List of Stargate Universe characters

This is a list of characters in Stargate Universe, an American-Canadian military science fiction serial drama which made its premiere on October 2, 2009 on the Syfy channel.

Main characters

Nicholas Rush

Nicholas Rush (portrayed by Robert Carlyle) is an expert in Ancient technology. His research was hindered while he was married to Gloria Rush. Since her death, he has become more dedicated to science. He spearheads the Icarus Project, his main priority being to explore the mystery behind the ninth chevron of the Stargate. Rush was stationed at the Icarus Base in 2009, in order to do research on the ninth chevron. During an attack on the base, Rush and Eli Wallace figure out how to dial the ninth chevron, and are responsible for sending the remaining Icarus personnel to an Ancient ship known as the Destiny, a spaceship situated in a far-away galaxy, with no way of returning to Earth. Rush is greatly obsessed with completing Destiny's mission and won't let anyone stop him.

Everett Young

Everett Young (portrayed by Louis Ferreira) is a USAF Colonel. Young is 40 years old and has been married to Emily Young since 2005. His crew was forced through the Stargate, ultimately becoming stranded on the Destiny. As the most senior military personnel, he becomes Captain aboard the Destiny. It is revealed in later episodes that while in command of Icarus Base, he had a brief affair with a subordinate junior officer Lt. Johansen, resulting in her pregnancy. It is this affair coupled with his refusal to put his wife before his military career that ultimately leads to the end of his marriage. As commented by Dr. Rush, Colonel Young has been through hell in his time on-board Destiny which almost caused him to go insane.

Matthew Scott

Matthew Scott (portrayed by Brian J. Smith) is a USAF First Lieutenant. After Icarus Base falls under attack, Colonel Everett Young has Lt. Scott lead the expedition to the nine-chevron address after Nicholas Rush dials it instead of Earth. After arriving on-board Destiny, Young, who was injured during the evacuation, temporarily puts Scott in command. When Young recovers, Scott remains as military second-in-command and leads the away teams. Lt. Scott develops a relationship with Chloe Armstrong and used to have one with Lt. Vanessa James before coming on-board Destiny. He is great friends with Sergeant Ronald Greer and Eli Wallace. Prior to joining the Air Force, Scott fathered a child which he had no knowledge of until years later.

Chloe Armstrong

Chloe Armstrong (portrayed by Elyse Levesque) is the 23-year-old daughter of a US Senator, whose character is tested "after her father's tragic death and the dire circumstances of being trapped on a spaceship". Her father had political oversight over the Icarus project trying to dial the Stargate's ninth chevron. She holds a degree in political science from Harvard and she is also the aide of her father, Alan Armstrong, until he sacrifices himself in the pilot. She is pursuing a relationship with Matthew Scott, while developing a strong friendship with Eli Wallace, who is romantically attracted to her. She is either oblivious of Eli Wallace's feelings, or she chooses to ignore them. She considers Eli her one true friend and says that she realizes that before she met Eli, she never had a true friend. In Incursion, after being injured and trapped in the bow of the ship with Eli, she indicates she is aware of his feelings though she doesn't outright say it and Eli later kisses her on the cheek.

In the first season episode "Space", Chloe is taken captive by an unknown alien race who desires to capture the Destiny. She is placed in stasis until Rush, who has been taken captive as well after Young abandoned him on a desert planet, rescues her and they both manage to escape the alien ship. In "Incursion (Part 2)", Chloe is shot in the leg while escaping the Alliance forces with Eli, but is miraculously healed, though she cannot explain the phenomena. In "Pathogen", she discovers she has been blacking out and reappearing at other locations in a daze, with no memory of how she got there. Under her trance state, Chloe is able to come up with solutions to equations related to Destiny that Rush has problems solving. Rush and Young deduce she may have been infected with a pathogen by the aliens who captured her to serve towards an unknown goal. Rush comes up with the idea to use the Ancient repository chair to remove the pathogen from her brain. However, Rush privately confirms her suspicions that she couldn't be cured, and is now secretly using her to help unlock the Destiny's capabilities. Chloe's condition is later discovered (again) and she is locked up. She started changing into an alien and the blackouts recently restarted. Eventually it got so bad the crew was planning to put her off the ship at the next possible opportunity after Chloe summoned the aliens, although she claimed to be in control of herself and had a good reason for it. The crew ended up making a deal with the aliens to remove the pathogen, but Chloe retains the ability to do immensely complicated equations and believes that the aliens will be more determined than ever to capture Destiny with whatever they got from her.

Eli Wallace

Eli Wallace (portrayed by David Blue) studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), but dropped out before graduating. Before joining Stargate Command, Wallace was unemployed and spent most of his time playing video games, most notably Prometheus. At the same time, he lived with his mother, Maryann Wallace, a registered nurse who is infected by HIV, which she contracted through contact with an infected hypodermic needle while treating a violent intravenous drug addict. She does not have adequate medical coverage until the Air Force begins to pay for her treatment in return for Eli's joining the Icarus project.

