60 Second Recap of "Requiem, Part 1"

((Flashback: Millions of years ago))

((Present Day))

The End

Unwilling to take a threat lying down, Daniel and Carter step forward to address their attacker, demanding to know what the new arrival is talking about. But he merely smiles and repeats his message, affirming that this new "alliance" they have created will not last a day. They have powerful enemies already, ones far more dangerous than they are capable of ever coming to comprehend, and ones who will not allow this coalition to stand. Then the communcation cuts out, and the al'kesh lifts off the ground, revealing some sort of large device that has been dropped off from its cargo bay. The ship's engines roar to life and it races back to return to orbit, sending a few more plasma blasts into the citadel as it does so. SG-1 and the others in the gate room watch it fade into the distance, listening to reports from the Jaffa ships as they try and fail to puncture its hull before it is able to jump into hyperspace.Carter turns to Anteaus, asking what's the fastest way to get down outside to the landing zone to see what their guest just dropped on their doorstep. The Nox replies that an Asgard beaming station was built into Helopolis, and asks a nearby Tok'ra technician to transport SG-1 to the area. Putting a hand on the Nox's shoulder, Teal'c asks if he may also come along, saying that if this is the end as their assailant claims, he would like to see to it alongside his friends. Off Bra'tac's nod, Anteaus obliges, and a moment later, the five of them disappear in a flash of light. Instantly, they are transported several hundred meters away, down to the nearby beachfront where the al'kesh had parked. Mitchell immediately regrets not coming in offworld gear, as the massive device before them is completely alien to even Carter, not resembling anything they've seen before. Despite the Goa'uld design of the transporting craft, then, this is not a creation of anyone they've ever met.Suddenly the device, itself around the size of an Earth tank, begins to light up, with various panels brightening in rapid succession. Vala backs away, suggesting they get away from whatever it is in case it's some sort of weapon, but Carter says that they need to at least try and figure out what it is and what it was dropped here for. She goes to take a step closer, but then the object flashes with blinding intensity, and a shock wave pulses out, knocking SG-1 to the ground. As a loud hum begins sounding from within, and Carter finally sees reason and radios back to Helopolis to beam them inside at once, telling the people there to dial the stargate out of here.Just as the fortress is about to bring them back, though, Daniel's eyes widen, and time seems to slow; suddenly, the world around him is washed away and replaced with the image of a tent on a sand-covered world. Something about this device has triggered a flashback to when he was ascended, and he looks on at an exchange between himself and a very-much-alive. The Ancient is relating to him stories of the Furlings, the last of the Great Alliance to be found by SG-1. Apparently, the Furlings were the most human-like of the Four Races, perhaps even moreso than the Ancients themselves, and their sometimes childlike wonder at the mysteries of the universe was, in the end, their complete and utter undoing.The Alliance had been in existence for many hundreds of thousands of years when a team of Furling scientists created an artificial intelligence designed to operate aboard their starships, to make them more efficient and less reliant on living crews. At first, it was hailed as a revolutionary invention by many in the scientific community, but the other races had their concerns. And in deed, despite early successes, the computer quickly became self-aware, deciding that the Furlings were not worthy of its assistance. In fact, it would come to decide that organics on a whole were unworthy next to synthetic life. It took control of the vast Furling fleet through their highly networked computer systems and bombarded its creators' worlds from orbit, nearly exterminating the Furlings in the process. They fled in their oldest, non-networked ships ships to Earth, the great Ancient capital where their allies agreed to shelter them from harm.But the AI was not finished. It ruthlessly attacked the Nox and Ancient worlds, launching a full-blown invasion with the massive Furling fleet, threatening to overrun and destroy them in short order. Even the Asgard, typically so safe in their home galaxy, found themselves under siege, and the Alliance began to fracture. Public opinion within the Four Races turned against the Furlings, seen now as creators of a terrible scourge on the galaxy, and the federation that had withstood all external threats withered from within. The Furlings, unable to bear the shame of what they had done, fled the galaxy for parts unknown.Eventually, the AI was defeated when the Alliance cut all interstellar communcations devices, disabled all networked computer systems, and destroyed the rogue Furling fleet, effectively giving the entity nowhere to go. It perished, but the damage was already done; the Asgard sealed themselves in the Ida Galaxy, and were soon embroiled in war with the Replicators, which they assumed was the rogue AI born anew. The Nox tried to reuinite the Alliance, but it was useless. The threads had already been cut, and a few centuries later, a great plague swept the galaxy, forcing the Ancients to abandon the Milky Way for the safety of Pegasus. With the Goa'uld quickly emerging from the swamps and rising to power, the Nox tried to fight on their own, but eventually gave in to the inevitable and returned to their homeworld. They buried their warships and vowed pacifism, declaring that they would never again take on the ills of a universe when all it ever led to was disaster.The Alliance was dead.Suddenly coming back to his body, Daniel grabs Sam's arm and tells her not to have them beamed out just yet. He recognizes this device; it's of Furling design, he remembers that much now, and that's very, very bad. As the humming grows louder, he racks at his unlocked memories and pulls out a terrible truth about their situation. He knows what this is, and if it's the Furlings behind this, they have not realized how things have changed. The device resting on the breach in front of them is a, capable of destroying this entire planet.Mitchell radios the citadel and orders them to beam the weapon away, the location not really mattering as long as it's not Heliopolis. Teal'c reluctantly points out that there are Free Jaffa motherships in orbit, and says that if the device is beamed aboard one of them, it could jump to hyperspace and let it detonate harmlessly in subspace. Without a second to spare, Anteaus thanks the Jaffa on board for their sacrifice and the plan is carried out, the remaining ha'tak reporting that the bomb ultimately explodes a few light-years away, sparing the Citadel and the dignitaries present.SG-1 (sans Teal'c) then returns to Earth, tired and weary, and meets with General Landry in the meeting room for a debriefing. Daniel theorizes that either the Furlings have returned with a vengeance or someone has found a cache of their deadliest technology. Either way, whoever was behind the attempted destruction of Heliopolis is a serious threat to the new Alliance, and they need to figure out what's going on before they strike again. Nodding in agreement, Landry says that they'll get to it in time, but that can wait for another day; right now, the United Nations needs to be informed of this and the status of the coalition they've just entered.As the team files out, all relishing the chance for a shower, Vala and Daniel lag behind. When the former asks what's on the later's mind, Daniel replies that he's honestly concerned; fighting off the Ori was bad enough, but if someone out there has access to the technology of the Furlings, and is prepared to use it against them, they could be in for one long haul. Vala puts her arm around his shoulder, pointing out that they've been to Hell and back and won. But as they rush out to join their teammates, neither of them look certain that they can do it again.