Redemption - Episode 14.
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"Redemption"
by Terry Nation
Directed by: Vere Lorrimer
(c) 1978 by the British Broadcasting Corporation. Series created by Terry Nation. This is a partial dialogue transcript for research purposes and is not for sale under any circumstances. Format (c) 1993 by Susan Clerc, Micky DuPree, and Frances Teagle.
Dramatis Personae:
Roj Blake -- Gareth
Thomas
Jenna Stannis -- Sally Knyvette
Kerr Avon -- Paul Darrow
Cally -- Jan Chappell
Vila Restal -- Michael Keating
Olag Gan -- David Jackson
Zen -- Peter Tuddenham
Orac -- Peter Tuddenham
Alta 1 -- Sheila Ruskin
Alta 2 -- Harriet Philpin
Slave -- Roy Evans
Walk-ons:
David Charles, Gordon
Somers
Paul Menzies, Dave Ponting
Peter Clare, John Curry
Peter Roy, Mike Mungarven
Ray Faulkner
[A starfield, then an exterior shot of Liberator]
[Flight deck]
BLAKE: All right, Zen. Run it again for me, will you?
ZEN: Confirmed. Play back, normal speed.
[The main screen shows Orac's prediction of Liberator exploding]
[Exterior shot of Liberator, then shots of maintenance work in progress - Cally and Jenna in teleport section, Gan and Vila in a subcontrol room]
[Flight deck]
BLAKE: Orac, why won't you give us the background to that prediction?
ORAC: Because
that would invalidate the prediction.
BLAKE: And if we knew the future in detail we could change it, and so
it wouldn't be the future.
ORAC: Correct. That is the paradox of prediction.
BLAKE: All right, Zen, standby to run it again -- at half speed.
ZEN: Confirmed.
AVON: Slow or fast, it will still look the same.
BLAKE: How long have you been there?
AVON: I was here when you came in.
BLAKE: Why didn't you speak?
AVON: I had nothing in particular to say. Besides, you looked as though
you were planning something you didn't want the rest of us to know about.
BLAKE: Orac's prediction still hasn't come into effect. I am trying to
find some reason why he was wrong.
AVON: Have you found what you want?
BLAKE: No.
AVON: That's because you're looking for the wrong things.
BLAKE: What exactly does that mean?
AVON: It's a common enough failing. Now if you've finished with Zen, I'd
quite like to get on; we have a malfunction on the intermediate range
sensors. I need to check the systems.
BLAKE: Leave it! If I've missed something, I want to know what it is now,
Avon.
AVON: Well now, all you had to do was ask. Zen! Replay, half speed.
ZEN: Confirmed. [Replays prediction in slow motion]
AVON: Stop. All right, reverse to the instant before the explosion.
[The explosion sequence is run backward] Freeze it there. All the reassurance
you could want.
BLAKE: Do you think you could forget your superiority complex for a moment
and get on with it?
AVON: All right. But first of all, let us examine the nature of prediction.
The human mind is capable of seeing into the short- range future with
reasonable accuracy. For example, imagine that you are standing on the
edge of a cliff.
BLAKE: As long as you're not standing behind me.
AVON: [Pause] There are a number of alternative futures. You could take
a pace forward and plunge to your death. The cliff could crumble under
your feet with the same result. A gust of wind could carry you over.
BLAKE: All right, all right, yes. But the probability is that I would
turn round and walk away again.
AVON: Exactly. You have just made a prediction based on the known facts.
A computer works on precisely the same principle.
BLAKE: But all you're saying is that prediction is not immutable fact.
AVON: Right. If you hadn't gone near the cliff in the first place, you
wouldn't have had to face any of the inherent dangers.
BLAKE: So?
AVON: Zen, selective magnification. Show us the background.
ZEN: Confirmed. [Zooms into starfield on the main screen]
AVON: Look at it, Blake. Look at the configuration of the stars. That
position is unique in the universe.
BLAKE: Ah! Of course. Zen can give us a precise astral fix and tell us
exactly where the event is supposed to have happened.
AVON: Congratulations.
BLAKE: All right, where is it?
AVON: It's in the Twelfth Sector. Astral point seven eight one.
BLAKE: What? But that's halfway across the galaxy. Now if we make sure
that we never go into that area, then the prediction becomes void. I'll
tell the others. Uh, how long have you known?
AVON: Oh, several hours.
BLAKE: And you just let the others go on worrying?
AVON: Well, all they had to do was ask. Perhaps in future, they won't
rely on you to provide all the answers.
[An explosion rocks the ship. They both go down, with Avon's arm draped
over Blake]
[Jenna and Cally are thrown about the teleport section]
[Flight deck]
AVON: What the hell is going on?
BLAKE: Zen, report.
ZEN: Aft hull sensors register two strikes by medium-range neutron blasters.
AVON: Where are they coming from?
ZEN: Due to the malfunction of our intermediate range detectors, that
information is not available.
[Explosion]
BLAKE: Zen, activate the force wall, increase speed to Standard by Eight.
Battle computers on-line.
ZEN: Confirmed.
