SGA 2.07 "Instinct" Transcript

2.07 "Instinct"

Episode Guide

Précis

While experimenting with a retrovirus that could turn Wraiths back into humans, Dr. Beckett inadvertently puts Sheppard's life at risk.

Guide | Transcript

Transcript

TEASER

EXT—PLANET, NIGHT

[Sheppard's team walks into a village. There are some lanterns on, but it seems deserted.]

SHEPPARD
Another great vacation getaway in the Pegasus galaxy.

TEYLA
Where is everyone?

RONON
There's smoke from the chimneys. They're inside.

MCKAY
Can't say I blame them. There's nothing I hate more than a damp cold.

SHEPPARD
Let's check this out.

[He leads them to a building.]

INT—TAVERN

[The team enters the crowded tavern. Everyone turns to stare at them.]

SHEPPARD
Howdy, folks.

BARKEEP
Who are you?

SHEPPARD
Sheppard. This is Teyla, Ronon, McKay.

BARKEEP
You from Ratira?

SHEPPARD
No.

BARKEEP
From over the mountains, then?

SHEPPARD
A little further.

BARKEEP
Huh. Then you've come a long way. You'll be in need of food and drink. Sit.

[They come in and sit at a table.]

MCKAY
I take it you don't get many strangers around here.

BARKEEP
No. Especially not those that travel near dark.

SHEPPARD
Why is that?

BARKEEP
You really don't know?

GORAN

Callum.
(to Sheppard)

What's your business here?

SHEPPARD
No business, really. We're just travelers.

GORAN
Then you best keep traveling.

MCKAY
Yeah.

SHEPPARD
All right, then.

[The team starts to stand up.]

BARKEEP
Wait. Goran, you can't send them out there.

GORAN
They look like they can take care of themselves. It may not even start tonight.

BARKEEP
It's been three months. How much longer do you think it'll wait?

MCKAY
Hi. What are you talking about?

GORAN
The Daimos.

SHEPPARD
Never heard of it.

GORAN
It lives in the forest. It'll be feeding soon.

MCKAY
And it is, what, some kind of an animal, or…

GORAN
It's a creature. It has the appearance of a man, but it can suck the very life from your bones. Leaves only a dead withered husk behind.

[As he speaks, the team realizes what he is talking about.]

SHEPPARD
Sounds familiar.

END TEASER

OPENING CREDITS

INT—TAVERN

[Goran now sits with the team; the barkeep serves them all drinks.]

SHEPPARD
Look, we know you're not used to dealing with strangers, but we may be able to help you with this little problem you're having. We're used to dealing with this kind of thing.

TEYLA
We call them the Wraith.

GORAN
These are the creatures from the old stories? From the time of the cullings?

MCKAY
So you have heard of them.

GORAN
Yes, but the histories of them are incomplete. They tell of the great ships that descended from the sky, but there's no description of the Wraith themselves. Although there were a few among us who guessed that Daimos might be one of them.

TEYLA
Why?

GORAN
Because it, too, came from the sky.

FLASHBACK

EXT—VILLAGE, DAY

[Goran describes what happened as scenes from the time are shown.]

GORAN

(voiceover)

It was about ten years ago. A bright light appeared above the village…

[Goran and others watch a light streak across the sky and into the ground over the horizon.]

GORAN

(voiceover)

…crashed into the hills. We didn't know what it was, but people were terrified.

YOUNGER GORAN
Hurry, get in the house.

VILLAGER
Come on!

EXT—FOREST, DAY

[The villagers hunt for the downed ship.]

GORAN

(voiceover)

I went with some of the other men to investigate.

MAN
Over here!

GORAN

(voiceover)

We found the wreckage, a few wounded survivors.

[Wounded Wraith lie on the ground amidst the wreckage.]

GORAN

(voiceover)

We didn't know what they were. We decided to take no chances.

[The villagers kill the Wraith with primitive wooden weapons and axes.]

EXT—FOREST, NIGHT

[The villagers burn the Wraith bodies in a large bonfire.]

GORAN

(voiceover)

We slaughtered them, burned the bodies.

END FLASHBACK

INT—TAVERN

RONON
Wise decision.

GORAN
Unfortunately we didn't get them all and although none of us saw it, evidently one of them survived.

FLASHBACK

INT—VILLAGE, NIGHT

[The villagers come back. A woman screams at what she sees — a desiccated body.]

