"The Way Back"
by Terry Nation
Directed by Michael Briant

(c) 1977 by the British Broadcasting Corporation. Series created by Terry Nation. This is a complete dialogue transcript for research purposes and is not for sale under any circumstances. Format (c) 1994 by Susan Clerc, Micky DuPree, Carol Reed and Susan Beth Schnitger.

Dramatis Personae

Roj Blake -- Gareth Thomas
Jenna Stannis -- Sally Knyvette
Vila Restal -- Michael Keating
Bran Foster -- Robert Beatty
Ven Glynd -- Robert James
Dev Tarrant -- Jeremy Wilkin
Tel Varon -- Michael Halsey
Maja -- Pippa Steel
Ravella -- Gillian Bailey
Dal Richie -- Alan Butler
Arbiter -- Margaret John
Doctor Havant -- Peter Williams
Alta Morag -- Susan Field
Clerk of Court -- Rodney Figaro
Computer Operator -- Nigel Lambert
Guard -- Garry McDermott

Uncredited:

Public address
Public address (male)
Assorted rebels
Trooper
Female prisoner

Walk-ons:

Les Shannon Derek Southern
John Hensen Sandy Sinclair
Barry Summerford Mort Jackson
Beryl Nisbett


NOTE: ______ = unintelligible

[A security camera monitors a sterile white hallway. Thoroughout this scene other people pass through the area in a lackadaisical, "out of it" manner while the P.A. broadcasts soothing music and announcements. Blake stops and looks around before moving on]

P.A.: Attention. Level thirty-eight walkways will be closed for one hour. Level thirty-eight cardholders must report to
Central immediately.
RAVELLA: [Waiting behind a pillar labeled L/37] Roj.
BLAKE: Ah, Ravella.
RAVELLA: [She pulls him behind the pillar] Did you have any trouble?
BLAKE: No.
RAVELLA: You followed the route I gave you?
BLAKE: Yes. Can we get on with it please.
RAVELLA: Come on. [They begin walking]
P.A.: [In the background, mostly unintelligible] ____ engineering of the new ___ of the new discovery ____-
RAVELLA: And eating and drinking -- you've managed to do without?
BLAKE: Well, since you were so insistent I've done without food or drink for thirty-six hours.
RAVELLA: How do you feel?
BLAKE: Hungry and thirsty, of course.
RAVELLA: Nothing else? [She turns to check behind them]
BLAKE: Ravella, is this some kind of practical joke?
RAVELLA: It's no joke.
[Unnoticed by Ravella and Blake, Dev Tarrant, who had been
walking in a "drugged" manner, drops that mannerism and
begins to follow them at a distance]
P.A.: The President will be answering questions about new
population control ____ measures.

[They walk down a metal staircase into sub forty-three]
RAVELLA: All our food and drink is treated with suppressants. Going without for a day and a half, they should be wearing off.
BLAKE: [Laughs] Not that again.
[Richie emerges from the side and kisses Ravella on the cheek]
RAVELLA: Dal Richie, Roj Blake. [They shake hands]
RICHIE: Been looking forward to meeting you. I hear your family settled on the Outer Planets?
BLAKE: Brother and a sister on Ziegler Five.
RICHIE: Do you hear from them much?
BLAKE: I get vistapes a couple of times a year. Look, what is this? I was told you had some news about them.
RICHIE: No, not me. The man we're going to meet. He specially asked us to contact you so he could tell you in person. He
was on Ziegler Five a few months ago. [They have moved closer to a large, closed door]
BLAKE: Where is he now?
RAVELLA: Waiting for us. Outside.
BLAKE: Outside?
RICHIE: Don't worry. It's not all that bad. The air's fresh though it smells different.
BLAKE: You realize going outside is a Category Four crime?
RICHIE: We do know the law.
RAVELLA: Yes, so whatever you see tonight you keep silent about.
RICHIE: Well? Are you coming?
BLAKE: Let's get on with it. [Richie fiddles around with the door panel and a tool box] What are you doing?
RICHIE: Picking the lock.
[Ravella looks back toward the staircase]
BLAKE: What is it?
RAVELLA: It's nothing.
[Tarrant watches from the stairs]
RICHIE: Now, one more thing. If you open the door, it registers on the computer. These are circuit integrators. Now you could steal this entire section of wall and the machine would cheerfully ignore you. Ready?
RAVELLA: [To Blake] Now look: you report anything to the authorities, you'll find yourself implicated more deeply
than you imagine.

[Richie turns a crank on a box and the door opens. Tarrant watches from the stairs as the other three exit, then follows them through the door, up a ladder, and finally outside. The city, a huge, grey dome, looms behind them against the night sky]

[They stop at a stream. Ravella scoops up a handful of water and drinks.]
RAVELLA: [To Blake] Try some.
BLAKE: Hm?
RAVELLA: It's natural water. [Blake tries some] The stuff we get's been recycled a thousand times [Blake spits it out] -- and it's dosed with suppressants.
RICHIE: I'll check ahead. Watch for my signal.
RAVELLA: Okay.
BLAKE: Improves the flavor if nothing else.
[Richie wades off across the stream, carrying his boots.]
RAVELLA: Doesn't it bother you that you spend your life in a state of drug-induced tranquility? [removes her boots]
BLAKE: We've got to traverse that?
RAVELLA: Yeah.
BLAKE: [Removes his boots] Why should the Administration try to drug us?
RAVELLA: To keep control. They've been stepping up the suppressants because the number of dissidents is growing.
BLAKE: Should I take this? [Picks up Richie's box and they begin to cross the stream]
RAVELLA: They've seen what's happening and they want to stop it.
BLAKE: Stop what?
RAVELLA: Don't you know? Don't you remember anything about the treatments they gave you?
BLAKE: I've had no treatments.
RAVELLA: I thought there'd be something left, some trace of memory.
BLAKE: What about my memory?
RAVELLA: There's the signal. [A flashlight beam is seen waving.]

[Tarrant watches from the bushes. Blake and Ravella approach the tunnel entrance and are admitted by Richie]

[Tarrant follows their route]

[The tunnel. Richie takes his box from Blake. There are many people in the corridor, wearing mainly gray toned robes very different from the garb of city dwellers. They all watch as Blake passes by them.]
BLAKE: They're Outsiders!
RICHIE: Quite a few of them are working for our cause now.
BLAKE: But it's illegal to have contact with anyone who lives outside the city.
RICHIE: Right, but then this whole meeting is illegal.
BLAKE: I'm leaving. I want nothing to do with this. You told me I was going to meet a man who could tell some news about my family.
RICHIE: Hold on, Blake. You've got to hear Foster.
BLAKE: I don't want to hear Foster. I should report everything I've seen to the Administration.
RAVELLA: You can't do that.
BLAKE: Why not?
RICHIE: We've left documents in the city with your signature on them. Forged, of course, but convincing enough to implicate you in everything we've been doing.
RAVELLA: Don't have any doubts. One word in the wrong place can make you look as guilty as any of us.
RICHIE: And looking guilty is all it takes.

[Foster approaches the three of them and shakes Blake's hand]

FOSTER: Roj! Good to see you. It's been a long time. [Persists] Bran Foster. Oh! Stupid of me. You don't remember. You had the treatment.
BLAKE: Look, what is this? I've had no treatments, my memory is fine. Now what is going on?
FOSTER: Now, now, now. [He takes Blake aside]I know, I know, it's difficult for you. Then, too, it's difficult for those of us who knew you before. But the important thing is, you're here.
TARRANT: [Enters and speaks to Ravella and Richie in the background] I had trouble getting out of the city, the route was crowded. For a while there I thought we'd been infiltrated.
FOSTER: Dev Tarrant's here. Dev! [Beckons him over] You remember Roj Blake.
TARRANT: Oh, yes. We met before. [They shake hands]
FOSTER: [To Blake] Dev Tarrant. [To Tarrant] Ah, I'm trying to persuade Roj to rejoin us.
TARRANT: Yes. [Takes his leave]
FOSTER: [Still leading Blake aside] Now, I want you to listen to what I have to tell you. After that you can do whatever you like.
BLAKE: All right. Now what do you know about my family?
FOSTER: Well, I'll come to that. There are other things you should know first.
BLAKE: Forget the other things. Just what do you know?
FOSTER: [Tarrant is visible in the background through most of this] They're dead. Your brother and sister are both dead. I'm sorry, I didn't intend you to hear it like that. They were executed four years ago just after your trial.
BLAKE: Executed? No, that's not true. I hear from them regularly. I had a vistape only a month ago.
FOSTER: Those tapes are fakes. Part of the treatment to keep your memory suppressed. Now, this isn't going to be easy for
you, but I'm going to have to tell you things about
yourself of which you have no memory. Will you hear me out?
BLAKE: Go on.
FOSTER: Four years ago, there was a good deal of discontent with the Administration. There were many activist groups. But the only one that really meant anything was led by Roj Blake. You and I worked together. We were outlawed and hunted. But we had supporters and we were making progress. Then someone betrayed us, I still don't know who. You were captured. So were most of our followers. They could have killed you. But that would have given the Cause a martyr. [As Foster continues, we see Blake's memories of being tortured, captured, and beaten] So instead they put you into intensive therapy. They erased areas of your mind, they implanted new ideas. They literally took your mind to pieces and rebuilt it. And when they'd finished, they put you up and you confessed. You said you'd been "misguided." You appealed to everyone to support the Administration, hound up the traitors. Oh, they, they did a good job on you. You were very convincing. And then they took you back and erased even that.
BLAKE: What happened to the others?
FOSTER: In their benevolence, the Federation allowed them to emigrate to the Outer Worlds. Like your family, they were executed on arrival.
BLAKE: Why are you telling me this now?
FOSTER: Because we're preparing to move again. And if it were known that you were with us, we'd get more support. How do you feel? Will you help us again?
BLAKE: I don't know. I'm not even sure that I believe you.
FOSTER: It's all true.
BLAKE: I have to think.
FOSTER: Of course. We'll talk after the meeting.
BLAKE: Hmm. [He walks off to another part of the tunnel]
TARRANT: [Steps up to him] What do you think?
FOSTER: I don't know. There's not much left of the man I knew. We'll see. All right, let's get started, shall we?
TARRANT: [Announcing] All right, everybody, come on. Let's start the meeting now. You come over here and make a group.
[The rebels sit in a group on the floor and applaud as Foster steps in front of them to speak.]
FOSTER: Thank you for turning up. Now we all know the risks that we're running in being here, so I'll be as brief as possible. You've probably heard that the settlers in the Outer Worlds are rightly demanding greater autonomy. If wecan help to unify their voices, the Administration will have to listen.

[Blake wanders through the tunnel and hides when he sees Federation troopers arrive. While this is happening, Foster's voice is heard in the background. It sounds like a repetition of his last two lines]

[Meeting area]
FOSTER: The security forces are already overstretched. If we can step up our campaign of civil disobedience here on Earth, they will have to concentrate their forces here, and that will give the Outer Worlds much more freedom of action. Now we must aim to have at least one world declare its independence within the next two years.
REBELS: Hear hear.

[Back in the tunnel, Blake changes hiding places as more troopers appear. Again, Foster's voice is in the background, apparently repeating his last lines]
TROOPER: [V.O. on comm link] Unit Three, move in.

[Meeting area]
FOSTER: Now, I think most of you know my old friend, Dev Tarrant. Dev will give you details of how we can all help.
TARRANT: We've got to cause as much disruption as possible in the food manufacturing division. There's nothing more effective than ration cuts to cause unrest. I've worked out methods by which this disruption can be implemented. [Troopers enter from several directions]
FOSTER: [To the rebels] Now, do not attempt to resist arrest. No matter what the provocation, we must not resort to violence. [To troopers] We claim our rights as citizens, and demand to be treated as civil prisoners.

[The troopers open fire and the rebels scramble for cover that isn't there. Scene cuts between the massacre and Blake listening helplessly in the tunnel. Blake emerges from hiding some time later and sees the corpses. When he returns to the city, he is captured, triggering again the memories shown during Foster's talk with him]

[Cell. Blake is sitting cross-legged on a metal bunk, with his hands pressed to his temples. There is droning/humming noise in the background throughout]
HAVANT: You're obviously suffering from a severe emotional disturbance. We must try to unravel this fantasy.
BLAKE: It is NOT a fantasy.
HAVANT: Of course it isn't.
BLAKE: [Looks up] Do you believe me?
HAVANT: To you it isn't a fantasy.
BLAKE: [After a pause] Get out! Leave me alone.
HAVANT: Reality is a dangerous concept. Each one of us interprets it in a slightly different way. Every sense impression is filtered by the brain and altered, sometimes just a little, sometimes completely, to fit our individual model of what the world is about. If that model should be challenged ...
BLAKE: [Has started chanting over and over to himself] I am NOT insane. I am NOT insane ...
HAVANT: No. You must put that thought completely out of your mind. You've had a shock.
BLAKE: [Stops chanting] Yes.
HAVANT: We must work together to uncover what that shock was. I'm going to prescribe a mild sedative--
BLAKE: No drugs!
HAVANT: --a mild sedative to help you to sleep. You must rest.
BLAKE: No! No drugs.
HAVANT: All right, no drugs. Now try not to think anymore. Don't worry, we'll get it sorted out.
BLAKE: [alone, huddled down in a corner of the cell] I can't remember. I can't remember!

[Ven Glynd's office. Blake, pacing in his cell and glaring at the security camera hidden in the ceiling light, is shown on a large screen on the far wall throughout the scene]
GLYND: Can he break through the memory blocks, Dr. Havant?
HAVANT: It's unlikely. We don't eradicate memory, of course, merely make it inaccessible. But in the normal healthy mind the barriers are impenetrable. Should he suffer anything like a nervous breakdown, where all the mental circuitry
malfunctions, as it were, then he might just possibly find a route into his past.
GLYND: Mm. That might just possibly prove something of a problem.
HAVANT: Can't he be eliminated?
MORAG: No, he's a symbol of opposition to the Administration.
HAVANT: So?
GLYND: We've done cross-sectional psych readings which show that a high percentage of people, particularly the younger ones, believe that Blake's trial was a showpiece, that his statements were rigged.
MORAG: His death could be used by the dissidents. They need a hero. Alive or dead, Blake could be it.
HAVANT: Difficult. I suppose my department could infect him, some rapidly terminal disease. Would his natural death help?
GLYND: I don't think so.
MORAG: What we need is something to discredit him. If he could be deported to Cygnus Alpha .... Doctor, am I right in
thinking you can create experiences, implant them into a subject, who will then believe that they really happened?
HAVANT: Of course. In fact, creating an illusion of reality is quite simple.
MORAG: Good. Then I think we can totally destroy Blake's credibility and get him sentenced. [to Glynd] But I'd like to do a feasibility check. [Gynd nods] Doctor, would you come with me please.
HAVANT: As you wish.
GLYND: I want to bring charges soon, Morag.
MORAG: Oh, I shall report back. [Morag and Havant exit through the main door and Tarrant enters from a back corner]
GLYND: You heard?
TARRANT: I heard.
GLYND: Satisfied?
TARRANT: Not yet. He can identify me. My whole operation is at risk. I'll be satisfied when the risk is eliminated.