In the pilot, Eli solves a problem in the Prometheus video game, which was actually a mathematical proof procured from the Ancient Database. For this accomplishment, he is offered the opportunity to join the Icarus project to help Rush solve the mystery behind the ninth chevron of the Stargate. He is later sent to Destiny as part of the group of refugees fleeing the Lucian Alliance attack. Shortly after arrival, Eli found "flying camera balls" he named "kinos" (essentially an advanced Ancient version of the M.A.L.P. probes used by Stargate Command). Eli records many of the crews interactions and personal testaments for a documentary-like archive of their voyage on-board Destiny.

Eli has unrequited feelings for fellow Destiny crew-member Chloe Armstrong, which causes some occasional friction with his friend Lt. Scott (who is in a relationship with Armstrong). Eli later enters into a relationship with Lucian Alliance technical specialist Ginn, but this is tragically cut short by her murder at the hands of Alliance soldier Simeon.

Tamara Johansen

Tamara Johansen (portrayed by Alaina Huffman) is a USAF First Lieutenant. She comes from a modest background and dreamed of being a doctor but could not afford medical school and the Air Force was her best option. However, after receiving a scholarship, T. J. had elected to leave the Stargate program to attend medical school, much to the dismay of IOA representative Camile Wray. After Doctor Simms died during the attack on the Icarus Base, she ended up being the only person stranded aboard the Destiny with medical training. TJ was shown to be pregnant (with Col. Young's baby) in the middle of Season 1. Later, during the Lucian Alliance invasion of Destiny, TJ was shot and the baby died. However, TJ saw a vision of her baby being kept safe by Dr. Caine and some other Icarus refugees who had remained behind on the alien planet (named "Eden" by the crew) in the episode "Faith". Since Caine and the others' return (and subsequent death) without any memory of the baby in "Visitation" (episode 2.09), it is unknown whether the baby really died on-board Destiny, or underwent some other fate.

Ronald Greer

Ronald Greer (portrayed by Jamil Walker Smith) is a USMC Master Sergeant, serving in the Stargate program at Icarus Base. Ronald Greer is a "big, strong, silent" Marine with a mysterious past who lacks control over his temper in non-combat situations. He is shown to be quick to anger, which Rush assumes is the result of having come from a poor background. Before the Lucian Alliance attack that led to the evacuation to Destiny, he was imprisoned and awaiting court martial for assaulting Colonel Telford. He is best friends with Lt. Scott.

Camile Wray

Camile Wray (portrayed by Ming-Na) was the head of human resources on Icarus Base, and becomes the highest-ranking IOA member stranded on-board Destiny, acting as the ship's de facto civilian leader (but still subordinate to Col. Young in the overall chain-of-command). As a result, Wray is Col. Young's main political adversary with her authority supported by the IOA leadership on Earth. Wray briefly took command of Destiny in the episode "Justice" when Colonel Young was suspected of murdering Sergeant Spencer. In the episode "Divided", she teamed up with Dr. Rush to lead a civilian coup d'état against military rule on the ship. She is the first openly LGBT character in the Stargate franchise and her long-time partner back on Earth, Sharon, first appeared in the episode "Life" in a recurring role.^[1]

Wray's character is initially described as having "a false sense of importance and superiority to the other military and civilian population along with a stubborn way of asserting it".^[2] Mallozzi thought in December 2008 that the character "has a lot of potential for getting under Young and co.'s skin. She's a definite love her or hate her type of character, one who'll prove the bane to many a series regular, and probably some viewers as well."^[3]

Initially considered as a potentially recurring character,^[2] she was listed as a part of the main cast in the pilot, but in subsequent episodes as a guest star. However as of "Justice", on screen credits list her as part of the main cast.

Recurring characters on Destiny

Darren Becker

Airman Darren Becker is portrayed by actor Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman.^[4] He worked in the mess on Icarus base and is now stranded on the Destiny. His number one duty is to ration out the food and water at mealtimes, which are done in small groups scheduled twenty minutes apart. He was one of the people chosen in the lottery to survive the presumed destruction of the Destiny when it was on a collision course with a sun, but, fortunately, that was a false alarm and he returned to the Ancients' ship to once again serve protein powder meals in the mess.^[5]

Adam Brody

Adam Brody is portrayed by Australian actor Peter Kelamis.^[6] Brody is an engineer and knows how to read Ancient. He is used mostly in determining the function of various computer systems. His translations are sometimes incorrect, but for the most part, he is very competent at what he does. He was one of those chosen by lottery to board the only working shuttle and survive on a nearby planet when the Destiny appeared to be on a catastrophic collision course with a sun. Fortunately, that proved to be a false alarm, and Brody returned with the others to the Destiny. Brody developed a good working relationship with Sgt. Riley as the two were often called on to fix broken systems together due to their knowledge of the Ancient language. After Riley was injured trying to make sure that Col. Telford's science team didn't blow up the Destiny during their attempt to channel energy to the Stargate while the Destiny recharged its reserves inside a sun's corona, Brody chooses to support Dr. Rush, agreeing that the plan is too dangerous. Of the civilian science crew, Brody is the most dedicated and trustworthy according to Young; on orders from Young, Brody is the one who drains the air from Telford's room during his interrogation and ultimately seals in Rush's team during the incursion. Besides Dr. Rush, no other crewman has a matching overall knowledge of the ship and its functions. When Riley dies due to a shuttle accident, Brody takes it hard, visibly turning even more cynical about the ship's desperate situation.^[7]