GORAN

(voiceover)

It took its first victim that very night. We tried to hunt it down, but we couldn't find it.

END FLASHBACK

INT—TAVERN

GORAN
It's been out there ever since. It feeds three, four times a year. Takes two or three people each time. Two years after the crash, it took my own son.

RONON
That's it? One Wraith, in the forest?

GORAN
Yes.

[Ronon loads his weapon and starts to stand.]

RONON
I'll be done by morning.

SHEPPARD
Whoa, whoa, whoa. We'll all go together, in the daylight.

BARKEEP
You're really going to help us?

SHEPPARD
Well, like the man said, it's just one Wraith. It'd be downright unneighborly if we didn't.

BARKEEP
In that case, drinks are on me.

[Ronon sits back down.]

MCKAY
Uh, well, let's not forget the food.

EXT—VILLAGE, DAY

[McKay works on an instrument as villagers walk by. He notices a boy watching him and becomes annoyed.]

MCKAY
What?

BOY

(approaching)

Is it true? You're going to hunt the Daimos?

MCKAY
It looks that way.

BOY
I heard it has two heads, and it can turn you to stone just by looking at you.

MCKAY
Well, you heard wrong.

BOY
My uncle says it'll come and take me if I don't do my chores.

MCKAY
He said that, huh? Well, then, if we get rid of it, you've got nothing to worry about, you'll never have to do chores ever again.

BOY
Really?

MCKAY
Yes. Look, go away.

[The boy walks away. McKay looks up to see Sheppard, Teyla and Ronon looking at him with chastisement.]

MCKAY
What?

[Goran joins them.]

GORAN
As far as we know, no one was taken last night, but it will strike, and soon.

RONON

(loading his gun)

We'll kill it before that happens.

SHEPPARD
You must be great at parties.

EXT—FOREST, DAY

[They search through the forest, Ronon leading the way.]

MCKAY
We're talking about a hundred square miles of forest here.

SHEPPARD
Be patient. Ronon's been going up against the Wraith one on one for the last seven years. If anyone can track this thing, it's him.

MCKAY
And exactly how is he going to do that, huh?

RONON

(from a distance)

It helps to have good hearing.

MCKAY
Right.

[Sheppard slaps McKay on the back of the head as he walks past.]

MCKAY
Carry on.

[Later, Sheppard and Teyla walk together.]

SHEPPARD
What about you? You sensing anything?

TEYLA
I'm not sure.

SHEPPARD
What do you mean?

TEYLA
There is a presence here…but it is different. I cannot quite explain it.

[Ronon holds up his hand, then gestures for them to look ahead.]

RONON
It's in there.

[The see a flash of the Wraith running behind a tree. Ronon runs toward it.]

SHEPPARD
Ronon! Damn it.

[They all follow, chasing the Wraith through the forest. Ronon arrives outside a cave; the others arrive in a moment.]

RONON
It's in there.

SHEPPARD
Was it Wraith?

RONON
Yeah.

MCKAY
You see it?

RONON
No.

MCKAY
Well, how do you know?

TEYLA
Ronon is correct. I can definitely sense it now.

[They turn on their gun flashlights and go inside.]

INT—CAVE

[They make their way into the cave. In their flashlights they glimpse a young, female Wraith.]

TEYLA
A female.

[She runs, and the team chases her. She runs into a laboratory built into the cave, with crossed beams and plants in the ceiling. An older man is there.]

INT—LABORATORY IN CAVE

ZADDIK
Ellia?

[He hugs her protectively. The team runs in and raises their guns at them.]

SHEPPARD
Get out of the way.

ZADDIK
No, please. Don't shoot. She's not what you think… She's my daughter.

[Sheppard and the others stare in shock and disgust.]

ZADDIK
She means you no harm.

RONON
She's a Wraith.

ZADDIK
Maybe so, but she's different. I swear to you.

SHEPPARD
Let me guess—Wraith with a heart of gold?

ZADDIK
She doesn't feed. She's never taken a human life.

TEYLA
How is that possible?

ZADDIK
Please, lower your weapons, and I'll explain it to you.

[Sheppard does so, and the others follow.]

ZADDIK
It's all right.

ELLIA
Father…

ZADDIK

No, I won't let them hurt you.
(to the team)

I raised her as my own.