BLAKE: Avon, get the others in here fast. [Avon moves to the force wall
console] Zen, direct vision three-sixty orbital scan.
ZEN: Confirmed.
AVON: [Into intercom] Attention! We are under attack. Battle stations!
[Exterior shot of Liberator in rapid flight, then Jenna and Cally running in a corridor]
[Flight deck]
BLAKE: [Two points of light -- the hostile ships-- are shown on the main
screen] Hold it there. Two ships homing in on us. Concentrate force wall
on coordinates five five three one.
ZEN: Confirmed. Five five three one.
[Jenna and Cally, then Gan and Vila enter]
BLAKE: Vila, activate the weaponry system. Jenna, take her on manual.
[The main screen shows the hostile ships making an attack run, then there's
an explosion on the flight deck]
BLAKE: Re-energize the force wall.
ZEN: Confirmed.
JENNA: What are they, Blake?
BLAKE: I don't know.
GAN: Blake, look.
[The main screen shows a planet]
ZEN: Battle computers propose evasive course.
JENNA: Specify.
ZEN: Planetary orbit at two thousand spacials.
BLAKE: Closer. Make it one thousand.
ZEN: Confirmed.
BLAKE: Cally, give me tracking on the hostiles. Maximum magnification.
[Exterior shot of the two hostile ships]
VILA: They must be Federation ships.
ZEN: First analysis indicates that they are not vehicles of a type used
in Federation fleets.
BLAKE: Who are they? [No response]
AVON: Who are they?
ZEN: That information is not available.
[Exterior shot of Liberator pursued by hostile ships]
[Flight deck]
JENNA: Entering planetary orbit now.
BLAKE: Hold it there.
[Exterior shots of Liberator pursued by hostile ships]
[Flight deck]
GAN: Closing in on us.
BLAKE: Jenna, hold course till they're within our range.
JENNA: Holding course.
VILA: Weapons systems primed for firing.
BLAKE: Lock on target.
VILA: Target fixed.
BLAKE: Range?
VILA: Fifty thousand spacials and closing fast. They're traveling at almost
Standard by Twelve.
AVON: Impossible.
VILA: I tell you, they are.
[Exterior shot of Liberator pursued by hostile ships]
[Flight deck]
CALLY: They'll be in range in fifty-one seconds.
BLAKE: Hold course.
JENNA: Holding.
GAN: I've got their communications frequency.
BLAKE: Voice contact?
GAN: No, just computer talk.
BLAKE: Can our machines translate?
GAN: Negative.
BLAKE: Zen, identify the hostiles.
CALLY: Forty-two seconds.
BLAKE: Zen!
[Zen burbles]
AVON: The information must be bypassing the translator systems.
CALLY: Thirty-five seconds.
VILA: Let me launch a couple of seekers before they fire. It might throw
their attack run.
BLAKE: Go ahead.
VILA: Firing one and two, now.
[Chirping from his console]
BLAKE: Come on, come on.
VILA: They won't fire. The fail-safes keep cutting in.
BLAKE: Override them.
CALLY: Twenty seconds.
VILA: The whole system is locked into negative.
AVON: Blake, without firepower we'll be blasted to pieces.
CALLY: Hostiles closing fast. Thirteen seconds to blaster range.
BLAKE: Avon, stand by the force wall.
CALLY: In range.
BLAKE: Force wall.
AVON: [Tries to activate force wall but it just burbles] Primary malfunction.
Force wall won't activate.
BLAKE: Leave it. Hit it, Jenna, all the power we've got. Hang on!
[Exterior shots of Liberator and hostiles, then quick cuts between exterior of ships and the flight deck: hostiles fire, crew fall about on flight deck, hostiles fire again, explosion on flight deck, hostiles fire again and hit underside of Liberator. A close-up of the hostile ships reveals the similarity in design to Liberator, and the lead ship emits a burbling noise similar to Zen's]
[Shots of Gan, Vila, and Jenna lying about the flight deck]
BLAKE: [Looking around flight deck] Gan! Cally! Vila!
[Exterior shot of Liberator]
[Starfield]
[Flight deck]
VILA: [Getting up from floor] Oh...
BLAKE: It's all right, Vila. I think we've lost them.
VILA: How'd you know?
BLAKE: We're still here. Cut the auxiliaries. Get back to primary drive.
[To Avon] Are you all right?
AVON: All I am willing to admit is that I am still alive.
BLAKE: We've got to know if those ships are still coming. See if you can
get a scan. [Jenna comes to, Gan and Cally help her up] Cally, take her
down to her quarters. Gan, go and check the power units, will you?
GAN: Right.
VILA: Blake, I can't cut the auxiliary drive. We're still running on full
power.
AVON: The scan is out, we're flying blind.
BLAKE: What's it register, Vila?
VILA: Maximum. Can we hold together at that speed?
AVON: We won't have to.
VILA: What do you mean?
BLAKE: Running at full power will drain the energy banks in -- what?
AVON: Two hours at the most.
BLAKE: And then we'll have no power at all.
