Proving Ground
Wormhole X-treme ..... 48 Hours
Story By: Ron Wilkerson
Directed By: Andy Mikita
Guest Stars: Courteney J. Stevens, Elizabeth Rosen, Grace Park, David Kopp & Michael Kopsa
Jack and Teal'c are with a load of cadets trying to catch some Goa'uld who have escaped from the SGC. The lead cadet is called Elliot and Haley is also there (Prodigy). Elliot is told to secure the perimeter of a building while Jack and Teal'c go in. Jack calls for backup and the cadets go in, they find Sam standing over Daniel, both of them pointing guns at the other. Sam has a Goa'uld voice but says she is a Tok'ra, Daniel is saying she is a Goa'uld and wants help. One of the cadets, Grogan, shoots Sam with his entarc (weapons from Rules Of Engagement). While Elliot is asking what he was doing Daniel shoots them all, he is the Goa'uld. They all get to their feet and Jack asks them what went wrong, Elliot says he doesn't believe Jack or Teal'c would get taken down as easily as they did. Jack lays into them and dismisses them.
Outside Elliot catches up with Jack and apologises for his attitude inside, he tells him he doesn't intend to let the opportunity to join the SGC slip by.
The next day they go through another training exercise. They have to try and get an artifact from a building and get back to a certain point within a time restriction. Inside Grogan gets shot and Elliot tells him to get out. The others get to the artifact but find it is booby trapped, Haley says she could disarm it but Elliot hesitates. Outside Jack is waiting when they all come out, the artifact which they left explodes. Grogan however didn't make his own way out and Elliot didn't check he had, Jack starts to lay into him about never leaving men behind when he gets a phone call, it seems there is a foothold situation at the SGC. Some troops arrive and try to get Jack to surrender, he shoots them and will now have to use the cadets he was about to fail to save the SGC.
They get to the SGC and manage to obtain some more weapons. They overhear Teal'c say Sam is still alive and needs to be captured, she will then be killed on Daniel's orders. They get to the observation area and try to find out what is going on. They find the gate is active so Elliot and Haley will go to shut that down, Grogan and the other cadet Saterfield will go to Daniel's office to see if they can find some info on a mysterious centre piece that is on the briefing room table. While on their way to the gate room they get ambushed and Haley has to shoot someone with her real gun. As they get to the gate room Jack pulls them back.
Saterfield and Grogan have found some info on the artifact, it seems it was brought back from Argose (Brief Candle), it appears to modify the blood and make people open to suggestion so they decide to destroy it. After the cadets have left Jack phones someone and says they are on their way. The cadets bump into Sam and take her back to Jack but they find untying a guard, Sam shoots him. After the cadets have gone again Sam helps Jack back to his feet, it seems this whole scenario is a training exercise.
The cadets storm the training room successfully and plant a charge on the artifact but it fails to detonate. Hammond and the others arrive and congratulate them. Haley however is missing, she must have gone to the gate room. While Haley is fiddling with some wires the gate dials up and she collapses, they detect radiation coming through the gate and Hammond orders an evacuation. Jack tells Elliot Haley is already dead. As they go up to level 16 Elliot moves away from the group, he goes down to the gate room and risks his own life to shut down the gate and also to rescue Haley. It appears even this last bit was a test for Elliot to test his commitment to the SGC. Elliot is given a position on an SG team.
Wormhole X-treme ..... 48 Hours