“This single blade did what we could not. It has brought us together.”
- Release Date: 9th August 2002
- Season 6
- Episode 9
- Director: Peter DeLuise
- Writers: Peter DeLuise
At the Alpha Site, Stargate personnel (including SG-1 and Dr Fraiser) and some Jaffa are helping injured Tok’ra arriving through the Stargate, fleeing from an attack. We see the start of some uneasiness when Jack asks what is in a crate and the Tok’ra doesn’t want to show, but it’s just a Zatarc detector. Jacob comes in last.
Jackb says that they were attacked with Anubis and couldn’t connect to Earth (Jack says SG-2 and Jonas were heading back, explaining why he’s only in one scene). Jacob says he was very careful, as he didn’t let any of the Tok’ra see the coordinates of the Alpha Site and disabled the DHD behind him, so the location is still a secret. Another Tor’ra, Malek, questions why there are Jaffa, with Jack explaining that they’re rebel Jaffa and that their movement is quite big now.
At the funeral, there’s an altercation between a Jaffa called Artok and a Tok’ra called Ocker. Jack breaks it up, with Artok saying the Tok’ra are no different from the Gou’ald. Malek talks to Jack, but it’s clear that Jack is really not a fan of the Tok’ra, especially with his recent experience of being implanted with one.
Jack and Jacob have a chat, with Jacob reassuring that what he went through with Kanan was immensely wrong and broke their highest laws. Jacob notices that Jack no longer likes the Tok’ra, but Jack says that he still likes Jacob. Jacob also explains the bad blood – most dead Tok’ra have been killed by Jaffa, and the hosts they share bodies with also come from Jaffa occupied worlds. Jacob also thinks that the Tok’ra might not last much longer anyway, and observed that the Jaffa rebellion isn’t doing that well, either.
The next day, Carter speaks to Jack. Someone tampered with the naquadah generator and it nearly exploded, but Carter noticed something off and fixed it. It would have wiped out everyone there. Jack orders the Stargate secured as nobody can leave. He speaks to Hammond (with Jonas hovering behind him) and recommends no gate travel until they find who is responsible.
Malek speaks to Jack about needing to scout for a new base, so Jack explains about the generator. Jack wants everyone questioned, and Jacob suggests the Zatarc detector (which can also be used as a lie detector). The Tok’ra all pass, so the Jaffa need questioning. Bra’tac isn’t happy, as not only does this device question their honour, but it’s also a Tok’ra device. When he asks Jack if he trusts the Tok’ra, Jack says no, but he’s willing to be analysed by the device. Bra’tac agrees to convince the Jaffa to go through with it.
They get interrupted by a ruckus outside – Ocker has been murdered. Naturally, Artok is the prime suspect. He claimed he was off alone on the other end of the compound. Jack orders him to be screened (with Bra’tac convincing Artok), along with Fraiser to do an autopsy. He quietly asks Bra’tac and Jacob for support to prevent things from getting ugly.
The device indicates that Artok is lying, but Jack and Carter want more evidence, they know from personal experience that the device can have false positives, especially with strong emotions, and Artok clearly hated Ocker. He’s still placed in a holding cell. When the autopsy is done, it’s revealed that it was done with a styled blade in the back of the neck, severing the symbiote. Bra’tac says a Jaffa would attack from the front, but they’re interrupted by another murder, this time Artok is dead.
The investigation from this shows that he was attacked from in front, and would have been standing in front of the bars, so he must have trusted his attacker. There is also no sign of anyone entering the cell area. Outside, the Jaffa and Tok’ra start accusing each other and pointing weapons, but Jack, Jacob and Bra’tac manage to calm things down. Tracks are spotted leading away, the culprit seems to have fled.
Doing a count of people, it seems that nobody is missing, so whoever the attacker is is not part of the Jaffa, Tok’ra, or Stargate Command. To hunt down whatever caused this, they split up into teams of three: a human, a Tok’ra and a Jaffa in each one.
As the search progresses, Teal’c spots a team that has been wiped out. Jack, Malek and Bra’tac investigated. Jack gets desperate and Malek sees Bra’tac being attacked and taken by an invisible force. He returns, saying that Bra’tac is dead (although there’s no big sad moment, so you know he isn’t).
Naturally, the Jaffa (especially Teal’c) are not happy with Malek abandoning Bra’tac, with Teal’c almost strangling Malek before Jack orders him to stop. He defends himself by saying he felt it was more important to report that the attacker has a personal cloak. Carter suggests Nirrti, but Jacob think it’s unlikely as she’s on the run from Anubis.
As they can’t get the anti-cloak weapons (although I feel like it would be safe enough to have Stargate Command throw a few over), Malek suggests an EMP, and Carter can rig up the naquadah generator to emit one (although I would expect a human base to have one to wipe stuff if needed). It will take time, so they have to defend the Stargate.
Jack makes a speech about how the enemy is invisible and how we need to work together, backed up by Jacob and Teal’c. He then checks with Fraiser, who has confirmed that the same weapon killed both victims, with the Jaffa killed by a stab though the symbiote and heart. Teal’c says it must be an ashrak, a Gou’ald assassin (one killed Jolinar when she was in Carter). While he could have killed many more people, Jack realises it was attempting to get everyone to fight each other.
While the device is being set up, the Aahrak attacks, taking out a few guards before fleeing. One of the Earth soldiers say that their GDO has been stolen, which means the Alpha Site and Earth will be compromised if it escapes. The field goes up, and the ashrak becomes invisible, but manages to damage the device and turn invisible again. As it attacks, Jack tells everyone to get down as he uses a machine gun to shoot everything around him.
The Ashrak appears again and approaches Jack before it gets killed from behind, Bra’tac has returned and saved the day. Malek tells Bra’tac that he owes him his life twice over, and hopes he can return the favour some day. Bra’tac picks up the blade and makes a speech: the blade has spilt the blood of the three people, it also brought them all together, so it should be a symbol of cooperation. He throws it into the ground.
It’s a good episode, and it’s nice to see the Tok’ra and Jaffa finally deal with each other properly, hopefully willing to work together themselves (and not just via Earth).