TEYLA
You live here, together?

ZADDIK
This was part of a mine before the last culling. It's not much to look at, I know, but we don't have much choice. The people of the village would not understand.

SHEPPARD
Gee, I wonder why.

TEYLA
The villagers told us there was a Wraith in the forest. It came here in a crashed ship ten years ago.

ZADDIK
Ten years ago? Ellia was just a child. Do you really think that she could be responsible for the deaths that happened immediately after the crash?

MCKAY
So you know about that, then?

ZADDIK
I was there. I helped kill the survivors.

FLASHBACK

EXT—FOREST, DAY

[We see Zaddik's point of view as he finds young Ellia on the ground.]

ZADDIK

(voiceover)

But when I found a young female lying unconscious some distance from the crash…I couldn't bring myself to hurt her. I brought her here to this cave to hide her from the others. To this day, the people of the village don't know, and you must promise not to tell them. She's not responsible for what's been happening.

END FLASHBACK

INT—LABORATORY IN CAVE

RONON
Then who is?

ZADDIK
I believe another Wraith survived the crash. An adult. That's who you should be looking for.

TEYLA
If she does not feed, how does she live?

ZADDIK
At first I fed her as you would any child and that seemed to suffice. But then something began to change.

[As he speaks, McKay looks around at the lab, which has various old-fashioned chemical components.]

ZADDIK
The food no longer gave her any sustenance. There was a hunger growing in her that would not be satisfied. I heard the stories of the other creature, what it did to survive, and I was afraid that was what Ellia would become. And so I… started to experiment. I have extensive knowledge of the chemical properties of various medicinal plants that grow in this forest. Are you interested in science?

MCKAY
I'm not sure that's what I would call this, but yes.

ZADDIK
Ellia's hunger was growing stronger every day, and I wasn't sure that I could do anything for her. But eventually… I came up with this.

[He holds up a flask.]

INT—ATLANTIS INFIRMARY

[Sheppard briefs Weir and Beckett.]

WEIR
A drug that allows the Wraith to survive without feeding?

SHEPPARD
That's what he said.

WEIR
Is such a thing even possible?

BECKETT
We don't know enough about Wraith physiology to say for certain, although, I must admit, it's intriguing that this Dr. Zaddik claims the Wraith survived on normal food for a time.

SHEPPARD
Why?

BECKETT
Well, if he's telling the truth, it might be the answer to a very puzzling question. Right now, our best guess is that the Wraith evolved from the iratus bug.

SHEPPARD
Like the one that attached itself to my neck a year ago?

BECKETT
That's right.

SHEPPARD
I hate those bugs.

BECKETT
Trust me, I know. We've speculated that they evolved into the Wraith when they began to take on the characteristics of the humans they were feeding on. Now, there are many aspects of human physiology that are quite useful—bipedal motion, opposable thumbs, large brain capacity. But the human digestive system serves no purpose in the adult Wraith. So, why have one at all?

WEIR
Because they eat normal food when they're young.

BECKETT
Exactly then at some point, they lose the ability to sustain themselves with that food.

SHEPPARD
So it's a teenage thing—pimples, rebellion, life-sucking.

BECKETT
Something like that. The question is, what causes it? If it's due to some chemical deficiency, like a diabetic's inability to process sugar, then it's possible it may be addressed with some kind of drug.

WEIR
So Zaddik could be telling the truth.

BECKETT
I'd like to go to the planet and check into it.

WEIR
Is that really necessary? I'm sure we could get a sample, bring it back here for you to analyze.

BECKETT
It's not just the drug I'm interested in. This young Wraith could be very important for our research.

SHEPPARD
What research?

BECKETT
We're working on a retrovirus that would alter Wraith DNA, essentially stripping out the iratus bug elements of their genetic code and leaving only the human aspects behind.

SHEPPARD
A drug that turns Wraith into humans?

BECKETT
Effectively, yes. But so far, we haven't had much success, partly because we lack the living tissue and blood samples we need to test it.

WEIR

(to Sheppard)

You think this girl would be willing to provide them?

[Sheppard starts to shrug.]

BECKETT
Look, I realize we can't bring her back to Atlantis but I could take the retrovirus and the equipment necessary for the analysis with me to the planet. A few days with a cooperative test subject could be worth months of theoretical research. Elizabeth, I don't have to tell you how important this could be for us.