Robert Caine

Doctor Caine is portrayed by Canadian actor and musician Tygh Runyan.^[8] Caine was on the first away team led by a civilian, chosen by Camile Wray who had taken command of the Destiny during Young's "trial" for the murder of Sgt. Spencer. The team, led by Dr. Dale Volker, went to a rocky planet they came upon a crashed space ship in a canyon. Caine detected no EM fields or radiation emanating from the alien vessel, and the rest of the team could find no immediate means of entry.

Caine describes himself as "just an IT tech", but he became familiar with the communication stones, as well as other systems aboard the ship.^[5] He was one of those who elected to stay behind on an alien planet named Eden in "Faith", due to him developing a belief in God. This changed Caine's entire personality. (1.13); He is seen again in "Visitation" (2.09) with the others who stayed behind. It is revealed that the others all died on the planet and were resurrected by unknown aliens only to die again on Destiny. Caine is not seen dying on the planet or on Destiny, so his fate is unknown. He was seen on the planet in the cold, so it is likely he died there from hypothermia.

Curtis

Master Sergeant Curtis is portrayed by Bradley Stryker. After arriving on Destiny, Curtis accompanied Lt. Matthew Scott to a desert planet. He, along with Jeremy Franklin and Andrea Palmer, believed that Nicholas Rush is more concerned about the ship than their survival. The three decided to explore one of the locked out addresses provided by the Destiny, but only Curtis and Palmer made it through; Franklin is shot by Ronald Greer on Rush's order before he can pass through the Stargate. Because Franklin was holding the dialing remote, Curtis and Palmer are stranded on the other side. Repeated attempts to contact them return only static, and they are left behind when the Destiny automatically returns to faster-than-light following the end of its 12-hour countdown.^[9]

Jeremy Franklin

Doctor Jeremy Franklin is portrayed by Mark Burgess.^[10] He assisted in the surveying of the Destiny and sealing leaks. He was one of the members of the first away team to a planet selected by the Destiny to help in the ship's air system repairs. When he was about to follow Andrea Palmer and Sgt. Curtis to another planet, Dr Rush ordered Greer to shoot him to prevent him from stepping through the Stargate to certain death. Lt. Tamara Johansen removed the bullet that had lodged in his right shoulder. He doesn't trust people in authority now that their food and water are being rationed, but has participated in away missions to gather food as well as to manage the hydroponics lab to grow food. Just after spotting the first sprout, Franklin decided to sit in the chair version of the Ancient Repository of Knowledge that was found in a newly discovered portion of the ship. Not meant for humans, whose physiology is somewhat different from that of the Ancients, Franklin effectively fried his brain and he was left in a catatonic state.^[5] Due to the events of the episode "Sabotage" (1.16), Franklin has apparently vanished while once again using the Ancient chair, but subsequently appears to Rush on the bridge. It's eventually revealed that the ship may have uploaded his consciousness and was using him to interact with Rush, before Rush shut it down. His body has never been found.

Vanessa James

Second Lieutenant Vanessa James is portrayed by Canadian actor Julia Benson. She was stationed at the Icarus Base before the attack. At the time of the evacuation, she is having an intimate relationship with First Lieutenant Matthew Scott, which they are trying to keep hidden from other personnel.^[9]

Benson previously portrayed Willa, a one-time character in the Stargate Atlantis episode "Irresistible". She was credited as Julia Anderson (her birthname) in this episode, but had subsequently married and changed her last name to Benson.

Andrea Palmer

Doctor Andrea Palmer is portrayed by Christina Schild. After arriving on Destiny, she was selected by Rush to go to a desert planet to find lime deposits which they needed to use to repair the ship's life-support system. Away from her superiors, Palmer told Curtis, Jeremy Franklin and Eli Wallace that Rush's only concern is repairing the ship. Curtis and Franklin agree, and, in spite of Eli's protests, decide to try one of the addresses the Destiny locked out. She and Curtis step through the Gate in the hope of finding a suitable planet to live on. Eli dials the planet several times after that to ascertain their fate, but cannot make radio contact. The Destiny ultimately departs without them.^[9]

Lisa Park

Doctor Lisa Park is portrayed by Canadian actress Jennifer Spence. Park was a scientist who participated in the Stargate Program, and was stationed at the Icarus Base. One of her first duties on the ship was to help Nicholas Rush repair the failing life support system. She worked alongside Adam Brody.^[9] In the 22nd "Kino" webisode, Park composed a video love letter to "Gary", but, due to a mistake with the pause button, left the camera running while she had sex with an unnamed shipmate. In "Blockade" Park volunteers to wear the third environment suit and harvest medicinal herbs in the hydroponics dome as the ship approaches a blue supergiant star to refuel. She is trapped in the dome, which loses pressure during the in-star transit. While Park survives, she is blinded by the intense, unfiltered sunlight.