[Cell]
BLAKE: [V.O.] Remember. Remember. Remember. Remember.

[Glynd's office, later. Morag is already seated]
GLYND: Varon. Come in. [Varon does so] Do sit down.
VARON: Thank you.
GLYND: You know Morag, don't you?
VARON: Yes. Morag.
MORAG: Varon.
GLYND: I've got a defense assignment for you. Not a very pleasant one, I'm afraid.
VARON: [Takes a plastic flimsy from him] Eh.
GLYND: Morag is prosecuting.
MORAG: The evidence is indisputable. If I were you, I should concentrate on the mitigation.
VARON: Mm.
GLYND: Varon, I'm aware that I needn't say this to you of all people, but I will say it because I feel so very strongly about this case. I want you to do everything in your power to help the man. Our first concern must be to see that he has justice.

[Prison. Varon gives a guard the plastic flimsy and the guard pushes some buttons]
P.A.: [V.O.] Security clear on cell unit M-three for Justice
Department access. [Varon walks over to a small table facing onto the glass wall of Blake's cell. Blake is lying on his back on the bunk]
VARON: I'm Tel Varon, Justice Department. I've been assigned to defend you.
BLAKE: I don't need a defense. I'm going to plead guilty.
VARON: Come now. Certainly the evidence against you is strong --
BLAKE: I just want to make a statement in open court. I want those responsible for the massacre brought to trial.
VARON: I'm sorry?
BLAKE: There can be no justification for deliberate murder.
VARON: There's nothing in the charges about murder. There are a number of other counts. Assault on a minor, attempting to
corrupt minors, moral deviation ...
BLAKE: Let me see that! [He gets up and reads the sheet Varon presses against the glass] All involving children! None of this is true!
VARON: Of course not. That's why you surprised me when you said you'd plead guilty.
BLAKE: [Splutters] Well, yes, but not to this, not to these charges.
VARON: They are the only ones that have been brought against you. And I must tell you frankly the evidence against you is very damaging.
BLAKE: Well, if there is any evidence, it's been faked!
VARON: I've had the opportunity of talking to the children -- that is, the prosecution witnesses -- and they do seem very
certain of their facts.
BLAKE: Oh, yes, yes. Yes, their briefing would have been perfect. [Sits back on the bunk]
VARON: If I may, I'd like to outline how I think we should conduct your case.
BLAKE: [In the background behind Varon's lines] They set me up beautifully.
VARON: There is a possible approach if we could cite your record: your breakdown after your involvement with those illegal political groups, the remorse that you felt, the guilt you carried has placed you under an enormous strain. And we can submit that these assaults, these aberrations were carried out whilst you were mentally unbalanced.
BLAKE: I will offer no defense, but I will plead not guilty.
VARON: These are grave charges. Without extenuating circumstances, you might face deportation. A mental institution would be better than spending the rest of your life on Cygnus Alpha.
BLAKE: [Firmly] I will offer no defense. Right?
VARON: Won't you reconsider?
BLAKE: Even if you could prove me innocent, the charges have been made. I've got to hand it to them. [To the security camera] You've done a brilliant job!!

[Courtroom. Varon enters and joins Blake in an alcove]
VARON: Good morning.
BLAKE: I've had a chance to think things through. It's vital that I have the opportunity to make that statement to the open court.
VARON: Well that's up to the Arbiter. It's not usual.
BLAKE: There's no way you can prove my innocence, is there?
VARON: [protests] You've given me no chance to try.
BLAKE: IS THERE?
VARON: It is doubtful.
BLAKE: I AM innocent.
VARON: I've spoken to the children. Their statements were all verified by lie detector. And that puts them beyond dispute.
BLAKE: [Motions for him to sit down] The Administration has gone to enormous trouble -- I mean, they've even put themselves at risk. There must be a number of people involved who know the truth. Now why? Why would they take that chance?
VARON: There's no possible reason that I can think of.
BLAKE: Look, I know you've heard the evidence, but, just for the moment, assume that I am innocent.
VARON: All right.
BLAKE: Now at first, I thought they wanted to silence me because I was the witness to the murder of twenty people. The only witness.
VARON: If they're as ruthless as you suggest, then why didn't they simply eliminate you?
BLAKE: Because I was something of a political figure -- or so you told me.
VARON: It's true, you, you had a considerable following, but then you publicly denounced your whole movement and pledged support to the Administration. It's suggested there are still people who secretly believe you were coerced into that
statement.
BLAKE: Exactly. And my death would merely reinforce those beliefs. It, it's exactly the same as if I were arraigned for being at a proscribed political meeting. And so they trump up these charges against me.
VARON: If it were true, do you realize the implications of what you're saying? It would mean there is corruption at a high level of the Administration.
CLERK: Now be silent. By the authority of the Terran Federation, this tribunal is in session. [The arbiter enters, escorted by several troopers]
CLERK: The Arbiter will permit submissions. [Troopers take reddish plastic boxes from Varon and Morag]
ARBITER: Let the accused be brought forward. [This is done] Have you the accused been made aware of the charges that are laid against you? And do you fully understand the nature and gravity of those charges?
BLAKE: Yes.
ARBITER: Who speaks for the Federation?
MORAG: I do.
ARBITER: Who speaks for the accused?
VARON: I do.
ARBITER: Are you both satisfied that the evidence was fairly obtained? And that all statements were certified as true and correct by lie detector?
MORAG: I am.
VARON: I am.
ARBITER: Is the accused satisfied that his defense has been fully and fairly prepared?
BLAKE: The charges against me are totally false. I am not guilty, therefore I offer no defense.
ARBITER: Your guilt or innocence is what we are here to determine. If there are no further submissions, the case will be examined. [The clerk presents each advocate with one of the boxes, from which they remove clear spheres] Let it be seen that the evidence for the prosecution is sealed and approved by the defense. Let it be seen that the evidence for the defense is sealed and approved by the prosecution. [The spheres are placed into the justice machine] Let the matter be assessed and may justice prevail. [The spheres blink alternately but one stops sooner then the other] The accused has been found guilty on all charges. [The charges appear on the large screen behind the arbiter -- see Addenda after transcript for their text.] His crimes have been accorded a Category Nine rating, and as such are adjudged most grave. In sentencing you, the judgment machine has taken into account your past record, your service to the state, and your loyalty to the Federation. None of these have mitigated in your favor. It is the
sentence of this tribunal that you be taken from this place to an area of close confinement. From there you will be transported to the penal colony on the planet Cygnus Alpha, where you will remain for the rest of your natural life. This matter is ended.
BLAKE: I wish to make a statement.
ARBITER: There can be no more said regarding this case. The matter has been assessed and judgment made.
BLAKE: But the evidence is false. These charges are lies.
ARBITER: If you have any complaint against the conduct of this tribunal, it must be directed through your advocate.
BLAKE: You've got to listen to me. [Guard injects him and as he passes out he sees Tarrant. Blake's memories are again
shown under Foster's voice]
FOSTER: [V.O.] They erased areas of your mind, they implanted new ideas. They literally took your mind to pieces and rebuilt it. And when they'd finished, they put you up and you confessed. You said you'd been "misguided." You appealed to everyone to support the Administration, hound up the traitors. Oh, they, they did a good job on you. You were very convincing. And then they took you back and erased even that.

[Transit cell]
PRISONER: [Screams as she is dragged along by guards] Let me go! Let me go! No! No! No! No! Let me go! Let me go! No! No! No! No! Let me go!
[Jenna follows the scene from behind the bars and then walks between the cots and watches Vila steal the unconscious Blake's watch. As Vila reaches for more, Blake comes to and pushes him away. Jenna observes their exchange]
VILA: Easy! Take it easy! I hate personal violence, especially when I'm the person.
BLAKE: Who are you?
VILA: I'm Vila Restal. [They shake hands]
BLAKE: Where are we?
VILA: In a transit cell.
BLAKE: I don't understand.
VILA: You're on your way to the penal colony on Cygnus Alpha. Or you will be when the prison ship's refueled. Try to look on the bright side. It must have something. None of the guests have ever left early. In fact, none of them have ever left at all.
BLAKE: Why are you going there?
VILA: They didn't give me a choice. I steal things. Compulsive, I'm afraid. I've had my head adjusted by some of the best in the business. But it just won't stay adjusted.
BLAKE: A professional thief.
VILA: More a vocation than a profession. Other people's property comes naturally to me.
JENNA: [Sits down next to Blake. To Blake] What's the time?
VILA: [Hands the watch back. To Blake] Just taking care of it while you were unconscious. The place is full of criminals.
BLAKE: [To Jenna] Thanks.
VILA: [Indicating her] Jenna.
BLAKE: [Also to her] Blake.
JENNA: What's your story?
BLAKE: Well, I'm innocent -- of what I was charged with anyway.
VILA: We have something in common, then. We're all victims of a miscarriage of justice.
BLAKE: It's true!
JENNA: Of course it is.
BLAKE: What about the others?
VILA: Oh, a very antisocial bunch. Murderers, liars, cheats [Looks at Jenna] ... smugglers ...
JENNA: [To Vila] -- thieves --
VILA: -- and they're the nice people.
BLAKE: How long before we take off?
JENNA: About twenty-four hours. If you're expecting a last-minute reprieve you'd better forget it. [Her hand is in his hair] Once they get you this far there's no going back. You'd better get used to the idea. Nobody out there gives a damn about you. [She nudges his head]

[Varon's quarters. Varon clears his throat in the doorway and Maja turns in bed]
MAJA: What time is it?
VARON: Late.
MAJA: Come to bed. [He does and they kiss]
VARON: There's something wrong, you know.
MAJA: Blake.
VARON: Mmm. The prosecution evidence was so complete that I accepted it. I assumed Blake was guilty and concentrated on
justification and appeals for mercy.
MAJA: Well, what else could you do? You interviewed all the victims, the witnesses. None of them had any doubts.
VARON: Perhaps they should have. [kisses her again]
MAJA: What do you mean?
VARON: I don't know. Perhaps Blake is guilty. Even so it's ... too perfect.
MAJA: Where are you going?
VARON: The Public Records computer.
MAJA: To look for what?
VARON: I don't know.
MAJA: Give me one minute and I'll come with you.

[Public Records Office. The operator is very involved in listening to music on a sort of walkman with glasses]
VARON: I'm Tel Varon with the Justice Department. I want to run a check on the medical records of those children. [Lays a
piece of paper on his desk]
OPERATOR: It'll have to wait until morning.
VARON: I want them now. [Shows ID]
[The operator grudgingly complies]
OPERATOR: Alpha three-three-seven five. C-six-one-two: Leesal, Renor. [As they are called out, each record appears on a large screen on the wall across from the operator's desk -- see Addenda for transcript of these records.]
OPERATOR: Three-four-one-seven: Deca, Carl. Three-five-one-two: Fen, Payter.
VARON: [To Maja] Nothing. Admissions to clinic, treatment records. It all tallies with the evidence. [To operator] Let me have the school attendance records on those three.
OPERATOR: Alpha three-three-seven-seven: Leesal, Renor. [Each record appears in turn on the screen -- see Addenda for
their text.]
VARON: [To Maja] Well that's interesting. He was absent from school on the afternoon before the assault.
OPERATOR: C-four-one-seven: Deca, Carl.
MAJA: So was he.
OPERATOR: C-five-one-two: Fen, Payter.
VARON: [To Maja] Well that makes it more than a coincidence. Now where were they? [To operator] Give me the admissions to
the Central Clinic on that day.
OPERATOR: Alpha zero-zero-two-eight-eight Alpha. [Screen flashes red]
MAJA: What's the matter?
OPERATOR: The information has been classified. It can be obtained by the priority three clearance.
VARON: But I need that information.
OPERATOR: Not possible.
[Maja hands Varon a brooch]
VARON: Look, the Justice Department can get a clearance [Places the brooch on the desk] but it takes time.
OPERATOR: This didn't happen, of course.
VARON: No, of course it didn't.
[Operator pushes more buttons and records again appear on the screen]
VARON: Look at that: outpatient admission, identity unrecorded. And there's another. And a third.
MAJA: Three unidentified admissions on the date the victims weren't at school.
VARON: It's not absolute proof, but it gives us somewhere to start.
MAJA: But why would they have been to the clinic?
VARON: Mental implantation?
MAJA: What's that?
VARON: A fictional experience and emotion, implanted into the mind so vividly and permanently that it becomes reality.
MAJA: Is that possible?
VARON: The process was perfected years ago, but prohibited by the medical profession. But if it is being used again --
MAJA: Blake could be telling the truth.
VARON: And that could blow the top off the whole Administration. Come on.
MAJA: Where are we going? [They exit]
OPERATOR: [Into comm] Security.

[Transit cell. Varon and Maja talk to Blake through the bars. Jenna watches from the side. Vila sidles up and startles her, earning a dirty look]
VARON: The meeting place -- how did you get to it?
BLAKE: I, I don't know. It was dark.
VARON: Which exit did you use?
BLAKE: Sub forty-three.
VARON: Forty-three -- that would be on the north side. All right, where did you go from there?
BLAKE: Well, we walked for about three miles. There was a stream.
VARON: Is there anything else you can tell us?
BLAKE: Yes, there was a man. I saw him in court just before I passed out.
MAJA: What about him?
BLAKE: Well, I'd seen him before, at the meeting. I, I thought he was one of them. He must have betrayed them. His name was Tarrant.
VARON: Dev Tarrant?
BLAKE: Do you know him?
VARON: He works in the Outer Worlds most of the time. He's in Security.
BLAKE: He's a murderer.
VARON: Then he'll come to trial like everyone else in this coverup.
BLAKE: And what about me?
VARON: Well, first I'm going to talk to my superior and get a holding order on you so that at least you can stay here on Earth while I investigate.
BLAKE: You haven't got much time.
VARON: With luck I'll get you taken back to the city detention area within -- couple of hours.
BLAKE: Thanks.
VARON: Listen, I, I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I'll be in
touch. [He and Maja leave] [Jenna and Vila approach Blake]
VILA: Friends in high places? Can't you put a word in for me?
BLAKE: I'll try and think of one.
JENNA: Leaving us?
BLAKE: I hope so. [Vila chuckles. Blake to Jenna.] Nothing
personal. Why are you here? You didn't tell me.
JENNA: I was trading 'round the Near Worlds. I'm a free trader.
VILA: A smuggler. She's a big name. It's an honor to be locked up with her.
JENNA: I'm glad you're pleased.
P.A.: [V.O. male] Attention security personnel. Launch is advanced to seventeen hundred hours Earth time. That is all.
VILA: That's about eight hours.