WEIR

(to Sheppard)

Is she dangerous?

SHEPPARD
She's a Wraith.

SHEPPARD
Although… I have to admit she does seem a little different.

INT—LABORATORY IN CAVE

[Ellia is grinding leaves with a mortar and pestel.]

ZADDIK
Remember, the leaves must be dried and finely ground.

ELLIA
Like this?

[He starts to walk around. The liquid in the flask is boiling.]

ZADDIK
A little more. Now…why is distillation an important step?

ELLIA
To remove the toxins from the Ferassin root?

ZADDIK
Precisely. We wouldn't want the serum to send you into paralytic shock, now, would we?

ELLIA

(smiling and rolling her eyes)

No, Father.

MCKAY
Seriously, have you seen anything like this before?

TEYLA
No, I have not. She is unlike any Wraith I've ever encountered.

MCKAY
What if it's all an act?

TEYLA
If she were a killer, why would he protect her?

MCKAY
Well, maybe the act's for his benefit, too.

TEYLA
They live here together, Rodney. If she were like other Wraith, he would be her first victim.

SHEPPARD

(over radio)

Teyla, this is Sheppard.

TEYLA

(into radio)

Go ahead.

EXT—FOREST ON PLANET, DAY

[Sheppard, Beckett, and Ronon are walking.]

SHEPPARD

(into radio)

We just got back with Beckett. Ronon's going to take him up to the cave. I'm going to check in with the villagers.

TEYLA

(over radio)

What are you going to tell them?

SHEPPARD

(into radio)

I'm still working on that.

[They stop. Sheppard hands the equipment box he's been carrying to Ronon, then heads away to the village.]

INT—LABORATORY IN CAVE

[Beckett starts to unload his equipment, starting with a laptop.]

ZADDIK
This equipment's remarkable. Where did you get it?

BECKETT
Oh, here and there. Let's start by analyzing that drug of yours, shall we?

ZADDIK
Oh, yes. Of course.

[Ellia arrives, and Beckett sees her for the first time.]

ELLIA
Would you like some tea?

ZADDIK
Oh, thank you.

[She hands a cup to McKay, who reluctantly takes it.]

BECKETT
Oh, no thank you.

ELLIA

(to Ronon)

Would you like some?

RONON
No.

ELLIA
Are you sure? It's very good.

RONON
I said no.

[She puts the tray down and brings back a plate of biscuits.]

ELLIA
Maybe some biscuits? I baked them myself.

[He slams the plate out of her hand, furious.]

RONON
Stay away from me!

[Ellia screams at him in a Wraith voice. Ronon draws his weapon and aims it at her.]

TEYLA

(holding up a hand to stop him)

Ronon!

[Ellia rushes out of the lab. Zaddik follows.]

INT—CAVE

[Ellia is sitting on the ground, crying. Zaddik sits beside her.]

ZADDIK
It's all right. It's okay.

ELLIA
They hate me, don't they, Father?

ZADDIK
No. No, no, no. They just don't know you.

INT—LABORATORY IN CAVE

TEYLA
Was that really necessary?

RONON
You can dress her up and teach her table manners, but that's not going to change who she is.

SHEPPARD

(over radio)

Teyla, this is Sheppard. Come in.

TEYLA

(into radio)

Go ahead, Colonel.

SHEPPARD

(over radio)

Is Ellia still in the cave?

TEYLA

(into radio)

Yes.

SHEPPARD

(over radio)

Has she been there the whole time?

TEYLA

(into radio)

Yes. Why?

EXT—VILLAGE, DAY

[Villagers are gathered around a desiccated body.]

SHEPPARD

(into radio)

They just found another victim. Apparently he's only been missing for a couple of hours, which means she couldn't have done it. It looks like Zaddik might have been telling the truth after all.

[The dead body is wheeled by on a hay cart.]

VILLAGER
We must defend ourselves.

FEMALE VILLAGER
There they are.

GORAN
Colonel Sheppard. Is there any progress with this hunt?

SHEPPARD
We're working on it.

GORAN
Maybe we could help you.

SHEPPARD
That won't be necessary.

BARKEEP
We're sick of doing nothing. We're sick of being afraid all the time. That thing is hunting in daylight now. We'll never be safe.

SHEPPARD
Just be patient. We'll take care of it.

