"Previously on Stargate Atlantis" "It's headed for the city !" " What's it doing ?" " Scanning us .." "Now the dart sent a transmission deep into space, and then it self destructed before we could get to it." " We scanned the area with our deep-space sensors and.." " What are those ?" "Wraith hives ship." "Three of them." "Where are they headed ?" "If they maintain direction and speed, they'll be over our planet within two weeks." "We knew they were comming, at least now we know when." " That's something." " That's something ?" "There's still time, Rodney." "There's no reason to panic..." " yet." " Where there is time, there is hope." "Agreed." "So recommandations ?" " Other than panic ?" " Other than panic, yes!" "I realize this might not be cool, but we should consider M7G-677." " As a possible evacuation site ?" " No ma'am." "I'm suggesting we take their ZPM." "Their only means of protection from the Wraith ?" "A planet populated mostly by children." "He raises a valid point." "We've already established the ZPM is nearly depleted, but it could be of some limited use to us." "You asked for suggestions." "It's a matter of survival." "I see." "We're not quite there yet." "And as long as I'm in charge, we will never be there." "I agree doctor Weir." "If this is to be our end, it is best we face it with both dignity and honor." " To that end I actually have an idea, in addition, to panic." " Let's hear it." "It's really a long shot, but I think it's most likely worth the effort, of course the most to be my efforts..." "What is it ?" "I think we can send a message back to Earth through the Stargate." " Excuse me ?" " I thought we didn't have enough power." "Not to send a person, no." "We'd never be able to maintain the wormhole long enough." "But I think if we would be able to tie together all of our power generating capabilities, we might - and I emphasise might - be able to establish a wormhole long enough to send a message." "How much time are we talking about ?" "Aproximatly, 1.3 seconds, give or take." " That's not much time." " Time enough to say S.O.S." "Don't be so analogue. 1.3 seconds is more than enough time to send the message if it's in the form of a high compression data burst." "Now, I helped refine the encoding for the US Air Force a few years back." " Colonel Carter should be able to decipher it on the other side." " You're suggesting this now ?" "Because it probably won't work, and there's a very good chance it could overload our naquadah generators in the process." "Well then we can't take the risk !" "No power, we won't have a chance in hell." "There are three Wraith hives ship on the way, Major." "Desperate times call for desperate measures." "Besides, I spent the last few days working of ways of minimizing the risk." "Assuming it's possible, how much information can we send ?" "Everything." "I mean, mission reports from all the senior staff, a ton of stuff on Atlantis, things we've learned in Pegasus." " All that ?" "One second ?" " One point three." "You jest, but if I could finesse the compression ratios, you'll be looking for things to add." " Do it." " Doing it." "Elizabeth, you realize that if Stargate Command was able to send help.." "I know." "They would have." "But still we've the responsability to report what we've learned here." " About Atlantis, about the Ancients.." " The Wraith ?" "Exactly." "We have to warn Earth." "Even if it's the last thing we do ?" "Especially if it's the last thing we do." "Season 1 :" "Episode 17 Letters from Pegasus" "They don't seem threatening, those dots on the screen, do they?" "Which is why we need to do recon and see what we're up against firsthand." "How ?" "I've been tracking their progress." "The Wraith ships apparently go in and out of hyperspace periodically." " Either because their hyperspace technology is limited...." " Or they're stopping to feed along the way." "The point is, the pattern is predictable." "I can guess with some certainty, that they'll be making stops, here, here and here." "Even so, those ships are light years away." "How do you expect to reach them in a puddle jumper?" "We fly to a Stargate en route that Zelenka thinks they're gonna drop out of hyperspace, and we watch them pass by." " That's good." " You know I have my moments." "Teyla and I were just deciding which planet to go to." "I am familiar with the people of this world." "Their Stargate is in the open, and so, accessible by ship." "And you think you can remain undetected by the Wraith as they go by your position?" "Stealth mode." "They won't even know we're there." "OK, go." "Get what intel you can and get back before Rodney sends his message." "I need the both of you here." "Won't even stop at the duty free." "On the offchance that you get the idea to take the Wraith ships on yourself Major." "I am hereby ordering you not to." "Believe me you don't have to." "Still." ""Don't take on alien armada's single handedly." I understand." "Father!" "Teyla's here!" "Teyla!" " Oren!" "It has been many days." " Too many." "Look at you, you're so