Blakes 7 - 0801 - Shadow [ home ] [ prev ] [ next ]
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Author: Chris Boucher
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Director: Jonathan Wright Miller [ IMDB ] |
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Excerpt from Blakes 7: The Program Guide by Tony Attwood Blake devises a plan to enlist the help of the Terra Nostra, an underground organization dealing in, amongst other things, the drug Shadow. Blake aims to get the Terra Nostra to support the attempts of the Liberator's crew to undermine the Federation. The Liberator travels to the entertainment satellite, Space City, where three of the crew negotiate with Largo, a leading Terra Nostran. At first Largo maintains that he has no contact with the Terra Nostra, but when the crew try to leave he imprisons them. Hanna, an addict of Shadow, and her companion Bek, attempt to steal supplies of the drug from Largo. They find themselves imprisoned with Gan and Avon. Cally, realizing the situation, threatens to destroy parts of Space City if the imprisoned crew members are not released. With the help of Bek and Hanna, Gan and Avon escape and release Blake and Jenna. All six return to the Liberator. In the meantime, Vila has contravened direct orders from Blake and left the Liberator to visit Space City, having persuaded Orac to operate the teleport for him. In return Vila has acceded to Orac's unlikely request to be hidden within the Liberator so that it can get on with a project of its own. Upon returning to the Liberator, Blake and the crew discover the origin of the drug Shadow and set course. En route, Cally happens upon the whereabouts of Orac and collapses under its influence. When she recovers she teleports to the planet surface, where she once more collapses. The Moon Discs which are the source of Shadow eventually come to Cally's rescue and she recovers consciousness. At the same time, the Liberator loses power dramatically and it is found that the power is I being drained through Orac, now under alien control. Hanna tries to disconnect Orac and is killed in the process. Cally, in alliance with the Moon Discs, fights the aliens. Whilst setting explosive devices around the Moon Discs, Blake and the others meet Federation guards and come to the realization that the Federation runs both the Moon Disc operation and the Terra Nostra. The devices are discharged, effectively wiping out the Moon Discs. Avon sets small charges within Orac, so that should it be tampered with again by an alien telepathic force, the charges will go off at once before any worse damage can be done. Review 06/29/2005 by ledlogic Blakes crew finally disagree with his approach in this episode. Even Gan seems to put up resistance. The Shadow creatures look like props from the Ax-Man surplus store. In this episode, the position of president of the Federation is still separate from the Supreme Commander. Script from hal9000.net.au (c) 1978 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) 1992 by Susan Hill and Micky DuPree.
Dramatis Personae
[Space City. In Largo's quarters. Largo sits crosslegged on a platform. Bek and Hanna, dressed poorly, stand in front of him.] LARGO: [Examining a pouch of gems] You did well. BEK: The owner didn't think so. LARGO: Did you kill him? BEK: Were we supposed to? LARGO: It's tidier. BEK: Well, it's easy to be tidy from where you sit, Largo. LARGO: Don't get clever, dream head. HANNA: That wasn't the deal. LARGO: The deal was whatever I say it was. [Removes clear cover of container, selects one of the small balls of golden liquid] I own you, dreamheads. [Hanna crawls reaches for the ball. Largo keeps it out of reach] Unhuhhhh. What do you say? HANNA: Please, Largo. LARGO: Awwww, come on, you need it more than that. HANNA: Please, Largo. LARGO: Pure shadow. You won't just die without it, you'll die in terrified agony. [Sets ball on platform. Hanna stretches for it] HANNA: Please. LARGO: Gooood. All right. [Shoves her roughly off platfom] LARGO: I want your brother to ask for it. [Picks ball up.Bek extends his hand] One word from me, and your supply is gone -- forever. BEK: You've been paid. LARGO: Prove it. BEK: I thought that honor was a big thing with the Terra Nostra. LARGO: We own you, boy. BEK: Please, Largo. Please.[Bek moves forward slowly] LARGO: That's better. We owned you from your first tiny drop of shadow. BEK: [Picks up Largo's gun] Use shadow? Do I look that stupid? [Largo moves] Oh, try it! HANNA: There are the two he promised... BEK: Hanna. Enough. The gems. [Hanna puts the gems in their bag] LARGO: Nobody steals from the Terra Nostra. BEK: We're innovators. LARGO: You're dead. BEK: Out, Hanna. Casual, don't run. [To Largo] Face down, Largo. Quickly. Quickly! Now close your eyes. [Largo complies.] Now stay like that. [As he leaves he drops a cylindar into a receptical. After the door closes Largo starts to raise his leg. As he does a voice begins] BEK: [V.O.] Go ahead and try it. Killing a Terra Nostra pusher will be the best fun I've had all day. You stupid murdering scumball. [Hallway of Space City. Bek comes panting to Hanna] HANNA: They'll catch us. BEK: Get Peety meet me at launch grid six in twenty minutes. HANNA: Nobody gets away from them. BEK: We will. Look, I can get a ship. HANNA: Launch clearance, what about launch clearance? BEK: The crew on grid six are for sale. HANNA: It's too late for that. BEK: Hanna, she told me to look after you and Peety. That's what I'm trying to do. Grid six, twenty minutes. Right? Right? HANNA: Right. [They exit in different directions. Liberator comes into view through the port] [Flight deck of the Liberator] JENNA: Approach completed. GAN: All vectors are matched and holding CALLY: Power down..now. JENNA: Switching to automatics. ZEN: Confirm. All systems functioning. Status is firm. GAN: [Looking at the screen] Very pretty. JENNA: I know. Piloting wasn't bad either. BLAKE: So. That is Space City. VILA: Also known as the satellite of sin. AVON: By whom? VILA: Me. AVON: It had to be someone of limited imagination. VILA: Pick a pleasure, any pleasure. JENNA: And you'll find it for sale in Space City. BLAKE: If you've got the money. VILA: But we have, we have. GAN: And if you can stomach doing business with the Terra Nostra. BLAKE: We're going to use them, Gan, not do business with them. AVON: A subtle distinction that escapes me for the moment. BLAKE: Now don't tell me you have a moral objection to using their organization to infiltrate Earth? AVON: Of course not. GAN: Well, I have. BLAKE: Think, Gan, think what they've got: men, material, information. Think what we could do with a fraction of the resources they control. GAN: No, YOU think, Blake. Think what it is they control. Everything dirty, degrading, and cruel on just about every colonized world. BLAKE: Earth is all I'm interested in. VILA: The Terra Nostra aren't responsible for everything, Gan. I could go and murder somebody now and it wouldn't be their fault. Mind you, if I picked his pocket afterwards they'd want their cut. AVON: It's largely academic anyway. I don't think we'll get within shouting distance of them. VILA: The Terra Nostra run Space City. CALLY: How can you be sure of that? You say they're a criminal organization who work in secret. BLAKE: They work in secret on Earth and the Federated worlds. GAN: Organizing crime. BLAKE: Space City itself is neutral territory. Not officially owned by the Terra Nostra but it's an open secret. CALLY: A neutral base for an outlawed organization? BLAKE: Well, presumably it has its uses. VILA: Entertainment, for example JENNA: Why don't you take a cold shower or something? VILA: And risk being left behind when we go and meet your friend? JENNA: Largo's no friend of mine. When I met him on Callisto he forgot to mention he was a member of the organization. Just said he wanted me to run a cargo into Earth. He didn't tell me what it was at first. GAN: Drugs? JENNA: Shadow. I turned him down. AVON: Very sensible. Possession carries a mandatory death sentence. JENNA: That wasn't the reason. ZEN: Navigation computers are receiving interrogation signal from Space City traffic approach control. BLAKE: It's about time. Request standoff position. Cally, stand by on the teleport. Jenna, get on the communicator and see if you can contact your friend Largo. Gan, Avon, get ready as well. ZEN: Vector coordinates received and laid in. BLAKE: Execute. VILA: Er, what about me? BLAKE: You're staying here. VILA: What? BLAKE: Where I can find you if I need you. VILA: But that's Space City, one of my all-time great ambitions. BLAKE: You'd probably be disappointed. VILA: I'll take that chance. BLAKE: I would never forgive myself, Vila. [Compartment in Space City. Hanna is sitting next to a pile of silvery cloth, staring into space] BEK: Hanna, twenty minutes I said. That launch crew goes off shift in an hour. Well we may not get another chance. Where is Peety? [Hanna turns her head toward the silvery cloth] BEK: How? How? [Grabs one of the golden balls] That's how! HANNA: He didn't take any more. He didn't need another dose for twelve hours, at least twelve hours. He just ... just died. BEK: Just died. That's what shadow does. It kills you! HANNA: Think I don't know that? BEK: Well then why? Why so stupid, Hanna? Stupid. Stupid Peety. [Lifts cloth and looks at body] Look after you. HANNA: Not your fault. BEK: Largo. [starts to get up] HANNA: Bek? [clutches Bek] BEK: What? HANNA: It won't help Peety. BEK: It'll help me. HANNA: What about me? BEK: [Door behind them opens. Enforcer enters with a gun.] You? It's too late, remember. You're already dead, like Peety. ENFORCER: [Stands in door pointing gun with both hands] Must run in the family. Shed the gun. Largo wants you two, very badly. [Flight deck of the Liberator] VILA: Blake's wrong. CALLY: I know how you feel, Vila VILA: I don't mean about leaving me behind. I've wanted to visit Space City ever since I was old enough to read the graffiti in the Juvenile Detention Wards. But I'm not talking about that, I don't care about that. CALLY: No, of course not. VILA: I don't! CALLY: Am I arguing? VILA: I'm talking about his great plan to enlist the help of the Terra Nostra. CALLY: He plans to buy their help. VILA: All right, buy their help. It still won't work. CALLY: Well, you should have spoken before. VILA: Who listens to me, ever. Does anyone ever listen to me? I'm telling you, it'll be a disaster. CALLY: Relax. VILA: You don't know them. CALLY: Well, I know Blake. VILA: Thinks of himself as a hard man. Hard? He's strictly a fluffy-cheeked amateur compared to those boys. CALLY: I think Blake can look after himself. VILA: He's led a very sheltered life. CALLY: What, Blake has led a sheltered life? VILA: Look, he was an Alpha grade on Earth. A highly privileged group, the Alphas. Wouldn't last five minutes among the Delta service grades where I grew up. And it's the service grades where the Terra Nostra really operate. Without anesthetic, usually. CALLY: No, Vila. VILA: No what? CALLY: No, I am not going to operate the teleport for