The nikkei dropped 8% last night,
and the yen continued its free fall.
Also, the president of Togo was deposed about six hours ago.
He managed to get a plane to Nigeria.
Now he's calling for American troops to help restore order.
This is my first day.
Yes, Mr. President.
The new yorktimes is about to launch an investigation
into voting irregularities in six southern states.
I've got Teddy on it.
Stan, who are these people following me?
They work for you, Mr. President.
Also, there's a storm in the Atlantic
about to hit the coast of Maine.
They're expecting Gale force winds
and 20 inches of snow.
Shouldn'ti know who they are?
Yes, Mr. President.
Emergency management teams are standing by,
but we've scheduled a call to the governor for 10:00
so you can pledge your support.
They're not going to follow me around all the time, are they?
No, Mr. President.
Good.
Hello.
Holly.
The chairman of the joint chiefs
is waiting for you in your office.
He knows it's my first day, right?
Yes, Mr. President.
Good.
Francis.
Mr. President.
We need to talk, sir.
It's important.
Guys...
Let me enjoy the moment.
Moment's over, sir.
Right.
Stan, thank you.
Thank you.
Mr. President,
I'm here to bring you up to speed
on a program we've been running
out of Cheyenne mountain
for the past seven years.
I've already had my top—secret briefing.
Yes, Mr. President, but notthis.
Mr. President, for th e past seven years,
the United States air force
has been sending teams to other planets
by means of an alien device known as the "Stargate."
That's funny.
That's very funny.
My first day.
This is a joke, right?
I have a great sense of humor.
I didn't know that you had one, butthis is good,
because we're finding out about each other.
Now I have to call the ex—president of Togo,
and when I'm done, apparently,
the rest of the world is coming to an end.
The ex—president of Togo
will have to wait, sir.
This is not a joke.
The United States air force
has been sending people to other planets...
Yes, sir.
For the last seven years... that's correct.
By means of an alien device?
Known as the "Stargate."
Senator mcknight is requesting
we move your meeting to next week.
He's trying to duck me.
He doesn't want to commit on the crime bill.
What should I tell them? Forget it.
The son of a bitch came in on our coattails.
Now it's time to paythe Piper.
What the hell were you thinking?
Mr. President.
Why didn't you tell me?
Sara, would...
Would you excuse us for a moment, please?
I take it you've just been briefed
by the chairman of the joint chiefs
on our new reality.
Not only do I find out
that the air force is engaged in interstellar travel,
but I also find out that my running mate knows all about it.
I was under a special executive gag order.
Since when?
A little over six years now.
That's unbelievable!
Mr. President, I realize
this is a little overwhelming right now,
but what you really need to know
is that the Stargate is being seriously mismanaged.
It's urgent that we act now.
What are you talking about?
I am desperately trying
to maintain some proper control and accountability,
but the oversight in place is completely inadequate,
the military specifically.
The personnel directly involved in the sgc
need to be replaced immediately.
Now...
I have several recommendations regarding—...
Whoa, Bob, hold on here.
Mr. President,
why do you think iwas ordered to keep quiet?
This was a deliberate attempt
by the military and the previous administration
to drive a wedge between us,
because they knew I was going to come after them.
We need to stick together on this.
For god's sake, Bob, think of the magnitude of this!
"For god's sake"... is right.
Oh, come on, Bob.
If you want me to buy into
your "holier than thou" position,
you've got to convince me you're right.
"Hosted alien dignitaries."
"Acquired alien tech nology."
"Traveled back in time"?
Did they really blow up a sun?
As I understand it, sir, yes, they did.
It's got to look awfully good on the old resume, hey?
Yes, sir.
They've done some pretty amazing things.
You sound like a fan, Francis.
Well, I can't help but appreciate
the number of times th ey've saved this world.
Some people thinkthis world wouldn't have needed saving
had we left well enough alone.
Well, you can't deny what's outthere, sir.