Hunter Riley

Senior Airman Hunter Riley is portrayed by Haig Sutherland. In the pilot episode, his job includes dialing the Stargate and interpreting Ancient symbols and language. He identified the eight-symbol Stargate address which can connect to Earth, though it cannot be dialed due to power requirements.^[9] In "Aftermath", Riley suffers severe injuries in a shuttle crash and is unable to be extricated from the debris pinning him. Unwilling to die a slow death, Riley pleads with Colonel Young to end his life, which Young reluctantly does. (Note: Although Riley is referred to as a Sergeant, his rank insignia is that of a Senior Airman.)

Spencer

Sergeant Spencer is portrayed by Josh Blacker.^[11] Spencer was probably one of the most tightly wound people aboard the Destiny. He was eager to get home and looked out only for himself. He hoarded power bars and water when these items were being rationed. He attempted to start a riot during the lottery to select those who would survive on the shuttle when the Destiny appeared to be on a fatal collision course into a sun. Sgt. Greer struck him so hard that he lost consciousness and remained so long after the lottery was completed. He was caught hoarding and locked up by Lt. Johansen when Young was off-world, but the colonel let him out with a warning. A week after running out of a prescription sleeping medication, he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with his service handgun.^[5]

David Telford

Colonel David Telford, portrayed by Lou Diamond Phillips, is a recurring character on Stargate Universe. Telford does not make the journey to the Destiny, but is rescued by the Hammond and returned to Earth, effectively limiting the character's appearances in the series. In part three of "Air", he is revealed to be the main contact between Destiny and Earth, taking the majority of the shifts with the contact stones.^[9] In "Darkness", he seeks to get Colonel Everett Young replaced, having lost faith in his ability to command when he arrives in the middle of a complete power failure which he believes neither Young nor Nicholas Rush (at the time incapacitated after a nervous breakdown) saw coming.^[12]

He is revealed to be a traitor and spy - having been turned by the Lucian Alliance during an undercover assignment - passing confidential information of the SGC to the Lucian Alliance in the eighteenth episode, Subversion. The information the Lucian Alliance gained through Telford's espionage caused the deaths of at least thirty-seven people on a SGC outpost and the attack on the Icarus Base that caused many deaths, and the personnel fleeing by dialing the ninth chevron, leading them to their current situation aboard the Destiny. His spying reveals the Icarus program to dial the ninth chevron to the Lucian Alliance - which they show much interest in, wishing to wrest control of the ship from the SGC - and also allows the Alliance to capture the consciousness of Dr. Nicholas Rush while he is occupying Col. Telford's body while they are using an Ancient Communication Device. The Lucian Alliance uses Dr. Rush to further their attempts - after finding another Icarus-class planet - to dial the nine-chevron address to board and seize control of the Destiny. Telford is not a true Alliance member, but merely brainwashed. Telford is eventually freed from his brainwashing by Colonel Young, who by venting the atmosphere in Telford's compartment, temporarily kills him. Young then revives Telford. Killing and reviving him in that manner breaks Telford's brainwashing and he immediately tells Young all he knows, leading to an attack by the George Hammond on the Lucian Alliance base. Telford remembers everything he did under Alliance control and is truly horrified by it, showing that he is in fact a good man when not being controlled, and is grateful to Young for freeing him. When the Alliance arrives on Destiny with Rush in Telford's body, the connection between them is broken and Telford returns to his own body and remains free of the brainwashing. Telford pretends to still be brainwashed and on the Lucian Alliance side so he can aid the Destiny crew in the invasion and convinces Kiva to trust him. He aids the Expedition as a mole on the Alliance side and later shoots Kiva at the same time she shoots him. The bullet that hit him passed through cleanly and although he was in a lot of pain, he was not seriously wounded. Kiva, however, was hit in the liver and mortally wounded and died later despite Doctor Brightman and three other doctors efforts, leaving Dannic in charge. Simeon later confronts him about his shooting and Kiva's death and Telford claims they were ambushed and he didn't see who did it although Simeon doesn't seem to entirely buy his story. After Rush gave Dannic the ultimatum of surrendering or dying, Telford tried to convince Dannic to surrender telling him Rush wasn't bluffing. However, Dannic, who had been growing increasingly irrational, went insane and decided to die rather than surrender leading Telford to believe that Dannic wanted the ship for himself and not the Alliance. Dannic went to kill Telford, but was killed from behind by Ginn who had realized Telford was right and surrendered to Rush.

