Rising

From SGCommand

Atlantis Season 1
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20
				Season 2

Contents 1 Summary 2 Plot 3 Background 4 Notable Quotes 5 References

[edit] Summary

An expedition team leaves for the Lost City of Atlantis, hoping to discover valuable new technology. What they find is a city submerged beneath an ocean, with its shields about to collapse—and a deadly new enemy.

[edit] Plot

Several million years ago, the city of Atlantis is about to leave Antarctica. At least one of the Ancients, Ayiana, must remain behind on the Ancient outpost around which the city had rested, watching as it lifts off into the sky.

In 2004, the outpost has been covered by ice, and another, Tau'ri facility has been built to study it, with Doctor Elizabeth Weir supervising. Her team's lead scientist, Doctor Rodney McKay, is trying to get chief surgeon Carson Beckett to help him study the outpost's control chair; but Beckett wants nothing to do with the thing. They are then interrupted by Daniel Jackson, who has been studying the outpost's database and just learned why they have been unable to locate the lost city of the Ancients: it needs an eight-chevron address. This means that Atlantis is farther away than they had ever imagined — but not out of reach.

The news brings General Jack O'Neill back to one of his least favorite continents; he is flown to the outpost by a pilot, Major John Sheppard, who actually likes it there. Meanwhile, McKay is once again trying to get Beckett to operate the control chair, this time with some success — Beckett activates a drone weapon that Peter Grodin had been studying. The drone breaks out of the base and targets O'Neill's helicopter; Sheppard manages to dodge it and lands the chopper, and they are saved when Beckett manages to shut down the drone just in time.

Upon their arrival at the base, O'Neill meets Daniel for a briefing and leaves Sheppard to walk around, with only the admonition not to touch anything. Sheppard, who knows nothing of the Stargate program, is rather bemused by his surroundings. In the briefing, O'Neill has a similar reaction upon learning that Atlantis was a flying city that, in Daniel's belief, left the Milky Way entirely for the Pegasus Galaxy. When McKay reveals that they need the ZPM powering the Antarctic outpost in order to power the Stargate, O'Neill balks; however, Daniel and Weir manage to change his mind, even knowing that given the power requirements, they may face a one-way trip.

Sheppard, meanwhile, identifies Beckett as the man who shot the drone at him. Beckett apologizes and explains to Sheppard about the chair, which a curious Sheppard proceeds to sit in. The chair immediately lights up, and Beckett runs off to get everybody. Sheppard quickly demonstrates a natural affinity for operating the chair, prompting Weir to offer him a position on the Atlantis expedition. Sheppard hesitates, and Weir asks O'Neill to talk him into it.

In his house, Doctor Simon Wallis views a tape message from Doctor Weir, who tells him the true nature of her mission. Elsewhere around the world, other expedition team members bid their own families farewell.

The team assembles at Stargate Command, where the ZPM is being connected to the Stargate's power system. Weir addresses her team, noting the risk involved with the expedition and offering them one last chance to back out. No one does, and she gives the order to dial the gate. The wormhole connects, and the MALP detects a viable environment on the other side. O'Neill gives Weir the final go-ahead, and she, Sumner and a pair of security teams depart through the Stargate. They soon send the all-clear, and the rest of the team departs.

They arrive in a large room, which is coming to life seemingly by itself; all the control consoles are covered in sheets, and there is no sign of any life. After sending through a bottle of wine to commemorate the expedition, O'Neill disconnects the gate. Sumner's teams quickly confirm that the facility is massive, giving credence to the idea that they have found Atlantis. It is also deep underwater.

Doctor Beckett, meanwhile, has discovered a room that contains a holographic message from one of the last Ancients to inhabit Atlantis. She relates the history of their settlement in the galaxy, and describes an enemy that ultimately forced them to submerge the city and return to Earth. Before they can fully digest this information, however, the team discovers a more pressing problem: the ZPMs that power the city are nearly depleted, and soon the shield that is holding back the surrounding ocean will collapse.