[Glynd's office]
VARON: Well, it looks to me as though we've all been used. It wasn't Morag's fault of course, but the prosecution case was based on a very well-organized deception.
GLYND: But why?
VARON: Well, Blake claims he was arrested after he went Outside.
GLYND: Outside?
VARON: Yeah, about three miles beyond sub forty-three.
GLYND: What did he go Outside for?
VARON: An anti-Administration meeting. He says everyone there was murdered by security forces.
GLYND: Leaving him a sole survivor?
VARON: No, and, and a security agent named Tarrant. He says Tarrant organized the massacre.
GLYND: Ah, I can't believe that. Still, it will bear examination.
VARON: Then you'll order an inquiry?
GLYND: Yes. You've raised a reasonable doubt. The whole matter must now be investigated.
VARON: Thank you.
GLYND: Now go home and get some rest.
VARON: Not yet. I, I'd like your authority to go Outside the city.
GLYND: To look for those tunnels? No, I'll have a team make a survey of the area.
VARON: All right. And Blake's holding order?
GLYND: You leave everything to me. Go home and get some sleep. You've done as much as you can. [Varon exits office and joins Maja in the hall outside and the scene now cuts between the office and hallway as Varon and Maja eavesdrop]
MAJA: Is he going to be all right?
VARON: Something ... there's something not ... "to look for those tunnels" ... I didn't say anything about tunnels.
MAJA: What?
GLYND: [Into phone] Link me with Dr. Havant, Central Clinic.
HAVANT: [V.O. over comm] Doctor Havant.
GLYND: Ven Glynd. I think we may have a problem. Might be best if you were unavailable for a few days.
HAVANT: [V.O.] Is it a very serious problem?
GLYND: No, no, no, nothing that can't be handled.
HAVANT: [V.O.] I'll take a few days leave and stay at home.
GLYND: Good. Arrange to take calls only from me. Goodbye. [Breaks link]
MAJA: What does it mean?
VARON: It's obvious. He's involved.
MAJA: Then where do we go from here?
VARON: Higher up. Even to the President if we have to. But if we're going to make accusations against Glynd we'll need the
strongest possible evidence.
P.A.: [V.O.] A limited supply of protein ___ are now available from the ___ section of the food dispensing units.

[Varon and Maja enter a room]
VARON: I'm going to try something. [Opens comm link] Central Clinic, Doctor Havant. [To Maja] Tell them it's Glynd.
HAVANT: [V.O. over comm] Doctor Havant.
MAJA: Doctor Havant, I have Glynd for you.
VARON: Sorry to call you again, but are there any clinical records about the matter? Treatment charts, medical notes?
HAVANT: [V.O.] Yes, of course. They're in my office. You want them?
VARON: Yes, I'd like to have a look at them. Leave them at reception and I'll have them picked up.
HAVANT: [V.O.] I'll get my assistant to bring them down now.
VARON: Thanks. Goodbye.
HAVANT: [V.O.] Goodbye. [Breaks link]
VARON: We've got them. You go to the clinic and pick up the records, then go home and collect the tape camera.
MAJA: Where are you going?
VARON: To talk to a thief and borrow a lockpick. I'll meet you in two hours at sub forty-three.

[Transit cell. Blake and Jenna are standing at the bars]
JENNA: You're running out of time.
BLAKE: They've had long enough to issue a holding order.
JENNA: It's a long process, formalities. Don't worry, they'll get it. I wish someone was working for me. Till now it doesn't seem real. Now it's getting close, I'm getting scared.

[Sub forty-three. Maja descends the staircase and looks around]
VARON: Maja. [She turns] Did you get everything?
MAJA: [Nods and hands it over] And there are the records from the hospital.
VARON: Good. [Examines them] Yes, we can build a case on these.
MAJA: Did you get what you wanted?
VARON: Come and see.
MAJA: I've never been Outside before.
VARON: I have, years ago. I didn't like it much; it's very strange.

[An alarm sounds, apparently back at security. A trooper sits down at a keyboard much like that for the Public Records computer and Varon and Maja appear on his viewscreen. He pushes some buttons]

[Outside the city. Vaja and Varon approach the entrance to the tunnels.]

[Transit cell. A guard is prodding the prisoners to move]
GUARD: All right, listen to me, all of you. Move out of here in single file into the embarkation channel. Come on, let's get started. Move! [Rousts Jenna] You! Come on. Move! Out. Pick up your bag. Go! Come on, faster, move. [To Blake]I said move. Single file! With one behind the other. Keep them in line, guards. You in front, move!

[In the tunnel. Varon and Maja find the corpses]
VARON: Stay here. I'll, uh, I'll search the bodies and get picture tapes. [He pulls out a camera and begins recording]

[Exterior of the London]

[The London. The prisoners shuffle in. Blake takes a seat by the window]
VILA: [In the background as the guard is yelling] ___ it's going to be a very very long eight months I'm telling you ___ Do you know how to work these harnesses? you just stick it in here ___ it's going to be a very very very long eight months
GUARD: All right, come on, move. Keep moving. Come on, faster. Keep your voice down. Find the seat that's allocated to you and sit in it. Fasten the harness. Stand by for liftoff. Keep your voices down. You, fasten your harness. You, down in the front. That's your seat. Come on, move. You, stop talking. Fasten your harness.
BLAKE: How long before liftoff?
GUARD: You in a hurry to get there?
JENNA: Don't worry. There's still time.

[Tunnel. Varon finishes recording and rejoins Maja]
VARON: I've got everything we need.
MAJA: Enough to keep Blake here on Earth?
VARON: More than enough.

[Exterior shot of the London]

[The London. Blake has not buckled his harness and the guard approaches him]
GUARD: You different to everyone else? Fasten your harness.
BLAKE: What?
GUARD: Hn. Maybe we can help you hear better. You can start with a couple of hours confinement. You'll be surprised how
quickly your hearing improves. [to guard near a control panel] Seat eleven, confinement! [the other guard presses a few buttons. Blake's seat spins away from the window and constraints emerge from the sides to encircle him]

[Exterior of the London taking off]

[Outside. Tarrant and two troopers watch as the London blasts off past the dome]
TARRANT: [turns to look down at the ground] I think a transporter accident. Killed instantly. Very tragic. [To troopers] See to it, will you? [One of the troopers nods. The camera shifts to reveal the corpses of Varon and Maja lying on the ground]

[Exterior shot of the London]

[The London. Blake cranes his neck to look out the window at Earth and the moon]
GUARD: Take a long look. That's the last you'll ever see of it.
BLAKE: No, I'm coming back.

** the end **

Addenda:

I. This is the arbiter's wall screen at the end of the trial:
---------------------------------------------------------
3. ML563/MIN
4. ML563/MIN INCITE CORRUPT ACTS
5. ML563/MIN COMMIT CORRUPT ACTS
6. CR236/PER KIDNAPPING
7. CR192/PER ASSAULT
8. CR193/PER INTENT TO INJURE
9. CR193/PER CAUSE ACTUAL INJURY
10. CR333/SEC RESIST ARREST
11. ML100/DEV MORAL DEVIANCE
guilty of all charges
----------------------------------------------------------
[The last line blinks]


II. These are the medical records of the children:

==================================================
02247/1520

A 3375 C612 LEESAL RENOR
BD GRP. BG (AN) TEMP. 94.8 p/80
X42. .1.5. B2 MATERNITY 731814 11
DR. A.J. GLOBBS 812714
X42. .4.3. VAC AD NA 713094
X42. .10.6. CARD. CX 617
X43. .5.3. 1 TNA VMA 902
X45. .1.5. C27 714
X46. .5.3. X TR 107
X49. .3.7. P CR 202
==================================================
02247/1521

A 3375 C417 DEC
BD GRP BG (AN) TEMP 94.8 p/80
X43. .6.2. B6 MATERNITY 731224
DR. PAINTER HAMER 812597
X43. 10.11 VAC AD XX PA 713132
X48. .4.3. BLT TREAT Z 093
X48. .8.8. BLT C P2 618
==================================================
02247/1522

A 3375 C512 FEN PAYTER
BD GRP BG A TEMP 94.8. pulse 82
X43. .2.1. B4 MATERNITY 731002
DR. CAEN VEN 812753
X43. .8.4. VAC AD CA 713913
X44. .5.3. CHEST A 52 512
X46. .7.3. 1 TV (RG2) 912
X47. .6.8. 6 AST 2163
X48. .4.4. LR2 TLO 107
X49. .7.5. MLO (M UNIT) 3257
====================================================


III. These are the school records of the children:
[Note: much of the screen is obscured by Varon and Maja's heads,
so these are incomplete.]

==================================================
02247/1523

A 3377 C612 LEESAL RENOR
SCHOOL ZL 2 LEVEL 716 HT SAYL N.
X48.1 .48 .6.3 ..**
X49
X51 -------------------
X52
==================================================
0 2247/1524

A 3377 C417 DECA CARL
SCHOOL ZL 14 LEVEL 552 MA LONEY
9. .3.6
. .6 ----- 6. 24
1. .3 .8. 12
.2. .6
==================================================
02247/1525

A 3377 C 512 FEN PAYTER
SCHOOL ZL 3 LEVEL 417 HT VARN
9. .3 17
. .8 ----- 8. 25
.3 6. 17
62. .

=================================================

"Space Fall"
by Terry Nation

(c) 1977 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 Jonathan Day and Micky DuPree.

Dramatis Personae

Roj Blake
Jenna Stannis
Kerr Avon
Vila Restal
Olag Gan
Captain Leylan
Raiker
Artix
Selman
Klein
Trent
Garton
Wallace
Teague
Krell
Nova
Dainer

Uncredited

Remaining Guards
Remaining Crew
Remaining Prisoners


[External shot of London. The Earth can be seen, but it is small and distant.]

[Switch to view of prisoners. Focus on Jenna and Blake.]

[Switch to view of Earth and Moon receding in the distance.]

[Switch to Flight Deck]

ARTIX: Attitude stable, trajectory firm.
RAIKER: Systems check.
ARTIX: We have full function on all navigational systems.
RAIKER: Confirmed.
ARTIX: We have full function on all communication systems.
RAIKER: Confirmed. Power status?
ARTIX: Full function, course is set, we have a clear on Mars beacon.
RAIKER: [To Leylan] We have a go confirmation on all systems, sir.
LEYLAN: Thank you Mr. Raiker. Set hyperdrive speed, Time Distort five.
RAIKER: Time Distort five...

[Raiker operates a control and immediately there is heavy vibration of the flight deck and the men are pressed back in their seats.]

[External shot of London. Main drive activates.]

RAIKER: Five and running.

[Raiker checks his wrist chronometer.]

LEYLAN: Lock in full auto.

[Leylan gets up.]

LEYLAN: I thought maintenance was supposed to have fixed that high-dee shift vibration.
RAIKER: That's what they said.
LEYLAN: That's what they always say. They don't bother! Nobody bothers anymore.
LEYLAN: [To Artix] You'd better identify us to Space Security.
ARTIX: Yes, sir. [Into comms system] This is Civil Administration ship London. We are in transit from Earth to Cygnus Alpha, transporting prisoners to the penal colony. We have Federation clearance for direct flight, authority number K-Seven-Zero-One.

[Raiker checks his wrist chronometer again]

ARTIX: [Into comms system] Transmission ends.

[Raiker picks up an electronic clipboard.]

[Artix picks up a hand-held sound system. He puts a single headphone to his left ear.]

[Leylan notices and walks over to Artix]

LEYLAN: Still studying for your Commander's credentials, Artix?
ARTIX: Yes sir. I don't want to spend the rest of my life on old tubs like... I... I mean...

[Leylan smiles]

LEYLAN: I know what you mean.
ARTIX: I'm sorry, sir.

[Leylan walks towards the exit to the Flight Deck]

LEYLAN: I'm going to my quarters. Anything I should know?
ARTIX: Yes, there's a report of some meteorite activity about eighteen hours ahead ship-time. Space Met say it should have cleared our course well before we reach it.
LEYLAN: Well, keep an eye on it anyway.

[He continues towards the exit, then pauses]

LEYLAN: [To Raiker] And Mr. Raiker, give the prisoners the usual pep talk, and assign them their duties.
RAIKER: [Not entirely happy] My pleasure.

[Both Leylan and Raiker walk through the door of the flight deck.]

[Switch to view of corridor outside of the Flight Deck. There are two doors on the left, as the camera sees it.]

[Leylan heads towards the first door he reaches]

LEYLAN: Oh, and, err, use the highest level of suppressants in the prisoners' rations. I like 'em docile.
RAIKER: Yes, sir.
LEYLAN: Err, Mr. Raiker?
RAIKER: Sir?
LEYLAN: There's a female prisoner on our manifest.
RAIKER: I've noticed that sir.
LEYLAN: Yes... well... err, be discreet.
RAIKER: Yes, sir.

[Door to the prisoner's section opens. Raiker steps in]

RAIKER: [To prisoners] I'm Sub-commander Raiker, and I think there are a few things you should know.

[Raiker walks down the rows of seats]

RAIKER: The voyage to Cygnus Alpha will take approximately eight months ship time. During this period, you will obey every order and instruction that is given you. There is a punishment scale for infractions, which starts with long periods of confinement in your launch seat and ends with the Commander's right to order execution.

[Raiker heads back up the rows, to the door on the left of the prisoner's section]

RAIKER: If you have any complaints, I don't want to hear them. Understand this clearly. You have no rights whatsoever. None. Questions? [To guard] Open it up. [To prisoners] This is the limit of your world from now on. It has mess facilities, sleeping bays, recreation area. Sort out amongst yourselves how you use it. There are other rules. But you'll find out what they are when you break them. That's all. Clear your harnesses, you're at liberty to move.

[The prisoners, apart from Blake, stand up and wander out into the other section.]

RAIKER: [To Blake] What have we here? Not a troublemaker, I hope?
BLAKE: I didn't hear an order.
RAIKER: You didn't hear an order, sir. ...SAY IT!
BLAKE: I didn't hear an order...sir.
RAIKER: That's better. What's your name?
BLAKE: Blake.
RAIKER: So you're Blake. Well, made quite a name for yourself a few years back. [He sits down.] Quite the celebrity. Something of a comedown for a leader of men, isn't it? Molesting kids?
BLAKE: The charges were false.
RAIKER: [sarcastically] Oh yes, of course. Well, let me tell you something Blake, as far as I am concerned, you are just another piece of cargo. Remember that and you might just survive the journey. Do you understand?
BLAKE: I understand... sir.
RAIKER: Good. You're learning.

[Raiker stands up and walks over to the guard by the control panel]

RAIKER: [to guard] Let him clear.

[Switch to Prisoners' other room]

VILA: Do you think this is a good time for me to tell them I suffer from flight sickness?
NOVA: I don't think they'll be very sympathetic.