[Intercom chimes. Blake uses the one at the force wall console. Scene
cuts between flight deck and subcontrol room]
BLAKE: [Into intercom] Blake.
GAN: [Into intercom] Gan. I'm in Subcontrol One. There's a lot of damage
here. Virtually all the control systems seem to be out.
BLAKE: [V.O.] Check the other subcontrol rooms.
GAN: [Into intercom] Right.
VILA: Where did those ships come from? Who were they?
BLAKE: Yes, and why did they attack? Zen was confident they weren't Federation.
VILA: So why did they pick on me?
AVON: I doubt if it was personal, Vila.
VILA: It felt personal. It always feels personal when someone tries to
kill me.
BLAKE: It seems we were pretty lucky. Those ships came up on us when we
were blind. They should have been able to wipe us out completely. Zen,
I want a full damage report, and then an assessment of how much the breakdown
can be handled by auto- repair.
[No response.]
AVON: The translator unit must be out.
BLAKE: Then we'll have to do it all ourselves. Vila, go down and see if
you can help Gan, make a list of all the faults you can find. I'm going
to isolate the auxiliaries from the energy units before they burn up all
our power. Avon, concentrate on Zen. Give priority to the detectors and
the navigation systems. And then see if you can get us some scans.
AVON: Is that all? What shall I do with the other hand?
BLAKE: I'll let you know. [Exits]
VILA: When you get Zen working, ask him to prescribe something for a headache,
will you? I've got this shocking pain right behind the eyes.
AVON: Have you considered amputation?
[Blake and Cally meet
in a corridor]
BLAKE: How's Jenna?
CALLY: Just shaken. She'll be back in the teleport as soon as she's recovered.
BLAKE: Good. Help Avon with Zen.
[Flight deck]
CALLY: [Enters] What can I do?
AVON: Strip down the auto-navigator, remove the damaged components, and
list them for replacement.
CALLY: This is going to take time. It could have been worse.
AVON: It should have been worse.
CALLY: What do you mean?
AVON: Something Blake said. Those ships should have been able to knock
us out completely. Why didn't they?
CALLY: There could be many reasons.
AVON: I have considered all of them. Only one is satisfactory.
CALLY: And which is that?
AVON: They didn't want to destroy us.
CALLY: But it was a full-scale attack.
AVON: Was it? Their first attack knocked out our weaponry system. The
second run knocked out virtually every instrument system. Right now Liberator
is out of control. At least, out of OUR control.
CALLY: You think all this was intentional, and we're not running on a
random course?
AVON: Oh, I think we're going somewhere quite particular.
[Exterior shot of Spaceworld]
[Control room, Spaceworld.
Alta 1 is seated, Alta 2 and two guards stand at the back. A large white
dome on a pedestal beeps and Alta 1 rises from her seat, walks to the
dome, and places her hands on it. The dome emits deeper-toned gargling
sound]
ALTA 1: [In mechanical voice] Acknowledged. [Both Altas touch the silver
dots on the foreheads. To Alta 2 in her normal voice] The pursuit craft
have made contact, and have initiated all programmed functions. Assemble
the assault group and prepare for transference.
ALTA 2: Acknowledged. [Exits]
[Alta 1 places her hands on the dome again, there is more gargling from
it, she then returns to her seat and places her hand on the small dome
beside it]
[Exterior shot of Liberator]
[Subcontrol room. Blake
enters, inspects panels, and then screws a lever into a console socket
and pulls it forward. The engine hum drops and he attempts to unscrew
the lever, fails, gives up and turns toward the door. A wall panel behind
the console blows out and the lever slides backwards by itself and the
engine hum climbs rapidly again. Intercom chimes]
BLAKE: [Into intercom] Blake.
AVON: [V.O.] The lights are pulsating. What's happening?
BLAKE: [Into intercom] Nothing. Just get on with what you're doing.
AVON: [V.O.] Switching the drives in and out isn't helping, you know.
BLAKE: [Annoyed] I'll call you IF I need you.
[Returns to the console and tries to move the lever again but a thick
coiled cable leaps out at him. He grabs a screwdriver from a nearby tool
chest. The cable knocks it from his hand, showering sparks when it touches
the metal floor. He dives for the door, but it closes before he can escape.
The cable traps Blake against the wall, next to the intercom]
[Jenna passes through the teleport section and sees the controls moving by themselves]
[Flight deck]
AVON: How are you getting on?
CALLY: I've finished fitting the auto-navigator. And now there is just
this detector unit that is burnt out.
AVON: You'll find a replacement in the auto-repair cavity.
CALLY: [Replaces a component] Good. That's all completed.
AVON: [Tries to turn Zen on with no luck, Zen just burbles] That's strange.
[Tries again] Thought so. Zen is functioning, the computers are working,
but not for us.
JENNA: [Enters] Avon, there's something wrong in the teleport section
-- all the controls are activating.
AVON: Are you sure?
JENNA: The locators are setting bearings. Come and see.
AVON: No. No one is to go near that section until we have Zen under control.
CALLY: Why?
AVON: I think I know what's happening now. The teleport section will be
the most dangerous area on the ship. When it happens, THAT is where it
will start.
