One False Step

US Airdate : 19 February 1999

UK Airdate : 20 January 1999

Summary

On a routine reconnaissance mission, SG-1 discovers a civilisation of friendly aliens.

Synopsis by Katana

Sam sends a UAV through the Stargate to a planet that SG-1 had visited the previous day.

"That never gets old, I love that " Jack remarks as it flies off the ramp and through the event horizon.

The sensors begin to detect heat, could it be life forms? As the signal starts to distort, Sam takes over manual control, but the UAV still crashes, hitting some kind of plant life. Sam is puzzled as to why it crashed, she wants to see the flight recorder. Jack works out that the 10 miles the UAV has travelled is a 6-hour journey there and back.

A humanoid figure appears on the screen, "That would confirm the presence of life forms on PJ2-455 " Sam states

"Guess that changes the priority of this mission then sir." Jack tells Hammond.

SG-1 gate to the planet as they arrive Daniel says "Deja-vu" attempting a joke about the earlier visit Teal'c looks blank. Daniel sneezes.

They walk to the UAV crash site and find the damaged plant but no sign of the drone. Daniel sneezes again. It appears the UAV has been dragged away.

They find a village with dome shaped dwellings; one of the humanoids appears and runs off when greeted, " Are they friendly spirits? " Jack wonders. The aliens are human in appearance and are covered in white markings.

"I guess we should go find out" Daniel replies.

The aliens crowd round, the team raise hands in greeting they copy them, SG1 smile they smile back, "this is bizarre " Jack comments

The aliens close in nearer.

"I'm not fond of this" says Teal'c

"Me either" Jack agrees.

On of them grabs Daniel's knife, as Sam goes to retrieve it he sneezes again causing the aliens to jump and the knife slips cutting Sam's hand.

Daniel follows them inside one of the huts in an attempt to communicate The aliens are painting each other with the white stuff. The scene here with the gentle aliens is wonderful to watch.

"You don't speak at all do you? " Daniel asks, not expecting or receiving an answer.

He draws in the dirt they copy him, talking off his glasses he allows them to paint him too. "Thank you" he acknowledges.

Meanwhile outside Jack remarks, " you gotta wonder what those guys are talking about in there!"

Daniel does an impression of the UAV, he runs around the hut with his arms flapping and making aeroplane noises.

Returning to the others Daniel reports what he learnt but he had no luck with the UAV. However, seems he was successful in his communication, the aliens are dragging forward the damaged equipment, one of them has engine oil on his hand.

Suddenly one of the aliens collapses.

The others begin to sing, Daniel suggests it could be like some kind of healing chant like the Native Americans use

"I guess it didn't work quite like they hoped," says Daniel

As more aliens collapse, SG-1 wonder if they could be responsible?

Janet Frasier makes a house call!

Fourteen of the aliens are now effected by whatever. The SGC members discuss the situation and look for possible reasons. The sneezing, Sam's Blood or the oil? Janet has no idea; it could have been one of the guys' after-shave. She recommends taking one of the sick back to earth under a level two quarantine. Because of her cut, Jack orders Carter to go back with her. Daniel is going to keep trying to communicate. Janet suggests checking other villages to see if it has spread.

On the walk back from the gate Jack asks to walk back without talking, he has a little headache.

Back the SGC infirmary Janet tries to do an ultra sound test on the alien but he reacts with a high pitched noise, she gives him a MRI, which reveals they are very different to us.

Back on the planet as Daniel comes out of a building, he sees one of the bulb like plants suddenly rise up and grow tall. He explains all this to the returning Jack and Teal'c how it went to 6ft tall and then shrunk back to the ground. Jack is unimpressed as Daniel walks away and approaches the plant again trying to get it to repeat the performance, "witness if you will…swat" he says dryly.

"You..You saw it too?" Daniel attempts to get confirmation from one of the aliens

Teal'c' informs them that many of the nearby villagers are also ill.

"OK what are we going to do?" asks Daniel

"How should I know?" Jack sighs

"We need to do something," Daniel insists

"I agree with you. But I haven't had the brilliant revelations you seem to have had" Jack says bitterly

" Well maybe you can try coming up with something better than inappropriate sarcasm?" Daniel suggests

"You want sarcasm?" He greets one of the aliens " Nice to meet you. What's he smiling at?"

Teal'c intervenes sensing something is not quite right "He appears to be bothered by the tone you have taken towards each other. As have I."

Jack realises what he's been doing, "Ah, Teal'c, try to head back to the gate, get a message to General Hammond letting him know what's happened here."