[Raiker enters]

JENNA: I expect they'll find a cure for it, though. A permanent one probably.
VILA: They amputate your head!
RAIKER: [To Jenna, putting his hand on her shoulder] Come with me.
JENNA: [To Vila] Here goes.

[Raiker and Jenna walk to the other end of the room]

RAIKER: What's your name?
JENNA: Jenna Stannis.
RAIKER: Unfortunately, Jenna, there are no special facilities for female prisoners. But if you should find things difficult, I might be able to arrange something more comfortable.
JENNA: That's very considerate of you.
RAIKER: Why make it hard on yourself?
JENNA: Why indeed?

[Whispers something to Raiker]

[Raiker slaps her across the face]

RAIKER: You'll come round! I can be VERY persuasive!

[Avon takes a note from his top pocket]

[Jenna walks back to Vila, Avon & Nova]

JENNA: That one's going to enjoy giving us a hard time.
VILA: And you've improved his mood no end! Why couldn't you be nice to him?!
JENNA: He's not my type.
VILA: You can't afford to be choosy now!
JENNA: Why else would I be talking to you?
VILA: Thanks!
JENNA: Pleasure.

JENNA: [To Avon] What've you got there?
AVON: Nothing.

[Blake enters]

BLAKE: Do you know how those door panels work?
VILA: No, not that type.
AVON: It's simple enough. All authorised personnel have their palm prints filed in the computer. The blue sensor plate reads the print. If it conforms, the computer opens the door.
BLAKE: Neat.
AVON: Most computer-based functions are.
VILA: Blake -- Kerr Avon. When it comes to computers, he's the number two man in all the Federated worlds.
NOVA: Who's number one?
VILA: The guy who caught him. [To Avon] You've got nothing to be ashamed of. D'you know, he came close to stealing five million credits out of the Federation Banking System.
BLAKE: What went wrong?
AVON: I relied on other people. Why all the questions? Or is it merely a thirst for knowledge? [Puts note away]
BLAKE: Not exactly. Having defined the problem, the first step towards a solution is the aquisition of data. You should know that.
AVON: Define the problem then.
BLAKE: How to avoid spending the rest of our lives on Cygnus Alpha.
VILA: That may not be a problem. [Leans over] I've heard a rumour that these prison ships don't actually go all the way to Cygnus. They wait until they're in deep space, and then quietly dump you out of an airlock.
AVON: You're a fool.
JENNA: They are on a fixed price contract. They get paid the same whether we get there or not. And hyperdrive running is expensive.
VILA: So they dump us and save themselves a trip!
BLAKE: [To Avon] Could it be altered?
AVON: What?
BLAKE: The running log. Could the readings be faked?
AVON: Only by a top-line technician. Nobody on this ship could do it.
BLAKE: Except you.
AVON: Naturally.

[Avon walks towards the door]

JENNA: Was it wise to put that idea into his head?
VILA: What idea?
BLAKE: Oh, he's bright. He'd already thought of it.
VILA: What? What?
JENNA: He fixes the log, the crew dump us, pocket the profit, and set him free.
VILA: That's immoral. The cold-hearted murdering -- let's kill him now before he can do it.
BLAKE: [To Jenna] How much do you know about this type of ship?
JENNA: Not a lot. Converted deep space freighter. Early mark hyperdrive which needs re-stressing by the feel of things. Whole lot should have been scrapped ages ago.
BLAKE: Could you pilot it?
JENNA: I expect so. Why?
BLAKE: Well, once we've taken this ship, we'll need a pilot.

[Several exterior shots of spaceship London moving through space]

[Switch to flight deck]

LEYLAN: There shouldn't be anything there at all. It's empty space. Nothing orbits through it, no marked space wrecks, no navigational hazards, nothing.
ARTIX: Well, there's something there now, and our course takes us right through it.
LEYLAN: Hmm.

[There is a build-up of sound. A short time later, the ship seems to be hit by something.]

[Raiker enters, carrying a flask and a cup]

RAIKER: What's happening?
LEYLAN: Full spectrum shock waves. We had one about ten minutes ago but that was only scale two. What was the reading on that one?
ARTIX: Seven.
LEYLAN: Right, put all sections on standby, turbulence alert.
ARTIX: [Into desk-mounted intercom] All sections on standby, all sections on standby. Turbulance alert, turbulance alert.
LEYLAN: [To Raiker, at the same time as Artix is speaking] Put out the deflector shields, there's some debris too.
RAIKER: Deflectors out. Where's the blast coming from?
LEYLAN: Somewhere in that top right hand sector.
RAIKER: That's total void!
LEYLAN: Not now, it isn't! [To Artix] Show him!

[Artix hits a few buttons. A screen above the main flight position lights up, showing two blobs moving in a curve towards each other]

RAIKER: I've never seen anything like that before. Can you increase magnification?

[Artix hits a few more buttons. The screen now shows several blobs.]

ARTIX: We're at the limit now.
RAIKER: What sort of range?
ARTIX: We're about five subsecs on the high-dee grid.
RAIKER: Anything coming in on the communicators?
ARTIX: No, static right across the range.
RAIKER: I suppose it could be some sort of meteorite collision.

[Two blobs collide. The screen is flooded with light]

RAIKER: What the hell was that?!
LEYLAN: I think it's a damn great space battle. Two fleets, maybe more.
ARTIX: We haven't got any heavy combat stuff in this section, have we?
LEYLAN: Well, they're not Federation ships, and that's not our battle. I want a new course. Take us round it, with a three subsec margin from the outer limits of the action.

[Another build-up of sound. Ship rocks from another shock-wave hitting]

LEYLAN: Reading?
ARTIX: Scale nine!
RAIKER: Shift course now, and we'll be taking those blasts broadside! They'll smash the guts out of us!
LEYLAN: Better that than run into the middle of a war. [To Raiker] Manual control, Mister Raiker. [To Artix] Put the ship on full emergency, all crew to operational stations.
ARTIX: [Into desk-mounted intercom] Full emergency, full emergency. All crew to operational stations. All crew to operational stations.

[Blake is crawling though a narrow access channel. The ship lurches from another shock-wave. When he recovers, Blake continues to a small panel. He taps it three times and waits.]

[Switch to prisoners]

VILA: [To Gan] Keep an eye on me as well, will you?
JENNA: [inaudible]
VILA: Hey, Klein, got a little trick to show you.
KLEIN: Have you?
VILA: Now watch very, very closely, right? Right? Now watch carefully, watch carefully... And a one...
KLEIN: Right, yeah.
VILA: And a two...
KLEIN: Yeah.

(something inaudible)

VILA: Watch closely now...

(remainder of trick is inaudible)

BLAKE: [To Jenna] I got past both the metal grilles this time. It'll work if only I can get him to do it.
JENNA: He's through there.

[Switch to the first prisoner section]

[Blake walks through to where Avon is sitting. He sits down in a chair
alongside]

BLAKE: If you had access to the computer, could you open the doors?
AVON: Of course. Why?
BLAKE: Just wondered how good you really were.
AVON: Don't try and manipulate me, Blake.
BLAKE: Now why should I try and do that?
AVON: You need my help.
BLAKE: Only if you can open the doors.
AVON: I could open every door, blind all the scanners, knock out the security overrides, and control the computer. Control the computer and you control the ship.
BLAKE: Then I do need your help. There's a service channel, runs the whole length of the ship. Every other compartment has an inspection hatch. The last one opens onto the computer section.
AVON: Give me one good reason why I should help you.
BLAKE: You're a civilized man, Avon. On Cygnus Alpha that will not be a survival characteristic.
AVON: An intelligent man can adapt.
BLAKE: Or recognize an alternative.
AVON: I already have one.
BLAKE: A private deal with the ship's crew to fake the running log? You've had four months to think about that. And it didn't take you that long to work out that they would have to kill you afterwards to keep you quiet.
AVON: Whereas you are offering me safety.
BLAKE: I'm offering you the chance of freedom.
AVON: Generous, considering mine will be the most important job.
BLAKE: You'll do it then.
AVON: When?
BLAKE: Now.

[Jenna and Vila enter. The noise leading up to an impact becomes audible. Jenna and Vila rapidly get into launch seats]

[Switch to flight deck. The ship is shaken quite badly.]

LEYLAN: Damage report!
ARTIX: [Into intercom] All sections report damage, all sections report damage.
VOICE: Section Two. Err, Port deflector shields buckled, sir.
VOICE: Section Four. The outer hull has been punctured astern.
LEYLAN: Auto-repair circuits.
RAIKER: They're sealing it.
LEYLAN: Mr. Artix?
ARTIX: Vision panels have cut out... but I'm getting blind readings, and an echo from something big... and pretty far off. I can't identify it without a scan.
RAIKER: Could it be a ship from the battle fleet?
ARTIX: It's a long way out from the center of the action, seems to be drifting... Well, it's my guess that it's something being pushed along in the shock waves. It's running parallel to us.
LEYLAN: Keep a check on it. And start working on those vision panels.

[Build-up of sound]

RAIKER: Here we go again.

[Ship rocks under another shock-wave]

[Switch to first prisoner section]

JENNA: A couple more like that and we won't have a ship to take over.
BLAKE: Call in Vila.

[Jenna walks through to the other section.]

JENNA: [To Blake] And Gan and Nova.
BLAKE: Are there any others?
JENNA: The rest are doped to the eyeballs.
VILA: Perhaps we should get on with it do you think maybe?
GAN: Maybe. Don't be so nervous, Vila.
VILA: Nervous? I'm not nervous. Just... poised for action, that's all.
AVON: You've got an army of five, Blake. Five and HIM! Do you still think you can take over the ship?
BLAKE: If you do your bit.

[There is a sound from the other end of the compartment.]

VILA: What's that?

[Jenna walks over to the far wall, where a gel is squeezing through some hairline cracks]

JENNA: Sealing gel. If the outer hull gets punctured this stuff floods into the section and blocks it up. It goes solid in seconds. We must have been holed in that last turbulence.
VILA: Gan, what about waiting...
BLAKE: No! These blast waves are our best chance. The crew have their hands full just running the ship. [To Avon] You ready?
AVON: Yes.
BLAKE: Make it good Vila.
VILA: Gan?...

[Vila and Gan head towards the guard]

BLAKE: We'll be ready in exactly fifteen minutes. Will that give you enough time?

[Avon nods.]

BLAKE: Knock out those scanners and open the doors. We'll do the rest. Good luck.

[Blake walks through to the other section. Avon and Jenna follow. Avon pauses at the door.]

AVON: [To Jenna] Luck has nothing to do with it.

[Switch to prisoner's living area]

VILA: You look as if you could do with a drink.
DAINER: I'm always thirsty, Vila.
VILA: Now I want to show you a little trick here. Right, Gan. You know this one.
DAINER: Now, I'll watch carefully this time.
VILA: Right, now watch carefully, watch the old piece of cloth, right... And a one...

[Jenna signals to Nova, who lets Avon into the service channel]

DAINER: Never works first time.
VILA: And a two... One more chance for you, right? Are you watching carefully now?
DAINER: Yeah, right.
VILA: One... two... three...

[Vila pulls the cloth away to reveal a full glass]

DAINER: Now, that's better.
VILA: Not bad, is it, eh? One for you --
NOVA: [To Blake] How will we know when he's made it?
BLAKE: The lights on the scanner -- when that goes off we're on our way.
VILA: -- one for me.
DAINER: You drink it first.

[Replacement guard enters, and swaps places with Dainer who leaves]

GAN: Stay here.
??????: Ok.

[Avon crawls through the service channel. He reaches the hatch leading into the computer room. He quietly opens the hatch, sees the technician, and closes the hatch again. The technician doesn't see this, and continues to check the computer. Avon waits for a bit, and opens the hatch again.]

VILA: He should have made it by now.
JENNA: You think he's been caught?
BLAKE: [Dismisses] No. No, there would have been an alarm. [Looks at the access hatch] I'd better get in after him.
VILA: You can't do that. If it all starts happening while you're in there, who's going to get this lot moving?
JENNA: Well, he's right.
BLAKE: All right, you go then.
VILA: Me? Uh, I'd be glad to, it's just that I've got this problem with confined spaces. There's a medical name for it.
JENNA: Cowardice?
NOVA: I'll go. Well, let me do it. I haven't done anything yet.
VILA: I'm quite prepared to go, it's just that I don't want to let anyone down because of my, uh, complaint.
NOVA: I want to help.
VILA: What do you think?
BLAKE: All right, let's get him in there.
VILA: Gan, let's try it with this one.

[Avon prepares himself, coils up behind the hatch and bursts through. He manages to stun the technician.]

[Switch to flight deck]

LEYLAN: Here it comes again. Hang on.

[Switch to Nova. Three punctures form in the hull immediately by him. He tries covering them with his hands. Doors slam shut either side of him, and the section is flooded with sealing gel.]

NOVA: Help...

[Switch to flight deck]

LEYLAN: Damage?
DAINER: Three hull punctures, sir. All sealed and solid.
LEYLAN: OK. Carry on. [To Artix] What was the force?
ARTIX: Down to nine again. It's reducing.
LEYLAN: Not before time. Where's that echo?
ARTIX: It's practically on top of us! We're on a collision course!
RAIKER: Get those scans fixed! Come on! Move it!

[Switch to computer section]

AVON: Prison compartments... scanners...

[He touches a metal rod against a component. There is a series of sparks.]

[Switch to prison compartment. The scanner suddenly stops.]

JENNA: Off.
BLAKE: Here we go... [To one of the other prisoners] Ready.
JENNA: Come on Avon... [Notes guard] He's spotted it! Gan!

[Gan leaps up, grabs the Guard by the throat & overpowers him]

BLAKE: [Mutters to himself] Oh, come on Avon. The door. Come on.

[Switch to computer section. Avon is just about to open the doors, when Garton recovers and attacks him. There is a lengthy fight.]

[Switch to prison compartment.]

BLAKE: Bring the guard. [To guard] Open the door. [To others] Put his hand on the door.

[Jenna fails to unclench the guard's hand. Gan goes round to face the guard]

GAN: Look, we only need the hand. If you want to stay attached to it, do as you're told.

[The guard finally opens the door]

[Switch to computer section. Avon finally beats Garton and knocks him out. He returns to the computer and opens all the doors.]

[Switch to flight deck. The door opens, apparently of its own accord.]

ARTIX: All checks complete, the fault must be in the computer.
LEYLAN: [To Raiker] Get down there, Mr. Raiker.

[Artix and Raiker leave]

[Switch to corridor. Blake leads, carrying the gun. He covers each corridor they pass.]

BLAKE: Spread out and find the armory. Jenna?
JENNA: What?
BLAKE: Let's find the computer room.

[Switch to Raiker and Artix]

RAIKER: All the doors are open!
ARTIX: Well, perhaps that last shock-wave did more damage than we thought! It looks like the whole system's been disrupted!
RAIKER: Let's find out.