INT—LABORATORY IN CAVE

[Sheppard has joined them.]

ZADDIK
You see? I told you she wasn't responsible for the killings. The serum makes it unnecessary for her to feed.

SHEPPARD
Can you confirm that?

BECKETT
Not yet. It'll be a while before I can complete my analysis.

SHEPPARD
All right. Well, in the meantime, there's another Wraith out there.

TEYLA
I believe Ellia may be able to help us find it.

ZADDIK
How?

TEYLA
May I speak with her?

ZADDIK
All right.

INT—ELLIA'S BEDROOM IN CAVE

[Ellia is sitting on her bed. Teyla joins her.]

TEYLA
May I join you?

[Ellia looks up then away. Teyla enters.]

TEYLA
Ellia, we need your help. You can sense the other Wraith.

[Ellia looks away.]

TEYLA
It is all right. It is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, I have the same ability.

ELLIA
Really?

TEYLA
I sensed you in the forest, when you were watching us. And I knew even then that you were different. Your father has raised you well. He has taught you right from wrong. You are not like the other one.

ZADDIK
I don't let him in. I don't like what he shows me.

TEYLA
I know but you have to try. Now, we need to find him.

ELLIA
You don't understand.

TEYLA
I have tried myself, but I can get nothing. Please.

ELLIA
All right.

TEYLA
Good. Now, concentrate.

[Ellia sees scenes of the forest. She comes back, gasping.]

TEYLA
Try again.

[She sees the forest again, and a river bank.]

ELLIA
I saw a river.

INT—LABORATORY IN CAVE

[Teyla enters.]

TEYLA
Zaddik? Is there a river nearby?

ZADDIK
Yes, just to the east.

SHEPPARD
All right, let's go. McKay, stay here and help Beckett.

MCKAY
Uh, medical research is not really my thing.

SHEPPARD
And hunting Wraith?

MCKAY
But, I mean, I can stay…and help Beckett.

[Sheppard and the others leave.]

MCKAY
Never could get into biology. There's just too much information about the human body. One time, I took it as an undergrad, I diagnosed myself with half a dozen separate medical conditions before I had to drop the class.

BECKETT
Really.

MCKAY
Yeah, believe it or not, back then, I was a bit of a hypochondriac.

BECKETT
You know, this does require a certain amount of concentration.

MCKAY

(teasing)

What, am I bothering you?… Maybe I'll go get some air.

[McKay leaves.]

EXT—NEAR RIVER ON PLANET, DAY

[Sheppard, Teyla, and Ronon arrive.]

TEYLA
This must be the river she saw in her vision.

SHEPPARD
Assuming she's telling the truth. Just because there's another Wraith doesn't necessarily mean you can trust her.

[Ronon finds a print in the sand.]

SHEPPARD
What do you got?

RONON
Fresh tracks. It's him.

TEYLA
Now do you believe?

SHEPPARD
I still think there's something more to this than she and Zaddik are telling us.

RONON
He's heading upstream, into the hills.

[They move on.]

INT—LABORATORY IN CAVE

[Beckett continues to test Zaddik's medicine.]

ZADDIK

(to Beckett)

Let me ask you something. If you can prove to everyone that I'm telling the truth, that Ellia no longer needs to feed, do you think the villagers would accept her?

[Beckett doesn't look hopeful.]

ZADDIK
That's what I'm afraid of.

[Ellia is eavesdropping on the conversation.]

ZADDIK
No matter how hard we try to convince them, they'll always see her as a monster. I'm getting old, doctor.

BECKETT
Oh, you've got lots of time.

ZADDIK
Never have as much as we think you have. And when I'm gone, she'll be alone. I…tried to teach her about love and human companionship. But that's exactly what she'll never have.

[Ellia looks down in sadness at what she hears.]

BECKETT
Zaddik, there's something I want to show you. I didn't say anything at first, because I didn't want to get your hopes up.

[He opens a case and takes out a metal vial.]

BECKETT
It's a retrovirus…something I've been working on.

ZADDIK
I don't understand.

BECKETT
Oh, God. How am I going to explain this? Part of Ellia is human, and part of her comes from a creature we call the iratus bug. It's the part that makes her look the way she does and where her desire to feed comes from. Now, it's possible, by means of this retrovirus, we can strip away those parts, and leave only the human parts behind.