In the second season episode "Awakening", when the Destiny stops nearby an Ancient Stargate seeding vessel, Telford goes on board as an escort to T.J. to evaluate a mysterious alien who has awakened inside the ship. Rush's idea to siphon energy from the seeding vessel to Destiny fails when the aliens incapacitate him and his guard and reverse the energy transfer. Telford volunteers to stay behind and attempt to stop the energy transfer from draining Destiny's reactors while the others retreat. However, he is left behind on the vessel when Rush manually decouples Destiny away in order to stop the transfer and Destiny goes into FTL. His fate is left unknown as more of the aliens awaken and surround him. Telford returns in the episode "Resurgence", where it is revealed the aliens, known as the Ursini, asked him for help against a hostile power. Telford stayed alive by eating consumables found in the alien stasis pods and worked with the Ursini to repair the seeding ship and go after the Destiny. The ship reaches the Destiny when it is under attack by drones and Telford goes back to the Destiny explaining the situation between the Ursini and the mysterious hostile race to Young and the others. He acts as liaison between the two forces and is deeply saddened by the Ursini's sacrifice for the Destiny crew.

In "Twin Destinies", a Telford from an alternate future makes it home to Earth in the present, coming from twelve hours in the future. When a Rush from the same future shows up, present day Telford is suspicious of his story and confronts him about it. Enraged, Future Rush accidentally shoves Telford into a live power conduit, electrocuting him to death, but the Telford from the future remains alive on Earth.

In "Alliances," the Telford from the future connects to Destiny to find out what happened and is informed of the death of his other self, though it is passed off as an accident. Telford doesn't seem to entirely believe the story, but lets it go in favor of warning the crew of a visit by Senator Michaels and Doctor Andrew Covel. On Earth, he greets Wray and Greer when they switch with Michaels and Covel and explains the Alliance threat to them. When the Alliance cargo ship crashes into the building, Telford makes it out and makes radio contact with Wray. He explains about the Alliance naquadria bomb and the fact that the bomb squad can't get in. Telford is reluctant to let Wray and Greer go after the bomb, but allows them to in the end as there is no choice. When Wray tries to contact him for disarming instructions, she is unable to get through as there's too much interference from radiation. In "Hope," over six days later, Telford connects with Destiny to inform the crew that there had been a problem with the communications stones on the Earth end and that the naquadria bomb had been successfully disarmed.

In "Blockade" when Eli and Rush come up with a plan to recharge Destiny inside a blue supergiant star, Telford switches with Lieutenant Matthew Scott to discuss the plan and doesn't like it, but agrees to pitch it to the people on Earth. However, he is informed that they're doing it and just letting him know, pointing out that he isn't even really there which makes him uncomfortable. In "Gauntlet", after learning that the drones are at every planet with a Stargate and every star between Destiny's position and the end of the galaxy, Rush and Young switch with people on Earth to let him know and ask for supplies from Earth which he says is impossible. After Eli comes up with a plan to skip the rest of the galaxy with the crew in stasis, Young visits Telford one last time to report and say goodbye. Telford asks if he'll go see his ex-wife, but Young tells him he's not going to reopen old wounds. Telford, feeling guilty for his part in their breakup while brainwashed, tries to apologize for what he did, but Young forgives him, saying his marriage was in trouble long before Telford came along. Before Young leaves, Telford promises to be waiting for him when he wakes up and to not give up on Young and the crew of Destiny which Young appreciates.

In the casting breakdown, he was called a proud and "stubbornly confident" lifelong military man holding the rank of colonel.^[13] Telford's given name was first disclosed by Joseph Mallozzi as "Zak, Zach, Zac, [or] Zack",^[3] but the official MGM website names him "David".^[14] The cast status of Lou Diamond Phillips as a permanent or recurring SGU actor was unclear. Philips was named in a press release along with the confirmed main cast in February 2009^[15] but he appears in only five of the first nine episodes.^[16] He played the title role in a new stage musical in May 2009^[17] and was a contestant in I'm a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here! in June 2009,^[18] both shows taking place during the shooting period of SGU.^[19] On September 22, 2009, a press release by SyFy detailing their October schedule, confirmed that Philips would indeed be a guest star.

Dale Volker

Doctor Dale Volker is an astrophysicist portrayed by Patrick Gilmore. During the evacuation, his arm is broken. He takes part in an inventory check after arriving on the Destiny and is dismayed to find all the boxes are labeled with a bar code and they have no bar code reader.^[9]

The character of Volker began as a simple side character, but actor Patrick Gilmore's excellent portrayal of Volker impressed show-runners and Volker has subsequently been given more screen time and more back story.^[20]

As season 2 progresses and Volker becomes even more prominent, he becomes more useful and productive within the science team. However, most of the science team are frequently critical of both his work and theories (especially Rush), though his usefulness seems to have improved greatly from season 1. He also seems to develop a friendship with Brody, possibly because Brody is the only one on the science team who is not immediately critical of any work he does.