[Switch to Blake and Jenna. As they go through a junction, Raiker and Artix arrive through one of the other exits.]

JENNA: Blake! Watch out!

[Blake & Jenna duck behind cover. Blake & Raiker trade shots. The door to the computer section opens]

AVON: Blake!
BLAKE: [To Jenna] Now!

[Blake fires once at Raiker, & dives into the computer room with Jenna]

BLAKE: [To Avon] Close the door! Come on! Quickly!

[Avon operates a control on the computer. The door shuts.]

[Switch back to junction. Raiker moves in front of the door & signals Artix past. Artix tries to open the door & fails.]

RAIKER: Get up to the flight deck! Tell the old man what's happening!

[Artix runs back up the corridor. Raiker moves towards an alarm button and presses it.]

[Switch back to computer room]

AVON: Now what?
JENNA: Cripple the chip!
BLAKE: We've got all the bargaining power we need. Use it!
AVON: [To Jenna] Excuse me!

[Avon shorts out a number of circuits.]

[On the flight deck, all the instruments go dead. Leylan gets up, looking worried.]

LEYLAN: [To Artix] What the hell's going on!
ARTIX: The prisoners have escaped, sir, and they've got hold of the computer.
LEYLAN: What! Come on!

[Switch to main group of prisoners.]

VILA: "Find the armory," he says. I don't even like guns.

[Two guards turn the corner. Someone shouts something. Gan grabs them by their gun arms]

GAN: Grab the guns!

[Vila and a prisoner both grab a gun each. Two more guards round the corner]

GAN: Stay right there, or we'll kill them. Drop your guns!

[Vila promptly obeys. Dainer shoots the other armed prisoner, then covers Gan]

DAINER: [To Gan] Move and you're dead!
GAN: Vila!
VILA: I got confused.
DAINER: [To the prisoners there] Hands on your heads. Now move. Single file.

LEYLAN: [To Raiker] They're still in there?
RAIKER: Yes, sir.

[Leylan grabs a communicator from it's bracket by the door]

LEYLAN: [Into communicator] This is Commander Leylan. If you come out immediately and surrender yourselves, you will be treated leniently. If not, my men will blast their way in and you'll suffer the consequences.
BLAKE: Those are your terms?
LEYLAN: Yes.
BLAKE: These are mine. You will hand over all your weapons to my men. Whilst we hold the computer, the ship is helpless. It will remain that way until you agree. You will then fly this ship to the nearest habitable planet where the prisoners will disembark. Any attempt by your men to break into this room and we'll destroy the computer. Totally. That's all.
LEYLAN: Now Blake, Blake, listen to me very carefully. There is something large, travelling very near us, and we've been running blind. We may be on a collision course. You're putting everybody's life at risk!
BLAKE: Better make up your mind quickly then.

[Blake cuts off communications.]

[A prisoner moves towards the computer room. Dainer shoots him in the back.]

LEYLAN: Dainer!

[Dainer goes over to Leylan]

DAINER: Sir?
LEYLAN: He wasn't armed.
DAINER: We were lucky. They couldn't find the armoury. We've got most of them back to their quarters, we're just mopping up now.
LEYLAN: So I see, Dainer...!
DAINER: Some of our men have been injured, sir.
LEYLAN: And the prisoners?
DAINER: We've killed six.
LEYLAN: Six?
DAINER: [Glancing at body] Seven. In the course of quelling a riot and protecting the ship, sir.
LEYLAN: Very well. Carry on.
DAINER: Thank you, sir.

[Raiker walks over to Leylan]

RAIKER: [To Leylan] I can get them out of there, sir.
LEYLAN: How?
RAIKER: I want a free hand to take whatever action I think necessary. Do I have your permission, sir?
LEYLAN: [Less than enthusiastically] All right.
RAIKER: [To Dainer and some other guards] Come on!

[Raiker & guards leave]

JENNA: What do you think they'll do?
BLAKE: Their time's running out.
JENNA: So's ours.
BLAKE: We have less to loose.
AVON: You may have, but I value my life!
JENNA: Assuming they do land us somewhere, what then?
BLAKE: Find a way of getting back to Earth.
JENNA: Back to Earth?
BLAKE: Yes. That's where the heart of the Federation is. I intend to see that heart torn out.
AVON: I thought you were probably insane.
BLAKE: That's possible! They butchered my family, my friends. They murdered my past and gave me tranquilized dreams.
JENNA: At least you're still alive.
BLAKE: No! Not until free men can think and speak. Not until power is back with the honest man.
AVON: Have you ever met an honest man?
JENNA: [Glances at Blake] Perhaps.
AVON: Listen to me. Wealth is the only reality. And the only way to obtain wealth is to take it away from somebody else. Wake up, Blake! You may not be tranquilized any longer, but you're still dreaming.
JENNA: Maybe some dreams are worth having.
AVON: You don't really believe that.
JENNA: No, but I'd like to.
BLAKE: Yes, well, you asked me what I was going to do and I've told you. What you do is up to yourselves.
AVON: Right. A new identity, a job in the Federation Banking System. Three months with their computers, I could lift a hundred million credits and nobody would know where they went. Then let anyone try and touch me.
BLAKE: And the rest?
AVON: Have the same chance as I have.
BLAKE: You don't really believe that.

[The communicator starts bleeping]

RAIKER: Blake? Blake... switch on your vision panel... Scanner thirty- four. There's something I want you to see.

[Blake nods to Avon who adjusts a control.]

RAIKER: [On screen] You have a clear view of our little assembly, Blake?
BLAKE: We see you.
RAIKER: [On screen] Then lock off the scanner and keep watching.

RAIKER: I'm going to kill one of your friends every thirty seconds starting now. I'll stop when you give yourselves up, or I run out of prisoners.
BLAKE: Raiker! Listen to me! Raiker, damn you, those men are unarmed!
RAIKER: The talking's over, Blake.
BLAKE: Let me talk to Leylan!

[Raiker replaces the communicator, and cuts Blake off]

BLAKE: [Furious] Raiker! Raiker! [Defeated, to Avon] Open the door.
AVON: You're throwing away our only chance.
BLAKE: Open the door!

[Avon opens the door.]

LEYLAN: Hands on your heads. Stand where you are.
BLAKE: Raiker's switched off... Tell him we're coming out... And quickly!

[Leylan nods, and Artix runs off.]

[Leylan, Teague and a guard enter. Teague unties Garton.]

[Artix bursts into the prison compartment and whispers to Raiker that the holdouts have surrendered. Raiker starts for the exit, stops, and calmly shoots another prisoner.]

[Leylan sees what's happened on the screen and doesn't seem impressed.]

LEYLAN: Move it.

[Everyone slowly heads for the exit.]

BLAKE: Commander, your first officer is guilty of murder. I demand that this incident is fully reported in your log.
LEYLAN: Now don't tell me how to run my ship, Blake... Everything that happens here is logged and filed with the Flight Authority and they'll take whatever action they deem necessary.

[Raiker enters]

RAIKER: You could have won, Blake. All you needed was guts.
BLAKE: I'll settle for yours!

[He lunges for Raiker, but is pinned by two guards. Raiker punches him in the chest.]

RAIKER: Take them back. Put them in close confinement. Not the girl. She and I have some unfinished business. [To Jenna] or did you think I'd forgotten?
LEYLAN: [Icily] Mister Raiker! Have you gone completely mad? [To the guard] Put her with the others. [To Artix] Mr. Artix, get a technical squad in there. I want that computer fully functional in ten minutes.

[Artix dashes away]

LEYLAN: Mr. Raiker! This time you went too far. There'll be an official inquiry.
RAIKER: Naturally, Sir. And I'm sure you'll confirm that I was acting with your full authority. There were other officers present who heard you give me permission to do what was necessary.
LEYLAN: Everything that was said or done by everybody... including me... will be in my report.

[Raiker doesn't look so confident]

[Switch to prison compartment]

[Jenna, Blake and Avon are firmly secured into seats by restraints]

JENNA: How do you feel?
BLAKE: Sick.
AVON: So you should. What a fiasco. You could take over the ship, you said, if I did my bit. Well, I did my bit, and what happened? Your troops bumble around looking for someone to surrender to, and when they've succeeded, you follow suit.
JENNA: What do you think they'll do to us?
BLAKE: Something unfriendly.
JENNA: For a while, I really thought we'd made it.
BLAKE: [Sighs] It was my fault.
AVON: We know.
BLAKE: I'll try and do better next time.
AVON: We had one chance. You wasted it. There won't be a next time.
JENNA: In which case, you can die content.
AVON: [Almost laughs] Content.
JENNA: Knowing you were right.

[Switch to flight deck. The control panels in the flight deck start to light up]

RAIKER: We have power back sir.
LEYLAN: About time.

[Artix enters]

ARTIX: We have normal functions on all systems. They're phasing them in now.
LEYLAN: Have we got scan yet?
ARTIX: Not yet.
LEYLAN: Get me a blind reading on that echo.
ARTIX: It's very close.
RAIKER: These readings have got to be wrong!
ARTIX: We've got the scan back.
LEYLAN: Right, get me a picture.

[Switch to a view of the Liberator]

[Switch back to the flight deck]

RAIKER: I don't believe it!
LEYLAN: Take us in as close as you can Mr. Raiker.
RAIKER: Yes sir.
ARTIX: Where could it have come from?
LEYLAN: I've never seen a ship like that before in my life. She seems to be drifting, Mr. Raiker. Maintain this distance.
RAIKER: Right, sir.
LEYLAN: Try and make contact, Mr. Artix - sound and vision.
ARTIX: This is Civil Administration ship London out of Earth bound for Cygnus Alpha. Please identify yourself.

[Close up of communicator. There is only static from it.]

RAIKER: I reckon she was involved in that space battle we picked up. She got caught in the big blast and the crew were either killed or got out in the life rockets.

[Closeup of the side of the Liberator]

LEYLAN: It's possible. No visible sign of damage, though.
RAIKER: No sign of life either.
LEYLAN: Hmph. Well if she's been completely abandoned...
RAIKER: We could put on a boarding party. You know how much that ship would be worth in prize money if we could get her to a Federation planet? Millions of credits. Millions!
LEYLAN: Leave a skeleton crew on it. We could do that.
RAIKER: It's got to be worth a try!
LEYLAN: Yes it has.

[Walks over to communicator]

LEYLAN: Ahh, Section four? Stand by to run out a transfer tube. Wallace and Teague?
TEAGUE: [Over communicator] Sir?
LEYLAN: Kit out with your survival units. I'll be with you in a minute. [To Raiker] Right. Take us in as close as you can and keep us there.
RAIKER: Yes sir.

[Leylan and a guard enter section four. Leylan sees Wallace and Teague are ready.]

LEYLAN: Good.
KRELL: Transfer tube ready sir.
LEYLAN: All right. Begin extension.

[The transfer tube slowly extends from the London towards the Liberator. Eventually, it reaches it and clamps itself into place.]

KRELL: Locked on, sir. Air pressure established, sir.

[Inner airlock door slides open]

[Wallace and Teague head towards the airlock. Leylan walks over to them.]

LEYLAN: Now, keep your communicators open at all times. I want a full report of conditions inside that ship. If there is anyone alive over there, I want you to make peaceful contact. Weapons are only to be used as defence. Understood?

[Wallace nods]

TEAGUE: Sir.
LEYLAN: All right, in you go.

[Wallace and Teague enter the airlock. The door shuts behind them]

LEYLAN: All right, open airlock.

[Krell reaches for the control panel.]

[Leylan picks up the communicator.]

TEAGUE: [Into his communicator] Starting along the transfer tube now, sir.

[Switch to transfer tube. Wallace and Teague start to walk along it]

[Switch to section four. Leylan paces around the room]

[Switch back to transfer tube. Wallace and Teague reach the hatch]

[Switch back to section four]

TEAGUE: We're against the hull. It is a hatch entrance. I'm about to activate the remote lock activator....

[Teague is crouched up against the hatch, operating some device]

TEAGUE: No response... circuit one.... No response... circuit two.

[Leylan stands still, looking tense]

TEAGUE: No response... circuit three...

[Teague is still trying to operate the device. The hatch starts to slide open]

TEAGUE: No! Wait! It's opening... There's a powerful light source from somewhere. We're going in now.

[Leylan turns round to Krell]

LEYLAN: Krell? Get kitted up and standby to give backup if it's needed.

[Teague's voice can be heard over the communicator]

TEAGUE: We're in some sort of a cylinder. Type of airlock, I think. It's turning! It's fantastic, sir. I... I don't believe it!
LEYLAN: What is it? What's happening?
TEAGUE: Well, we've come out into what must be some sort of a flight deck I think, but it's like nothing I've ever seen before.
LEYLAN: Well, describe it later. Now... now give me life support readout.
TEAGUE: Pressure normal... minimal radiation... breathable oxygen atmosphere.
LEYLAN: Good, good. Now, is there anybody on board?
TEAGUE: Not that we've seen so far, but... I'm sorry? What was that?
LEYLAN: I didn't speak!
TEAGUE: [Hesitantly] Somebody did... somebody said something a...

[Massive hiss of static from the communicator]

LEYLAN: Teague! Report! Wallace! [To technician] Where the hell is that backup man?!

[Krell enters]

KRELL: Ready sir.
LEYLAN: Right. Get across there as fast as you can.

[Krell enters airlock]

LEYLAN: Right. Open airlock.

[Switch to flight deck]

[Raiker and Artix are checking the flight controls.]

LEYLAN: [Over communicator] Raiker. Let Artix take the ship. Get down here.
RAIKER: Right sir.

[Krell walks down the transfer tube]

[Leylan is standing by the communicator.]

KRELL: I'm in the airlock... and it's turning...

[Raiker enters section four.]

[Krell can be heard over the communicator]

KRELL: I'm inside... The design is strange to me... All the flight control positions are empty!
LEYLAN: All right... all right. Now... now don't move. Now, just look around and tell me what you see.
KRELL: What? I heard something.
LEYLAN: What is it?
KRELL: It's whispering... Ssshh... Yes... Yes I hear you... Davor?! What are you.... What are they doing to you! No! No! No!!!!!

[Another massive burst of static bursts from the communicator]

LEYLAN: Krell! Krell! Answer me! Krell! Now listen to me Krell... if I have no signal from you within three minutes, I'm withdrawing the transfer tube. Three minutes!

[Raiker reaches for Leylan]

RAIKER: Wait! We can't give up that easily. That ship's worth a fortune.
LEYLAN: Looks like I've already lost three men. I'm not risking any more of my crew.
RAIKER: Then use prisoners. They've got nothing to lose. Use Blake and the other two. Let them take the risks... why not?
LEYLAN: We might save the other three.
RAIKER: Right. At least we'll have tried.
LEYLAN: Right. Get them equipped and bring 'em down here...

[Artix studies the controls, and heads for the communicator.]