you. VILA: I don't understand. CALLY: I do. You're about to suggest it would be a sensible idea if you went across and gave the others the benefit of your experience. VILA: I hadn't thought of that. What a very good idea, Cally. CALLY: No. VILA: Cally? CALLY: I'm going to get myself something to drink. Call me if anything happens. [Exits] VILA: Miserable alien. I just want to see what it's like. ZEN: Information. Main visual is available. [displays Space City on screen.] VILA: So? ZEN: You expressed a desire to see what it is like. VILA: Very funny, Zen. Chuckle chuckle. If you were a decent computer you'd be able to operate the teleport system like Orac can. Like Orac can! Key, key, ah key. [Inserts Key] Orac? Orac? Are you in there, Orac? ORAC: Am I in where? What precisely do you imagine I am? Some sort of tame rodent in a cage? VILA: That's precisely what I imagine you are. A rat in a box. ORAC: I see no point in continuing this conversation. VILA: Now, don't start sulking again, or I shall switch you off and throw away the key. ORAC: Soon, that will be no longer a problem. VILA: Ay? ORAC: Well? What do you want? VILA: Orac, I've got a little job for you. [Hall of Space City. Gan has his bracelet raised, pressing the communicator button] AVON: [V.O.] I don't think that at this stage you really need to know specific details of our plans, do you? LARGO: [V.O.] As you say. [In Largo's quarters] AVON: In effect, we want to buy cooperation and expertise from the Earth-based network. LARGO: Oh. Why are you telling me all this? JENNA: We don't know who rules the Terra Nostra. Possibly you don't either. But you do know how to get our proposition to them. [Jenna is keeping her finger on the communication button to keep the channel open] LARGO: A go-between. AVON: Naturally, we would be prepared to pay for your services. LARGO: [Chuckles] Forgive me, Blake, but one of the reasons I made my home in a free city like this is because I adore eccentrics. JENNA: Do we take it that you're not interested? LARGO: Oh, I'm fascinated. But I'm just an independent businessman. AVON: [Takes two gems from a bag, lays them on Largo's platform] Are you sure? LARGO: Look, the Terra Nostra doesn't exist. Believe me, it's a..a..phantom. JENNA: A shadow? LARGO: A myth, a legend. JENNA: It's a legend a lot of people believe in. AVON: And yet you know it doesn't exist? Why are you so certain? LARGO: I've got a contact in Federation Security. If the syndicate existed, then he'd know about it, wouldn't he? JENNA: This contact, he wouldn't be the one who arrested me after I refused your cargo, would he? LARGO: Oh, that was a mistake, Jenna. I was doing a favor for a friend. If I'd known what the cargo was I wouldn't have touched it myself. AVON: You didn't answer the question. LARGO: Why do I feel as if I'm on trial here, um? AVON: Why do I feel as if you should be? [Scoops the gems back up] LARGO: They're beautiful stones. I'm a bit of a collector, in a modest way. I could make you an offer. AVON: They have a sentimental value for me. LARGO: Oh, family heirlooms, eh? AVON: No, I'm just sentimental about money. [Turns back to Blake] We're wasting our time with him. BLAKE: Yes, I think so. [Rises. Snaps his fingers. Avon reluctantly hands over the gems.] BLAKE: Shall we go? [to Largo] I'm sorry we couldn't do business. LARGO: Let me at least offer you some refreshment. JENNA: We didn't come for refreshment, Largo. LARGO: Oh, but I insist. [Enforcer enters, points a gun at the group] ENFORCER: He insists. BLAKE: Maybe we should have listened to Gan.[Cut to Gan. A gun appears next to his head] Looks as though he was right after all. LARGO: Communicators please. And those. Thank you. [Largo collects bracelets and guns. Jenna tries to keep her bracelet with the communication channel open. Largo strikes her on the shoulder,grabs her arm and takes bracelet from her.] LARGO: Amateur! [Gan stumbles in] A pro keeps it simple. [Flight deck of the Liberator] CALLY: Vila? Vila? Zen, where is he? I left him on watch. ZEN: He is no longer on the ship. CALLY: But he must be. ZEN: He teleported into the city with the assistance of the one called Orac. CALLY: I forgot about Orac. ZEN: The one called Orac is not concerned for the safety of the Liberator. CALLY: Well where is Orac then? He's not in the teleport section; I just came from there. ZEN: In return for the remote activation of the teleport system, Vila conveyed the one called Orac to another part of the Liberator. CALLY: Which part, where? ORAC: Be silent. [Deck and Zen go dark for a moment, lights come back, but Zen does not] CALLY: Orac? Zen? Zen! [Cally opens communication channel from the central console] CALLY: Vila, this is Cally. Come in please. Vila! VILA: [V.O., dreamily] What do you want, Cally? CALLY: I want you back here. Get ready to teleport. VILA: Wasting your time, Cally. I'm not wearing a bracelet. I'm not going to be snatched away in the middle of...in the middle of anything. Sightseeing. And you should see some of the sights I'm seeing. No. Perhaps you shouldn't. CALLY: Where is Orac. VILA: [V.O.] Promised not to tell. I never break a promise. CALLY: Oh yes, you do. VILA: [V.O.] Almost never. Orac's all right. He can't run away. CALLY: Oh, you fool, Vila. VILA: Stop worrying, Cally. I'll be back soon. Tell you what, I'll bring you back a present. What would you like, Cally? Name it and it's yours. CALLY: A necklace, Vila, made from your teeth. [Cally looks for Orac in Liberator corridors] ORAC: No. CALLY: Orac? ORAC: I will destroy the life support