JENNA: When what happens? What are you talking about?
AVON: If I'm right, this will show it. [Connects wires and the component
Cally replaced shorts out]
CALLY: It's rejecting the replacement.
AVON: It's more fundamental than that. We are the cause. It is rejecting
us.
[Subcontrol room. Blake
clicks on intercom. Scene cuts between subcontrol room and flight deck]
JENNA: [V.O.] Jenna.
BLAKE: [Into intercom] Jenna, it's Blake. I'm in Subcontrol Room Four.
Get Avon down here fast.
JENNA: Avon.
AVON: I heard. I'm busy.
JENNA: [Into intercom]He's working on Zen.
BLAKE: I don't care what he's working on, get him down here!
AVON: [Irritated. Drops what he's working on and crosses to intercom]
Blake, what I'm doing is vitally concerned with our survival. Are you
prepared to take responsibility for what happens if I delay?
BLAKE: [Into intercom] Don't I always? Now just get down here!
AVON: [Into intercom] Anything you say.
BLAKE: [V.O.] And Avon, don't come crashing in; gently as you open the
door.
AVON: Blake's regard for our safety is inspiring, don't you think?
[Gan and Vila enter]
GAN: Avon, there's no structural damage in the other control unit.
AVON: Well, that's something.
GAN: But the instrument and systems disruption's enormous.
AVON: I shall tell our fearless leader. [Exits]
VILA: What's the matter with him?
JENNA: What do you think?
VILA: If it ever comes to a showdown, my money's on Blake. Well, half
of it. I'll put the other half on Avon.
JENNA: [Laughs] That's a safe bet. But if Avon is right, we'll probably
all be dead anyway.
VILA: Dead? Is that your idea of a safe bet?
[Avon enters the subcontrol
room and reaches for the cable still hovering by Blake]
BLAKE: Easy! Easy. This coil's live in every sense. It's got enough energy
to vaporize both of us.
AVON: All right, you're giving the orders -- what do you want me to do
about it?
BLAKE: Turn off the power -- without touching the main switch.
AVON: [Ducks under cable and moves to console] What happened?
BLAKE: I tried to shut off the auxiliaries. But they switched back on
automatically.
AVON: That's happening to every function onboard.
BLAKE: And then this coil leapt at me as though it was trying to protect
the switchbox.
AVON: The ship is working against us. >From now on we are just passengers.
BLAKE: The question is, where to?
AVON: I'm going to try and break the circuit. [Another section of cable
moves to block him]
BLAKE: It knows. It knows what you're trying to do, Avon.
AVON: [Moves to another part of the console] It's linked to the computer
circuits. They're feeding in a defensive program. I'm going to put an
explosive charge across the main energy feed. When it senses what I'm
trying to do, it should move away from you.
BLAKE: Towards you.
AVON: When it does, you move to the door.
BLAKE: And when it homes in on you?
AVON: [Placing explosive device and timer] I think my instinct for survival
is more finely tuned than it is.
BLAKE: It's moving. Leave it now. Come on.
[Blake leaves. The door closes before Avon can reach it. Both men try
to force door open from their sides. The device explodes and the door
opens. Avon spills into corridor and Blake. Shot of cable lying inert.]
BLAKE: That is one I owe you.
AVON: Don't worry. At the right time, I will remind you of it.
[Flight deck]
VILA: [Accepts cup from Jenna and swallows pill] Thanks.
JENNA: [To Blake who has just entered flight deck with Avon] You all right?
BLAKE: Yes. Where's Gan?
CALLY: Treatment unit. He tried to reconnect one of the servo links and
it burned his hand.
BLAKE: Right, sit down. [All but Vila sit at a small table to the left
of flight consoles] No one is to attempt to repair any equipment till
the computers are back under our control.
JENNA: What is it, Blake? What's going on?
BLAKE: Well, the computers seem to be making decisions for themselves.
They're resisting all interference.
JENNA: But that's not possible.
BLAKE: [Motions to Avon] Avon.
AVON: It is if you think of the ship as a living entity with massive networks
of electronics acting as a nervous system.
JENNA: All linked into a central computer.
BLAKE: The brain.
AVON: Carry the analogy a stage further. When a living creature is hurt
-- a cut or a wound -- antibodies gather around the injury to repair it
and to fight infection.
VILA: You mean the computers are treating us like germs.
AVON: [Brief smile at Blake] Crude, but accurate.
CALLY: But antibodies kill infection. Why are we still alive?
BLAKE: We're not sure. There are dozens of ways the ship could destroy
us: cut off the air supply, drop the temperature so we freeze to death
--
VILA: Stop putting ideas into its head.
BLAKE: [To Avon] Actually, one touch of that cable would have done it.
No, I don't think it wants to kill us.
AVON: Well, not yet, anyway. It's saving us for something.
VILA: Dinner?
JENNA: Look, we've been on the Liberator for a long time. The computers
have never turned against us before. Why now?
AVON: That's what I was trying to find out when you sent for me. There's
something else I'd like to try.