ZADDIK

(smiling hopefully)

You mean she'd be like you and me?

BECKETT
Yes. Now, I must warn you, the retrovirus is still experimental. In fact, it's only been tested on cell cultures in a laboratory, and so far, without much success. I'm hoping that what we can learn from your daughter will help me perfect it.

[McKay rushes in.]

MCKAY
We've got a problem.

BECKETT
Why didn't you just radio me?

MCKAY
Yeah, well, I could've, but…

[McKay, Beckett, and Zaddik rush out. After they are gone, Ellia comes in and opens Beckett's case, the one with the retrovirus.]

EXT—FOREST ON PLANET, DAY

[McKay, Beckett, and Zaddik take up a position where they can see a group of villagers walking on a path in the forest.]

VILLAGER
This way.

BECKETT
Looks like they decided to join the hunt.

ZADDIK
If they find Ellia, they'll kill her.

MCKAY

(into radio)

Sheppard, this is McKay.

EXT—FOREST ON PLANET, DAY

[Sheppard answers from where they are hunting the Wraith.]

SHEPPARD

(into radio)

What is it, Rodney?

MCKAY

(into radio)

The villagers are on the move, and it doesn't look like they're going to a picnic.

SHEPPARD

(into radio)

Are they heading for the caves?

MCKAY

(into radio)

Not at the moment, no.

SHEPPARD

(into radio)
All right. Get back there and sit tight.
(to Ronon and Teyla)

We're losing time, guys.

INT—LABORATORY IN CAVE

[Beckett, McKay, and Zaddik return. They look around.]

ZADDIK
Ellia? Ellia? She's not here.

[Beckett sees a vial has been moved inside his case.]

BECKETT
Good Lord.

MCKAY
What?

BECKETT
She took the retrovirus.

ZADDIK
You said it wasn't ready.

BECKETT
It's not, not by a long shot.

ZADDIK
What'll it do to her?

BECKETT
To be honest, I have no idea.

EXT—FOREST ON PLANET, DAY

[Sheppard, Ronon, and Teyla continue to search.]

[The conversation switches between the lab and Sheppard's position.]

BECKETT

(into radio)

Colonel Sheppard, come in.

SHEPPARD

(into radio)

Go ahead.

BECKETT

(into radio)

We've got another problem. Ellia's gone, and she's injected herself with the retrovirus.

SHEPPARD

(into radio)

Why would she do that?

BECKETT

(into radio)

She must've overheard us talking about it. I told Zaddik it might be the key to making her human.

ZADDIK
Please, you've got to find her before the villagers do.

SHEPPARD

(into radio)

Look, Ronon says we're close. If we lose the trail now, we may never catch the Wraith.

BECKETT

(into radio)

Rodney and I will find her.

SHEPPARD

(into radio)

All right, but be careful.

BECKETT

(into radio)

Understood.

INT—LABORATORY IN CAVE

ZADDIK
I'll come with you.

BECKETT
No, I think it's best if you stay here.

MCKAY
Look, is there anywhere that she likes to go—any favorite hiding spots or favorite places?

ZADDIK
Yes, she often goes off for hours at a time, up into the hills. I don't like it, but she doesn't listen to me.

BECKETT
It's a start.

[McKay and Beckett leave.]

EXT—FOREST, DAY

[McKay and Beckett search.]

MCKAY
You know, I thought it was pretty nuts when Ronon was trying to track a Wraith through this forest.

BECKETT
Now that it's just us, do you feel any better?

MCKAY
Oh, yeah. Supremely confident.

INT—LABORATORY IN CAVE

ELLIA
Father.

ZADDIK

(seeing her)

Ellia.

[They embrace.]

ZADDIK
Oh…where did you go?

ELLIA
I was hiding. I didn't want the others to know…

ZADDIK
To know what? Ellia, why did you take the retrovirus?

ELLIA
Because I don't want to be this way anymore. I hate what I am.

ZADDIK
If you heard what Dr. Beckett said, you know the retrovirus isn't ready.

ELLIA
I had no choice. When they kill the other Wraith, I won't be able to pretend anymore.

ZADDIK
Pretend what?

ELLIA
I've wanted to tell you for a long time… Your serum doesn't work, Father. It never has.

ZADDIK

(smiling reassuringly)

That's impossible. It's been two years since you… Since the last time. That wasn't your fault. It was my idea. I needed time to perfect the formula.