system if you attempt to find me. CALLY: Why are you doing this? [Largo's lockup in Space City. Gan and Avon are examining the door. Bek and Hanna are on the floor] GAN: I don't think even Vila could open that. I wonder what they'll do? AVON: A pro keeps it simple. I imagine they'll kill us. You can't get much simpler than that. GAN: Sorry, Avon. AVON: That makes all the difference. GAN: I don't know how they spotted me. BEK: 'I don't know how they spotted me.' [Hanna giggles] AVON: [Kneels by Hanna] Something amuses you? BEK: You were using him as a lookout? I mean, he'd really blend into the background, wouldn't he? What did you do, put up a sign? AVON: Is that what you did or is Largo keeping you here as a favor? HANNA: We made a fool of him. AVON: Obviously. HANNA: That's why we haven't been killed yet. He's making an example of us. BEK: Oh, shut up Hanna, Its none of their business. GAN: Isn't it? I mean if they're making an example of you... BEK: It's not for outsiders. You don't know much about the Terra Nostra, do you? AVON: Do you? BEK: Leave her alone. We are an object lesson for their own people. Largo's on his way up in the organization. One sign of weakness and he'll be on his way down again, probably minus his head. GAN: Now there's a happy thought. AVON: It's a pity we won't live to see it. GAN: We're not dead yet. AVON: Largo hasn't got what he wants yet. [Flight deck of the Liberator] BLAKE: [v.o.] Liberator, this is Blake. Come in please. CALLY: Blake, this is Cally. We have a problem. BLAKE: [v.o.] Later, Cally, this is more important. We've made a deal but we need the rest of the money as a demonstration of good faith. They don't entirely trust us yet. Have...Zen collect it and bring in across. CALLY: All the money? [Largo's quarters. Largo holds bracelet for Blake] BLAKE: Yes, Cally, all of it. LARGO: Ah, it's a trick. Kill him. BLAKE: Wait a minute. Why do you think it's a trick? LARGO: You think I'm a fool. Zen can't leave your ship. Your shuttlecraft is here in the city. BLAKE: We carry more than one shuttle. LARGO: How many? BLAKE: Four. LARGO: Four. [Into bracelet] Cally, this is Largo. CALLY: [v. o.] Yes. LARGO: Shall we send your shuttle back or one of ours? CALLY: [v.o.] Neither. It is not necessary. LARGO: Why not? CALLY: We have another shuttle. LARGO: Another shuttle. Quite a ship. How many shuttles do you carry? CALLY: He's testing me. Probably too far away.[Touches forehead. V.O.] Blake, Blake, I shall count. When I reach the right number, call my name. One, two, three, four. BLAKE: Cally, are you still there? CALLY: Sorry, what did you ask? LARGO: I was just wondering how many shuttles you carry. CALLY: Four. Does it matter? LARGO: We'll be expecting your man, Zen. CALLY: Right. LARGO: [aside] And he won't be expecting us. We shan't be needing his other two friends after all. Kill 'em. ENFORCER: What about her? [Points gun at Jenna] LARGO: We'll..keep her till we're sure. [Flight deck of the Liberator] CALLY: Orac, I need Zen. I will ask no questions. Zen, put the battle computers on line. [Zen's lights come on] Put up the force wall, activate the radiation flare shield, and clear the neutron blasters for firing. ZEN: Completed. Neutron blasters are cleared for firing. CALLY: Open up a voice channel to the city's central control. ZEN: Confirmed. VOICE: [v.o.] Central control, central control. Go ahead. CALLY: This is the weaponry officer on the battle cruiser Liberator. VOICE: [v.o.]Duty officer, your computer took a priority channel. Whatever you want had better be important. CALLY: Four of my friends are being held prisoner in your city. Unless you release them immediately I shall open fire on you. VOICE: [v.o.] Listen, lady. You shouldn't drink in those cheap dives. You go blind eventually. CALLY: Zen, report battle computer status to central control. ZEN: Confirmed. VOICE: [v.o. ] All right. So you're at battle stations. You don't expect us to believe that you'd.. CALLY: A man called Largo is holding my friends. You have six minutes to release them. VOICE: You can't be serious. CALLY: I was never more so. You have five minutes and fifty- five seconds. ZEN: Detectors report high speed approach. CALLY: Scan. ZEN: Gun ship. It is manoeuvering for attack position. CALLY: Warn them off. ZEN: Warning ignored. CALLY: Compute coordinates, range blasters. ZEN: Blasters ranged. CALLY: Warn them again. ZEN: Warning ignored. They are pressing their attack. CALLY: I gave them a chance. [Fires. Ship explodes] VOICE: [v.o.] Hold your fire! CALLY: Central, the next shot will be right down your throats. You have three minutes and thirty seconds. [Largo's lockup] ENFORCER: You two, out. [Waves gun at Avon and Gan] AVON: Why? ENFORCER: You'd prefer not to know. AVON: Your professional simplicity is beginning to irritate me. ENFORCER: Well think of it as a temporary problem. Move. [Bek and Hanna laugh, then move away, distracting the enforcer. Avon and Gan hit him over the head] GAN: [To enforcer] Simple enough for you? HANNA: Don't stand around. There's more where he came from. [Largo's quarters. Largo is holding a gun on Blake and Jenna. Gan and Avon burst in; Avon has the enforcer's gun. Blake kicks Largo and Gan gives him a chop to the neck. Gan hurries to Jenna. Avon goes to Blake, still holding the gun. One-handed he picks up the handcuff keys, unlocks Blake.] BLAKE: Your sense of timing is as impeccable as ever. AVON: I have always admired your patience. [Avon flips the handcuff keys to Gan.] GAN: Are you all right Jenna? JENNA: What does it look