episodes | fan fiction | multimedia | fun stuff | research | shop | links | updates

email us | site map | home

stargatefan.com : episodes > season 2 > next episode : spirits

The SG teams are still being held in an underground chamber under heavy guard. Daniel asks to speak with Garshaw. He wants to know more about why their request for an alliance was turned down. He is asking for more time to find something Earth has that the Tok'ra need, something to make the risk to their security acceptable. Garshaw doesn't believe any such thing exists. Sam can sense there is another reason why an alliance was refused. "Something else bothers you about us," Sam intuits. Garshaw reveals "That is correct! None of you have volunteered to be hosts to one of us who is dying! If you are so disgusted by the very thought of blending, how can we be associated with one another? You have distaste for our very being!" Daniel claims it is a lack of understanding, that there is no hatred at all. "Then, be a host to Selmak!" Garshaw commands, asking him to prove what he claims. Daniel uncomfortably responds "I wish I could say I'm OK with that, but I.. I" "The very thought sickens you!" interrupts Garshaw, "There is nothing more to be said. There will be no alliance. You will remain here until we say otherwise."

Time passes, as the SG team members are lost in their own thoughts. Sam is very worried about her father, how he is, what he thinks of her not coming to see him. Jack promises they'll get her back home "The good news is, there's eight of us now." "That's the good news?" asks Jackson. "Yes!" Jack tersely responds "More manpower?" Teal'c realizes the futility of fighting the Tok'ra and asks, "Is this another one of your strange jokes, O'Neill?" "Ah, no!" Jack answers. In the midst of debate about possible escape and becoming hosts, Sam excitedly tells the guards she needs to see Garshaw. Daniel is very concerned. "What is the one thing the Tok'ra need the most?" Sam asks Daniel. Guardedly he answers, "Hosts, but that's something we can't give them." Garshaw arrives and Sam asks her if the Tok'ra can cure cancer in humans. To her relief, Garshaw tells her it is done all the time, no problem at all! Sam appeals first to Daniel and Jack "We should at least offer this to my dad!" Jack thinks hard on this, then says to the Tok'ra "We might have a host for you." Garshaw allows Jack and Sam to return to Earth to get Sam's dad, but forces the others to remain, just to ensure their return.

Back at SGC, Jack and Sam present the idea to General Hammond. He is very unreceptive "I am truly sorry about your father, but I have to question the wisdom of what you're saying here." Hammond is worried that Jacob Carter's knowledge of Earth, of the military, would be handed over to the Goa'uld. "To the Tok'ra" Sam corrects. "Are you sure there is a difference?" Hammond asks. Jack is sure there is a difference, though he doesn't fully understand it, and he adds that if they were regular Goa'ulds they would have taken a host already, by force. Hammond is still not convinced "They were holding you prisoner, Colonel!" "Only temporarily, sir.. and as much to protect us as well as themselves!" Sam argues. Jack hesitantly offers "I didn't believe that one, sir." Sam is very certain her dad would want the chance to decide for himself, to become the liaison between ourselves and possibly the most important ally we will ever have!

Back on the Tok'ra world, the wait continues. Teal'c and Garshaw exchange compliments. Martouf arrives with bad news, "The Goa'uld System Lords have been told where we are.. they have dispatched two mother ships! They will arrive within the day, perhaps hours." "Start the evacuation!" Garshaw orders. All the Tok'ra run off, leaving the SG team members behind, unguarded.

General Hammond and Sam go to visit Jacob Carter who is looking very ill in his hospital bed. Hammond offers "You wanted me to tell you what Captain Carter does. I thought maybe she could tell you herself." Jacob Carter wants to know why he is suddenly being told classified material. "We need your help, Dad," is Sam's response. Jacob jokes "The Pentagon wants me to deliver a message to God when I get up there? What do you do that's so great you don't want me to get you into the astronaut program?" Sam finally tells him "I travel to other planets. Much farther away than any astronaut goes." Thoughtfully, Jake Carter answers "So, you're not going to tell me the truth!" Gen. Hammond assures him it is the truth. "Like in simulations?" asks Jake. "No! In reality!" responds Hammond. Sam is really enjoying telling her Dad all about this "We discovered alien technology that can send us to thousands of planets all over the galaxy!" "Holy Hannah!" is all Jacob Carter can say as he fully realizes what this means. Sam beams with relief and pride in her father's apparent respect of what she does. Sam becomes more serious and tells her dad that they want him to travel to another planet, and hopefully be cured of his cancer. "What's the catch?" asks Jacob as he notes the mixed emotions coming from his daughter. "It's a doozy!" replies Hammond.