different." "Much has changed since my last visit." " This is Major John Sheppard." "And Oren." " Pleased to meet you." " The harvest is still months away." " Yes, I know." "We have not come to trade, but to deliver a warning." "We have reason to believe the Wraith may be on their way." "We don't know that for a fact, but we're about to go and find out." "Yes, it seems they're awakening everywhere." "You should tell your people to take precautions in case they do come." "I will." "But you know as well as I do Teyla, that the Wraith will track us down wherever we go." "There will be no escape." "What about through the Stargate?" "The cullings are taking place on many worlds." "None are safe." "Even we have taken in refugees." "If they do come, stay far from the Stargate." "Take your family to the far treeline, there, and wait for us." " Teyla." " One family Major, that is all I ask." "I'm sorry Oren, I can't make that promise." "It will be the very least we can do." " If there's time." " Then we must hurry." "Children, we must prepare." "Alright, we have our city' specs, mission reports and tactical assessments all ready to go." "What else ?" "Well I've included a ton of data that we've been able to decipher from the Ancient database." "Really?" "That is incredible." "Well the algorithm I've devised is extraordinarily efficient, yes." "Oh please!" "Well it must be, in order to fit all that data into 1.3 seconds." ".3 seconds actually." "We have a whole extra second to fill?" "A whole extra one, yes." "Is it enough to include personal messages?" "Sure, I mean several hours of video." "Much more if we restrict the audio." "I think it'll do wonders for moral." "Especially now." "I could tell my Grandma what I've been up to all this time." "Well if your grandmother had security clearance, yes you could." "But for now, you can tell her that you're well and that you miss her." "This is all very charming, but um, I have work to do." "Shouldn't I..." "Lieutenant, maybe you'd like to handle this." "Give everybody a few minutes on camera send a personal message to their loved ones." "I'd love to ma'am." "Off you go!" "As soon as Zelenka and I can get Jumper 4's engines tied into the grid, we should be able to do a low power dry run." "Good." "Rodney?" "You don't want to send a message to anyone?" "You know what?" "I think with all my spare time, I'll just record a message to myself." "You?" "Yes." "Good, good." "This wasn't supposed to be a rescue mission." "Oren was a good friend of my father." "I agreed to warn him." "If someone close to your family, a dear friend, was in danger of being taken by the Wraith, would you have not done the same?" "Not if it jeopardised the mission." "So in fighting the Wraith, we are to give up that which makes us different from them?" "I agreed to stop and pick him up if there was time, but only if there was time." "I'll be saving everyone in the damn galaxy, if we could." "One man and his children are not every person." "I agreed to help, if there was time." "You only fight the battles you can win." "Let's get this thing turn around." "They're heading for the planet." "OK, recording, plenty of battery." "So why am I not seeing anything." "Stupid!" "OK." "Hi Grandma, Grandpa!" "It's me Aiden, obviously." "Talking to you from a place, far, far, from home." "I'm good though." "You don't have to worry." "Life here is pretty routine." "I'm hoping to get home sometime soon." "But you know, if" "I'm stuck here a while, I want you to know that I'm good." "I'm doing things, seeing things I never thought I'd see." "Wish I could tell you all about it." "Who knows, one day, maybe I'll be able to." "But I want you both to know, that you're right here, always, all the time." "Sorry Teyla." "Even flying full out, we're just ahead of the armada." "I can't risk putting down for Oren or his family." "I see." "I'm gonna take us out of stealth mode for the pass." "Dial the gate." "Hang on!" "Incoming wormhole!" "I have heard stories of the Wraith dialling in, to prevent their victims from using the Stargate as a means of escape." "So we're stuck here." "Once the ship is rendered invisible again, we will be perfectly safe." "I'm more worried about getting the intel about the Wraith fleet back to Atlantis." "Then we'll keep dialling in through the night at the very least." "But if we wait in the location I told Oren and his family to meet us..." "That's where I'm headed." "I must warn you, I'm not very good at this sort of thing." "Well don't worry." "The only people that's gonna see it, is you and your family." "Aye, and you and the US military." "Give it a shot?" "What shall I say?" "I miss you?" "I wish you were here?" "I wish who was here?" "I don't know." "Who do you wish was here?" "Nobody!" "I wish I wasn't bloody here!" "Doc, I got a lotta people I gotta get through." "Alright, uh, I suppose I could say hello to my Mother." "Good." "There you go." "Alright, you ready?" "Yeah." "OK, go." "Hello Mum!" "I hope this message finds you well." "I trust your petunia's are in full bloom