Air (2) - Recap
<-- Previous EpisodeNext Episode -->
Scott and his two teammates explore the ship and come to a sealed bulkhead door. When they can't get it open, they call Rush, who is out of the control room on what he claims is a bathroom break. Eli answers and when Scott and the others try to open the door, Eli finds it on the internal scanners and notes that it's glowing red. Eli tries to help and opens the door, revealing a breech on the other side. Eli gets the door closed and determines that there are other breeches all over the ship.
Rush comes back and tells everyone that he has news and they have to assemble in the Gate room. He then tells the 80 survivors that he used an Ancient communication device to project his consciousness into someone on Earth. He's contacted General Jack O'Neill, who has put him in command of the survivors. Given their position billions of light years from Earth, SGC has no way to rescue them at this time. Neither Senator Armstrong nor Scott believes him, and Young insists that all SGC soldiers will follow his commands. However, before they can pursue the matter, Armstrong has another heart attack. When Johansen examines him, she determines that he has internal bleeding and the blood-thinner tablets he's taking for his condition are aggravating the bleeding. Camille steps up to protest Rush's abrupt assumption of command and the other survivors join in. Scott is forced to take Rush's side, insisting that his initial ideas are good. However, once he's alone with Rush he warns that he's not going to risk dissension by disagreeing further, but Rush needs to get them back to Earth.
As the survivors go over their salvaged provisions and realize how little they have, Camille notes that Greer was in detention before they fled Icarus Base. She thinks they should do something about him now but Greer says she has no authority over SGC military and she'll have to let Scott and Young handle it. Camille suggests that she might not wait, or accept what they do say. Greer takes offense and starts to threaten her, but Scott calls him away to join a team to look for breeches. As he goes, one of the survivors starts stealing food from their limited supply.
Scott is investigating the corridors and spots something small fly by. He goes after it.
Young recovers consciousness and Johansen tells him what's happening, and that they're losing life support. Like Scott, Young doesn't believe that O'Neill would have put Rush in command. When he tries to get up to confront Rush, he discovers that his legs are paralyzed.
Scott discovers that the flying object is a small metal drone. Eli has found a supply of them and a remote to control them. They're mobile drone cameras that Eli has nicknamed "kinos," and he figures they can use them to explore the ship and finds the breeches without endangering anyone.
Johansen examines Young to determine the extent of his paralysis and tries to assure him that it's probably temporary. However, she admits that without the proper equipment, and given her experience as a field medic, she can't make a thorough diagnosis. Young notes that she should have been gone two weeks ago when her term of service was up and apologizes, but Johansen says it was her decision. The colonel asks her to bring Rush to see him.
Scott and Eli go to the command center and show Rush the kino. He tells them that the carbon dioxide scrubbers are failing and sends them to check one of the nodes. They discover that the system is filled with a black discharge.
Chloe checks on her father and warns him that he can't take his blood-thinner pills because it will aggravate his internal bleeding. Armstrong tells his daughter to find out what's going on, hoping she'll leave the pills behind. Chloe goes but takes the pills with her.
Rush examines the discharge and warns that the filters are breaking down after thousands of years. Without the necessary supplies, or replacements for the filters, there's no way he can fix the system. The best they can do is fix all the leaks, giving them perhaps a day rather than an hour. Scott orders him to determine how to dial back to Earth instead, but Rush insists that it's impossible.
Eli sends a kino out to explore the ship and finds two hustle docking sleeves. Greer's team investigates one of them and discovers a leak in the force field protective system of the shuttle. The docking door can only be sealed from inside the shuttle.
As Young starts to recover, Johansen explains that there's a safety mechanism on the door that keeps anyone from closing it if the door is jammed. With time running out, Rush realizes that someone will have to enter the shuttle and seal the door from the inside, at the cost of their own life. As Eli makes a video journal of what may be their last hour of life, Rush starts choosing who among the survivors is least likely to contribute to their continued survival and warns the others that it's their only option. Young arrives and is brought up to speed, and he volunteers to sacrifice himself to close the shuttle door. He asks Scott and Johansen to help him to the shuttle but they refuse. Chloe comes in and tells them that her father has left his quarters. They contact Greer and the scientist, Franklin, who tell them that Armstrong is holding them at gunpoint. Franklin can't complete the repairs and Armstrong asks Greer to show him what to do. Greer agrees to help him.
Scott and Chloe run to the shuttle just too late as Chloe's father seals himself in the shuttle. Scott looks angrily at Greer, who defends his decision to help Armstrong by insisting the senator was already dying and knew it. Chloe watches through the porthole as her father dies from lack of oxygen within the shuttle. Scott holds Chloe, who pulls away and attacks Rush, blaming him for her father's death. Rush apologizes, saying that he understands how she feels but that her father believed in Icarus and gave his life to assures that the work would continue and they would benefit from the discovery of the ship. He promises her that no one else will die in vain but Chloe jut walks away.
In the Gate Room, Young tells the survivors that Armstrong has died and asks Camille to keep morale up among the others.
Chloe goes to the observation port and Scott goes to see her. She admits she can't accept that her father is dead and Scott coaxes her into telling him about the man who gave his life so that Scott and the others could live.
As Eli and Rush work to deal with the life support, an upset Eli wonders if Rush is bothered by Armstrong's death. Rush admits he is but that he can't afford to let himself become distracted when he has lives to save. As he goes through the ship's logs, he discovers that the Ancients named the ship Destiny. More importantly, he realizes that the ship is an unmanned scout vessel. The Ancients sent it out on an automated course and planned to travel to it via the Stargate when it reached its destination. However, the Ancient Ascended before the ship reached its destination so they never used it.
Major Marks finds Earth's Stargate address in the DHD database. Young orders him to dial the coordinates so they can go home. When Rush realizes what they're doing, he warns them that it's waste of time and power that they don't have. Young accepts what he's saying but insists that they need to show the others that they're at least trying to find a way home. The ship suddenly comes out of hyperspace and Rush realizes what's happened. He explains that the Ancients sent other automated ships ahead to plant Stargates on planets along the Destiny's route. He reprogrammed the ship's computer to stop the drives when it approached one of the designated planets that might support life. As Young prepares an expedition, Rush discovers that the computer is on a timer that he's unable to override. The ship will continue along its course in 12 hours.
Young and Rush determine who is best suited to explore the new planet. Eli volunteers and Young agrees. Rush also insists on going, explaining that he's best qualified to assess the planet if they need to decide whether to abandon the ship and stay there. Young choose Scott as the expedition leader, and Scott wonders if Eli is qualified to accompany them. Young admits that they're all going to have to step up if they want to survive, and it's best if they know Eli's qualifications now. Young tells Scott to keep an eye on Rush and watches as the expedition departs on its first mission.