The enemy would have come for us anyway.
We need to be prepared,
and no matter what anyone says, the people at the sgc
have done the best anyone could under the circumstances.
You don't trust the vice president.
He obviously has his own agenda.
I know he tried to shutthem down
when he was at appropriations.
Well, frankly, I thinkthe vice president
knows as well as anyone else it's too late for that.
If he didn't six years ago, he certainly does now.
What does that mean?
He clearly doesn't want to shut the gate down anymore.
He wants to control it.
We have a civilian agency known as the n.I.D.
Now, its man date
has been to keep an eye
on top secret projects like the Stargate program,
and has done so from the beginning.
I propose
that we give this organization direct control of the gate
effective immediately.
There's only one reason
he wanted them to give control to the n.I.D...
Because he was about to become chairman
of the intelligence oversight committee.
Which would have putthe n.I.D. And the Stargate
in his back pocket.
He had the ambassadors eating out of his hand.
It was only because of some extraordinary intervention
that it didn't work.
Hello?
Hello.
I am Thor, supreme commander of the asgard fleet.
Commander Thor, my name is...
Senator Kinsey.
O'Neill suggested I send you to a distant planet
for your actions here,
but I am reasonably certain his statement was in jest.
I'm sure it was, commander.
Supreme commander.
It is the opinion of the asgard high council
that Stargate command should be left
in the very capable hands of general Hammond and his team,
and while our continued friendship with earth
is not contingent on that,
it is preferred.
Iwonder why he wants it so badly,
I mean, besides his belief in his divine right.
I don't know, sir.
Not that that's not enough,
but... I getthis feeling
that there's something more to it.
Yes, sir.
That rogue element at n.I.D.
That he took credit for taking down last year...
We've never had any proof
connecting senator Kinsey to anything nefarious.
I'm starting to get a bad feeling
about where some of that campaign financing came from.
Mr. President.
Did I say that out loud?
Mr. Woolsey.
I hope my confidence in you has not been misplaced.
You have my word, sir.
Once I finish presenting the evidence,
the president will have no choice
butto follow your recommendation
and clean house at Stargate command.
I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. President,
but I was just wrapping up a meeting with the joint chiefs
when I got your message.
Francis, ithought you'd want to sit in on this one.
Thank you, sir.
General, I don't believe you know Richard woolsey.
For the past several months,
he has been working with the n.I.D.
Conducting a thorough investigation
of all Stargate personnel.
I've asked him here to kindly present us with his findings.
If this is a discussion
aboutthe confidence of those running the sgc,
shouldn't George Hammond be included?
Unfortunately, sir,
general Hammond is part of the problem.
George Hammond is a highly decorated officer,
a 30—year veteran with the United States air force,
and while that may not carry a lot of weight over at the n.I.D.,
it still means something to certain people in this town.
This isn't atrial, general...
Although it certainly wouldn't surprise me if it came to that.
Let's stick to specifics here.
If these people need to be replaced, iwantto see evidence.
Thank you, Mr. President.
The most recent incident was less than a month ago.
General Hammond ordered an off—world rescue operation
despite ample indication
that he was sending his people into an ambush.
As a result,
Avery valuable member of Stargate command was killed—...
Dr. Janet fraiser.
Sending your people into potentially dangerous situations
is a natural consequence of military command.
Maybe so, but ignoring evidence of an enemy trap
is at best foolish and at worst criminally negligent.
General Hammond admits his responsibility.
His own report is essentially a confession.
All that proves is the man had the guts to own up to his mistakes.
Unfortunately, in this case, mistakes can lead
to compromising the entire planet.
I have uncovered a mountain of evidence
implicating not only general Hammond,
but his first—line team as well.
Those people are heroes.
We have no intention of minimizing
the accomplishments of either the general or sg—I.
Their respective achievements
speak for themselves,
but intermittent successes
cannot excuse ongoing misconduct.
Over the past seven years,
sg—I has shown a disregard for military authority.