by now." "Oh, and I do hope you're keeping up with the ointment I gave you." "If you've adhered to the regime, the fungus should have cleared up by now." " What's wrong?" " Dude, fungus?" "On her toenails." "I thought you said no-one would watch this except my family?" "Yeah, but fungus?" "What then shall I talk about?" "I don't know, it's your Mother." "Tell her you love her." "No, no, I can't do that." "I'll get all emotional." "So?" "She's very delicate, my mother." "As sweet a soul as you'll ever meet." "As pure as the driven snow." "If I get upset then she'll get upset, and I can't have that." "It's not like we're live Doc." "I mean, you don't like what we put on tape the first time,we can always do it again." " We can?" " Sure." "Oh." "I suppose I could do that then." "Alright, here we go." "Mum..." "I miss you terribly." "I can't do this!" "Come on Oren, show up!" "What?" "Not long ago you would have blithely left them behind." "Well the situation has changed." "Earlier today Lt Ford suggested we steal from a community of children." "That's because they have a ZPM and we can bring them back." "Only to face death in Atlantis?" "Look, Ford and I are military." "We've spent a lot of our lives learning how to survive." "I've spent my life surviving the Wraith." "Part of that training is knowing who you can save and who you can't." "And that decision is yours alone?" "I said that I'd wait for your friend if there was time." "Now there's time." "What else do you want from me?" "Too much I fear." "It's gonna be a long night." "You didn't say anything that would require security clearance did you?" "Security clearance?" "This is hard, to sit and watch." "There's nothing you can do." "We can do a lot." "It'll just be the last thing we ever do." "We are far outnumbered and the Gate is still inaccessible." "But if we save Oren and his family, we will have done something." "Something." "I'm gonna miss you kiddo." "I can't wait to get back home and take you to a basketball game." "Watch Kobe and Shaq take another title home for the Lakers." "That's it." "That's it?" "What else am I gonna say to the kid." "It's your little brother SGT." "And I'm probably never gonna see him again, why make it worse than it has to be." " That's not what this is about man!" " That's exactly what this is about." "Don't sweat it Lt." "I'm happy I got the chance to say goodbye." "Yeah, but you didn't say it." "Not in so many words." "Lt Ford!" "Ah, you ready to record your message?" "Already done." "Actually I took the liberty of doing mine in private." "Now it may require some editing." "Editing." "Yeah, I went on a bit." "Actually I used the entire tape." "You talked for an hour." "See, I found it rather therapeutic actually." "Now I'm fairly confident I've come up with several valuable insights." "In fact I'm sure of it, but I've only slept six hours in the last few days." "Who's it for?" "Humanity in general, my sister." "Look," "I don't expect you to cut it down to just a few minutes." "I mean, there is gold in here." "So just make sure mine's last and that way, if it gets cut off, fine, but if the gate holds the connection a few extra milliseconds then we won't have wasted the time." "I look forward to it." "Well, enjoy." "Gold." "And in, 5,4,3...." "This is Doctor Rodney McKay speaking to you from my base of operations in the lost city of Atlantis, located deep within the Pegasus Galaxy." "I record this message on the eve of our darkest hour." "As I speak, an alien armada of biblical proportions is on it's way, bent, dare I say hellbent, in keeping with the metaphor, on our destruction." "We will do our best to stave off their attack, but I'm afraid that defeat is all but inevitable." "I and the other members of my team, face the most horrific deaths imaginable." "As our very lives are sucked from our chests in a horrific...." "OK, OK." "Starting again." "Starting again." "Ford, just cut that alright?" "What is that?" "I've never seen such a thing." "I'm gonna check it out." "You may be discovered." " I'll make a point not to." " Major" "I just want to see whatever that is." "Just stay here until Oren and his family show up." "In 5, 4,3..." "My friends." "I am Doctor Rodney McKay of the Atlantis expedition, and as the facts of our heroic struggle against the Wraith and our untimely demise are already known to you, in that light I'd like to pass along some final thoughts." "Now my extensive educational training and first hand experience in the field of astrophysics, has given me a unique perspective that few on Earth or on any other planet for that matter, can match." "I'd like to take a few moments now to pass along that perspective to you." "I'll begin with a few observations on a subject that is both near and dear to my heart." "Leadership..." "Mr and Mrs Markham, my name is Dr Elizabeth Weir and your son was a member of my expedition team." "It is with a deep regret that I have to inform you that he was killed in the line of duty, just a few days ago." "He died in the defence of others and his sacrifice