"And the two of you will be fine?" Teal'c wonders

"Yeah, yeah. We'll be okay. I'm going to stick around and work on this quarantine thing with plant boy here," Jack replies, christening Daniel with a new nickname.

The condition of the alien at the SGC is worsening, Janet and Hammond discuss the situation, she is surprised that kind of contamination hasn't happened before, time is running out the aliens are dying.

Jack shoos a bunch of aliens out of the way, "Ah, ah, ah, ah! Get back! Get back! Fine. Knock yourself out. Go ahead. Go play in the street. Don't forget your sunblock. Why aren't you helping me?" he demands of Daniel

"Oh, it's no use, they don't understand. They want to be with each other" sighs Daniel.

"Well, we're not going to stand around doing nothing!"

"We're not doing nothing!" Daniel replies indignantly

"You're videotaping a plant!" says Jack incredulously

"Well I think this might be important!"

Jack begins to get irritated; "Well I think you might be losing what's left of your mind!"

Daniel also irritated snaps back "What's that supposed to mean?

"It means that on a good day you can be a little flaky!"

Daniel gives back as good as he gets, "And on a good day you can be a little ignorant and condescending."

Things begin to get heated," Not condescending. You're obviously misreading a basic philosophical difference of opinion on how to handle a crisis."

"Oh, please," Daniel looks exasperated," we have a difference of opinion on just about everything."

"Give me an example?"

"I don't know, pick something! How about mythology?"

"Rumours! lies! fairy tales!"

Daniel does a little dance, "See see see see see see! Mythology is one of the primary motivations for cultural development!"

Jack is now shouting, "Maybe it is! What does it have to do with filming a plant?"

"Exactly!" Daniel shouts back

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know!"

Jack realises something is wrong "Okay...what was that?"

"I don't know. I don't feel so good."

"I've got a headache." Jack admits

"Maybe we're getting whatever they have," suggests Daniel

Yet another alien collapses the one that has been following SG-1 the closest, as Teal'c returns Jack and Daniel's headaches are worsening. Teal'c reports that Fraiser and Carter have had little success. Jack suggests he and Daniel should probably go back to earth and get checked out.

Daniel asks Teal'c to keep an eye on the plant, "I will keep both my eyes on it!" he tells Daniel.

Jack and Daniel return to the SGC, Daniel stumbles at the start of the journey but he agrees to continue.

On earth the headaches fade and as they sit on a bed in the infirmary the pair conclude that there must be something wrong to have caused the confrontation on the planet, with perfect comic timing Janet announces, there is nothing wrong with them.

Not so the alien, he's in a bad way, Janet rushes to him; he's flat lining.

Meanwhile Teal'c sees the same effect from the plants that Daniel witnessed, the plants growing and then shrinking again. Teal'c digs down to find the roots discovering that the plants are all inter-liked, when cut they emit a green goo, Teal'c collapses in agony.

Daniel suggests that if the alien is gonna die they should at least return him to be with his own people. He returns to his office and plays the video taken by the UAV, Jack enters and they start to bicker again, Daniel loses it, knocking everything flying "we are killing a whole race of people here how can I not care?"

"What? Jack asks gently

"My head hurts again."

However by the time he has returned to Janet, he feels fine. Daniel thinks it must something on the tape that the camera can't see…. Or hear Sam adds. She asks for the tape and heads for the control room. An audio spectrum analysis reveals sounds out of the audible range.

"It's kinda annoying," says Jack, "can't you turn it down?"

Janet explains, " actually it's more than just annoying sir, it's probably responsible for the symptoms you are describing"

She goes into more depth and the longer they were exposed to it the worse it got. Sam reckons it was also the reason they lost control of the UAV. But still doesn't explain the alien's condition.

Incoming wormhole alarms signal Teal'c's arrival, he nearly collapses as he comes down the ramp,

"You alright?" asks Jack

"My condition is improving."

Teal'c explains what happened to him and the others tell him about the 'bad sound' they have discovered.

"That's it" Daniel exclaims, he knows what the problem is. He asks the tech to compare the noise before and after the UAV crashed, they are different. The plants make the sound. Janet theorises that the aliens need the sound to be at certain frequencies and of course, the crashing drone interrupted that; an unidentified organ from the MRI scan could be sound related. They play the pre-crash tape to the alien he stirs, sings and then smiles.

SG-1 return to the planet and set frequency emitters to duplicate the noise. The team leaves to watch from a distant ridge.

Sam announces she has a hunch.

As the plants begin to grow the aliens begin to chant, Sam says she realised there must be some sort of symbiotic relationship between the aliens and the plants. When questioned how she knew her answer is " I…I talk to my plants."

The plants grow and flower beautifully; everything has been restored.