Alan Armstrong

Senator Alan Armstrong is portrayed by Christopher McDonald, and appeared in the series pilot as a United States senator from California with political oversight over the Stargate program. Armstrong was on a tour of Icarus base with his daughter Chloe when the base was attacked by the Lucian Alliance, and was part of the group of refugees that fled through the Stargate to Destiny. He then sacrificed himself in order to seal a leak on board one of Destiny's shuttle-craft, so as to save his daughter and the rest of the crew. He has subsequently appeared as a hallucination to Chloe.^[21]

Recurring Lucian Alliance characters

The Lucian Alliance was introduced in season 9 of Stargate SG-1, where their story arc was left unfinished. In the opening episode of Stargate Universe, "Air Part 1", three Ha'tak vessels, which at the time are presumed to be under the control of the Lucian Alliance, attack Icarus Base, forcing its personnel to evacuate through the stargate to the Ancient starship Destiny. The Lucian Alliance make an appearance in the last three episodes of Stargate Universe season 1, when it is revealed in the episode "Subversion" that Colonel Telford was a spy used to gather information on the Icarus Project, and confirmed that they were responsible for the attack on the Icarus Base. Rush is captured by Kiva, a human commander for the alliance, and uses him to finish the work they had started in creating a wormhole connection with Destiny. After the death of Kiva at the hands of Telford and being forced into an impossible situation by Rush, the Lucian Alliance forces on board Destiny surrendered and were taken prisoner before all but a select few of them were abandoned on another planet.  • Producer Joseph Mallozzi explained in retrospect, "Much of the Lucian Alliance we saw in SG-1 was inept and, dare I say it, a bit goofy. They fit in with SG-1's lighter, more high adventure-driven tone but would have stood out (and not in a good way) in the new series [Stargate Universe]. As a result, I was initially leery at the prospect of introducing them to SGU but, as so often happened over the course of my many years in the franchise, I trusted in Brad [Wright] and Robert [C. Cooper] and, in the end, that trust was rewarded with a terrific story element that not only succeeded as planned (creating the chaos that leads to the Icarus evacuation in the pilot, seeding the mole throughline, and, later in season one, setting up the incursion scenario) but offered up plenty of interesting story material for future episodes (as evidenced in the first half of season two). The Alliance was always envisioned as a loose coalition of mercenary groups so it made sense that certain factions would have been more capable and threatening than others."^[22]

Varro

Varro is portrayed by actor Mike Dopud.^[23] As Commander Kiva's chief lieutenant in the Lucian Alliance, Varro was David Telford's primary contact on Earth when Telford was working as a sleeper agent. He led the Lucian strike team on board Destiny during the incursion where he was wounded during the gunfight. As negotiations commenced, Kiva forced T.J. to work on him before any of the other Lucian soldiers or the wounded civilians from the regular Earth crew until his prognosis improved. When he had sufficiently healed, he offered his thanks to T.J., who refused his gesture at making peace between the two crews. After Kiva's death in the shootout with Telford, Varro assumed command where he attempted to keep the Lucian factions together while acting in a humanitarian fashion toward the captured Earth crew and military personnel, stopping a blanket execution of the military personnel and devising a resourceful plan to recruit doctors from Earth to work on both sides using the Ancient Communication Stones. He is eventually usurped and abandoned along with the Lucian soldiers most loyal to him with the Earth crew. Upon the rescue of Col. Young and the Destiny crew, Varro and his people have rejoined the remaining Lucian factions on board.^[5] Later, when TJ checks his wound which is doing well, Varro tries to comfort her over the loss of her baby revealing some of his own history: he was married and his wife always worried about him on missions for the Lucian Alliance until she was killed in a storm in awning collapse. Due to this, Varro is able to understand what TJ is going through and can sympathize with her more than the rest of the crew. When most of the Alliance forces are abandoned on another planet, Varro is one of the few chosen to remain behind. He later makes a deal with Colonel Young to provide information for a rumored upcoming Alliance attack on Earth in exchange for their freedom on board the ship. It is revealed that while Varro and much of the Alliance members remaining on the ship are actually cooperating, Simeon is not which infuriates Varro. Varro develops a friendly relationship with TJ and approaches her about helping more after the betrayal of Simeon caused him to be locked up again. When Destiny comes into conflict with the alien drones, TJ calls him in to offer him to help her in the infirmary, which he accepts.

In the episode "Twin Destinies", in the alternate timeline Varro is one of the Destiny crew members that volunteers to remain behind with Rush when the attempt is made by the others to return to Earth. He is apparently killed when forced to travel through an unstable wormhole in an attempt to return to Earth.

Later, when Senator Michaels and Doctor Covel come aboard, TJ reveals she has had Varro start helping her out in the infirmary after the attack as he turns out to be pretty good at first-aid. The two are clearly at ease with one another and TJ trusts Varro enough to affirm that trust to Colonel Young. When Varro learns of the naquadria bomb on Earth, he offers his help in disarming it as he knows about that type of bomb. Using an FTL jump to temporarily sever the connection, Varro quickly tries to explain the process to Wray and Greer, but isn't able to finish in time. Eventually Rush figures out how to disconnect the stones and Varro explains it to Michaels and Covel so when they return to their own bodies, they can finish the disarming. Telford later reveals that the disarming is successful when he connects with a crew-member over six days later.