Jack, Sam and Jacob Carter go to the embarkation room at SGC. The Stargate is being activated. Jacob is amazed as the vortex of energy spews forward. Jake Carter asks what it feels like, Jack responds "It's a piece of cake, sir!" Emerging from the Gate on the Tok'ra world, Jake comments "Are you sure this is another planet? Looks a lot like Earth!"

Deep within the planet, the Tok'ra, helped by the SG team members, are readying for evacuation. They are packing their belongings in trunks and transporting them to the surface via the rings. Jake, Sam and Jack come down through the rings and witness the frenzied confusion. Col. Makepeace tells Jack they are free, but in keeping with the desire to be allies, they are helping with the evacuation. Daniel offers to fill Jack in on all the details. Jake Carter appears extremely confused. Meeting Teal'c adds to his confusion and amazement. As SG-1 retrieves their gear, they witness one of the crystal tunnels collapsing in on itself. "Chel'nak!" says Teal'c. "Direct translation? Very cool!" comments Daniel.

Sam brings her dad to meet Selmak. She still lies on a bed being tended to by several Tok'ra including Martouf. When Martouf greets Jacob he speaks in both his symbiote and host voices. Jacob asks Sam why he talks like that. Sam explains how the Tok'ra are half alien. Martouf is two "souls" sharing the same body. "And that's what you want me to become?" questions Jacob. "You gotta be kidding me!"

Jack, Teal'c and Daniel are trying to find Garshaw. Jack wonders if a spy clued the System Lords in on the Tok'ra's whereabouts. Jack asks Teal'c about "the little tele-ball things." "The long-range individual telecommunication devices" clarifies Teal'c. "Yeah, how small can they be?" continues Jack. Teal'c tells him he has seen them small enough to be palm-held.

Jacob Carter is very unsure. Martouf tells him there is no pressure, and suggests he get to know the symbiote that wishes to blend with him. Selmak's host awakens, and Selmak speaks "If you agree to the blending, we could be together for a very long time!" She begins to cough uncontrollably. Jake leans over her and says, "You don't look so good." Selmak returns "You are no vision of beauty yourself, sir!" Jacob begins to laugh and starts coughing himself. Sarouche now speaks "You will take my place as host. Selmak is a wonderful Tok'ra. She is selfless, caring and has a wonderful sense of humor." Sam quips "Dad! You can sit around for hours, cracking yourself up!" Sarouche continues "Selmak is the best educated of the Tok'ra. You will be overwhelmed at the knowledge and wisdom you will gain upon blending!" Jacob asks if he will receive all the symbiote's memories. Sarouche tells him he will, bad memories as well. Jacob is beginning to be convinced he must do this "My only other choice is death, and that's unacceptable."

Jack tells Garshaw she may have a spy in her ranks. She feels that is impossible, as Tok'ra are loyal for life. Garshaw asks if they know the spy. Jack tells her he's pretty sure it is Kordesh, and explains that Kordesh has a "little tele-ball thingy." Teal'c once again clarifies. Angrily, Garshaw commands "Tok'ra kree!" Kordesh is found standing next to a collapsing tunnel. He is told to come for questioning. He appears agitated and confused "I'm not what I appear to be! Kordesh is no longer! I couldn't stop him! I am as guilty as he was!" Garshaw tells him "You must leave the tunnel and explain yourself!" "I don't deserve to remain among the Tok'ra," is his only response. The collapsing tunnels reach the man and swallow him alive. He cries out in extreme pain, and is gone!