They have compromised national security
and exercised extremely poor judgment
in the performance of their duties.
You should be on my speech—writing team.
Come on, cut the crap, will you?
As crazy as it soun ds,
we're sitting around here, talking about people who are fighting aliens,
right?
Could we please be specific?
Yes, sir.
Let's start with insubordination.
Approximately five and a half years ago,
the gate was shut down.
The sgc was under orders
to suspend all off—world travel
pending a full review.
Sg—I chose to ignore those orders.
And in the process, they managed to head off an invasion.
Non eth eless, they were guilty,
and it was by no means an isolated incident.
Let's go.
O'Neill.
Not this time, Teal'c.
They sabotaged a moth ership
the Goa'uld would have eventually used to attack earth.
They used the Stargate
against a direct order of a superior officer.
You can't hold them accountable for that.
Read the damn mission report.
They were under the influence of an alien device.
Yes, of course,
which brings us to the alarming frequency
with which members of sg—I have fallen under alien influence.
Major Samantha Carter...
Implanted with a Goa'uld symbiote.
Then, two years ago, her body became host to an alien virus.
Daniel jackson—...
Fell under the influence of alien technology on numerous occasions,
had his body play host to not one,
but 12 alien psyches simultaneously.
Most interestingly of all,
apparently died,
and according to the report, "evolved into a higher being."
Teal'c—...
An alien, former soldier of the Goa'uld,
now possesses full security clearance
at our most secret facility.
He earned that trust.
Yes. That trust almost cost sg—I dearly
when he rejoined the ranks
of the system lord apophis.
Buddy.
What you got going here, Teal'c?
Well done, Teal'c.
Finally, you have resumed your rightful position as my first prime.
He'd been brainwash ed by the enemy.
Yes,
like his fellow team members,
he too has shown avulnerability to alien influence,
which finally brings us to the team leader,
Jack O'Neill.
Infected by alien contagions a half—dozen times,
experimented upon by extraterrestrials
another half—dozen times,
had his memories manipulated on numerous occasions...
Had the entire repository of an ancient alien database
effectively down loaded into his head.
Whoa.
Colonel.
Not long after this incident,
the colonel began exhibiting strange behavior,
speaking an alien language,
demonstrating superhuman intellect.
As itturns out, he was undergoing
some sort of transformation
as a result of the knowledge he had absorbed.
Were it not for the timely intervention
of another alien race,
he would have been lostto us.
How these people maintain their sanity is beyond me.
I'm having trouble just sitting here listening to it.
That, Mr. President, is exactly my point.
How can we trust these individuals
to protect our planet
after everything they've been through?
Well, they seem to be handling it very well.
But who's to say they are completely free
of these influences?
They're routinely checked and cleared by medical professionals.
We can no longer allow the Pentagon to look the other way.
The number of times the members of sg—I
have been compromised
should have warranted at least a reconsideration
of their off—world status,
transfers to less decisive positions,
a couple of sick days, for god's sake.
The firsttime I heard about this,
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
Itried to imagine myself
doing what these people have been doing for the last seven years,
and quite frankly,
I don'tthink any of us
can really understand what they've been going through,
no matter how many files we read.
All the more reason for intensive scrutiny.
If new protocols and standards of conduct need to be established,
this is where it has to start.
What do you say we take a break?
Yes, sir.
You can't possibly be taking their side.
I need time to absorb this, Bob.
We may not have much time. The longer those people—...
Relax.
All I'm saying is at the moment,
I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt.
I need to know more.
Ithinkyou know all you need to know,
andthat includes why you're here.
I'm here, Bob,
because the people of this nation
elected me to run their country, not the whole damn galaxy...
Andthis is my office, Bob, not yours,
not matter what you maythinkyou did to make this happen,
and don't you ever,
for one second, forgetthat.
Yes, Mr. President.
Let's take a break.
According to the military,
Stargate command is our first
and best line of defense
against potential alien threats to this planet.