In "The Hunt", when TJ goes missing, Varro offers his and his people's help in searching for her as they are experienced hunters while the crew is not. While Young and Scott are reluctant to allow it, they do as they desperately need the help and Varro has a point. During the search, all of Varro's team is killed and Young is injured. Varro stops Greer from chasing after the creatures having realized it was smart and trying to lure him into a trap. Varro is able to temporarily stitch up Young's wound and convinces him to return to the ship as he would just slow them down. Young, showing trust in Varro, gives him his pistol and orders him to bring back TJ. Varro and Greer (who distrusts Varro) are forced to continue on alone and Varro admits that he's not sure he and Greer will be able to perform the rescue, but is willing to keep going. He compares Greer to a friend of his who died in a suicide mission, trying to convince him not to end up like that. When the two reach the creature's lair, Greer gives Varro C4 to create a distraction while he rescues TJ and Corporal Reynolds. Varro is successful and loses the creatures chasing him and hooks up with Greer, TJ and Reynolds who the creature let go when it realized they were intelligent. On the ship, Varro is released into the general population as a full crewmember at the recommendation of Greer (having apparently earned his trust during the rescue) and TJ visits him to give him her condolences on the death of his people and lets him know he isn't alone. The two nearly kiss, but Young interrupts as Varro had offered to help cook a "space deer" Greer killed and Airman Becker is ready. At a feast for the crew, Varro and Becker serve the deer, the first meat the crew has had in a while.

In "Epilogue", it is revealed that the Varro from the alternate timeline didn't die but ended up 2,000 years in the past with the rest of the crew minus Rush. He settles on the planet they name Novus and is disappointed when Young and TJ rekindle their relationship and start a family. At Scott and Chloe's wedding he develops an interest in Lieutenant Vanessa James and the two end up having a family. In the present, Varro helps gather supplies from the Novus bunker and rushes to TJ's side when it is learned she will have ALS in the future. He tries to comfort her, not knowing the disease isn't something you just catch and is slightly annoyed when Colonel Young arrives to comfort her. When the group learns that there's a cure in the Novus database, Varro votes to stay as long as possible to transfer all of it to Destiny in hopes of curing TJ, but an approaching fault line shuts down power and disrupts this. As the stairway collapsed several levels above and the elevator is out with the power, Varro is forced to climb an emergency ladder and saves TJ when she falls. However the ladder breaks and he falls too. After getting the others to safety, Young goes back for and rescues him. Varro survives, but is badly injured.

Later in "Blockade", a mostly recovered Varro travels to a Novus colony while Eli, Rush and Doctor Lisa Park stay behind on Destiny to recharge the ship in a bluegiant star. Young has him stay behind with most of the crew when some of them go to search the city, telling Varro to protect the remainder. When a drone approaches, alerted by Morrison trying to dial the Stargate, Varro teams up with Lieutenant James to take it down: James lures it in with a radio call and Varro destroys it with a rocket launcher. When the others return, James gives him the credit. Varro returns to the recharged ship ten minutes early with everyone else when a drone Command Ship arrives, forcing an immediate evacuation. In "Gauntlet", Varro goes into stasis with the rest of the crew after saying goodbye to TJ.

Ginn

Portrayed by actress Julie McNiven, Ginn is a member of the Lucian Alliance working toward taking over the Destiny during the incursion. As a technical expert and engineer, she initially works toward commandeering the ship's controls away from the Earth crew. During open hostilities with the Earth crew, Ginn sides with the most violent of the Lucian factions out of fear, mainly due to a brief physical assault by the faction's leader, Dannic, who threatened to kill her if she ceased being useful. With Varro and his soldiers off the ship, when Rush threatened to kill everyone on board (except for the few who managed to get behind protective shielding) with radiation, Ginn effectively ended the stalemate by shooting Dannic. She has since rejoined the other Lucian Alliance members. As Camile Wray has started making overtures at recruiting the more stable Lucian Alliance members to join the Destiny crew, Ginn is her initial point of contact. During their discussions, Ginn reveals that she was recruited into the alliance by force as a child when local Lucian warlords forcibly conscripted her planet at gunpoint.^[5] Ginn is later allowed to join Eli's research, and the two begin an intimate romantic relationship. She is murdered by Simeon when he kills Amanda Perry while the two have switched bodies. Thanks to her help, Eli is able to develop a way to dial Earth from within a star that in an alternate future allows David Telford to get home, but also causes the ship and crew to be thrown 12 hours into the past and for everyone else to die before the Nicholas Rush from that timeline changes the timeline. It is later shown that her consciousness survived inside the communications stones, and she resurfaces in Chloe when Chloe attempts to connect to Earth. She is unaware of her death and is horrified by the news. She kisses Eli, but he rebuffs her as it is too strange when she is in Chloe's body. During her time in Chloe's body, she seems to re-experience her strangling death several times and her consciousness grows weaker, allowing Chloe and Amanda Perry (who also survived in the stones) to surface. Eventually a plan is devised to upload her into the ship's mainframe, in hopes of being able to download her into another body in the future. Ginn is initially hesitant, but Eli convinces her, telling her it will be worth it to be able to interact with the ship's crew and survive. During the transfer, Ginn experiences another choking incident where she seems to see Simeon killing her, which causes a power surge, but the transfer is successful. Ginn, now a part of the ship, later appears to Eli and tells him he was right about it being worth it to be part of the ship and interact with him, but appears saddened that she can't touch him. According to Eli the two later have an argument about using the interface chair to interact physically as it is dangerous and she doesn't appear to him for days. Eli believes it's because she's angry and upset, but in truth it's because Amanda Perry, who has accidentally trapped Rush in a simulation, is suppressing her in an attempt to fix the problem on her own leaving her unable to respond to Eli's calls for her. Eli also believes that Perry got the idea to put Rush in the interface chair from her. Distracting Perry with an emergency FTL drop-out, Ginn manages to appear to Eli and tells him that he's the only one that can free Rush and starts to tell him how, but is suppressed by Perry again. Eli figures out what she means anyway and moves her and Perry into quarantine in the ship's mainframe, locking them out from all the systems. This leaves Eli devastated and furious at Rush.