[Burbles and gargles in two tones from Zen]
JENNA: It's another computer. It's communicating with Zen.
VILA: Someone outside is controlling the Liberator.
BLAKE: Yes, we know. But who and why?
[Gan in the teleport
section. The light changes. Scene cuts between teleport
section and flight deck]
GAN: [Into intercom] Blake.
BLAKE: [Into intercom] Yes, Gan.
GAN: [Into intercom] Blake, there's something peculiar happening in the
teleport section. I think the - [Sound of the teleport operating. Gan
is attacked by assailants with weapons similar to Liberator hand guns]
BLAKE: Cally, Vila, come on. [They exit]
JENNA: It's the teleport.
AVON: I told you. I warned them to keep away from there.
[Blake, Vila and Cally running in a corridor]
[Teleport section]
BLAKE: [Enters] Gan!
VILA: He didn't come past us. He must've gone that way.
BLAKE: Go and see if you can find him. [Vila exits]
CALLY: Could he have operated the teleport?
BLAKE: How and to where? Anyway, all the bracelets are still here.
CALLY: Then he is still onboard.
BLAKE: Try and get him once more on the communicator. If you can't reach
him, go and give Vila a hand to find him. [Exits]
CALLY: [Into intercom] Gan, make your way to the flight deck immediately.
[V.O., corridor] Repeat -- make your way to the flight deck immediately.
[Clicks off. Walks the side of the room opposite the corridor entry] Gan?
[Blake in a corridor. Lights pulsate, engine hum changes and dies]
[Flight deck]
AVON: The energy banks are drained. We must be getting close to our destination.
JENNA: You're sure there's a pattern to all this?
AVON: Very precise and carefully calculated. I think the takeover will
be completed quite soon.
BLAKE: [Enters] Jenna, get the guns. We're not giving this ship up without
a fight.
JENNA: [Going to gun locker and reaching for one] They're white hot.
BLAKE: White hot? All of them? [She tries a few more but withdraws her
hand from each]
AVON: They've covered everything.
[Intercom chimes]
BLAKE: [Into intercom] Blake.
CALLY: [V.O.] Cally. We've made a thorough search. There is no trace of
Gan.
BLAKE: [Into intercom] All right, come back to the flight deck.
[Teleport section]
CALLY: Vila? Vila. [Looks to far side of room. There is blood on the wall
unseen by Cally]
[Flight deck]
AVON: I think the attack ships did exactly what they intended. They knocked
out our manual control systems.
JENNA: Their blaster strike would have to be enormously accurate to cause
selective damage.
AVON: It could be done if they knew the vulnerable points.
JENNA: All right, but how could their computers override Zen?
AVON: There's a command code programmed into every system. Key that code,
and the computers will only respond to orders from source.
JENNA: But who would know the code that operates Zen?
BLAKE: It's obvious, isn't it?
JENNA: The people who built the Liberator?
BLAKE: Just taking back what's theirs. Redemption.
[Cally is attacked in a corridor]
[Exterior shot of Liberator]
[Jenna, and Blake and
Avon enter the flight deck from opposite corridors]
BLAKE: [To Jenna] Anything?
JENNA: Nothing.
AVON: Then there's not a trace of any of them.
BLAKE: [Into intercom] Cally. Gan. [No response]
AVON: I warned them to stay away from the teleport area. The people who
built this ship will have the same teleport capability as we have. They'll
use it to board us.
JENNA: That doesn't account for their disappearance.
BLAKE: Unless they've already boarded us.
AVON: Ah, that would be logical. They'll take us out a few at a time.
They wouldn't want to risk a full-scale battle. It might damage the ship.
JENNA: Isn't there anything we can do to hold them off?
AVON: No. Not unless we can regain control of the computers. I don't see
any way of doing that.
BLAKE: Let's try Orac again.
JENNA: What good will that do?
BLAKE: Maybe he can analyze Zen's programming and eradicate the override.
JENNA: And bring Zen back under our instruction.
BLAKE: [Inserts the key] Right. You will clear the receptor circuits to
receive an emergency program. Confirm when ready.
[No response]
AVON: Confirm readiness. Come on, come on!
JENNA: What's wrong?
AVON: You tell me.
JENNA: Maybe it's been taken over, too.
BLAKE: No, that's not likely. Orac's systems are entirely independent
of all the Liberator's.
AVON: [Crouches next to Orac's stand] Now then, Orac. Are you going to
function or are you not?
ORAC: All principle circuits are operating at full capacity and cannot
receive new programs at this time.
BLAKE: Well, clear the circuits. This is priority.
ORAC: Circuit clearance and reprogramming will take precisely one hour
and thirty-seven point nine seconds.
BLAKE: That could be just a little late.
ORAC: State your program requirements. They will be implemented when capacity
is available.
BLAKE: We want total analysis of Zen's override system and erasure of
that control. Eliminate any links with an external computer. Key the voice
systems to respond only to the commands of Avon, myself, and Jenna.
[A console in front of Zen explodes and the crew turn and see Alta 1 and
2]
ALTA 2: Take control. [Guards enter flight deck]
AVON: [To Jenna] I think we just lost our ship.