Selmak wants to make sure she likes Jacob Carter, "Tell me sir, are you a good man?" Jacob laughs, "Forgive me for being blunt, but you're dying right, unless we blend, and I'll die too. So, good man, bad man, what difference does it make? We don't have a choice. The whole idea scares the hell out of me. Could we just get it over with?" Selmak announces "I have decided I like you!" "Super!" Jacob says. "No turning back," warns Selmak "I cannot blend with you, cure your disease and leave. To do so would kill us both. In fact, the blending may not work at all. I am weak and the damage to your body too extensive." Jacob understands "We might die anyway?" Jacob tells Sam how proud he's always been of her. He says goodbye just in case.

Garshaw thanks Jack for identifying the spy, but quickly adds, "You still have nothing to offer us!" Jack can't believe what he is hearing. "What?" he yells. "Actually, I think we do." Daniel adds. "The one thing you need most, we can provide, hosts!" Jack isn't too sure, but is willing to think about it and so apparently is Garshaw.

Martouf explains as Jacob and Selmak lie on the bed facing each other, "We do not enter our hosts by the back of the neck. It leaves a scar many of us find unsettling." "Now what?" asks Jacob. "Kiss me." Selmak replies. As Jacob leans over, mouth opened slightly, to kiss Selmak, the pink, fanged, worm-like symbiote leaps from Selmak's mouth into Jacob Carter's. He makes a strangling sound and appears quite shocked. In Selmak's voice he bids goodbye to Sarouche as she dies. Then Jacob passes out. Martouf and Sam can do nothing to help. They must wait for the blending to be complete. A guard announces that the Goa'uld ships are dropping from hyperspace. An attack will begin within hours. Martouf tells Sam to move Carter/Selmak now would kill them!

As they walk through the tunnels, O'Neill spots one of the Tok'ra councilwomen carrying the box Kordesh had kept the tele-ball in. She begins to run as he approaches her. Jack grabs the box and reveals its contents to Garshaw. Garshaw asks the woman "Kordesh?" The woman angrily spits out "The plague that is the Tok'ra soon will be wiped out." Garshaw orders "Attempt to remove Kordesh from the host without harming her, and put this traitor in one of the vanishing tunnels." Garshaw kisses Jack on both cheeks "I believe I shall be proud to call you friend!" Jack can only clear his throat in response!

The death gliders are being launched from the mother ships. Garshaw tells Martouf all but the escape tunnels have vanished. All the other Tok'ra have gone to the new home world. He must leave now. Jacob still can not be moved. He must remain stationary until Selmak has completed her repairs. Sam refuses to leave her father behind. Martouf also offers to stay. The rest leave, and as they approach the Stargate, death gliders descend from the sky. Jackson dials furiously. Explosions erupt about the Gate as they run and jump through to safety.

The explosions can be heard underground by Sam and Martouf. Everyone else waits nervously at the SGC. Jacob awakens. He first speaks as Selmak, telling Martouf they should leave. Then Jacob Carter speaks. He has a bad headache "the size of Kuwait" but laughs with glee that his arthritis is gone! The last tunnels are collapsing as the rings bring them to the surface. The Gate is engaging as they approach. The Goa'uld are trying to dial in. Sam dials also, and as the Gate opens she wonders out loud "Did we open the Gate or did they?" As the death gliders approach, Sam sends the SG-1 signal through to SGC and the iris is opened. They all dive through, to everyone's relief.

They talk awhile in the embarkation room. Jacob tells how "I can feel myself talking, but it's not me saying the words." Daniel asks how he feels. Jacob thinks a bit and replies "Considering I've got one of those things inside me.. pretty damned good." Jacob reassures General Hammond that based on his deep knowledge of the Tok'ra, he made the right call. Garshaw is anxious to leave immediately, because of the spy they will need to move the Tok'ra to yet another new world. She is impressed that the Tau'Ri have constructed their own dialing device. Jacob has some last words for Sam "I was trying to find you a better assignment and you didn't need it. Now you've found me the best assignment an old soldier could dream up. Thanks, kid!" He adds, "Apparently I'm the oldest and wisest among us!" Sam can only laugh at how pompous he is being and turn away. Daniel gives Garshaw a box, similar to the one they left on Cimmeria, so she can send it through the Gate, should they want to contact Earth. Selmak says "Don't call us, we'll call you." The three Tok'ra leave through the Gate, as Sam watches and sighs.

< back to index
< last episode
next episode: spirits >