment.

I wouldn't be so sure about that.

Sheppard, I have an idea!

Let's hear it.

I've set up a few protocols

that should increase the efficiency
of the alternate reality drive.

If I enable them, we might
be able to jump sooner.

And what? What, jump
to the next universe?

Exactly!

But ifl do this, I can't undo it!

I mean, we'll just start
jumping faster and faster!

Do it.

- It worked.
- Where are we?

We have a problem. Temperature
in the hull is rising rapidly.

What the hell is this?

According to these readings,

we're less than two million
kilometers from the surface of the sun.

I thought we always jumped to
the same place in every reality.

As did I.

Hull temperature is
approaching critical.

- If we do not restore shields...
- We're going to burn.

Are you sure about this?

Well, we're not imagining it, Rodney.

All right. Well, let me transfer the sensors
down to the station. Then at least I can...

Oh.

You're definitely not imagining that.

- Thanks for the vote of confidence.
-I don't understand it.

We always jump to the same
relative position in space.

- Unless...
-Unless what?

You said when you went to the future,

you saw our sun expanding
into a red giant, remember?

What are you saying, we're
jumping through time now?

No, no, no, no, no, but
maybe what eventually happens

in our reality is happening
in this one, only much sooner.

Look, we didn't go to the
sun. The sun came to us.

So how does this help us?

I don't know. I just...
I found it interesting.

What's interesting, Rodney, is a way
out of this without getting fried,

like getting the sublight back on
so we can get the hell out of here.

Actually, I think our best bet

is just to transfer as much
power as we can to the shields,

and ride it out till the next jump.

When does that happen?

Well, the time the capacitor
takes to charge is different

now that I've enacted
those new protocols.

You know... I have no idea.

You're not exactly
selling the plan, Rodney.

I have no idea how long it would
take me to fix the sublights either!

Look, I've got to run a diagnostic,

but theoretically, transferring power
to the shields should be relatively easy.

All right, what do we do?

All right, the first thing I need
you to do is head down to engineering.

Let's go.

All right, we're here. What do we do?

I need you to k*ll all
power to non-essential decks,

which means you're
going to have to access

the main administrative interface.

That should bring up a list of
all available override commands.

Got it.

Okay. So choose the
command for life support.

You're going to have to
designate the decks one by one.

- I think that's all of them.
-Damn it.

That didn't buy us nearly as much
power as I would have thought.

- Well, there's got to be something else.
- Right...

All right, look, the ship
has auxiliary power modules

for most of the main systems.

Most likely they're
depleted, but ifnot, well,

it might buy us a little more juice.

Well, there you go.

What the hell was that? Was it g*nf*re?

Where's Ronon?

Keep working.

Stay focused, Rodney.

- Tell me what to do next.
- All right.

- You okay?
- Yeah.

Where the hell did he come from?

Check it out.

It's the same symbol that
was on the alien ship.

How'd he get onboard?

You know, they crashed into us,
penetrated our hull, remember?

- You think he did it on purpose?
- That's a good question.

Hey.

Let me try that.

That's it. That's all of them.

I must go help Colonel
Sheppard and Ronon.

- Good luck, Rodney.
-No, no, no, it's not enough!

- What do you mean?
- Without sublights, our orbit is decaying,

which means more radiation
slamming into the shields.

The alternate reality drive
is only charged to 70%,

which means it'll never make
100 before the shields fail.

Well, what do we do?
We have no more power.

Just give me a second.

Rodney, Colonel Sheppard
and Ronon are under att*ck.

All right, I got it, I
got it. Drop the shields.

- What?
- Drop the shields.

I will transfer all
available power to the drive.

Hopefully, it'll be
enough to induce a jump.

- Hopefully?
- It is our only option,

and every second we argue about it is
less of a chance it's going to work!

Very well. Dropping shields.

Hull temperature is passing critical.

Okay, transferring
power to the drive now.

- Oh. No, no, no, no.
-What is it?

It's not enough. It's only 98%!

Rodney, the hull is
beginning to deteriorate.

Come on, come on!

That's it! Sheppard, we're jumping!

Nice work, Rodney.

Uh, you may want to hold
off on the congratulations.

Now what?

I think I've overtaxed the drive.

Look, it's not completely blown,

but we've only got a handful
of jumps before it's b*rned out.

All right, then what happens?