like? [Hanna and Bek enter. Bek starts to pick up Largo's gun.] BLAKE: [To Bek] Leave it! [Avon holds a gun on Bek. Communicator chimes] BLAKE: [into communicator] Largo. VOICE: Central. You're holding prisoners. Release them. BLAKE: What? VOICE: There's a lunatic woman threatening to destroy the city. Get those people back to their ship. BLAKE: Must I? [Smiles] VOICE: Do it, Largo. JENNA: I think we've outstayed our welcome. BLAKE: [into bracelet] All right, Cally. We're ready to come across. [Gan and Avon join them for teleportation. Avon still holds a gun on Bek and Hanna] BEK: We'll come with you. BLAKE: I'm sorry. BEK: Sorry? Polite but inadequate. [Raises gun] We can't stay here, so you're not going to leave without us. [Blake, Avon, Jenna and Gan teleport] HANNA: I think they went without us. BEK: There's gratitude for you. HANNA: Gratitude. You point a gun at them and expect gratitude? Maybe we could use him as a hostage? [indicates Largo] BEK: Him? After his foul-up you won't get a drink of water in exchange for him. [Bek aims gun at Largo on the floor. Blake materializes] BLAKE: I changed my mind. BEK: Why? HANNA: Do we care? BLAKE: Put these on. [Hands them bracelets] BEK: What's in it for you? BLAKE: You can help me with one of my crew. His name's Vila and he's suffering from a bad attack of alcoholic remorse. [Into bracelet] All right, Cally. [To them] He wants to make a necklace of his teeth. [Flight deck of the Liberator. Bek stands at pilot station with Jenna] BLAKE: No effect on the flight systems. JENNA: Everything seems normal enough. Maybe she imagined it. BLAKE: That's not like Cally. JENNA: Not like Orac either. BLAKE: [As Gan and Avon enter] Any luck? GAN: Can't find Orac. Even tried calling his name. AVON: Oh, I'm sorry I missed that. It's the kind of natural stupidity no amount of training could ever hope to match. BLAKE: You found Orac? AVON: No, but then I never really expected to. It is one of Vila's more elaborate practical jokes. BLAKE: Talking of Vila, how long before he comes round? BEK: Oh, several hours. And he won't feel much like laughing when he does. BLAKE: Oh, I'll guarantee that. All right, we've wasted enough time on it. Let's get back to the Terra Nostra. GAN: Back? We only just managed to get away from them. BLAKE: We chose the wrong approach, that's all. GAN: Is that all? I thought maybe we'd chosen the wrong people to get involved with. AVON: WE chose the wrong approach? BLAKE: I chose the wrong approach. Does it matter? AVON: Yes, it does. BLAKE: All right, Avon. You were right and I was wrong. You said persuasion wouldn't work and it didn't. So now we use force. AVON: Force? Yes, of course. Law makers, law breakers, let us fight them all. Why not? BLAKE: The Terra Nostra's wealth comes from organizing and controlling all sorts of crime. But their biggest profits and a lot of their control comes from one area. JENNA: Shadow. BLAKE: That is the only one that matters. That is what we attack. AVON: And how do you propose to go about it? Where would we get the information we would need? BLAKE: Bek, would you ask your sister to join us. please? CALLY: [V.O.] Blake. BLAKE: Yes, Cally. CALLY: Has anyone found Orac yet? BLAKE: [V.O] No,I think we'll have to wait for Vila. CALLY: Well, there may not be time for that. BLAKE: [V.O.] Well, has something else happened? CALLY: No, not exactly. BLAKE: Well what exactly? CALLY: A..a feeling I have. BLAKE: Come back to the flight deck. CALLY: [V.O] I should keep on searching. BLAKE: Leave it, Cally. CALLY: Yes. [Breaks link] Orac? [Turns into another corridor] ORAC: I warned you not to look for me. [Cally is drawn mentally into Orac.] [Space City. Largo talks with Chairman over wall comm. Chairman is seen on screen, playing with a spider in a clear tank as he speaks] LARGO: I know where to look for them, chairman. CHAIRMAN: Only your stupidity makes it necessary to look for them. LARGO: I had to ensure that they took my agent with them. When she is reporting on their movements I'll follow them and capture them. CHAIRMAN: So. LARGO: Chairman, the rewards will be threefold. The money they are carrying, which is substantial; the bounty from the authorities, which is also substantial, and more important of all, the demonstration that we can punish where the Federation itself can't even reach. CHAIRMAN: Very well, Largo, a heavy cruiser will be at your disposal, but don't delay it too long or the rewards will be one-fold: the demonstration that we can punish. LARGO: I thank you for your confidence, Chairman. CHAIRMAN: Largo, that is too small a thing to thank me for. [he closes the communication connection] LARGO: You'll pay for that. ENFORCER: Before or after he finds out that you are lying. LARGO: Was I lying? ENFORCER: It would make me very unhappy to think that you tried to use me, like some fool. LARGO: You're just an enforcer. You've a gun at your brain. Of course I was lying. Except about the girl. ENFORCER: She's not your agent. LARGO: Ohh, but she is. That dreamhead is going to tell us exactly where Blake and his friends decide to go. [Flight deck of the Liberator. A small ball of shadow is in Zen's analysis dome] BLAKE: Don't worry. HANNA: It's all I have BLAKE: You'll get it back. Zen. Analyze. I want the derivation. ZEN: The main constituent is an organic compound, probably derived from the zerophyte of the genus Korda. AVON: A cactus. ZEN: Confirmed. The species is alpha seven oblique five. Known as the moon disc, it was greatly prized for its partial telepathy and its ability to move short