Simeon

Simeon, portrayed by veteran television and film actor Robert Knepper, is introduced as a Lucian Alliance soldier during the incursion. His loyalties so far have remained vague except to support the strongest or most capable leader at any given time, first following Commander Kiva, then Varro, and then Dannic until the incursion comes to an end. Of the Lucian soldiers, he is the only one to doubt Telford's account of the shootout with Commander Kiva, questioning how Telford could have been taken by surprise and shot in the front instead of his back. Besides Varro, he is the most analytical of the Lucian soldiers.^[5] After the incursion, Simeon proves to be unwilling to mix with the rest of the Destiny crew and Greer takes it upon himself to keep him under close scrutiny while he moves around the ship. He also refuses to share information with the crew, giving them false information and is mad when he discovers everyone else is cooperating. He later murders Ginn and Amanda Perry as Ginn reveals to Earth that he has the information Earth needs about a possible attack against it and escapes from the ship, killing a few crew-members along the way. He battles the crew on a desert planet and indicates that the attack on Earth is retaliatory and that his own family was affected in someway by the war with Earth so he wants revenge. The crew all give up except Rush (wanting revenge for Perry's murder) who causes a stampede which runs right over Simeon, severely injuring him. Helpless and at Rush's mercy, Simeon pleads that he has critical information, but Rush just shoots him in the head, killing him in revenge for Perry's death.

Recurring characters on Earth

Carl Strom

Carl Strom is portrayed by actor Carlo Rota.^[24] Strom is an IOA representative and Camile Wray's supervisor, Carl Strom believes that the IOA should have full control of the Destiny. He does everything he can to see that this becomes a reality.^[5]

Emily Young

Emily Young is portrayed by Ona Grauer,^[25] who previously played the Ancient Ayiana in SG-1 and Atlantis. Emily Young is Col. Everett Young's wife who was upset when her husband took the position as the Icarus Base commander. When Young visited her in Col. Telford's body, Emily could barely take in the news of her husband's situation. Not knowing if or when Everett will return home, Emily seemed ready to divorce him on the spot, but she wished him well and that he would remain safe. When Young came back for another visit, Emily was more sympathetic with his situation and even had sexual intercourse with him while he was in Col. Telford's body. It is strongly implied that she is having an affair with Telford - as himself, not containing her husband's consciousness - herself. Telford later attempted to put a wedge between Young and Emily by telling Emily that Young had resumed his affair with Lt. Tamara Johansen on the Destiny. It is likely Telford did this to cause Young problems. It is later revealed that Telford was brainwashed at the time he did that and is horrified by it along with everything else he did after Colonel Young freed him. She eventually asks for a divorce from Young which he apparently gives her. When Young is about to go into stasis for three years, he decides not to go see her, saying it'll just reopen old wounds and he doesn't want that. When Telford tries to apologize for his role in the breakup of the marriage, Young forgives him saying Emily and himself had had problems long before Telford intervened.

Stargate crossover characters

Several characters who initially appeared in Stargate SG-1 or Stargate Atlantis have made appearances in Universe. From the beginning, Robert C. Cooper had ruled out the permanent inclusion of any well-known characters from the two previous Stargate series, although "there will certainly be plenty of opportunity for cross over, and there certainly might be some familiar faces in the premiere and in subsequent episodes".^[26]

• Jack O'Neill (played by Richard Dean Anderson) in "Air" (Part 1+3), "Earth", "Subversion", "Incursion" (Part 1)
• Samantha Carter (played by Amanda Tapping) in "Air" (Part 1), "Incursion" (Part 1)
• Daniel Jackson (played by Michael Shanks) in "Air" (Part 1), "Human", "Subversion", "Incursion" (Part 1)
• Major Marks (played by Martin Christopher) in "Air" (Part 1)
• Walter Harriman (played by Gary Jones) in "Air" (Part 1)
• Bill Lee (played by Bill Dow) in "Air" (Part 2) and "Twin Destinies"
• Rodney McKay (played by David Hewlett) in "Seizure"^[27][28]
• Richard Woolsey (played by Robert Picardo) in "Seizure".^[27][28]

  Brad Wright had approached Picardo at the beginning of SGU season 1, and Picardo had declared his interest in appearing early on in the show.^[29]

See also

• List of Stargate SG-1 characters
• List of Stargate Atlantis characters

References

External links

• List of characters on GateWorld

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