Without enough power to return to Earth, Sumner leads a team to search for additional ZPMs or a viable evacuation site somewhere in the Pegasus galaxy. Using information from Atlantis' database, they travel to Athos, where they are introduced to Teyla Emmagan, leader of the indigenous people. Though Teyla is unwilling to deal with strangers, she invites them to stay for morning tea.

At sunrise, the team notices the ruins of what appears to be an Ancient city near the Athosian settlement. Despite being warned that the Wraith will come if anyone enters the city, Sumner decides that a search is warranted, leaving Sheppard to find out what he can from the locals.

Teyla takes Sheppard to a cave some distance from the settlement, which contains paintings of a culling by the Wraith. Teyla explains her belief that such attacks occur over and over again, separated by a few centuries, though the Wraith return with smaller numbers in between. While there, Sheppard discovers an amulet that Teyla had lost years earlier, during another trip to the cave.

Lieutenant Aiden Ford has returned to the planet's Stargate and reported the team's status back to Atlantis, when the Stargate opens and three ships fly through it. Teyla, leading Sheppard back to the village, identifies them as Wraith. The ships proceed to attack the village; Sergeant Bates manages to shoot down one with a rocket launcher, but he, Colonel Sumner and several Athosians, including Teyla, are captured by a form of transporter beam. Sheppard arrives at the settlement to find it in flames, and discovers a disembodied arm crawling out of the destroyed Wraith ship.

Back in Atlantis, with the city shield facing imminent collapse, Weir gives the order to evacuate. Just as she does, however, Sheppard returns with a group of refugees from the Athosian settlement. When Weir notes that the ocean is about to come crashing in, Sheppard enlists an Athosian boy, Jinto, to find them an evacuation site. But this soon proves unnecessary, as just before the shield collapses, the city rises to the surface of the ocean. The city's last ZPM has exhausted its power, but there is no longer any need to evacuate.

As the expedition begins to settle in, Sheppard turns his attention to rescuing the persons captured in the Wraith attack, instructing McKay to derive a gate address from the dialing symbols identified by Lieutenant Ford. Weir interjects, and though Sheppard reacts hotly to her more cautious approach, she refuses to authorize a rescue mission without some hope for success.

Teyla awakes in a Wraith holding cell along with Sumner, Bates and the others of her people. After Sumner accuses one of the Athosians, Toran, of calling the Wraith, and Halling accuses Sumner of drawing them by not heeding Toran's warning, a trio of Wraith arrive. Wordlessly, they take Toran, though both Teyla and Sumner ask to be taken in his stead.

McKay has located the gate address to which the Wraith ships gated after leaving Athos, but a new problem presents itself: a MALP reveals the Stargate to be in space orbiting a planet, thus making travel there beyond their ability. Fortunately, McKay has a new idea, and shows Sheppard to a bay full of small Ancient spacecraft that Sheppard decides to learn how to fly.

In Atlantis' infirmary, Weir checks with Beckett on the Wraith arm that Sheppard retrieved; he delivers the unwelcome news that Wraith physiology makes them essentially immortal, and very difficult to kill. Good news, however, arrives when Sheppard reveals that not only can he fly the Ancient ship, but the craft possesses the ability to become invisible. Weir, though still hesitant, authorizes a rescue mission.

Sheppard and Ford lead a rescue team through the Stargate in the ship, which Sheppard dubs a "puddle-jumper." The ship seems to respond intuitively to Sheppard's thoughts, even producing a portable scanner for him. Meanwhile in the holding cell, the three Wraith return, this time taking Colonel Sumner.

Upon landing, Sheppard and Ford set out to infiltrate the Wraith base, Sheppard leaving instructions for Sergeant Stackhouse to plant C-4 at strategic locations around the facility. They encounter little resistance and locate the other prisoners with the help of the Ancient scanner. Sheppard then sets off to locate Sumner, who is being interrogated by the Wraith Keeper.