If that's true,
we should be very, very concerned.
Time and again, general Hammond and sg—I
have demonstrated shockingly poor judgment,
placing themselves, the base, this very planet,
in jeopardy.
The decision to bring back suspecttechnology
through the gate
has precipitated a number of crisis situations.
For the most part, they've been dealt with
within the confines of sgc.
However, last year,
the effect of an alien device broke containment
and found its way into the civilian population.
Son of a...
Sir, I have reason to believe
an individual I came in contact with
has breached the quarantine.
The situation was taken care of.
A cover story was created,
and the civilian population was none the wiser.
Well, I, for one, would like to know
how many more times we're going to have
to clean up after these people.
They have a man date to acquire off—world technology,
and that entails necessary risks.
And how would you define "necessary"?
Only a few months ago, general Hammond
allowed the testing
of an unproven computer virus
that infected and shut down
our entire gate network,
leaving us open to a potential planetary assault.
You can't hold Hammond responsible for that.
It was a Goa'uld modification of the virus
that caused the problem.
In other words,
general Hammond effectively gave the Goa'uld
a weapon to use against us.
Like the president said,
you can't even begin to understand
whattheir jobs demand of them.
Maybe not,
but I would like to think that it includes common sense
andthewillingness to set aside personal feelings
in the heat of battle.
What are you referring to, Mr. Woolsey?
An incident, three years ago,
when general Hammond
allowed emotion to override established gate room protocol.
Evacuate the gate room.
Colonel O'Neill, we're taking fire.
Report.
Colonel O'Neill.
Sir.
Give them some more time.
General Hammond's decision to wait for sg—I worked out in the end,
but I can't help but wonder if he'll be so lucky
the nexttime.
The members of sg—I have similarly suspect priorities,
and no wonder—...
Not one, but two people that Dr. Jackson
had close personal relationships with
were taken as Goa'uld hosts.
Teal'c's family
and associates amongst the ranks of the enemy Jaffa
make him an easy target for Goa'uld retaliation and manipulation.
And both colonel O'Neill and major Carter
have demonstrated an alarming tendency
to let interpersonal relationships
cloud their decision— Making process.
They have a right to their feelings...
Unless, of course, you're suggesting
some kind of...
Inappropriate relationship here?
Inappropriate, yes.
That is exactly what he's suggesting.
It's difficult to come away from these reports
without the distinct impression
that there's a lot more going on between colonel O'Neill
and major Carter
than simple friendship and respect.
For example, there was an incident last year
in which colonel O'Neill went missing.
Based on a report filed by one of the scientists
on the mission in question,
major Carter's behavior was erratic at best.
Major, this technology is unlike anything we've come across before.
I know.
We have no reference, no way to interface.
I'm working on it, doctor...
As you should be.
Right.
Excuse me.
Where's colonel O'Neill?
I don't see him. Do you?
Did you guys find him while iwas gone?
I say when we're done here.
That's it?
That's your evidence?
I believe there's a lot more to this than we've been told,
but, of course, I hardly expect them
to incriminate themselves
with their own reports...
But we can all read between the lines.
All right, I've heard enough.
Thank you, gentlemen.
Thank you, Mr. Woolsey.
Mr. President.
Mr. Woolsey is here to see you, sir.
Send him in.
Would you like a drink?
No, thank you.
That was nice work today, Richard.
Really?
I gotthe distinct feeling it didn't go so well.
Oh, well... doesn't matter.
It doesn't?
Nah.
The president is going to come around.
I didn't get that impression, Mr. Vice president.
In fact, I clearly sensed that he was siding
with the chairman of the joint chiefs.
Today was a formality.
Don't get me wrong.
The job you did was vital.
The president has to appear to be hearing both sides,
considering his position,
but... he'll see things my way eventually.
And if he doesn't?
Things happen.
What is that supposed to mean?
It means you chose the right side, Richard.