LEYLAN: [Through communicator] Leylan.
ARTIX: I don't know if it's significant sir, but I'm picking up a specific focused energy field close by... I presume it's the other ship?
LEYLAN: Is it constant?
ARTIX: Well, that's the odd thing... there've been two violent discharges... right off the scale, but after each the source dropped back to constant.
LEYLAN: Thank you, Mr. Artix.

[Blake, Jenna and Avon enter, followed closely by Raiker and a guard.]

LEYLAN: I hope Mr. Raiker's made it clear to you that you can refuse to do this.
BLAKE: Oh yes. He's also made it clear that summary execution's one of our options. We chose the other.
LEYLAN: Well if you're successful, I promise that I'll get your sentences quashed.
AVON: And if we're not?
RAIKER: Then you'll have no more problems anyway.
JENNA: What is it that we have to do?
LEYLAN: Find out what's happened to my men and see if it's safe to send a boarding party across.
BLAKE: All right.
JENNA: I've had worse offers.
LEYLAN: Good.
BLAKE: Do we get weapons?
RAIKER: I'll toss them into the airlock... once you're inside.
BLAKE: Very wise.

[Blake and Jenna walk up to the hatch and stand either side of it.]

BLAKE: [To Leylan] All right, open the hatch.
LEYLAN: Open hatch.

[Krell, foaming at the mouth, staggers out of the airlock. He tries to strangle Raiker. Raiker eventually overpowers him.]

RAIKER: Get him out of here.

[Two guards drag off Krell]

JENNA: What do you suppose did that to him?
AVON: That's what we're supposed to find out. Execution may have some appeal after all.
BLAKE: Let's go.

[They enter the airlock. Raiker throws in three guns.]

LEYLAN: Right. Open it up.
[Blake, Avon and Jenna walk across the transfer tube to the Liberator. At the hatch, they see a body. Blake checks it and looks up. Jenna gestures to carry on.]

[The three of them enter the flight deck. Avon heads for the pilot's console.]

JENNA: Beautiful!

[Avon gestures to the console nearest Jenna]

AVON: Look at that instrumentation.
JENNA: A ship like this could go anywhere!

[They look over the rest of the flight deck. Avon notices another body and takes a look.]

AVON: This one is dead also.

[There is a noise. Everyone looks to see where it is coming from.]

[Jenna sees a strange sphere at the far end of the flight deck.]

JENNA: What is it?
BLAKE: I don't know.

[Closeup Jenna. Hallucination of a blonde woman surrounded by three Federation troopers. The woman is screaming.]

[Closeup Avon. Hallucination of a fair-haired man, early 30s, silently repeating, "Avon."]

[Closeup Blake.]

BLAKE: You're dead. Those tapes are forgeries. You're dead!

[The others move towards the sphere.]

BLAKE: No, no. Get back!

[Blake shoves Jenna to one side. He tries to shove Avon away from the sphere, but Avon pushes him back.]

AVON: I must go to him.

[Blake knocks him over. Jenna starts to reach for the sphere again. Blake whirls round and shoots the sphere. Jenna gives a short scream.]

JENNA: What was it?
BLAKE: I don't know.
JENNA: I saw my mother. It was so real. Then something terrible, a nightmare. But it was my mother.
AVON: I saw my brother. It used him like bait. I had to go closer.
BLAKE: And if you had, it would have killed you. No, that thing took an image out of your minds, a memory, and then projected it back at you as though it were real.
JENNA: But why didn't it affect you?
BLAKE: It did, but somehow I knew it wasn't real. [To Avon] Seems I can recognize dreams.
LEYLAN: Blake. Are you all right?
BLAKE: Yes! We're all right. But we're still checking.
LEYLAN: Stay in contact, Blake.
RAIKER: [To a technician] Get me a survival unit.

[The technician leaves]

LEYLAN: What're you going to do?
RAIKER: They're still alive. I'm going to make sure they don't get any ideas about staying over there.
LEYLAN: Raiker!
RAIKER: Yes sir.

[Blake and Jenna continue checking the flight deck. Avon sits down at one of the consoles.]

AVON: Blake! This would account for what happened to the crew.
BLAKE: What is it?
AVON: Life rocket launch control -- it's been operated.
JENNA: But why?
BLAKE: Maybe that thing drove them out.
AVON: I imagined it was some kind of defence mechanism.
BLAKE: [To Jenna] Could this ship operate under her own power?
JENNA: I don't see why not.
BLAKE: But could you pilot her?
JENNA: Eventually I might just be able to make her start and stop.
BLAKE: You've got two minutes, no more.

[Blake heads towards one of the exits]

BLAKE: Help her Avon.
AVON: What are you going to do?
BLAKE: Check the outer hatch in case someone decides to try and join us.

RAIKER: I want a boarding crew kitted out and ready to follow me over.

[Technician nods.]

[Switch to Blake, trying to push/pull the hatch closed.]

[Switch to Raiker. He sees what Blake is trying to do. He fires. Blake falls over, injured. Raiker takes aim and fires again.]

[Switch to flight deck of Liberator]

JENNA: Shall we risk it?
AVON: Why not?

[Jenna operates a control.]

[Switch to Transfer Tube. The hatch closes, and the tube disconnects. Raiker tries to cling on to the sides.]

[Switch to Liberator. It starts to move away from the London.]

[Switch to Raiker. He starts to slide down the tube, and eventually goes flying into space.]

[Switch to flight deck of Liberator. Blake enters rubbing his shoulder.]

AVON: What happened?
BLAKE: Slight disagreement with Raiker. And then the hatch closed.
JENNA: We're on our way.
BLAKE: What course have you set?
JENNA: Name it. We're free. We've got a ship. We can go anywhere we like.
BLAKE: Follow the London to Cygnus Alpha. Then we can free the rest of the prisoners. [To Avon] With a ship like this and a full crew, then we CAN start fighting back.

[Avon looks less than pleased]

[End credits]

Cygnus Alpha
by Terry Nation

(c)1977 by the British Broadcasting Corporation. Series created by Terry Nation. This is a complete dialogue transcript for research purposes and is not for sale under any circumstances. Format (c)1993 by Micky DuPree and Caroljean Hanson.

Dramatis Personae

Roj Blake
Jenna Stannis
Kerr Avon
Vila Restal
Olag Gan
Vargas
Leylan
Artix
Kara
Laran
Arco
Selman
Zen

Uncredited:
Guard

[Cygnus Alpha. Exterior. Laran is seated by a fire, roasting some meat. He takes it and hacks it in two. He rises as Kara walks by. She studies the sky, then returns to stand beside him.]

LARAN: There. There it is. The Federation ship bringing in prisoners.

KARA: Prisoners? New souls for the faith.

[Exterior. Civil Administration Ship London passes over planet.]

[Interior. Prison ship London, flight deck. Leylan is completing report. Artix enters.]

LEYLAN: How long before we make planet fall, Mr. Artix?
ARTIX: I'll run a check.
LEYLAN: Are the prisoners quiet?
ARTIX: Yes, sir. (checks console) Forty eight minutes thirty seconds. We're dosing the air supply with suppressant vapor and they're under constant scan. Security have put on double guards and I've armed the crew as well, just as you've instructed.
LEYLAN: All a bit late in the day, too.
ARTIX: (operates visual screen so that Cygnus Alpha is visible) It doesn't look very hospitable, sir.
LEYLAN: What?
ARTIX: Cygnus Alpha. It doesn't look very hospitable, sir.
LEYLAN: I want you to send this report. Beam it to the nearest Federation base for relay to Earth.
ARTIX: It's not going to do much for my promotion prospects, sir.
LEYLAN: You can live down your part of it. You're young.

[Artix hesitates]

LEYLAN: Send it, Mr. Artix.
[ARTIX puts the report on the computer]
LEYLAN: (v.o. recording of report) This is Civil Administration Ship London in transit from Earth to Cygnus Alpha, transporting prisoners to the penal colony. We have sustained crew casualties during an attempted mutiny by prisoners. (visual of Raiker) Five dead, including Subcommander Raiker. (visual of Blake, Jenna and Avon) Three prisoners escaped in a spacecraft of unknown origin. Prisoners Blake, Stannis, and Avon. The London is again under authorized control and proceeding to destination. Message ends. Retransmit to Earth on priority circuit. Confirm please.
ARTIX: We have confirmation. Will they go after Blake?
LEYLAN: They have no choice.
ARTIX: They'll never find him out there. (pause) I said, sir they'll never find him out there.
LEYLAN: They won't have too. He'll find them.

[Exterior. Liberator in flight]

[Interior. Liberator flight deck]

BLAKE: Everything ok?
JENNA: I think so.
BLAKE: Whoever they were, they certainly knew something about engineering.
JENNA: I'd feel a lot happier if we knew what had happened to them.
AVON: Blake, what do you make of this. (Indicates a storage compartment)
BLAKE: Some sort of storage space.
AVON: Possibly.

[Outer cover disappears. Areas of the compartment light up. Blake reaches for one of the guns]

AVON: Careful.
BLAKE: (taking one of the guns) Handgun?
AVON: It's a bit elaborate for a toothpick.
BLAKE: Depends how elaborate their teeth were. (touches another of the gun handles) Ow. That one's hot.
AVON: (takes that weapon) No it isn't. (touches another handle) That one is, though. Jenna.
JENNA: What is it?
BLAKE: Seems to be an armory.
AVON: Take that one there.
BLAKE: Be careful though. It may be hot.
AVON: No, I don't think so.
JENNA: (taking the gun) No, it isn't.
AVON: Single function isomorphic response.
JENNA: What?
BLAKE: I think he means it'll only let us have one gun each.
AVON: Well, it certainly gives one a feeling of independence.
BLAKE: What does?
AVON: This. (points gun at Blake)
BLAKE: You're a free man.
AVON: That's right. So I am.
BLAKE: (walking away from Avon) How does she handle, Jenna.
JENNA: A bit scary. It's almost as if she were alive.
AVON: Well, I must say all this technology has an organic feel about it. (drops the gun onto the seat) It's not just advanced. It's ...
BLAKE: Conceptually alien?
AVON: Yes.
JENNA: There are a lot of controls that I haven't dared touch yet.
BLAKE: Well, I doubt whether we'd understand the manuals, so go ahead and try one. Go on.
JENNA: Well, don't blame me if it's self-destruct.
BLAKE: I doubt if I'll ever speak to you again.
JENNA: Ok, here we go.

[Jenna pushes button. Liberator undergoes massive acceleration. Crew are subjected to high speed blackout effect.]

[Exterior. View of space during ship's acceleration]

[Interior. Liberator flight deck. Jenna manages to counter the acceleration. Crew recovers]

BLAKE: That was quite a trip.
JENNA: There was certainly a lot of power in it. Did you get a blackout effect?
BLAKE: Yes.
JENNA: So did I.
AVON: Negative hyperspace.
BLAKE: You mean we crossed the anti-matter interface?
JENNA: That's impossible.
AVON: That's what they said about the light barrier.
JENNA: Well, which one next?
AVON: (points to another control) Try that one. (He grabs the back of a seat)
AVON: (as no obvious change occurs) Something of an anti- climax.
JENNA: Blake, I can't move my hand.

[Blake moves to help her]

AVON: Don't touch her.
JENNA: It's as though my hand was part of something. It's mixed with something else. It's ... it's in my head. Something in my mind. Asking. Answering. (pause) No. (pause) Ah, it's so peaceful, it's beautiful, (pause) to be completely known. It's like (pause) innocence.
ZEN: Welcome, Jenna Stannis.
JENNA: Who is it?

[Avon picks up Federation handgun from seat]

ZEN: Zen. Welcome, Roj Blake.
BLAKE: Where are you? Show yourself.
ZEN: Your species requires a visual reference point.
JENNA: Blake.

[Lights come on in an oval portion of one bulkhead]

ZEN: This is your reference point.
AVON: You're a computer.
ZEN: As you say, Kerr Avon.
BLAKE: Who owns this ship. Where are they?
ZEN: The navigation units will accept your spoken commands. Please state speed and course.
BLAKE: I want a course for the Earth Federation penal planet, Cygnus Alpha.
ZEN: Galactic center coordinates are confirmed.
BLAKE: (to Jenna) Speed?
JENNA: Standard?
BLAKE: Standard speed.
ZEN: Confirmed.
JENNA: (looks at controls) That's done it. It seems we're on course now.
AVON: It didn't answer any of your questions. More than that it deliberately ignored them. A computer can't have a will of it's own.
JENNA: You'd better tell Zen that.
BLAKE: Let's look around the rest of the ship. And find out exactly what it is we've stolen.
JENNA: Salvaged.
AVON: Why don't we just interrogate Zen?
BLAKE: Even if he'd answer...
AVON: I'll make it answer.
BLAKE: I'd still prefer to find out for myself. I'm not sure I entirely trust a computer with a mind of it's own.
JENNA: I don't think it means us any harm.
AVON: It has no feelings about us at all. It's just a machine.
JENNA: If you say so.
BLAKE: Either way, it'll keep. Come on.

[They exit flight deck]

[Exterior. Civil Administration Ship London in flight]

[Cygnus Alpha. Exterior. Kara and Laran watch the London's approach]

KARA: Go to him and tell him new bounty has come from the darkness. I will go to the place of rebirth.

[Laran and Kara exit in different directions]

[Interior. London. Flight deck.]

LEYLAN: Berthing sequence automatic committed.
ARTIX: Seventeen. Sixteen. Fifteen.
LEYLAN: Landing beam alignment confirmed.
ARTIX Fourteen. Thirteen. Twelve.
LEYLAN: Check main retro drive.
ARTIX: Eleven. Ten.
LEYLAN: Entering silo.

[Cygnus Alpha. Exterior. London on final landing approach.]

[Interior. London. Flight Deck]

LEYLAN: We have ground zero contact. All off.
ARTIX: All off, sir.
LEYLAN: Right, disembark the prisoners, Mr. Artix. Maintain full security until they're in the holding bay. I'll program the computer for the return. We lift off in d plus thirty.
ARTIX: Thirty minutes? (pause) Sir, we've been in space now for eight months. I wouldn't mind stretching my legs a little.
LEYLAN: Not on this planet, Mr. Artix. Now get the prisoners off and let's go home.
ARTIX: Yes, sir.

[Artix leaves bridge.]

LEYLAN: (v.o. of recorded report) We have sustained crew casualties during attempted mutiny by prisoners. Five dead, including Subcommander Raiker. Three prisoners escaped in a space craft of unknown origin.