ELLIA
But it wasn't working. The hunger just…got worse.

ZADDIK

(realizing)

What did you do?

ELLIA
I'm sorry, Father.

ZADDIK
No. No, that was the other one.

ELLIA
It was both of us. I sensed him out there. I knew when he was feeding, and I would go out at the same time.

ZADDIK
No. No, it can't be.

[Ellia grunts and bends over in pain.]

ZADDIK
Ellia?

ELLIA
Stay away!

ZADDIK
What is it? What's happening?

[She grimaces in pain. Her hand starts to change color to dark purple, like an iratus bug. The color change moves up to her face. She screeches.]

ZADDIK
Let me help you.

[She pushes him away.]

ELLIA
No!

[She runs out. Zaddik stays behind, terrified.]

EXT—FOREST, DAY

[Ronon checks a small cave with strings of cloth hanging outside it.]

RONON
Sheppard. This is where he's been making camp. He was here less than hour ago.

EXT—FOREST, DAY

[McKay and Beckett hunt elsewhere.]

MCKAY
You hear anything?

BECKETT
No.

MCKAY
Huh. Me neither.

[A Wraith drops down from a tree right beside Beckett. It hits him and knocks him flying. McKay gets off a couple of shots, then the Wraith knocks the gun out of his hand and him to the ground.]

[Nearby, Sheppard and the others hear the shots and go running in that direction.]

[At McKay's location, the Wraith starts to lean over McKay, but Ellia arrives and tackles the Wraith. They fight for a moment, and Ellia breaks the Wraith's neck. Ellia's skin is much darker and her left hand is claw-like. She advances on McKay with a threatening expression.]

MCKAY
Easy, now. You went through the trouble to save my life. It'd be a shame to kill me.

[Beckett shoots Ellia, wounding her in the shoulder. She screeches at him then runs away.]

BECKETT
You all right, Rodney?

MCKAY

(shakily, grasping at his chest)

Yeah, just peachy. What the hell was that?

BECKETT
The retrovirus is having the opposite effect than we intended.

MCKAY
I guess so.

BECKETT
Oh, God.

MCKAY
On the…yeah, but…

[Beckett pats him reassuringly. He mumbles and puts his hand up under his tee-shirt to feel for a feeding wound.]

[Elsewhere in the forest, Zaddik finds Ellia.]

ZADDIK
Ellia? You poor girl. You never deserved this.

[She growls and approaches him.]

ZADDIK
I know part of you is still there.

[She snarls and grabs him by the neck.]

ZADDIK
Aah! Ellia, please. This isn't you.

[She throws him hard into the hillside. She stands and screeches loudly. Both Atlantis groups hear her and run toward the sound.]

[McKay and Beckett find Zaddik lying on the forest floor.]

MCKAY
Zaddik!

BECKETT
Are you all right?

[He grunts in pain.]

BECKETT
Don't try to move.

ZADDIK
It was Ellia…but it wasn't her fault.

VILLAGER
Over here! Here, come on!

[Goran and other villagers arrive.]

MCKAY
No, no, no! You people need to go back to the village! It is not safe here.

GORAN
Who is that?

ZADDIK
Don't you remember me?

GORAN
No…it can't be… You were taken by the daimos.

ZADDIK
No, Father.

MCKAY
Father? I don't understand. You're…you're his son?

GORAN
If my son were alive, he'd be 34 years old.

ZADDIK
Precisely.

[Sheppard's group has arrived.]

BARKEEP
There's another one of those things out there. Look what it did to Zaddik. I say we go after it, now!

SHEPPARD
No one's going anywhere. We'll handle this. Stay calm. How is he?

[Beckett stops over to talk to them.]

BECKETT
I've given him something for the pain, but his injuries are too severe. He's not going to make it.

GORAN
This can't be happening. It's not possible.

ZADDIK
I'm sorry. Don't blame Ellia. It was my idea. You…have to have to understand…that when I found her, I'd just lost my own wife and son to a fever.

FLASHBACK

[Zaddik finds Ellia after the crash.]

ZADDIK

(voiceover)

She was just lying there, helpless. When I saw her, I knew what I had to do. As I told you, in the beginning, she survived on food and water like any young girl.

[Zaddik lifts up the Wraith child and carries it away.]