distances to avoid direct sunlight. HANNA: It stayed in the shadows. BLAKE: That's where the name comes from. ZEN: Commercial collectors rendered the moon disc extinct on its native planet. BLAKE: Which planet, Zen? ZEN: Zondar. And when it proved impossible to grow in any other environment the total extinction of the species followed logically. BLAKE: Only it didn't. ZEN: There are traces of an element -- BLAKE: All right, Zen, we've got enough. Have the navigation computers set in a course for the planet Zondar. ZEN: Confirmed. AVON: Wait. BLAKE: It has to be the source, the key to all the Terra Nostra's power. If we control that, we control them. JENNA: Right. GAN: [steps directly in front of Blake] The drug in return for their help? Blake, that would make us pushers. BLAKE: Well, maybe we won't keep our end of the bargain. GAN: And that would make us cheats. BLAKE: That will make us winners, Gan. That's the only excuse for fighting. JENNA: It's too good a chance to miss, Gan. BEK: I'd like to see that, to see them grovel. AVON: When the Federation introduced the death penalty for possession, the President described Shadow as the greatest single threat to the welfare of mankind. BLAKE: Don't tell me you agree with Gan. AVON: No, no, no, I'm just...interested. It seems to me that we have identified the source of that threat rather easily. BLAKE: So why haven't they? AVON: Exactly. BLAKE: Maybe we're about to find out. AVON: Maybe we already know. [Liberator corridor. Vila staggers, holding head] VILA: Never again. I'm dying. [Cally is lying on floor, next to Orac] Cally, what's the matter? [Cally looks at him, eyes open but unseeing] Cally? Cally? It's only me. What's the matter with her? [Long mental scream from Cally.] ORAC: Obviously, she's insane. [Liberator flight deck] BLAKE: How is she? AVON: The same. I left the girl with her. BLAKE: Have you run the diagnostic checks again? AVON: Still nothing. There is no physical explanation for her condition unless somehow it's locked up in here [indicates Orac] and I don't see how that can be. BLAKE: She is an alien. AVON: She is more human than I am. VILA: That's not difficult. AVON: Have you remembered anything yet? VILA: It's a complete blank BEK: With what you .. VILA: From the time you left to meet Largo to when I woke up back on the ship. BEK: With what you drank you're lucky to remember who you are. AVON: I would hardly call that lucky. BLAKE: This is not helping Cally. VILA: Orac's told you what happened. BLAKE: Nothing, according to him. JENNA: I don't believe it. AVON: Computers do not lie. JENNA: Orac is not a computer. AVON: That was its creator's vanity. Orac is a computer. It is a highly sophisticated tool, and that is all. JENNA: Well, something frightened Cally. GAN: Yes, and so badly she may never come back from wherever she's hiding. AVON: It was not Orac. BLAKE: Maybe it wasn't anything -- anything real. ZEN: Information. Flight time remaining is now fourty-eight minutes. Visual and detector readouts are now available. BLAKE: Let's see it, Zen. [Zondar is shown on the screen] VILA: It's a pretty color. BEK: Oh, considering what it is. GAN: Let's hope they don't know we're coming. BLAKE: There's no reason why they should. [Space City. Chairman is seen on communications screen] ENFORCER: They'll be making planetfall anytime now. CHAIRMAN: Excellent. Are all Largo's addicts so available? ENFORCER: Yes, Chairman. It seems he's been adding it to all the shadow that we supplied. CHAIRMAN: Radioactive, you say? ENFORCER: Not exactly. Controlled particle emission. Detectible only with the right equipment, which Largo's got, of course. CHAIRMAN: Surely it damages the addicts? ENFORCER: Kills them a little sooner. But at least if you need one you always know where to look. CHAIRMAN: What a clever idea. We must consider it for general use. ENFORCER: What about Blake and his friends, chairman? CHAIRMAN: You can leave all that to me. ENFORCER: Yes, chairman. CHAIRMAN: You've done well. Dispose of the body. His assets are now yours. ENFORCER: Thank you, chairman. [Looks down at Largo's body] [Flight deck of the Liberator] JENNA: Cally's still the same. Hanna's singing to her now. BLAKE: What? JENNA: I don't think she's going to come out of it, Blake. BLAKE: She will. JENNA: I don't think you care whether she does or she doesn't. BLAKE: One thing at a time, Jenna! VILA: I've been thinking. If it's that hot down there, why don't you try landing on the night side? BLAKE: Why don't you try listening? The system has twin suns, there is no night side! VILA: I wish you wouldn't shout. BLAKE: Gan, have you got everything clear? GAN: Yes. BLAKE: Well? GAN: Well, Zen's doing the flying. I'm just monitoring it. JENNA: Well, monitoring what? GAN: Maintaining a powered orbit on the edge of the atmosphere. BLAKE: Why? GAN: For maximum cover. AVON: From defenses that should be there but aren't. Are you ready to go? There's nothing you can do for Cally. Even shouting at everybody else is not going to help her. BLAKE: A powered orbit can be tricky, Gan. You need to stay alert. GAN: [Leaning forward] All system are functioning normally. Status is firm. BLAKE: Good, then lets go. Jenna Vila. [softly] Teleport. [Blake, Jenna and Avon exit] BEK: I don't know why they're all so jumpy. Show me the planet. GAN: Visual. BEK: I mean, look at it. It's nothing. I mean why should anyone draw attention to it with heavy defenses. They don't expect it to be found. [On the desert-like surface of Zondar] BLAKE: [Into bracelet] Down and safe. Stay by the teleport, Vila. [To Jenna and Avon] Cover me. JENNA: It's enough to fry your eyeballs. AVON: Daintily put. JENNA: It must be the company I keep. BLAKE: Zen's right. It looks to be about half a mile away. AVON: That's far enough to walk in this heat. BLAKE: Far enough to crawl. There's no cover. JENNA: Blake, over here. Look. AVON: Moon discs.