[Interior. Liberator teleport area]

LEYLAN: (v.o. of recorded report) Prisoners Blake, Stannis and Avon.
BLAKE: Avon. (walking around in teleport area) What do you think?
AVON: Before I decided to put my talents to more profitable use...
JENNA: And got arrested.
AVON: I handled the computer analysis for a research project into matter transmission. It was based on a new alloy...
BLAKE: Aquatar.
AVON: That's right.
BLAKE: Yes, I worked on that project too.
AVON: Small world.
BLAKE: Large project.
JENNA: I didn't work on it.
AVON: The molecular structure of Aquatar (picks up teleport bracelet) appeared to contain the key to the reduction and the transmission of matter as pure energy.
JENNA: Instant transportation.
BLAKE: (picks up bracelet) Send solid objects like radio signals. Trouble was it seldom worked.
AVON: And on living matter it never worked. Put a living creature into one end, take a dead creature out of the other, or nothing at all.
JENNA: So you think that is what all this is for? Matter transmission?
BLAKE: These bracelets contain Aquatar or something very like it.
JENNA: (as ship sounds change) What's that?
BLAKE: (to Jenna) Check it, would you?
JENNA: Yes. (exits)
AVON: The question is, have they solved the problem of living matter.
BLAKE: And if they have, could we teleport down to the surface of the planet without ever having to land the ship.
AVON: Too many ifs for my taste.
BLAKE: (indicates bracelet) Presumably these are part of the recall system. This looks like a communicator. (into the bracelet) Hello. Testing. One. Two. Three. (to Avon) Seems to work all right.
AVON: Tuned to transmit directly to the ship. Let's ask the computer how the system works.

[Jenna enters]

JENNA: Blake. I think you'd better come.
BLAKE: What's happened?
JENNA: We've stopped. Everything's gone dead.

[All exit teleport area]

[Exterior. Liberator appears stationary]

[Interior. Liberator flight deck. Crew enter]

BLAKE: Zen.
ZEN: Please state speed and course.
BLAKE: Cygnus Alpha, standard speed.
ZEN: Completed. The Liberator is in stationary orbit, one thousand spacials above the planet surface.
BLAKE: I see.
AVON: "The Liberator"?
JENNA: He got that from me. It was something I was thinking.
ZEN: Your thought was accepted.
AVON: Show us the planet.
ZEN: You require the remote visualization unit?
AVON: Yes.
ZEN: Please look at the screen.
JENNA: (Cygnus Alpha appears on main viewscreen) So that's where we would have spent the rest of our lives.
AVON: What now?
BLAKE: We've got to go down there and rescue the others.
AVON: You're not going to try and land this thing?
BLAKE: What's the alternative?
AVON: Leave. I'm free, and I intend to stay that way.
BLAKE: And I need a crew. (pause) Zen, how does the teleport system work?
AVON: Would its function be injurious to our species? Have you the necessary data?
ZEN: Wisdom must be gathered, it cannot be given.
AVON: Don't philosophize with me you electronic moron. Answer the question.
ZEN: ZEN!
AVON: ZEN!
JENNA: I don't think he likes you, somehow.
AVON: I think I may have to reprogram this machine.
JENNA: That still won't make you likable.
BLAKE: Avon's right we can't land the ship. (pause) I'm going to have to risk the teleport system. (pause) Come on.

[Cygnus Alpha. Interior. Corridor leading to holding cell.]

ARTIX: Come on, move it. Hurry. Move it. (Prisoners file in) Guard, make a double check that the rest of the prisoners are secure.
GUARD: Yes sir.
ARTIX: Move it.

[Cygnus Alpha. Interior. Holding cell. Door shuts behind prisoners]

ARCO: What happens now, then?
VILA: This is nice, isn't it. What a miserable hole. If we all complained do you think they'd give us a refund.
ARCO: Shut up.
VILA: Can't you see the funny side of it? Hey, have you heard this one. There was a young lady from Cygnus, who thought that...
ARCO: (grabs Vila) Are you going to shut your mouth or have I got to do it for you.
GAN: (separates Arco and Vila) Only if you're lying down, cause if you touch him again, I'm going to break your arms and legs off.
SELMAN: Why do you suppose they put us down here.
VILA: Just a holding area. They'll release us soon. Don't worry about this place. It's what's on the other side of that that bothers me.
SELMAN: What do you think it will be like, Arco?
ARCO: How should I know. It won't be good will it? They don't put penal colonies on easy living planets.
SELMAN: What about guards, authorities.
VILA: Why should they bother. It's a long walk back.
SELMAN: Well, why are they keeping us here.
GAN: Relax.
VILA: This is probably the nicest place on the planet. (Sound of the London's engines) Listen.
SELMAN: They're getting ready to lift off.

[Wall on one side of holding cell slides back. There are bars beyond it.]

ARCO: Can you see anything?
GAN: Some sort of passage.
VILA: Cold as a corpse's armpit.
ARCO: What's that smell?
SELMAN: It's like something rotting.
VILA: Dinner probably.

[Sound level from London increases.]

VILA: (covering his ears) Oh.

[All prisoners cover their ears]

[Cygnus Alpha. Exterior. London takes off.]

[Cygnus Alpha. Interior. Holding cell. The prisoners are covering their ears as the sound gets louder.]

[Interior. London. Flight deck.]

LEYLAN: Release prisoners.

[Artix presses button.]

[Cygnus Alpha. Interior. Holding cell. The barred gate slides back, giving access to the passageway.]

ARCO: What now?

GAN: What else is there? I mean we don't have much choice do we? Right.

[They all go down passage and look out onto the planet.

VILA: (pointing) There's someone there. Look.
ARCO: Where?
VILA: There.

[Across the way Kara beckons them]

VILA: Someone beckoning. Do you see it, Gan. (pause) It's gone.
ARCO: I didn't see anybody.
VILA: You must have done.
ARCO: I tell you I didn't. You're so scared your brain's curdling.
VILA: (to Gan) Did you see it?
GAN: I saw (pause) something.
VILA: There you are.
GAN: We're going to have to see what's out there sooner or later.
VILA: Let's all go. (pause) Uh no, on the other hand, let's all stay.
GAN: I'll take a look. (walks across the planet surface and disappears from view.)
ARCO: Gan. You all right.
VILA: Gan. (Echo) Gan.
ARCO: He might be in trouble. Come on.
VILA: Shouldn't we wait a bit longer? I mean, he might be all right. And if he isn't, what chance do the rest of us stand?
ARCO: Come on.
VILA: Look, uh... (others all go past him in the direction Gan took across the planet surface) Look wouldn't it be better if we all stay together? (Echo) Together. (Others disappear from view) Arco. (Echo) Arco. Great oaf. Why couldn't he stay here? (Vila looks around. Yells) Arco. (Vila runs to follow them) (Echo) Arco. Arco. Arco. (Echo) Arco.
[Vila catches the group. They walk around and find Gan kneeling in front of some sort of cross with a corpse suspended on it.]
ARCO: Gan. Gan. What is it?

[Gan stands up]

ARCO: What is it?

[Gan turns over sign. On it is written, "So perish unbelievers"]

ARCO: So perish unbelievers?

[Gan pulls back the hood from the corpse's face. He steps back with a gasp.]

[Interior. Liberator teleport area. Blake puts on bracelet. Avon and Jenna are seated at console.]

BLAKE: You got it worked out yet?
AVON: Educated guesses. I can't be certain.
BLAKE: Now is the time to see how educated your guesses are.
AVON: I still think this is a stupid risk.
BLAKE: Which I'm taking. (pause) So let's get on with it. (moves into the teleport) Give me four minutes. After that, start making educated guesses as to how to get me back again.
JENNA: Good luck.
BLAKE: All right, Avon. Let's get started.

[Avon presses several buttons> Blake teleports.]

[Cygnus Alpha. Exterior. Blake materializes on the planet's surface.]

BLAKE: (into communicator) Jenna, it appears to have worked.

[Interior. Liberator teleport area.]

BLAKE: (v.o.) Start counting.
JENNA: Four minutes.

[Cygnus Alpha. Exterior. Blake begins exploring. He ducks out of sight as a group of robed figures pass. He rises and moves away. They see him.]

LARAN: A deserter. Kill him.

[The priests pursue Blake, trying to surround him. He climbs a hill.]

[Interior. Liberator teleport area. Avon and Jenna are seated at the teleport console. Avon marks a control.]

JENNA: Wish we could be sure that's the right one to bring him back.
AVON: We can't be sure, can we.

[Cygnus Alpha. Exterior. Blake has reached the top of the hill. He is holding an exposed root. Laran is already at the top and cuts through Blake's handhold. Blake rolls down the hill.]

[Interior. Liberator teleport area]

JENNA: Thirty seconds.

[Cygnus Alpha. Exterior. Blake is confronted by robed figures at the bottom of the hill. They look up at Laran, who nods. They draw their swords.]

[Interior. Liberator teleport area]

JENNA: Time's up.

[Avon presses button. Teleport does not operate.]

JENNA: Keep it pressed down.
AVON: I AM keeping it pressed down.
JENNA: Well, it can't be the right one.
AVON: Then which one?
JENNA: I don't know. Try that one. Here. (She reaches over and presses a different button)

[Cygnus Alpha. Exterior. Blake dematerializes.]

[Interior. Liberator teleport area]

JENNA: We got you back.
AVON: It works.
JENNA: (runs over and hugs Blake) I was so worried.
BLAKE: I had a few sweaty moments myself.
JENNA: What was it like?
BLAKE: Well, nothing at all really. It's a bit like your property when Vila's around. (pause) Suddenly it's somewhere else. (Laughs)
AVON: This would be worth a fortune to the Federation.
JENNA: It actually got you down there, onto the surface of Cygnus?
BLAKE: What do you think this is? (brushes dust from his arm) Moon dust.
AVON: Did you see anything while you were down there.
BLAKE: Not much. And now we know how the system works, I'll go back down and find our people. Bring back anybody who wants to come. From the little I did see, they won't take too much persuading. [Cygnus Alpha. Exterior. Prisoners are walking when they see a dark shape in the near distance.]
GAN: Wait. There's a building.
VILA: Cozy.
GAN: What do you think it is?
VILA: The architectural style is early maniac.
ARCO: We need food and shelter.
VILA: But do we need them that badly? (Arco passes him going toward the building)
ARCO: Listen we....(stops and points)

[Kara and several robed figures approach]

GAN: Who are you?
KARA: I am the servant of your God. Kneel.

[Gan kneels. The others follow his lead. Kara walks over to Gan and kisses him. She takes his hand, indicating he should rise]

KARA: Welcome, brothers. Come. Follow us. God has prepared a place for you.

[They follow her toward the building. Vila and Arco pause.]

ARCO: Well?
VILA: I like God's taste in servants.
ARCO: Shut up.

[They follow the others]

[Interior. Liberator teleport area]

AVON: I think we've got it worked out now. Transmit and receive are quite straightforward. All the other controls are directional. A little more practice, we should be able to put you down with precision.
JENNA: Got everything?
BLAKE: I'm all set.
AVON: How long do you want this time?
BLAKE: Four hours should be enough. (into communicator) Testing. (to Avon) Any change and I'll contact you on this.
JENNA: If something happens to you... if we don't hear or we can't get you back?
BLAKE: You must decide for yourselves. But I wouldn't want you to leave too soon.
AVON: Oh, come on, Blake. Do you really think we'd leave you down there?
JENNA: No, we wouldn't.
BLAKE: No, I don't think you would. (walks into teleport) Right. Shall we get started.
JENNA: All right. Ready? (pause) Go.

[Avon presses button and teleports Blake.]

[Cygnus Alpha. Exterior. Blake materializes on the planet's surface. He moves toward the building. Blake approaches the main door. A sign with a crude carving of a hand reads "Only from this hand comes life." He enters what appears to be the main room of a church. The sound of chanting can be faintly heard. He explores. There is a rough sculpture of a head above an altar. He conceals himself when he hears someone approach. Kara enters and kneels before the altar. Vargas enters from another door.]

VARGAS: His blessings are upon you. Speak and he will hear you.
KARA: I am thy true servant. (kisses Vargas' feet)
VARGAS: The souls from the outer darkness are amongst us?
KARA: They are in the place of the novices.
VARGAS: A true bounty. Have they been touched by the death?
KARA: The curse of Cygnus is upon them all.
VARGAS: Then let them know his mercy. You will teach them the first law. Only from his hand comes life.
KARA: Only from his hand comes life.
VARGAS: And from his wrath comes death.
KARA: And from his wrath comes death.
VARGAS: We obey him and give thanks for his mercy.
KARA: We obey him and give thanks for his mercy.
VARGAS: He is the giver of salvation.

[Vargas opens a compartment and places some white tablets on a plate Kara holds.]

KARA: Salvation.
VARGAS: His power drives out the ravening beast that is death.
KARA: Death.
VARGAS: It is he who must be obeyed.
KARA: We thank you.

[Kara exits in one direction, Vargas in the opposite. Blake makes sure they have gone, then attempts to open the cabinet.]

[Interior. Liberator teleport area. Jenna is seated at console. Avon enters]

JENNA: Is there a maximum range on this?

AVON: Of course. I don't know what it is though.
JENNA: What would happen if you teleported somebody beyond the maximum range?
AVON: I would imagine that they would appear momentarily in space, and then that their atoms would be scattered to the solar winds. Why don't you go and do a little exploring. I'll keep an eye on things here.
JENNA: You wouldn't be trying to get rid of me would you.
AVON: I have to get rid of Blake first. You're next on my list.
JENNA: That would have been very disarming, if I didn't know that you meant it.

[Jenna begins to leave. She turns at the bottom of the stairs]

JENNA: Avon.
AVON: Yes.
JENNA: Could you kill someone? Face to face I mean.
AVON: I don't know. Could you?
JENNA: There's one sure way of finding out. (She leaves teleport area)

[Cygnus Alpha. Interior. Blake continues exploring. A noise attracts his attention. He walks up to a door and looks through a sliding section. Laran sits sharpening his knife.]

[Cygnus Alpha. Interior. View from cell holding new arrivals. Kara watches the men, who are obviously ill]

[Interior. Kara moves up the passage and joins Laran]

KARA: The sickness will end soon. When it does, he will come to them.
LARAN: With other souls to do his work, there will be a chance for me ... for the ... for the faithful to rise to the priesthood.
KARA: He will not fail you. You will be rewarded. (climbs stairs and exits.)
KARA: (from top of stairs) Have faith, Laran. (she crosses room and enters another door)

[Cygnus Alpha. Interior. From hiding, Blake watches her leave. He goes to the door and opens it. Laran has resumed sharpening his knife. Blake descends stairs and douses light.]