may have saved many." "Her keen curiosity are just some of the qualities that your daughter displayed during her duties as a scientist on my team." "She and several of her colleagues, died suddenly, just a few weeks ago." "I am not at liberty to reveal the cause of her death, but I can tell you... that during her time here," "Dr Dumais was a part of something very profound." "She saw and lived things she never would have dreamed of before." "You can be very proud of your son, knowing that he died bravely while defending others." "I confess that I didn't know him as I could have..." "But I do know that he was well liked and very well respected among his peers... and I was told of how often he spoke of his family." "I do wish I could tell you more." "I'm sure you understand as a military family..." "Are you done ma'am?" "Just give me a moment please Lieutenant." "I am keeping busy with my job." "I work hard, like everyone else to ensure the success of this expedition, and also to please the leader of our science team." "No, no, no, no, no." "This sequence first and then the secondary code." "Unless you're intentionally trying to blow us up." "In which case, excellent work." "He does not always remember my name, but I have enjoyed working for him very much." "What is this?" "Who made this?" "You made this?" "He is a very honourable and brave man." "Oh!" "Ow!" "OK, cramp, cramp, cramp!" "Ow!" "Ow!" "Ow!" "Until then, I will continue to serve at his pleasure." "I almost caught mono, kissing a girl during algebra club." "I missed an entire month of school." "Still, the kiss was something, so it was probably worth it." "April Bingham." "Cute blonde." "God, I love blondes, especially with the... the short hair." "Samantha Carter, if you're watching, the torch is still burning." "Sadly, soon to be extinguished." "You know, you should know." "I think you are just so..." "Well, you're great." "Really, really great." "I would go so far to say you're the hottest scientist I've ever worked with." "In fact there's probably not a night goes by I don't find myself, uh." "OK, Ford?" "Let's lose that and let's get back to   leadership." "Who will be watching this?" "Anyone you're sending it to." "Family, friends, loved ones." "Will anyone from Atlantis be viewing this?" "No." "Messages are private." "You can get as mushy as you want." "Uh, this is a message for General Jack O'Neill of Stargate Command." "I feel it is my duty to inform you of what I consider to be serious errors in judgement among the leaders of this expedition." "Most notably, Dr Elizabeth Weir." "Her actions have repeatedly and recklessly exposed the people of this expedition to extreme danger." "Leading us directly to the grave situation we currently find ourselves in." "You know what?" "How about I leave the room and let you record your whining in private." "Fine!" "I've been keeping a record of Dr Weir's questionable activities, which I would like to detail for you now." "I never cared for dogs." "Too much work, too needy, too unpredictable." "I mean, you leave one door open, the tiniest little cracks, and they're gone." "You look for them, you put up fliers, it's no use." "And since your father refused to pay for a license, the animal shelter has no way of tracking them." "God knows what happened to that little guy." "Now cats, now that's a whole different story." "Cats are self sufficient, they're dependable, you shake the box they come running." "Some people say it's the food, but my cat..." "See," "I truly believe he enjoys my company." "There's something very comforting about coming home from work at the end of the day and having a familiar face waiting for you, you know?" "Still, I digress." "Where was I. Right, leadership!" "Over here!" "It's alright, I'm a friend!" "Please, hurry!" "This way!" "Hurry!" "This way." "How many of you remain?" "I don't know, the Wraith are everywhere." "Here, drink this." "It is water." "Oren, have you seen him?" "Not since before the Wraith arrived." "Thank you." "We must go now, the Wraith will find us." "No they will not." "Our ship has a shield which makes it invisible to them." "You are safe here." "Just rest, we will leave soon." "Finally I would like say something to the families of every member of this expedition." "I wish I could tell you more about what your loved ones are doing, and some day I hope you find out, because you will be amazed." "But I will tell you that I could not be more proud of each and every one of them." "Their heroism has amazed me." "Their resourcefulness has staggered me." "Rodney go!" "Going!" "Now!" "We face a terrible enemy, and an uncertain future." "But if we are never heard from again, know that your loved ones did not face that uncertainty alone." "We are facing our future together." "Major!" "It's pretty ugly out there." "Is this Oren's family?" "No." "They have not seen Oren since the culling began." "The village is pretty much wiped out." "The gate just shut off." "We should be able to dial up and get out of here before the Wraith can do anything about