If we haven't found our way back by
then, we will be stranded forever.

What happened to the planet?

Rodney believes that in this reality,
it was destroyed by an impact,

possibly millions of years ago. All
that remains is this asteroid field.

All right, I think I got something.

In fact, it was staring me
in the face the whole time.

I was just too busy trying
to avoid imminent death

- to notice it.
- What are you talking about?

See, my mistake was focusing
on the navigation system.

I should've known that
was never going to work.

So what, then?

So, in a spectacular feat of
multi-dimensional mathematics,

I have discovered a way
to send the ship back

along the path it's previously traveled,

bypassing the navigation
system altogether.

Wait a minute.

You're talking about putting
this thing in reverse?

- Exactly.
- I just suggested that two hours ago.

And naturally, I
dismissed it out of hand,

but then I realized that
including the original designer,

not one, but two versions of myself
have failed to make this thing work.

I had to think not like me.

In fact, I had to think
like the opposite of me,

and it doesn't get much
more opposite than you.

I'll take that as a compliment.

- So can we get back or not?
- Well, not directly.

It's impossible to calculate

the relative position of
our original starting point

from where we are now, but
we can retrace our steps,

passing through each reality in
turn until we reach the right one.

Well, there's a slight problem, Rodney.
We barely got out of those realities alive.

If we do not restore the shields,

the radiation from the
red giant will k*ll us.

Not necessarily.

Look, we know that the ship
carries its momentum in real space

from one reality to the next.

Now, we may not have sublight engines,
but we do have maneuvering thrusters.

You know, one long continuous
burn along the right trajectory

from now until the next jump
should be enough to allow us

to establish a higher, more
stable orbit around the sun.

So the radiation will not affect us?

I wouldn't go that far, but,
still, it'd be not quite as deadly?

Okay. That's it.

Course is already plotted.

What about those alien dudes?

They know we're the
ones that sh*t at them.

- Maybe they'll be gone.
-I wouldn't count on it.

I mean, time is passing at the same rate
in each of the realities, which means...

Well, which means, it
hasn't been that long.

To get past those aliens, we're
going to need sublight engines,

and I'm going to need
to fix them in time.

Wait, but you said you don't
even know what's wrong with those.

Well, I haven't had a
chance to check it out.

I'm sorry I can't do 10 things at once.

I've already told you, the
drive is going to burn out, soon.

We have to do something.

Who's to say the next
reality won't be even worse?

All right, all the modifications
to the drive are in place.

Here we go.

It worked. You did it, Rodney.

All right, I'm going to
head up to engineering,

get to work on the sublights.

What's our status?

Hull temperature is rising, but
not as rapidly as it did before.

I think we'll be okay.

So much for the frying pan. Let's
hope we make it through the fire.

-How is it coming?
- Hmm?

It's not good.

The main systems are completely fried.
I'm going to have to do a full bypass.

- Can I be of assistance?
- I doubt it.

Okay...

Oh, jeez! What the...

Thanks.

Perhaps a separate diagnostic of
the auxiliary system might be useful.

Uh, sure.

I wanted to thank you, Rodney.

For what?

For not giving up.

Oh, I know what this is.
It's your first mission back.

Look, I am not about to
let it be your last, okay?

Oh, no, that's what I was afraid of.

-What is it?
- Well, the drive's charging

a lot faster now.

Sheppard!

Looks like the next jump's going to
happen a lot sooner than we thought.

How's it coming with
the sublight engine?

I'm going to need a few minutes.

- Do we have a few more minutes?
- I doubt it.

All right, let's split railgun positions.
I'll take forward, you take aft.

You really think that's
going to make a difference?

Without shields, probably not,
but we don't have much of a choice.

Where's the alien ship?

I'm not sure.

Well, maybe they left.

No such luck. They're right behind us.

We got fighters closing in on our
position. How's it going down there?

Look, just give me a second!

Rodney...

Okay, try it now.

That's it, I've got it! Go! Go! Go! Go!

Sheppard...

How we doing?

They're gaining on us.
Can you get us more speed?

There's not a chance! Look, I've
barely got this thing working as it is!

If we tax it any more, we're
going to blow the whole system!

All right, well, then
we've got a real problem.

They're in weapons range.

- Return fire.
- I'm trying.

Easy, Chewie, those
buttons are your friends.

- Just keep trying.
- I'm trying!