LARAN:: (grumbles)

[Blake runs down the passageway to the cells holding the new arrivals]

[Cygnus Alpha. Interior. Cell. Vila goes and gets some water. Gan is standing with his back to one wall]

BLAKE: (whispers) Vila. (pause, then louder) Vila. (pause) Gan.(pause) Gan.
GAN: (moves to bars) Blake.
BLAKE: What is it? What's the matter with everybody?
GAN: How did you get here?
BLAKE: Never mind that now. What's wrong?
GAN: Disease. Something in the atmosphere. All new arrivals get it.
BLAKE: Well, can it be cured?
GAN: The priests have given us a drug. They say we'll be over it soon.
BLAKE: Why are they keeping you prisoners?
GAN: We're not prisoners. We're just confined 'til we're well again.
BLAKE: Listen...
GAN: No, the priests, they've been very good to us, Blake. They've given us food and drink. Treated us well.
BLAKE: Listen, I've got a ship. I can take you and the others off this planet.
GAN: We can't leave here.
BLAKE: What are you talking about?
GAN: The sickness. We're all infected.
BLAKE: You said you've had the drug.
GAN: No, you don't understand, Blake. To survive we have to be treated with the drug every day for the rest of our lives. If we leave here, we die.
BLAKE: Everybody?
GAN: Everybody. The priests call it the curse of Cygnus, and no one is immune.
BLAKE: Well then why haven't I got it?
GAN: Ah, you will have. We all came down with it about two hours after we arrived.
BLAKE: But I've been here for nearly that long.
GAN: Then it's already in your system. Blake, you can't go back to your ship.
BLAKE: I'll talk with the leaders. I'll get them to give us a supply of the drug or at least tell us how it's made. In return I can...I can offer some of them a chance to get off here.
GAN: They might agree. It's worth a try.
BLAKE: Well, I'll have to persuade them. Now you rest, now. I'll be back. (Gan moves to the interior of the cell)

[Cygnus Alpha. Interior. Passageway. Blake starts for exit. One of the priests comes up behind him and hits him. He falls to the floor, unconscious]

[Interior. Liberator teleport area. Avon is at the teleport controls. He is examining the circuitry. Jenna enters.]

JENNA: Avon. (comes down the stairs and models her new clothes) What do you think?
AVON: I'm glad to see you haven't been wasting your time on frivolities.
JENNA: (noticing teleport console) What have you done?
AVON: Just looking.
JENNA: If we can't get Blake back...
AVON: Where did you get the clothes.
JENNA: I found a room full of them down there. Why don't you go and have a look?
AVON: Perhaps I will. Just out of curiosity. (Rises) You can take over here, can't you. (gestures to one of the panels) That is the recall button. (starts to leave)
JENNA: Avon.
AVON: Yes?
JENNA: There's another room you should see while you're down there. At the far end. You might find it interesting.

[Avon exits teleport area]

[Cygnus Alpha. Interior. Vargas looks out of window at the Liberator]

[Cygnus Alpha. Interior. Main room of the temple. Blake is manacled to a chair. Vargas is watching him.]

VARGAS: You are recovered?
BLAKE: Just about.
VARGAS: An interesting design. (picks up Blake's gun) A hand weapon of some kind. You will instruct me in its use.
BLAKE: I'm not too certain about it myself.
VARGAS: Your possessions are forfeit. (uncovers the teleport bracelets laying on the table) I found these (picks up a bracelet) fascinating. Some sort of body adornment I thought at first. And then I wondered why a man would carry so many. Perhaps to use in trade, in barter. And then I thought again and that didn't seem to be the answer either.
BLAKE: They have no value in themselves.
VARGAS: Ahhh. (crushes a teleport bracelet) How did you get here?
BLAKE: I was a prisoner on the Federation ship.
VARGAS: (crushes another bracelet) That is untrue. The prisoners were observed from the moment they landed. All are accounted for. So when a new star was in our heavens, then I understood. It is a spacecraft, isn't it? (holds up another bracelet)
BLAKE: Don't destroy any more of those.
VARGAS: Answer me.
BLAKE: It is a spacecraft. I was a prisoner on the Federation ship. With two others I escaped and we took control of a ship.
VARGAS: It seems unlikely, but it has the ring of truth. (puts on teleport bracelet, laughs) I am the supreme power here. (picks up Blake's gun) My word is law. My followers obey without question. (points gun at Blake) They worship me.
BLAKE: Or fear you.
VARGAS: The two are inseparable.
BLAKE: Why you?
VARGAS: I am directly descended by the true and chosen line. Mine is the power by right.
BLAKE: But this planet was uninhabited until the Federation brought the first batch of fifty criminals here. Is that the noble line from which you stem.
VARGAS: My ancestors came here on that first shipment. They had nothing. The Federation gave them no tools, no supplies. So they worked together. They worked hard. And made a community. There were children born here. They were settlers trying to build a new world on a new planet. Later, more Federation prisoners came. There were disagreements. The community began to break up. They fought and killed. All that they had achieved was being destroyed. And it was my great-great-grandfather
who found a way to unit them. (picks up old, rusty revolver from table) He gave them a religion. Brought them together in the love and fear of God. That is the line I stem from. (yells) That is what gives me the right to rule.
BLAKE: Forgive me for my ignorance. I... I was wrong to question your authority. I apologize.
VARGAS: You are wise. Unbelievers perish in his wrath.
BLAKE: I came here only to find my friends. They have a disease. I understand you have a drug which will combat it.
VARGAS: They will require it each day for the rest of their lives.
BLAKE: Well, I ask that they be allowed to choose whether they come with me. I ask that you give me a supply of that drug.
VARGAS: No.
BLAKE: I need those men. I must have a crew.
VARGAS: (yells) NO! This society needs people. New blood, muscle and sinew to work the land. Human souls are the only currency. Our God is bankrupt without them.
BLAKE: Will you trade them then? There must be something on my ship that you need.
VARGAS: Toys like this? (picks up gun) And these. (picks up bracelet) Is that what you offer me.
BLAKE: What do you want?
VARGAS: Power.
BLAKE: That you already have.
VARGAS: Here, yes. But to take the word beyond, to gather followers in new worlds, new disciples bound together and obeying the one true God. That is what I want. That is what you will give me.
BLAKE: How?
VARGAS: Your ship. You will give me your ship.
BLAKE: No.
VARGAS: I command it. You will contact your ship and order it to land.
BLAKE: I can't do that.
VARGAS: You are mistaken. (to priests) He has defied the word. Teach him what happens to unbelievers. (They grab Blake) Teach him.

[In another part of the room is what looks like a torture area. A priest stands holding a chain. Vargas laughs. OOV Blake screams]

[Exterior. Liberator in stationary orbit.]

[Cygnus Alpha. Interior. Vargas' room. Kara looks out window at the sky. Vargas sits reading.]

KARA: Is it a sign?
VARGAS: It tells us that the time is come to take our truth out into the universe. New worlds shall honor the power of the word.

[Laran enters]

LARAN: Lord Vargas.
VARGAS: Yes, Laran.
LARAN: The unbeliever will not submit.
VARGAS: (sighs and dismisses Laran with a nod and a wave of the hand) Kara, go to the place of novices. Speak to those who have newly come to us. Tell them what happens to those who disobey.

[Kara exits. Vargas remains seated]

[Interior. Liberator teleport area. Avon enters carrying a sack.]

JENNA: You found it then?
AVON: (empties the sack on the table and jewels spill out) Do you know how much is in there? Millions. Millions. And this is just a sample. There must be almost as much wealth in that single room as there is in the entire Federation banking system. Look at it.
JENNA: You could buy a lot of freedom with this.
AVON: You could buy anything with this. Anything at all. Think of it Jenna, there isn't anything you couldn't have.
JENNA: But what about Blake?
AVON: What about him?
JENNA: No.
AVON: We could own our own planet.
BLAKE: We're not leaving him there.
AVON: We have to. He's a crusader. He'll look upon all this as just one more weapon to use against the Federation. And he can't win. You know he can't win. What do you want to be rich or dead? (picks up necklace) We might never have this opportunity again.
JENNA: An hour. We'll wait an hour. If he's not back by then we'll leave.
AVON: Why? Why wait?
JENNA: Because that way I can convince myself that we gave him a fair chance. If he's not back by then.... (walks away)
AVON: All right.

[Cygnus Alpha. Interior. Cell. Door is opened and Blake is tossed in. Others stand away from him.]

BLAKE: Give us a hand, will you?

[No one moves. Finally, Gan helps Blake to his feet]

BLAKE: Thank you. What's the matter with you. Selman? Arco? Vila?
ARCO: You've got to give them what they want, Blake.
BLAKE: Oh, really? That madman wants the ship. Give him that and we're finished.
ARCO: We're finished already.
VILA: They're not going to give us the drug unless you do as they order. Without it we die.
SELMAN: Tell him the rest.
VILA: If you delay, one of us will be chosen for sacrifice.
ARCO: We're not going to let that happen, Blake. If they can't convince you then I will. (tries to attack Blake)
BLAKE: (sidesteps the attack) You're pathetic. I should leave you to rot. You want to live like slaves? Live or die at the whim of a madman, then fine. But you're not taking me down with you. I'm getting out. I'm better off without you.
VILA: Even if we got away, we wouldn't have the drug.
BLAKE: I know where it's kept.
ARCO: How long will it last?
BLAKE: That ship up there is the most advanced design I've ever seen. There are medicines on board. There's a laboratory. We can... we can... we can analyze the drug, make it ourselves.
ARCO: That's what YOU say.
BLAKE: Very soon now they're going to come and take one of you away and there is nothing you can do to stop that happening, because there is no way I am going to order that ship to land. The choice is very simple. You can either fight or you can die. (pause, looks around at all of them) Well?GAN: (moves to stand beside Blake) Well, I'm with you.
BLAKE: Anyone else?

[Cygnus Alpha. Interior. Main chapel]

VARGAS: (standing at the altar) Only from his hand comes life. And from his wrath comes death. We obey him and give him thanks for his blessing. (gong sounds) It is time. Bring the chosen one to the place of sacrifice.

[Laran exits. Vargas picks up Blake's weapon. It accidentally discharges.]

[Cygnus Alpha. Interior. Cell.]

BLAKE: They're coming. Ready?
GAN: Yes.
BLAKE: (looks at others crouched on the floor) It's your last chance. (to Gan) All right?
GAN: Right.
BLAKE: Let's get down.

[Blake, Gan, Vila, Arco and Selman crouch down among prisoners.]

[Interior. Liberator teleport area]

AVON: (pacing) Oh, come on. There's no point in waiting any longer.
JENNA: There's still six minutes.
AVON: We've made our decision. Let's just get out of here.
JENNA: Six minutes. We'll wait.

[Cygnus Alpha. Interior. Main chapel. Robed figures are gathered, kneeling before the altar. Chanting can be heard. Robed figures enter escorting Gan, his hands shackled.]

BLAKE: (disguised in robe) The novices made attack on us. We were able to overcome them.
VARGAS: They will be punished. Come, prepare the sacrifice.

[Gan walks forward and lays on table.]

VARGAS: (to image above the altar) Oh, Lord of our people, in offering up this sacrifice we crave your blessing. (holds knife up)
VARGAS: (turns to table and raises knife over Gan) Oh Lord of our people, we dedicate this sacrifice to you.
BLAKE: Now. (he throws off his robe) Get the bracelets.

[Gan takes of binders. The prisoners fight with the priests. Blake puts on a bracelet.]

BLAKE: (into communicator) Get us up, Avon. Quick.

[Interior. Liberator teleport area.]

BLAKE: (v.o.) Make it fast.

[Avon does not move. Jenna reaches for the button. Avon grabs her hand.]

AVON: We lose it all.

[Cygnus Alpha. Interior. Main chapel. The fighting continues. Gan manages to retrieve a bracelet. Vila crawls past the table and gets one.]

BLAKE: Vila, where's Selman?
VILA: He's dead.

[Fighting continues. Arco is wounded. Gan throws man aside. A priest throws a spear.]

KARA: Gan.

[Gan steps back. The spear misses him and hits Kara. The fight continues. Blake is struggling with one of the priests. Vila stabs the priest.]

BLAKE: Don't just stand there Vila. Run.
BLAKE: Gan, come on.

[They run out door. Gan slams it shut and holds it]

BLAKE: Gan, can you hold them?
GAN: As long as the door doesn't break.
VILA: Did you see? They killed Arco.
BLAKE: I don't understand. There's no response from the ship.
VILA: Perhaps these bracelets don't work any more.
BLAKE: And we can't hold out much longer. That's certain.
VILA: And they'll be getting reinforcements.
BLAKE: Look, there's only one way for it. You and Gan run. Out there hide among the rocks. Anywhere. At least in the dark you've got a chance. I'm going back in to get the gun.
VILA: They'll kill you.
BLAKE: Gan, when I give the word, let go of the door.
VILA: Blake, we'll all be killed.
BLAKE: Gan, do as I tell you. Now.

[Gan opens the door. Men come hurtling out.]

GAN: (pulls Vila away) Come on.

[ Cygnus Alpha. Interior. Blake grabs gun. Three robed figures attack him. They struggle. The gun goes off, hitting the image above the altar. The others fall to their knees. Blake jumps over crossed lances blocking the door. He rolls over into the next room]

VARGAS: No.

[Blake's bracelet comes off. Vargas closes door and points gun at Blake. He fires and misses. Blake runs but is blocked by the wall. Vargas points gun at Blake and laughs]

[Interior. Liberator teleport area]

JENNA: We've got no choice.

[Jenna presses button]

[Cygnus Alpha. Interior. Vargas is teleported.]

BLAKE: (grabs bracelet) Get me up.

[Interior. Liberator teleport area.]

BLAKE: (v.o) Make it fast.
JENNA: (presses button) Get the ship moving.

[Avon exits. Blake, Vila and Gan materialize. Vargas materializes in another teleport section.]

JENNA: (turning to teleport) Blake?
VARGAS: (point gun at others) Get over there. All of you. You'll take this ship down to the surface.
JENNA: We're already moving away.
VARGAS: Then get it back.
BLAKE: If you kill us, there is no way you can run this ship. You're getting further and further away from your precious drug.
VARGAS: (Laughs) There is no drug. A simple compound. The disease is a mild poison that clears itself. But for centuries the followers have believed in the disease, believed in the cure just as you have believed.
BLAKE: So you and those before you built your power on fear and ruled them with it.
VARGAS: I ruled. I ruled. A small prison planet with never more than five hundred people. But with this. With this I could rule a thousand planets. For that prize, do you think I would hesitate to kill you? Now take this ship back to Cygnus Alpha.

[He backs up into teleport area]

VARGAS: NOW. I was their priest. I shall return to them a god... A god...

[Blake teleports him into space where he explodes]

[Exterior. Liberator is under way.]

[Interior. Liberator flight deck. Entire crew is present.]

ZEN: Information. Sensors register that Liberator has been scanned by detector beams. A fleet of ships is approaching and has changed course toward this system.

BLAKE: Put them on the screen.

[Viewscreen shows star field. Three moving objects can be seen.]

JENNA: There they are.
BLAKE: Identify.
ZEN: Available data classifies them as Federation pursuit ships.
BLAKE: Set a course to take us away from them. Maximum speed.
ZEN: Course and speed confirmed.
AVON: With our speed we'll probably outrun them. This time. But they'll keep coming. Pushing us, tracking us. They'll never give up.
BLAKE: Nor will we. When we can handle this ship properly, we'll stop running. Then we'll fight.