INT—LABORATORY IN CAVE

[A younger Ellia collapses in pain, the younger Zaddik comforting her.]

ELLIA
No. No!

YOUNGER ZADDIK
It's all right. Take what you need.

ELLIA
I can't.

[He takes her hand and puts it to his chest. She begins to feed off of him.]

YOUNGER ZADDIK
Yes, you can.

END FLASHBACK

EXT—FOREST, DAY

ZADDIK
She took what she needed from me to survive…until I perfected the serum.

FLASHBACK

[Zaddik collapses after Ellia finishes feeding.]

ELLIA
Father? Father? I'm so sorry.

[She holds him, sobbing; he is only slightly more aged than he was.]

END FLASHBACK

SHEPPARD
She never fed on anyone after that?

ZADDIK

(after a hesitation)

No.

SHEPPARD
All right. Teyla, Ronon, you're with me. The rest of you, stay here.

BECKETT
Colonel, the retrovirus is acting quickly. The human part of her is almost gone.

SHEPPARD
You said she killed the other Wraith and saved McKay's life.

BECKETT
Yes, but I'm not sure she knew what she was doing. She's operating on a purely animal level right now.

TEYLA
Is there nothing you can do for her?

BECKETT
I might be able to reverse the effects, if you bring her back alive, but I doubt she'll cooperate. She's also stronger and faster than any Wraith I've ever seen.

SHEPPARD

(in a high-pitched, sarcastic voice)

Great.

GORAN

(to Zaddik, upset)

All this time… We thought you were dead.

ZADDIK
There was no other way. They never would have accepted us…And I couldn't abandon her.

GORAN
Why?

ZADDIK
She…needed me.

[Goran appears very upset.]

[Elsewhere in the forest, Sheppard and Teyla walk.]

BECKETT

(over radio)

Colonel, this is Beckett.

SHEPPARD

(into radio)

Go ahead.

BECKETT

(over radio)

Zaddik's dead.

SHEPPARD

(into radio)

Understood.

[Ronon has stopped.]

RONON
She knows we're here. She's watching us.

TEYLA

(sensing Ellia)

Ellia? We want to help you. Dr. Beckett can make you better, but you have to come with us. We will not hurt you.

[Ellia tackles Teyla to the ground. They struggle, an Teyla throws her off. Sheppard and Ronon hear it and come running.]

RONON
Die!

[Ronon shoots Ellia, but she runs away. Ronon and Sheppard stop to check Teyla. She is unconscious and has blood on the back of her head.]

RONON
She took a blow to the head when it hit her.

SHEPPARD
Stay with her.

[Sheppard takes his jacket off for Ronon to use to pillow Teyla's head.]

RONON
Sheppard—

SHEPPARD
That's an order.

[Sheppard runs off.]

EXT—FOREST, DAY

[Sheppard hunts Ellia, but she is watching him.]

[Teyla wakes up.]

RONON
Teyla?

TEYLA
What happened? Where's Colonel Sheppard?

RONON
He went after the creature.

TEYLA
You let him go alone?

RONON
Well, he wanted me to stay with you.

TEYLA

(exasperated)

I am fine. Go.

RONON
Aren't we supposed to follow his orders?

TEYLA
Sometimes we are allowed to make exceptions.

RONON
Who decides when it's one of those times?

TEYLA
We do.

RONON
That's good enough.

[He jumps up and runs off.]

[At Sheppard's position, he turns to see Ellia approaching him along a large downed tree.]

SHEPPARD
Ellia? Don't make me do this.

[She screeches at him. He shoots her with the machine gun as she attacks him, but she lands on him and tries to attack. He pulls his knife, but she holds that arm away from her. While she does that, her left-hand claw cuts his right arm. Blood flows from the wound. Ronon arrives and shoots Ellia. Sheppard rolls away. Ronon shoots her again. Then Ronon and Sheppard both fire on her, killing her.]

RONON
You okay?

SHEPPARD
Yeah. She tried feeding on me.

RONON
She wasn't going to let us take her back.

SHEPPARD
Yeah. I know.

[Ronon starts to walk back the way he came. Sheppard looks at his arm, which is bloody from three puncture marks. He looks at Ellia again, then turns to follow Ronon.]

FADE OUT

END CREDITS

Transcribed for Stargate Solutions by Michelle, December 2011.

SGA 2.07 "Instinct" Transcript

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