One way or another,
I promise you...
I'm going to win this one.
Mr. President.
General.
I take it you're here
to present a case for the defense?
I'm not going to get into a point—counterpoint.
Look, it may very well be
that Hammond and sg—I have done their very best
under difficult circumstances,
butthere's a political aspect to the vice president's position
that makes a lot of sense.
Sir?
A lot of people know about Stargate.
We can't keep it a secret forever.
When it finally comes out,
we're going to be in the fight of our lives.
We'll need the public's confidence.
And you think cleaning house at the sgc now
shows you're in control.
You disagree?
Ithinkthere's time for that still, sir,
but for the immediate future,
I'm here to let you know what you're up against,
and why we need Hammond and sg—I right now more than ever.
Have a seat and fire away.
The system lords
have proven themselves to be formidable adversaries,
and yet, despite our obvious disadvantage,
we've managed to hold our own,
maybe even take them down a notch or two.
We've been good, and we've been lucky,
but I'm afraid that could change.
There's a new Goa'uld in the mix.
I take it you're referring to the one who calls himself Anubis.
He's more powerful than any of his predecessors.
He came to our attention a little over a year ago
when he tried to take out earth with an asteroid
and then used our own Stargate
as a weapon against us.
We thwarted him both times.
Since then, he's redirected his attention to his rivals,
waging a year—long war against the Goa'uld.
Yourtime is up
Well, it's good for us.
Let them fight amongst themselves.
The problem is
when he's through with them, and it's only a matter of time,
he'll come gunning for us,
and when he does,
we'll be facing a whole new threat.
Fire in the hole!
A super soldier.
Not just one—— He's got a whole army.
Hail, Anubis. Hail, Anubis.
If that's true,
I can't imagine how having sg—I on the front lines
is going to make one damn bit of difference
when the time comes.
Anubis may be incredibly powerful,
but he's not invincible.
There is away to take him out.
And how's that?
By finding the lost city.
You'll have to forgive me, Francis. I'm not up to speed.
I've only gone th rough about athird of those files.
The gate system was built
by a highly advanced race of aliens known as the "ancients."
They died off millions of years ago,
but it seems they haven't disappeared completely.
Th ey've evolved into higher life forms.
Well, will they help us? No, sir.
Why the hell not?
Its Ben eath them.
They won't involve themselves in our affairs.
So where are you going with this?
Last year,
sg—I made an amazing discovery on a planet called abydos.
You're going to find the lost city of the ancients.
Lost city?
Didn'ttell him aboutthat either, huh?
Daniel found atablet
talking about a lost city.
With our powerful ancient weapons
capable of giving you a big advantage over Anubis.
You know where it is?
No, but I'll help you find it.
Hammond and sg—I
are close to finding the lost city.
Letthem do their job, sir.
Letthem save this planet one more time.
I wish it were that simple.
I'm not sure what you mean, sir.
The vice president may be a pain in the ass,
but I can't just ignore him.
You're the commander in chief. It's your decision.
True...
But if I cross him on this one...
Well, let's just say
thati haven'tviewed all the angles yet.
Is there anything you haven'ttold me?
No, sir.
Then as far as I can tell,
Hammond and sg—I have done an extraordinary job
under very difficult circumstances,
but in doing so,
they've made some mistakes.
They've made some enemies,
and frankly, I don't know if I can protectthem.
General.
Mr. Woolsey.
Thank you for meeting me.
I take it the vice president
doesn't know about this.
No, and I'd like to keep it that way.
What do you want?
I want to warn you.
I think the vice president may be involved
with people capable of... Well, anything.
I believe they may have even attempted assassination at least once before
as a means to get what they wanted.
Do you realize the seriousness of what you just said?
Yes, sir.
Look, no matter what you mightthink of me,
I consider myself to be a man of integrity.
Itookthe job with the n.I.D.
Because I strongly believe
in civilian oversight of top secret military operations—...
Mr. Woolsey.