it." "Please Major, give Oren more time." "If he was able to get here, he would be here by now." "We've gotta get back." "Then go." "I will stay and search until day light, you can return for me later." "I can't do that." "I consider Oren as family Major, I am sorry if you cannot understand without..." "I understand it Teyla, but that's not the point I am trying to..." "With or without you, I am staying." "You won't make it." "Then I ask that you stay as well, just a little longer." "Allow something good to come of this." "Alright, we'll give him a little more time." "I know you worry about me Mum, but somehow we've found a way to arise to each challenge, so I wouldn't fret about my safety." "It's the people here, from dozens of countries, all connected by a single bond." "We represent the people of Earth, and if there's one thing I've discovered about we Earthlings, we're a scrappy bunch." "I wouldn't be surprised if I bring back..." "Doc, you can't say Earthlings." "Your Mother doesn't have enough security clearance." "She knows I'm from Earth son, it's not a bloody secret." "Oh, right." "Sorry mum... anyhow." "Authorized using a prisoner to test an experimental drug, in clear violation of the Geneva convention." "Authorized lowering the Stargate shield when the authenticity of incoming travellers was clearly in question." "That's another sight I'll die without having seen." "See, to be fair - when you've travelled as much as I've travelled, you'd think that missing Niagra Falls would be no big deal." "But you know what?" "It gnaws at you." "Alot of movies I wish I'd seen, that I won't see now." "Never saw Grease even though I had a thing for Olivia Newton John when I was a kid." "I always wanted to see Ghandi, only saw the first half of the Sixth Sense, always wondered how that ended." "My sister..." "Ford if you cut everything else, just keep this part okay?" "Jenny, it's your brother Rodney." "Obviously." "I wanna say, umm..." "I wanna say something." "Family is important." "I've come to realize that because the people here have become a sort of surrogate family to me." "Now I know what you're thinking, I've never been the poster child for that kind of sentiment but... when one's contemplating their own demise, one sees things more clearly." "I really do wish you the best, you know." "And I'm sorry we weren't closer." "Perhaps, ... if by chance I make it out of this, perhaps one day we can be." "And I would like that." "Now, if there's time, I'd like to go back to the subject of leadership." "Someone's coming." "Oren!" "Oren!" "How big is his family?" "They must have met up with others along the way." "That's gonna be a problem." "I didn't think you'd still be here." "We would not have gone without you." "We found others on the way, and even more further behind." "How many more?" "Twelve, perhaps more." "In here, this way!" "Quickly!" "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" "Alright, we'll fit as many people as we can!" "Hurry, come on!" "Straight ahead!" "Straight ahead!" "Hurry!" "It's alright." "It's alright." "Are our guests comfortably settled in?" "Yes." "Good." "So tell me, how bad is it?" "Bad." "Each hive ship acts like a carrier group with cruisers and hundreds of darts escorting it." "Groden's downloading the sensor readings right now." "I've never witnessed a culling that took so many." "We saved a few, that's worth something." "Rodney, are we ready to send our message?" "When you are." "OK." "Lieutenant Ford is just finishing recording personal messages from all the team members, if you'd like?" "I'm good." "Okay." "Well along with a short note of my own," "I took the liberty of recording messages for the families of the people we've lost." "That's a good idea." "But there's one in particular," "I thought maybe you'd might like to do for yourself." "Okay, whenever you're ready Sir." "Go ahead." "I'm not sure if Colonel Sumner's parents are still alive." "I'm not even sure he has a family back there, not all of us do." "But if he does have a family, they should know that he died with ... honour and courage in the perfomance of his duty." "He carried the burden of a leader, and he carried it well." "I didn't get the chance to know him well, but ..." "I know this, considering the type of man he was and what we're up against, yeah I wish he was still here." "Not a day goes by that I don't think of you Simon." "There's so much I want to tell you and share with you." "But I can't." "I know this is unfair, so much you don't know, and putting your life on hold for me." "So don't, all I ask is that you take care of yourself." "And know that wherever you are, my heart is looking after you." "So take care of yourself, lots of sleep and remember your daily walks, and keep up with your prescription." "Well that's about it," "I'll say goodbye now." "And mum," "I do love you." "Bye Grandma, Grandpa" " I miss you!" "Goodbye bro!" "Goodbye." "Goodbye Simon." "Goodbye." "We have unscheduled offworld activation!" "Receiving transmission." "Who's it from?" "Atlantis."