ALTA 1: [Into bracelet] The ship is now under our control. The three remaining
crew are prisoners. Restore all operating functions and program for docking.
[Zen burbles]
JENNA: The repair circuits are working.
BLAKE: Zen, too.
JENNA: Another few minutes and we'll be fully operational.
AVON: Zen! [Moves toward Zen but is stopped by guard]
ALTA 2: You will all remain under guard until docking is complete. Orders
must be obeyed instantly. Failure will result in punishment.
BLAKE: Where are the rest of my crew? [She ignores him] Well, at least
tell us if they're alive.
ALTA 1: You will remain silent. That is an order.
BLAKE: I accept that we are your prisoners, but I demand to know what
has happened to my crew.
ALTA 1: Force level three.
[A guard places a longer version of a Liberator handgun against the side
of Blake's neck, causing him great pain. It seems to work like a cattle
prod. Jenna tries to help Blake but is pushed away]
ZEN: All malfunctions have now been rectified. Systems are fully operational.
ALTA 2: Lock onto docking flight path.
ZEN: Confirmed.
ALTA 1: Release. [Guard stops torturing Blake and he collapses]
[Exterior shot of Liberator approaching Spaceworld]
[Flight deck]
JENNA: [Helping Blake to his feet] You all right?
BLAKE: Felt as though every nerve in my body was being scraped.
ALTA 1: You disobeyed an order. Further infractions will be dealt with
more severely.
ALTA 2: Screen forward vision.
ZEN: Confirmed.
JENNA: [Sees Spaceworld on main screen] I don't believe it.
BLAKE: Impressive.
JENNA: I've never seen a space station on that design before.
BLAKE: That's more than just a station.
JENNA: The technology...
AVON: It's the kind that built Liberator.
[Exterior shots of Spaceworld and Liberator. Scene cuts between shots of the runway lights and shots of Altas' and crews' faces]
[Flight deck]
ZEN: Docking complete. Walkway to main hatch secured.
ALTA 2: All flight systems off.
ZEN: Confirmed.
ALTA 1: You will now walk towards the main hatch. Move.
[Blake, Avon, and Jenna exit followed by guards. Orac whirs and Alta 1
walks over and looks at it]
[Blake, Avon, and Jenna
are marched out the walkway door and then through a large building complex
under guard]
ALTA 2: Halt! [To guards] Take the leader. [Blake is seized]
BLAKE: Why are you separating us?
ALTA 2: You are to be interrogated by the System.
BLAKE: The System?
AVON: What happens to us?
ALTA 2: You will remain in the detention section until the System decides
on the method of your execution.
JENNA: Execution?
ALTA 2: [To guards] Move them. [Avon and Jenna are taken away]
BLAKE: [Struggling with guards] You can't do that! What right have you
got to destroy us?!
ALTA 2: Sustained. Level five. [Guard uses prod on Blake again] Release.
You were warned. A third time and I will command destruction level. Move.
[Exterior shot of Spaceworld]
[Jenna and Avon in
a cell]
JENNA: They've gone. What are you looking for?
AVON: Surveillance devices. You check the lock. I think it's clean.
JENNA: Magno-lock. Probably linked to a central register.
AVON: [Looks at door] Jointed metal plate. No hope there. It might have
possibilities if we had a heavy-duty cutter and a couple of explosive
devices.
JENNA: Even if we do get out, we're in space, Avon -- we've got nowhere
to go.
AVON: So you're just going to sit here and wait for them to eliminate
us? You saw the size of this place. If we get out of here, we can run
and we can hide. If they're going to kill us, let us at least try and
make it difficult for them.
[Blake is marched through
hallway. A gang of slaves carrying a heavy pipe section stagger, the rear
slave falls and is punished by a guard. Blake runs over to stop the guard
and helps the slave up. The guard moves to hit Blake]
ALTA 2: [To guard] Stop! [To slaves and guards] March on.
[Control room. Alta
2 enters and she and Alta 1 touch the silver dots on their foreheads.
The pedestal dome beeps, Alta 2 places her hands on it, and it gargles.
Blake is pushed into the room and Alta 1 motions him to a chair across
from hers]
ALTA 2: Acknowledged. [To Alta 1] There is disturbance on the control
program.
ALTA 1: Until stable, all commands must be checked and confirmed.
ALTA 2: Acknowledged.
ALTA 1: [To Blake] The System has questions to put to you.
BLAKE: I'd like to ask one or two myself.
ALTA 1: That is not permitted.
BLAKE: For instance, what is the System?
ALTA 1: The System is the supreme power of Spaceworld and the three life-supporting
planets which orbit our sun. The System is a complex of infallible machines.
BLAKE: All of this? You mean even you are computer controlled?
ALTA 1: We serve the System. Its questions and orders are routed through
me, but the words and thoughts are those of the System. Is that understood?
BLAKE: I demand your assurance that the rest of my crew remain unharmed.
ALTA 1: [To guard] Force level seven. [Guard puts prod against Blake's
neck]
BLAKE: All right! Understood.
