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The Return (Stargate Atlantis)

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"The Return (Stargate Atlantis)"

"The Return" (Parts 1 and 2) are episodes from Season 3 of the science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis.

Plot

Part 1

With Atlantis's ZPM depleted, McKay and Samantha Carter devise an ingenious solution to solve the problem of transportation between the Pegasus and Milky Way galaxies. Using 34 Stargates from both galaxies, Stargate Command has constructed a massive chain of Stargates between the galaxies that would reduce the time to travel between Atlantis and Earth from three weeks to thirty minutes. The test is successful, but after Sheppard returns from the test, McKay detects strange readings on the Daedalus's sensors.

Upon closer examination, McKay finds out that the anomalous contact is actually an Aurora class battleship moving close to the speed of light. McKay hypothesizes that the ship is a damaged Ancient battleship making its way from Atlantis to Earth, but because its hyperdrive is damaged, it is forced to move at near lightspeed. Though the trip would take millions of years, relativity from moving close to the speed of light would mean that only a few years would pass from the crew's perspective. The implications of this would mean that there could be living, breathing Lanteans on board.

The Daedalus manages to make contact with the ship, the Tria, and transport the Lantean crew, numbering roughly a hundred survivors, back to Atlantis. The Lanteans are overjoyed to see that their city is still intact, but reveal shocking news. They intend to reclaim the city and ask the Tau'ri to leave. Gen. O'Neill and Woolsey arrive in Atlantis to try to negotiate, offering manpower, resources and infrastructure to help the Lanteans make Atlantis great again, but the Lanteans' position is steadfast. They acknowledge everything the Tau'ri have done and the debt they owe them, but say they need time alone after ten thousand years and that at some point in the future, they will be welcomed back.

With no support from the Lanteans, and with an Ori invasion of the Milky Way galaxy to deal with, the Atlantis expedition is disbanded and returned to Earth. Teyla, Ronon, and the Athosians are relocated to another planet. Everybody attempts to deal with their sudden separation from Atlantis in their own way. Sheppard is assigned to lead one of the SG teams, McKay is reassigned to Area 51 and Beckett is given a surgery post at the SGC. Weir essentially drops out of the radar and becomes a virtual hermit until Beckett coaxes her out to have dinner with the others.

Meanwhile, back in Atlantis, O'Neill and Woolsey (who the Lanteans welcomed to stay as ambassadors) report that an Asuran ship was detected, but the Lanteans are confident that they won't be harmed, since the Asurans' base programming prevents them from doing so. Unfortunately, the Lanteans are taken completely by surprise when the Asurans suddenly attack and invade Atlantis.

Sheppard, McKay, Beckett and Weir are summoned to the SGC. After hearing O'Neill's final transmission, Gen. Landry decides to send the Daedalus to Atlantis and destroy the city with a nuclear warhead. With the gate bridge in place, the Asurans could use it to gate to any planet in the Milky Way, which the SGC cannot allow. The four Atlantis expedition members told of this are horrified at the news, and hatch a daring plan to try to save O'Neill, Woolsey, and Atlantis. Before anybody at the SGC realizes it, the four steal a cache of upgraded Replicator disruptors (calling them "Anti-Replicator Guns" or ARGs), hijack a Puddle Jumper, and use the gate bridge to travel to the Pegasus galaxy.

On the new Athosian homeworld, Teyla and Ronon are approached by Ladon Radim, asking them to consider working for the Genii. After Radim leaves, the two discuss this: Ronon has no desire to join the Genii, but Teyla comments that he may not be happy as a farmer.

At that moment, Sheppard, McKay, Weir, and Beckett arrive, and recruit Ronon and Teyla to help retake the city. With the team assembled, McKay uses a special backdoor program embedded into the Stargate's programming to open a wormhole to Atlantis and disable its Stargate's Iris shield. Sheppard then flies the Jumper straight through the gate, uncertain of what is waiting for them on the other side.

Part 2

Woolsey and O'Neill are hiding out in a section of the city where the sensors are not working when Sheppard's team comes through the gate, taking fire from the Asurans. Sheppard contacts the two and tells them to stay put, dropping an explosive device into Stargate Operations before piloting the Jumper through the window directly behind the gate. The device detonates, damaging critical systems and all but destroying the upper section of the central spire. With the critical systems, including sensors, destroyed, the Asurans attempt to repair the damage. They are also aware of Sheppard's message, and because they had killed all of the Lanteans, suspect that there are humans hiding within Atlantis.

The team then take the Jumper to retrieve Niam, who is still floating in space where they left him ("Progeny"). McKay plans to use Niam to transmit a program that will make all the Asurans freeze, allowing them to finish them off with the ARGs. Niam has been damaged by his long exposure to vacuum and solar radiation, and is unconscious. McKay begins uploading the program but notes that they need to be very close to the city in order to make it work. Any attempts to extend the program's range would mean increasing Niam's power levels, which risks reactivating him.

When the Jumper returns to Atlantis, it is attacked by drone weapons. Sheppard maneuvers the Jumper between the city buildings but cannot shake them. He takes the Jumper into the ocean, heading for an underwater docking bay. However, the bay will not repressurize, and due to the damage taken earlier, the Jumper is taking on water. They radio O'Neill for help, and he swims down to the docking bay control room, holding down a dead man's switch to drain the docking bay while Woolsey keeps a lookout. O'Neill succeeds, but an Asuran search party finds and captures both him and Woolsey.

McKay continues to work on Niam, as the others discover that O'Neill and Woolsey have been taken, possibly to be mind-probed. This is indeed the case, and having discovered Sheppard's plan, the Asurans reactivate Niam, forcing McKay to destroy him with an ARG. With "Plan A" gone, Ronon suggests they simply go on a killing spree with the ARGs but McKay warns them that eventually the Asurans will determine the frequency the disruptors use and develop an immunity. McKay comes up with another plan and asks Sheppard how much C-4 they have.

The team splits into three groups, each going to different shield control units around the city. Sheppard and McKay go to the cell where O'Neill and Woolsey are being kept. McKay tells the two captives that the plan is to disable the city's shield emitters with C-4, allowing the Daedelus to beam nuclear bombs directly into the city and vaporize it after they get away. However, McKay is apparently unable to override the coded lock to free them, and he and Sheppard are forced to leave.

The Asurans finish repairs to Stargate Operations and, with the city now being powered by ZPMs, activate the city's stardrive. Beckett and Teyla head to the chair room where Beckett launches drones to damage the stardrive. The Asurans, however, have extracted information about the plan from Woolsey's mind, and capture Sheppard's team just as the last of the C-4 is planted. The Asurans remove the C-4 and gloat to Sheppard that the humans' plan has failed. Detecting the Daedelus entering orbit, the Asurans raise the shield…

…and, in flashback, McKay describes his plan to Sheppard: to insert the disruptor crystals from the ARGs into the shield control units, turning the Atlantis shield into a giant disruptor weapon. A fake plan is told to Woolsey and O'Neill to feed disinformation to the Asurans and the C-4 left as misdirection. When the Asurans activate the shield they are destroyed in one fell swoop. At the last second the team contacts the Daedalus and convinces Col. Caldwell not to destroy the city.

The city recaptured, the Atlantis expedition moves back in, and with O'Neill and Woolsey's approval Weir will once again be in command.

Production

Reception

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