I don't have any proof, sir,
but I'm starting to question
whether those to whom I've dedicated my allegiance...
Are as honorable as I'd hoped.
You're a resourceful man, Mr. Woolsey.
If you think there's proof outthere,
find it.
Hammond.
Show him in.
General.
This must be important for you to have come all this way.
I know you have no reason to trust me, general.
That's why I felt I had to come here in person.
Sit down.
I take great pride in my work, general.
My job demands meticulous research
and above all else, impartiality in its execution.
My aim is to present an air—tight argument,
a point of view for consideration by those I serve
with no personal agenda whatsoever.
Get to the point.
I stand by my case against you and your personnel,
despite what I'm about to say to you.
I hope you don't expect that to gain my respect.
You recall the assassination attempt
on then senator Kinsey?
The senator's been hit. He's been hit.
And later gained notoriety
from bringing those responsible to justice?
I can only assume you're going somewhere with this.
Let's just say I've recently come to believe
thatthose behind the rogue element of the n.I.D.
Have not entirely been eliminated.
In fact, they may be stronger than ever,
andvice president Kinsey may still be tied to them.
They tried to have him killed,
and then he tried to take them down.
That seems unlikely.
Atthe time,
something must have made Kinsey a liability,
but after the assassination attempt failed,
the opportunity presented itself
to propel Kinsey onto the presidential ticket.
That could have been enough to motivate a reconciliation.
Either way, I'm not surprised by any of this, Mr. Woolsey.
Well, I'm sorry to say that I am,
and iwantto do something about it if I can.
Like what?
Like present evidence,
if there is any,
connecting Kinsey to illegal activity
involving those behindthe rogue n.I.D.
What makes you think evidence like that exists?
Because you're sitting right there.
I'm sorry?
Three years ago, you left sgc, supposedly retired.
I'm guessing you were blackmailed.
And?
And then you came back.
Nothing about that ever made any sense to me.
I want to know why, how.
You've got something on Kinsey,
something I can use.
That's it, we're in.
I'm dowloading now.
Kinsey's on—line activities connect him to n.I.D. Actions
over the last year and a half...
Including a secret operation I ran out of area 51,
the involvement with the Russians...
And the threats to Hammond.
You're a piece of work, Kinsey—...
You try to shut down the sgc,
you make this big speech about how much you hate secret organizations,
then you jump in bed with the n.I.D. What is that?
I'm done.
What are you going to do?
Take down the whole n.I.D.?
No.
Here's the deal—...
Getthem to reinstate Hammond,
or this disk goes to th e press.
You've got connections, general.
You must know what's going down.
That's not the only copy.
Why haven't you given this to someone before now?
I didn't know who to trust.
I still don't.
Yes, sir, right away.
The president will see you now.
Thank you.
Thank you for seeing me, Mr. President.
Is there something you wanted to add to your report,
Mr. Woolsey?
Yes, sir.
As I'm sure you're aware,
the n.I.D. Does not exactly have a spotless record.
For several years,
a group of rogue agents operated inside of its ranks.
They were acting on behalf
of a cabal of international business interests
intent on acquiring alien technology for their own profit.
One could only hope.
Mr. President?
I know they're out there, Mr. Woolsey.
What I'm saying is one could only hope
that money was their chief motivation.
However, I doubtthe type of person who is behindthis
is shortsighted enough for that
given what he must know.
In light of the new reality that Stargate presents,
there are aspirations beyond mere financial greed
that could be much worse.
I agree.
You're here to tell me thatthe vice president is still in league with them?
If these people are as powerful as we both think,
it does make one wonder
whatthe vice president could have possibly offered them
in exchange for the price on his head.
Obviously, the full control of the Stargate program
that the white house affords.
The vice president brought key financing to your campaign victory.
I just hope it didn't come at too high a cost.
I also hope history one day shows that...
Itried to do the rightthing.
Whose version of history, Mr. Woolsey?