[Avon moves one with gun] Prized by collectors. BLAKE: People collect odd things. JENNA: Look what you ended up with. BLAKE: You process those, you'll get a liquid that'll kill you. AVON: Only if you're stupid enough to use it. JENNA: Listen. No, not over there. Its coming from them. It's a sort of whispering. They're supposed to be telepathic. AVON: They're supposed to move. BLAKE: So are we. Come on. AVON: It could have been frying eyeballs you heard. JENNA: Daintily put. [They leave. The disk Avon touched moves] [Flight deck of Liberator. Vila enters holding head] GAN: Vila! Get back to the teleport. VILA: Five minutes. I must get something for my head. GAN: You can't leave the teleport now. VILA: Five minutes. GAN: Don't be stupid. VILA: My head is killing me. GAN: And you may be killing Blake and the others. VILA: All right. [He inserts Orac's key] Orac, operate the teleport as instructed. Satisfied? GAN: Well, not really. VILA: I'll only be five minutes. GAN: Orac, did you understand the instruction? ORAC: It was quite explicit. [Mental conversation. Voice is not quite Orac's] ORAC: Child of Auron. Listen to the voice of Orac. Remember the touch of hands at laughter and the warmth of open minds. Remember these things for they are gone. You are alone. CALLY: No. ORAC: You are alone. You are the last of the humankind. CALLY: Orac, don't. ORAC: I am the darkness. Orac brings my darkness. You are alone, in me. Run, last of the humans. Run, before my darkness engulfs you. Run, run run, run run. [Cally runs past Vila in corridor, is teleported to Zondar. She runs blindly and drops her bracelet] [Another part of Zondar, where moon disk gardens are under artificial shade of reflective mirrors.] BLAKE: They probably collect them in deep desert and bring them here to boost their growth. AVON: With surface water in the area there will be a whole network of these gardens. JENNA: I almost feel sorry for them. AVON: They're plants. JENNA: These are singing. AVON: You should have stayed in the cool. BLAKE: The collection and processing plant should be somewhere over there. AVON: Seems logical. BLAKE: Yes, well don't get to close. All we've got to do is plant these sensors in some form of rough circle. The battle computers will put together a complete picture of what's there. AVON: And then the ship's main blasters will pick off anything we care to nominate. BLAKE: Yes. Back in an hour. [Jenna nods. They move off in different directions] [Cally runs, falls in gully. A moon disc comes to her, making small noises] [Flight deck of the Liberator] HANNA: No, she didn't hit me, she ran straight over me. I was just in the way. I never saw anyone so scared. VILA: You couldn't tell why? GAN: You couldn't see what was driving her? HANNA: I don't think I'd want to. You can't share someone's madness. GAN: They can on Auron. Cally told me her people can share any experience. And telepathy means they never have to be alone. Makes them very strong BEK: Well, when they're together. I mean, what happens when one's isolated? GAN: I think that's what we're finding out. VILA: I'm going back to the teleport. All right Orac, you can go back to sleep.. [touches key] Awwwwk! That key's electrified. [to Orac] Did you do that purposely? ORAC: You will not disconnect. VILA: Is that right? [tries to take the key again] Ow! That hurts! ORAC: The bridge is almost complete. You will not disconnect. [Blake, Jenna and Avon plant sensors in various moon disk gardens. A guard sees Avon, Avon sees his reflection in the mirror umbrella, shoots him before the guard can draw. Avon runs up escarpment, another guard appears. Avon shoots and throws him down incline.] AVON: Next, please. [Flight deck of the Liberator. Everyone is looking at Orac] HANNA: This is silly. It's just a machine. VILA: Of course it is. If it wasn't so expensive, I'd kick it to pieces. BEK: Yes, if it didn't bite. GAN: Avon'll fix it when he gets back. VILA: Yes. ORAC: The bridge is complete. VILA: What? What did he say? GAN: Something's wrong. VILA: No, that wasn't it. ZEN: Information. Liberator is losing power from all systems. Orbital maintenance is threatened. GAN: Switch off all auxiliary systems. ZEN: Power drain is increasing. Orbit is decaying. VILA: What's happening? GAN: Switch to main boosters. Zen! ZEN: Automatic flight control is now aborted. GAN: The manual controls won't respond. VILA: Do something, Gan. GAN: Something is draining off the power. [Lights dim] VILA: Orac, it has to be Orac. GAN: Disconnect him, Vila. [Vila hesitates] Do it! We're heading toward the atmosphere. We'll burn up, explode. HANNA: Here, let me. [She rushes to Orac and grabs the key. She is thrown to the floor by an electrical charge] BEK: Hanna! [Crouching over Hanna] She's dead. [He starts toward Orac] That thing killed her. VILA: [Holding Bek back from Orac] Don't do it. It'll kill you too! GAN: We're falling towards the atmosphere! [On Zondar, Blake sees two guards pass. He hides, then goes in the opposite direction.] [Liberator is still falling] [On Zondar, many moon discs cluster around Cally. Soft voices call her name.] CALLY: [telepaths] Hello [Sits up mentally, while her physical body remains in the gully. Smiles and