After revealing to Sumner that the Wraith feed on humans — and displaying Toran's desiccated corpse as an example — the Keeper uses her mental powers to learn the name of Sumner's homeworld and the number of residents there. When Sumner continues to resist, she feeds on him. Sheppard does not find them until the feeding is already underway; he shoots the Keeper, but when she regenerates by draining life from Sumner, Sheppard kills Sumner instead. Then he is stunned and brought to be interrogated himself. They are interrupted by Lieutenant Ford, however, who tracked them by their bootprints. Sheppard manages to kill the Keeper, but in doing so awakens hundreds of previously dormant Wraith. They decide it's time to go.

Detonating the C-4 and freeing the prisoners, the team fights its way back to the jumper, where they take off as several Wraith darts launch from the base, establishing a perimeter around the Stargate. Sheppard must lure them away before he can attempt to return to Atlantis, fortunately discovering that the jumper carries a supply of drones. After a tense dogfight, he manages to get past the Wraith and through the Stargate back to safety.

The expedition team can finally relax, with Weir opening the wine bottle amid an impromptu celebration. Though Sheppard is still haunted by his inability to save Colonel Sumner and awakening the Wraith, Teyla and Weir both assert that he has done well. And Weir gives him something new to think about: Sheppard is now Atlantis' senior military officer, and it is up to him to choose his team.

[edit] Background

• Some of the portable light sources in the Antarctic Outpost are reuses of the ultraviolet units from "Message in a Bottle".
• One of the gate symbols a computer display shows when Daniel Jackson leads Dr. Weir and McKay into the tent for the location of Atlantis includes the point of origin of Abydos.
• This episode indicates a number of countries involved in the Atlantis Expedition, including the United States, Russia, United Kingdom, Scotland, Canada, Sweden, Germany, Australia, South Africa, Greece, Japan, Belgium, Philippines, Spain, Zimbabwé and Serbia.

[edit] Notable Quotes

After Maj. Sheppard has expressed his hesitance to join the Atlantis expedition
Jack O'Neill: Why'd you become a pilot?
John Sheppard: I think people who don't want to fly are crazy.
O'Neill: And I think people who don't want to go through the Stargate are equally as whacked. Now if you can't give me a yes before we've reached McMurdo, I don't even want you.

Marshall Sumner: Let me make myself clear, Major: You are not here by my choice.
John Sheppard: I'm sure you'll warm up to me once you get to know me, sir.
Sumner: As long as you remember who's giving the orders.
Sheppard: That would be Doctor Weir, right?

Watching the expedition depart
Daniel Jackson: Jack, it's not too late for me —
Jack O'Neill: No.
Jackson: I could just grab my —
O'Neill: No.

Aiden Ford: Gateship One, ready to go.
John Sheppard: "Gateship One?" A little puddle-jumper like this?
Ford: It's a ship. It goes through the gate. Gateship One.
Sheppard: Oh, no no no. That's all wrong.
Ford: Doctor McKay thought it was cool.
Sheppard: Oh, okay. Well, it's official: You don't get to name anything. Ever.

Arriving back from a rescue mission
John Sheppard: Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Atlantis. Please remain seated 'til the puddle jumper's come to a full and complete stop.
(A phrase reminiscent of the standard phrases used at the end of airplane trips and amusement park rides.)

Teyla Emmagan: (to Sheppard) You have earned both my friendship and that of my people. With our help, you will make many more friends.
Carson Beckett: (watching) How come I never make friends like that?
Rodney McKay: You need to get out more.
Beckett: We're in another galaxy. How much more out can we get?

After Weir reminds Sheppard of his status as Atlantis' military leader
John Sheppard: You do realize I could get us into all sorts of...trouble, right?

[edit] References

Afghanistan; Apache; Black hawk; Canada; Cobra; Dell; M.A.L.P.; McMurdo; Ospry; Parker, President of the United States; Proclarush Taonas; Scotland; Serbia; Smitty; Sweden