ALTA 1: We will commence. [Places hand on smaller dome next to her chair
and speaks in a mechanical voice] State the circumstance by which you
came to be aboard Deep Space Vehicle II.
BLAKE: We call it the Liberator. It was found abandoned and drifting in
space. I was part of a crew that was put on board.
ALTA 1: [M.V.] State the astral location in which you found DSV II.
BLAKE: I don't know it. My nearest point of reference is a Federation
prison planet called Cygnus Alpha.
ALTA 1: [M.V] State any further information you have regarding DSV II.
BLAKE: We assume it had been in a space battle.
ALTA 1: [M.V] State any further information you have regarding ... regarding
... regarding ...
ALTA 2: [At dome, it gargles] Circuitry disturbances are continuing. An
outside influence has been analyzed.
ALTA 1: [Normal voice] We will resume the questioning when the disturbance
has been rectified. [Rises and walks towards the door]
BLAKE: It's nice to know that computers can have their bad days, too.
ALTA 1: The System is infallible. [Exits]
BLAKE: [Under his breath] Orac!
[Shot of Orac]
[Cell. Jenna is sitting
on a bench attached to the wall, Avon is pacing]
JENNA: Perhaps we could chew our way out.
ALTA 2: [V.O., over P.A.] Attention all guards. Security report: slave
group number seven have attacked their escort and escaped. They are to
be recaptured and eliminated. Repeat: recaptured and eliminated.
AVON: [Stops pacing and spins toward window] Jenna, come here.
JENNA: [Joins him] What is it?
AVON: You remember Orac's prediction?
JENNA: That's the least of our problems at the moment.
AVON: I checked the star pattern behind Liberator. What Orac predicted
was happening halfway across the galaxy. I made a mental note of the configuration.
JENNA: And?
AVON: You're looking at it. This is the Twelfth Sector. Astral point seven
eight one. Exactly where Orac predicted we would be destroyed.
[Zoom-in shot of starfield]
[Control room. The
dome beeps. Alta 2 places her hands on it and it gargles]
BLAKE: Having a little trouble?
ALTA 2: [Presses buttons and Alta 1 appears on a screen mounted on the
wall. Alta 1 touches the dot on her forehead] The System confirms massive
malfunctions. Emergency programs are to be activated.
ALTA 1: [On screen] Transfer all prisoners to elimination chamber four,
sentence to be carried out immediately.
BLAKE: Look, wait a minute, wait a minute! [Guards restrain him]
ALTA 1: Take this prisoner to elimination chamber two.
[In the complex. Two
guards are dragging dead slaves into a pile as Blake is marched past and
up a short flight of stairs. At the top he lashes out with both arms,
one guard is knocked down the stairs and the other staggers back. Blake
seizes Alta 2 and grabs her gun, unplugging her metal collar from its
power pack. She drops and Blake shoots a guard off a high walkway, then
knocks out the first guard and shoots the second. Two guards from below
rush up, one brawls with Blake, knocking the gun from his hand, while
the other reconnects Alta 2's collar, reactivating her. Blake escapes
and runs into a blind alley. A door in a wall opens]
SLAVE: Hey! [Blake goes through door]
BLAKE: Thanks.
SLAVE: Shhh! [Shot of guard looking around outside]
BLAKE: [Whispers] Where are we? [Light comes on]
SLAVE: It's an old service lift. Those young guards, they don't even know
it exists.
BLAKE: Listen, I've got to get to the detention block. Do you know where
it is?
SLAVE: [Nods] I'll show you. [Lift starts to descend]
BLAKE: Good.
SLAVE: Where do you come from?
BLAKE: Planet called Earth.
SLAVE: Earth?
BLAKE: How long's all this been here?
SLAVE: >From before my father was born.
BLAKE: Before that?
SLAVE: Those times? The three planets were always fighting or getting
ready to fight.
BLAKE: [Laughs] Sounds familiar.
SLAVE: Then one of the planets developed a computer so powerful it was
able to take over the weaponry computers of the other two.
BLAKE: So all three became one?
SLAVE: One gigantic System that totally governs the three worlds.
BLAKE: And the System built this as a control center?
SLAVE: Yes, now there's no war, no famine --
BLAKE: And no freedom.
SLAVE: Yes. The System uses people. We are flexible, adaptable ... expendable.
BLAKE: What about the ones that give the orders?
SLAVE: The Altas? They're linked into the System. They're not really people
at all.
[Cell. Avon and Jenna
are sitting on the bench. They hear a noise at the door and Avon signals
Jenna to stand by the window while he moves behind the door to attack
whoever enters. Avon lets fly before he realizes it's Vila]
VILA: Oh!
AVON: I'm sorry, Vila.
VILA: Been looking all over for you two.
JENNA: How did you get here?
VILA: I was just passing -- thought I'd drop in and see you.
AVON: Where are Gan and Cally?
VILA: They're in a cell along the corridor.
AVON: Well, what kept you?
VILA: Magno-locks aren't that easy to open. Even for me.
AVON: Practice. Let's go.