That's it, sublights are
gone for good this time!

- What the hell
was that? - F-302s.

It's Atlantis.

What's happening?

Looks like we're getting
some help from some friends.

Guess we bet on the
right side after all.

Daedalus, this is Lieutenant
Colonel John Sheppard.

Do you read?

Daedalus, do you read?

Yeah, Daedalus. This
is Daedalus. Come in.

Who... Who is this?

It's a long story.

Well, whoever you are,
you saved our asses

when you took out their main weapons.

Figured the least we could
do is return the fa vor.

Much appreciated.

Sheppard...

Oh, crap.

Sorry about that.

One of them got through.
Nice sh**ting, though.

Thanks.

All right, looks like
that's the last of them.

So... So, what happens now?

Well, we go our own ways.

Just like that?

Pretty much.

Well, the thing is, we
do have a few questions.

See, the Daedalus we know
was destroyed two years ago

in a battle with the Replicators.

Sorry to hear that,

but this isn't exactly our Daedalus,
we're just borrowing it for a while.

Okay, I have no idea what that means.

Like I said, it's a long story.

All right, Daedalus, good luck.

Thank you, Colonel, and one
last thing, it's been a pleasure.

You're obviously a
man of great integrity

and a dedicated commander
and a very skilled pilot.

Well, that's funny. I was
going to say the same to you.

All right. The alien ship's gone.

I'm reading a planet
with no energy signatures.

It's the first reality we jumped
to. One more, and we're home.

Let's get down to the hangar bay.

All right.

I got sh*t!

- I thought we got them all.
- Apparently not.

Think there's any more of them?

I'm not waiting around to find out.

Move, move, move!

The expl*si*n's caused a hull breach.

Whole sections have been
de-pressurized, including the hangar bay!

And we just lost the Jumpers!

Our stop is coming up, Rodney.
It's time to get off this train.

Look, there's no way off.

Once we jump into our own reality,

Atlantis will detect us
and they will send help.

We broke orbit to get away
from the fighters, remember?

Look, we carry our momentum

and relative position in space
from one reality to the next,

which means by the time we next jump,

we're going to be, like,
half a million kilometers out.

They're never going
to get to us in time!

We got C4, I say we wait till we get
back and then we'll blow the drive.

That could work, or it could tear
a hole in the space-time continuum

not only k*lling us, but
destroying the entire solar system!

Well, we better think of something fast.

Another contact just
appeared on our screens.

Is it the Daedalus?

They're too far out for us to get IFF.

Try subspace.

Colonel Sheppard, do you read?

Colonel Sheppard, this is
Major Lorne, do you read?

- Was there a hyperspace window?
- No, sir.

They just appeared out of nowhere.

Well, it's got to be them.

Alert Mr. Woolsey. Doc, you're
with me. Let's go, come on.

All right, we should
be within radio range.

Colonel Sheppard, come in.

Dr. McKay, this is
Major Lorne. Do you read?

No, there's too much interference.

I'm picking up some
kind of energy reading.

It's spiking.

What the hell just happened?

- They disappeared.
- What are you talking about?

Well, they're just gone.

Oh, wait a minute.

I'm picking up four lifesigns.

Okay, where?

Dead ahead.

Colonel Sheppard, is that you?

Major, nice of you to stop by.

Kind ofhard to get a
cab in this neighborhood.

Yes, sir.

How many jumps you think that drive
has left in it before it burns out?

Half a dozen, tops. Then
it'll be completely inert.

Good. I'd hate to think of somebody else

getting trapped inside
that thing like we did.

Actually, you know, I've
been thinking about that.

Now, true, the navigation
system was flawed to start,

but the basic principles of the
drive are fundamentally sound...

- Forget it, Rodney.
- I've saved the relevant data.

Minor adjustments, and I should be able

- to have this thing up and running...
- Like I said, forget it.

Hey, look who's here.

How's your shoulder, Rodney?

It's pretty bad, but,
you know, better, thanks.

Is it well enough to hold him?

Really?

- Don't drop him.
- Thank you.

Hey there, little guy.

- I think he likes me.
-It suits you.

You think so?

I think you'll make an
excellent father someday.

I've seen a lot of scary things in my
time, but that thought scares me the most.

- Do you want to...
- I think so.

Yeah. There you go.
Watch out, they wiggle.

Right.