Daniel solves the riddle contained in his chamber, allowing him to escape with Vala and provide Mitchell the hint that lets him solve his own puzzle. Having passed this test, Mitchell removes the sword from the stone – at which point an energy construct of a knight forms and begins dueling the colonel. Teal’c attempts to come to Mitchell’s aid, but the sword passes through his hands – no one else can wield it. The knight gets the best of Mitchell, but when Teal’c attempts to lift him up in order to evacuate him, Mitchell recalls his rehabilitation and refuses to surrender until his enemy is vanquished. The chamber itself then begins to crumble, until Mitchell returns everything to its rightful place and the treasure of Avalon appears.
In addition to the usual gold and buried loot, the vault includes an old text which suggests that the race that evolved into the Ancients was once called the Alterans, and traveled to Earth from a distant world. The team also finds an Ancient device which appears to work with the communication stones such as those that once linked Jack O’Neill’s consciousness with another man. Daniel theorizes that when used with the new device, the stones might allow someone to contact the original home world of the Ancients’ forebearers. He and Vala place the two stones into the device and quickly fall unconscious. Dr. Lam, the SGC’s new chief doctor, reports to General Landry that the two appear to be in something resembling a dream state. When Landry asks the doctor how she’s adjusting to her new position, she admits that it takes some getting used to – even moreso because it involves serving under Landry.
Teal’c returns to Dakara to find that a Jaffa named Gerak is close to cementing his hold on the High Council. Teal’c’s friend Rak’nor wonders why he continues to risk losing his influence by spending so much time with the humans. Teal’c responds that beyond his understanding that the humans played a major role in helping the Jaffa win their freedom, there is the strategic fact that knowledge of the Ancients proved vital in defeating the Goa’uld and the Replicators and will likely continue to be useful going forward. Whatever the merits of the argument might be, they aren’t enough to stop Gerak’s ascension to leadership.
In another galaxy, Daniel and Vala find that their consciousnesses now inhabit the bodies of a married couple, Harrid and Sallis, on a world whose technology and culture resemble medieval Earth – a far cry from their expectations. Their first instinct is to try to fit in to their surroundings, so they join their fellow villagers during a lengthy worship service to the native’s deities, the Ori. A fellow worshipper named Fannis invites them to a secret meeting in hushed tones – their first sign that their “hosts” are not ordinary villagers. Another comes when Vala finds two communications stones hidden in the bedroom. And yet another comes when Fannis shows up at their door, obviously worried about all their safety. Daniel and Vala explain the truth behind their strange behavior, and in turn Fannis explains that all three of them are members of a secret groups of researchers, looking for clues as to their people’s past and evidence that the sacred texts passed down by the Ori are not completely accurate. Daniel and Vala’s odd behavior has already begun to draw suspicion to them – and when Vala fails to observe the proper rituals, the situation quickly spirals out of control. Daniel must watch as Sallis is sentenced to trial by flames; as her body is consumed, the doctors at SGC are unable to save Vala’s physical body or retrieve her consciousness. But more powerful forces may yet intervene.
written by Robert C. Cooper
directed by Andy Mikita
music by Joel Goldsmith
Guest Cast: Claudia Black (Vala), Bill Dow (Dr. Lee), Lexa Doig (Dr. Lam), Obi Ndefo (Rak’nor), Stephen Park (Harrid), April Amber Telek (Sallis), Paul Moniz de Sa (Fannis), Greg Anderson (Administrator), Mark Houghton (Prior Or Ori), Gary Jones (Sgt. Walter Harriman), Silya Wiggens (Therapist), Brahm Taylor (Villager), Nick Harrison (Knight)
Notes: O’Neill and the SGC discovered the nature of the communications stones in the eighth-season episode Citizen Joe.
LogBook entry by Dave Thomer
The stargate activates, bringing much-needed help from Earth in the form of a heavily-armed Marine unit hand-picked by General O’Neill. Colonel Everett is assigned to take over from Dr. Weir, a move that surprises both Weir and Sheppard. But Everett’s plan – to defend Atlantis at all costs until further backup can arrive in the form of the SGC’s starship Daedalus – is just audacious enough to work, if he can overcome the Atlantis team’s reluctance to obey his orders. Even after Everett’s first line of new defenses falls to the Wraith advance, a fierce battle ensues and the added weapons help to turn the tide, but the fight isn’t over yet. The hive ships are still approaching, the city’s sensors have been damaged, and worse yet, Teyla senses Wraith inside the city. With Everett’s supply of nukes destroyed in the advance attack, Dr. Weir takes a chance on trying to open talks with the Genii to use some of their nuclear weapons. But the Genii take Weir hostage when she comes to negotiate; they decide to use her life as a bargaining chip to extort more weapons technology from the Atlantis expedition…and if Atlantis falls before Weir can agree, so much the better.written by Joseph Mallozzi & Paul Mullie
