| “Travelers” | |||||||
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| Stargate Atlantis episode | |||||||
 Sheppard saves Larrin from a Wraith who was about to kill her. |
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| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 5 |
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| Written by | Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie | ||||||
| Directed by | Will Waring | ||||||
| Guest stars | Jill Wagner as Larrin Kavan Smith as Evan Lorne |
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| Production no. | 404 | ||||||
| Original airdate | October 26, 2007 | ||||||
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| Episode chronology | |||||||
"Travelers" is an episode of the science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis.
Plot
Lt. Col. Sheppard is returning to Atlantis from a deep space mission when he is suddenly attacked by unknown assailants. His Jumper is disabled and Shepperd finds himself held captive by a people called the Travelers, a race the team has never before encountered, who live out their lives on board a fleet of generational ships, and also use the (heretofore unexplained) energy weapons. Their leader is a to-the-point, and very attractive woman named Larrin. Whereas most races settle on a planet — doing whatever they can do avoid the Wraith — Larrin's people have taken to space, living their entire lives on ships to avoid their enemies. The ships are their home, but it's not only to avoid the Wraith, as Larrin tells Sheppard — after so many years, now it is simply who they are. Over the past few years, her people have heard rumors of a new power in the galaxy, humans who are using Ancient technology to battle the Wraith: the Atlantis expedition. They set up spy satellites around many worlds, and eventually discovered and captured Sheppard. Larrin is quite interested in the fact that John has the gene required to operate Lantean technology. Larrin's people are attempting to create an interface that will allow them to use the advanced Lantean technology, and require a sample of John's blood. But that is only the beginning: they have a Lantean battleship. The massive vessel has been dormant for thousands of years because the Travelers are unable to make it work; Larrin wants Colonel Sheppard to fix it.[1] The Travelers have access to the ship's records, and reveal that the Lanteans that once crewed the ship engaged in a battle with the Wraith, which resulted in the ship becoming heavily damaged. A radiation leak from the main drives forced the crew to abandon ship. Setting up shields to protect them from the radiation, the Travelers force Sheppard to activate the battleship. Sheppard, while in the control chair, accelerates the battleship forward without turning on the inertial dampers, incapacitating his captors. Sheppard then hijacks the battleship and jumps to hyperspace, leaving the Traveler ship behind. Even though he is in control, Sheppard is forced to relinquish command when Larrin threatens to deactivate the radiation shields, which would mean sacrificing her own people. However, Sheppard shut down the battleship, forcing the Travelers to keep him alive. Meanwhile, the Atlantis team is trying to track down Sheppard. While searching, they find an SOS signal in Morse code. The team quickly concludes that Sheppard is the source of the signal. While in control of the ship, Sheppard activated the battleship's damaged communications array and used it to send an open SOS signal. Unfortunately, this tactic proves to be a double edge, because the SOS signal has also attracted the attention of the Wraith, who quickly descend upon the disabled battleship. Sheppard convinced Larrin to let him go so that he can help defend the ship. He activates the battleship's drone weapons and destroys the Wraith ship, but not before it damages the Lantean battleship. After the battle, Sheppard eludes Larrin and traps her in a room until help arrives. Larrin manages to escape, but Sheppard continues to put obstacles in her way. Eventually, Larrin opens a door and runs into a Wraith that had managed to board the ship. Sheppard saves Larrin from the Wraith and detects three more on the ship with the life sign scanner. Sheppard and Larrin then get into an argument, and Larrin reveals that she is desperate to get the ship working because the Travelers have long lost the capability to manufacture new ships. She only kidnapped Sheppard in the first place because she was afraid he would refuse. Outside, the Atlantis team locks on to Sheppard's position and tries to reach him with a flight of Jumpers, but because the Jumpers are incapable of jumping to hyperspace, they are forced to fly at sublight speeds, which results in a five hour flight. Inside the ship, Sheppard and Larrin notice that the three Wraith are directly between them and the control room. Because Sheppard had neglected to turn off the controls, the Wraith can potentially find the control room and take control of the ship themselves. They manage to kill two of the Wraith by luring them to the edge of the ship and hitting their section with a drone weapon. However, the third Wraith takes an alternate route, traps Larrin, and feeds on her. The Wraith keeps Larrin alive so that he can interrogate her. Before he can get any farther, Sheppard arrives and holds the Wraith at gunpoint. Sheppard then forces the Wraith into a deal. If the Wraith returns Larrin's life force, then Shepperd would let him go. The Wraith reluctantly agrees to the terms. After the Wraith leaves, the sexual tension builds between the two, and Larrin seduces Sheppard with a kiss, and then stuns him with a blaster. The Traveler fleet then arrives and takes control of the ship. However, Larrin still doesn't let Sheppard go, in case his genes are needed again to operate the ship. However, Sheppard convinces Larrin that she is leading her people down the wrong path by always running from the Wraith, and that she and her people would be doomed to a slow death. He reveals that the Wraith are caught up in their war with the Replicators, and offers an alliance between the Travelers and Atlantis. Meanwhile, the Atlantis crew has reached the battleship. They consider attacking the ships when the battleship and the Traveler ships jump to hyperspace. The team is about to lose hope when they detect a single Jumper with a life sign and realize it is Sheppard. Back on Atlantis, Sheppard recounts his story to the team, and is teased about his relationship with Larrin, especially by McKay, who wishes to be kidnapped by a sexy alien himself. Sheppard then points out that Larrin is still out there, and that they may meet again.