VILA: Just a minute. Where's Blake?
JENNA: They took him away for questioning.
VILA: Questioning?
AVON: I don't think we should hang around.
VILA: No, neither do I.
JENNA: [Checking wound] What did you do to your head?
VILA: One of the guards didn't like me.
AVON: Come on!
[Avon, Jenna, and Vila
sneak through the building complex]
JENNA: What are we going to do?
AVON: Try and get back on Liberator. She's fully operational. It's our
only chance.
JENNA: What about Orac's prophecy?
AVON: As you said, right now that's the least of our problems.
VILA: [Spots Cally and Gan] There they are.
GUARD: Stop!
[Crew dash amid explosions and firing guards until they run into a pack of guards coming down a staircase]
GAN: Go on, I'll hold
them! [He fights and defeats several guards]
VILA: Gan, don't just stand there! Come on!
[More running. Alta 2 and a guard stop them]
ALTA 2: Raise your hands. Turn round. [They obey] Kill them.
[Blake and Slave attack
Alta 2 and guard from behind]
SLAVE: [Applying prod to Alta 2's neck] Destruction level!
[Alta 2 dies, Blake prods fallen guard]
BLAKE: Come on!
[More running. They
reach the walkway door]
SLAVE: Through that door.
BLAKE: Right.
[Blake and Slave open and hold the door so the others can escape]
AVON: [To Blake as guard appears and fires] Look out!
BLAKE: Right. Get the ship moving and fast!
AVON: Jenna! [The others run through doorway]
BLAKE: [To Slave] Right. Come on!
SLAVE: I'll stay here.
JENNA: [Re-appearing at door] Blake, come on! [She pulls Blake through.
Slave starts to close door but two guards arrive and shoot him]
[Avon and Vila run
onto flight deck]
AVON: Zen! Prepare immediate launch!
ZEN: Confirmed.
[Guards entering the walkway]
BLAKE: [Enters flight
deck] Zen, hundred-eighty turn, full lateral thrust.
ZEN: Confirmed.
[Heavy smoke -- guards flushed from walkway by fumes]
[Jenna pulling flight controls]
[Dead guard in walkway entrance]
[Control room. Alta
1 teleports two grenade-wielding guards. Scene cuts between control room
and Liberator's teleport section]
GAN: [Enters teleport section] Cally, quick!
[Cally runs behind console and teleports guards back to Spaceworld as
they prime their grenades. Arriving back in the control room, they throw
the grenades away and duck. When the smoke clears, Alta 1 is standing
rigid by the pedestal dome]
ALTA 1: [Mechanical voice] Destruct...destruct...destruct...destruct...
[Flight deck]
ZEN: Walkway severed. Main hatch closed.
BLAKE: Give me rear vision.
[Shot of the runway lights receding rapidly]
[Gan and Cally enter flight deck]
[Shots of runway intercut with shots of crews' faces]
[Liberator leaving Spaceworld]
[Flight deck]
JENNA: We're out!
VILA: We've made it!
BLAKE: [Hugs Jenna] Well done, Jenna!
ZEN: Information. Sensors register secondary launch, a space vehicle in
pursuit. Speed, Standard by Fourteen.
BLAKE: Vila, ready the weaponry system. We'll make a fight of it.
JENNA: It's too late, Blake, we're lost.
BLAKE: Do it, Vila!
GAN: Blake, there's no point.
JENNA: Orac's prediction is coming true.
AVON: She's right, we are in the precise location where Orac predicted
our destruction.
BLAKE: It hasn't happened yet!
ZEN: Pursuit ship moving into missile attack.
BLAKE: Cally, put her on the screen.
CALLY: There she is.
[Another ship that looks like Liberator appears on main screen]
AVON: The same ship. The same as Liberator.
BLAKE: That's it. It's a sister ship. That's what Orac showed us. It wasn't
the Liberator.
AVON: Sister ship or not, she's coming at us.
BLAKE: Well, activate the force wall.
ZEN: Sensors register missile emission.
VILA: Blake, there is no point in going on -- we're finished. At this
range we haven't a chance. She can't miss us. [The other ship explodes
as the crew watch on the main screen]
BLAKE: Vila, did you fire?
VILA: No.
BLAKE: Well, what happened?
ORAC: I took the precaution of scrambling their launch system. It pre-detonated
their missiles. Had I not done so, my prediction would have been inaccurate.
BLAKE: [Laughs, walks over to Orac] Orac, you are a genius. Next time
let us know what you're planning.
ORAC: I am closing down. I have much to do. You have engaged my circuits
on your petty affairs for far too long.
BLAKE: Thank you, Orac. [Disconnects] Zen, take over.
ZEN: State course and speed.
BLAKE: Speed Standard by Three, Earth Sector. We have unfinished business
with the Federation.
VILA: Oh, no, not again.
AVON: [Coming up behind him] Why Earth Sector?
BLAKE: Would you rather stay here?
AVON: You make them sound like the only alternatives.
BLAKE: They are, for us --- go back to your position. [They look at each
other for a moment, then Avon goes back to his position]
--- END ---