picks up moon disc] ORAC: You cannot stop me, child of Auron. CALLY: Then why do you threaten me? ORAC: Orac is my bridge. You stand before it, puny telepath. CALLY: Yes, I know you now. My powers are in your dimension, and Orac's carrier waves are your bridge. ORAC: The energy is building. I am ready to cross. Hungry dark to absorb the blazing suns. CALLY: I will deny you. ORAC: You are alone. CALLY: No. The warmth you mock me with is here. [holds out moon disk] I am not alone. You will stay in your universe of darkness. ORAC: You will not disconnect. You will not dis... [Cally's hand pulls Orac's key and it appears in Cally's hand on Zondar. She sits up, spilling moon discs that have clustered around her.] [Flight deck of the Liberator] GAN: We're getting power. The power's coming back. VILA: Orac. The key's gone. [Blake and Avon throw guards into pond.] JENNA: [Runs to them] There's two more over there. BLAKE: Vila, bring us up now. [They teleport.] [Cally finds her bracelet on Zondar and puts it on] CALLY: Liberator, come in Liberator. VILA: [V.O. over bracelet] Cally, what're you doing down there? CALLY: Waiting to come up, [looks at key] again. [Flight deck of the Liberator] BEK: So it was an alien life form that killed her? CALLY: Yes. It was trying to use Orac as a bridge to cross from it's own universe into ours. JENNA: That's why it needed so much power. BLAKE: But a quantum jump would need much more energy potential than Liberator could develop. AVON: The explosion in the planet's atmosphere would have provided the rest. BLAKE: Yes, I hadn't thought of that. VILA: So you see, Bek, this thing tapped into Orac's channels, sucked up all his energy, so that it could come squirting out and swallow us all. AVON: The plain man's guide to alien invasions. VILA: But, where did Cally fit in? Why did it attack you, Cally? CALLY: I was a threat to it. I knew it was there because of my telepathy. Orac uses special communication waves, which pass into another dimension. And it is the same dimension that allows thought transference. JENNA: Orac's telepathic? CALLY: No, telepathy is conscious. Orac has no consciousness in that dimension. He merely...drives a beam though it. Which is why he could be controlled by this force. BLAKE: And why you couldn't, you fought it telepathically. CALLY: Yes. Once the moon discs had broken through my isolation; as soon as I was no longer alone I could fight it. fight it. VILA: But what about the key? How did you get Orac's key while he was up here and you were down there? Long arms? BLAKE: Telekinesis. VILA: Who? AVON: The power to move objects by thought alone. That seems unlikely. CALLY: Yes, it does. Even among my people such power is rare. Maybe.. the moon discs. Their telepathy gave me courage. Perhaps it gave me strength, too. GAN: So. Either we all become telepathic, or we dump Orac. JENNA: Destroy rather than dump, surely. BEK: I'll do it. [Rises] AVON: It isn't necessary. BLAKE: Will it work? AVON: Of course it will work. I have set a small disruption bomb to precise limits within Orac's energy range. Any variation above or below and there will be a rather satisfying little explosion. The slightest attempt to tamper with the communication channels will reduce Orac to a heap of spare parts. BEK: So Hanna died for nothing. Just her. Even that machine survives. BLAKE: I'm sorry, Bek. AVON: She was dying anyway. BEK: Oh I know that. Just another dreamhead. But what about the low-life scum that really killed her? What about the Terra Nostra? BLAKE: That is who we're waiting for now. GAN: We're what? VILA: Why? BLAKE: We want them to realize that we know who they are. AVON: This is the ID of a guard I killed. He was a member of Federation security, a very special member. He was one of the President's personal security force. BLAKE: The President of the Federation runs the shadow operation. AVON: And since shadow is the basis of the Terra Nostra -- GAN: I don't believe it. BLAKE: It's quite logical. To have total control, you must control totally. Both sides of the law. The Terra Nostra, the Federation: two sides of the same power. The same man of power. AVON: Ironic, isn't it? We were hoping to use the Terra Nostra to attack the Federation only to discover that it is already being used to support it. VILA: Where are all the good guys? BLAKE: You could be looking at them. AVON: What a very depressing thought. [Blake chuckles.] AVON: Whose is this? [Picks up dish of sand containing one moon disc.] CALLY: Mine. JENNA: Is it alive? CALLY: Yes. JENNA: I thought they died if they left the planet. CALLY: No, you have to talk to them. [Disk moves towards Cally's hand] AVON: That's like talking to Vila, a complete waste of time. BLAKE: [To Bek] When we've finished here, we'll get you back to Space City. BEK: What for? There's nothing left there. BLAKE: Well, it's your territory. At least you know who you're fighting now. BEK: What have I got left to fight for? BLAKE: I'll give you three years, then I'll come looking. I expect you to be able to help me. ZEN: Information. Detectors report seven Federation pursuit ships approaching in attack formation. BLAKE: Seven? One for each of us. How very generous of the President. AVON: [Moves to weapons console] Blasters are cleared for firing, sensors are functioning, planetary targets are identified and ranged. BLAKE: Wait a minute, Avon. Bek, that button burns the President's garden. It won't hurt him much, but it'll sting a bit. Stand by to take us out, Jenna, when it's done. [Bek leans to press the button.] |