Blakes 7 - 0902 - Pressure Point [ home ] [ prev ] [ next ]
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Author: Terry Nation
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Director: George Spenton-Foster [ IMDB ] |
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Excerpt from Blakes 7: The Program Guide by Tony Attwood The Liberator has returned to the vicinity of the Solar System and the crew believe this is to enable Blake to observe the workings of Federation security. However, Blake suddenly announces his intention to take Control, the center of all Federation computer networks. After debating the point, the crew agree to help. Blake has already gained the support of Kasabi, a resistance leader on Earth, but before Blake gets to Earth, Kasabi and her rebels are captured by Servalan and Travis. Kasabi's daughter Veron is forced to capture Blake just outside the Forbidden Zone, the heavily guarded center surrounding the Control complex. Travis and Servalan make Kasabi reveal the location and the call sign which will bring Blake to the rendezvous. Blake and Gan teleport down and find Veron in a crypt. She explains that the resistance has been broken, but Blake decides to continue with the operation despite this. Avon and Vila teleport down, but Veron betrays them and steals their teleport bracelets locking them in the crypt. At last the group escapes and makes for the Forbidden Zone. The four members of the Liberator crew make their way through the various defence mechanisms surrounding the computer complex and eventually break into the room which is supposed to house the computer. However, upon entering they discover that the central control room is totally empty. A few seconds after they enter the room, Travis follows with two mutoids. He explains to Blake that the central control room was moved to an unknown location some 30 years before. However, the public are still encouraged to think that Control was indeed on Earth so that rebels like Blake would continue to attack it in the mistaken belief that they were in fact attacking the heart of the Federation. Before Travis has a chance to kill Blake and the others, Servalan is marched into the room by Veron and Jenna. Jenna had come looking for Blake when he failed to report in, and was able to cross the Forbidden Zone after Travis had the minefield turned off in order to enable his own crossing. Servalan orders Travis to release his prisoners, and Blake and the crew depart. Although Jenna has teleport bracelets with her, the crew are wary of using them so far underground and begin to make their way to the surface. Travis throws a grenade after them and, in the ensuing explosion, the roof collapses and traps Gan, who dies. Blake and the others escape and return to the Liberator, aware of their own vulnerability. Review 06/30/2005 by ledlogic Other than the electric minefield, this episode has few redeeming qualities. The interesting aspect to Blakes 7, is that as hey are involved in very dangerous missions, eventually one of them takes a life of one of the crew. Try that on any American TV show and the executives would step in and cancel it. (c) 1978 by the British Broadcasting Corporation. Series created by Terry Nation. This is a full dialogue transcript by Micky DuPree, Susan Schnitger and Karen Williamson for research purposes and is not for sale under any circumstances. Format (c) 1993 by Micky DuPree. Dramatis Personae:
[Field outside the Forbidden Zone] ARLE: This is it. The Forbidden Zone. BERG: Let's get back. ARLE: No hurry. BERG: Let's get back and report. ARLE: We've got nothing to report. If we could get back and tell Kasabi what's INSIDE the zone-- BERG: She said as far as the security boundary. ARLE: You see any boundary? BERG: I can see a notice. ARLE: [laughs] You shouldn't believe everything you read. [Inside the security station] MUTOID: Intruders in coordinate seventeen. TRAVIS: Good. Kasabi's men, they must be. My intelligence reports were correct. Do you doubt me now, Supreme Commander? SERVALAN: They are Outsiders. There is nothing to indicate they are Kasabi's men. TRAVIS: They are. Scouting ahead of the main party. SERVALAN: I'm not convinced. But assuming you're right, what do you intend doing about them? TRAVIS: Nothing. SERVALAN: Nothing. TRAVIS: We wait. SERVALAN: I have waited for eighteen days. TRAVIS: It won't be much longer now. It's started, I can feel it-- SERVALAN: Oh, Travis! TRAVIS: --I know Blake is coming here. SERVALAN: And them? [Indicates the monitor] TRAVIS: Unimportant. They're already dead. [Inside edge of the Forbidden Zone] ARLE: Doesn't look like much. BERG: We've gone far enough, Arle. Kasabi said that this was the most heavily protected site anywhere in the Federation. ARLE: Well, she was wrong, wasn't she? That must be where Control was housed. BERG: Only the entrance to it. The main computer was supposed to be in an underground vault. ARLE: Let's see if we can get inside. BERG: Oh, I dunno. ARLE: Oh, come on, Berg. You're not old enough to have lost your nerve yet. [They start to cross the field. Smoke begins to rise around their feet] Help me. Help me. I can't move. BERG: I can't. [Small flames lick near their feet] I can't! [His scream is cut off when they are blown up.] [Flight deck of the Liberator] BLAKE: How long before we reach our destination? CALLY: We'll be in teleport range in three hours and four minutes. JENNA: Teleport? BLAKE: Take her on manual, Jenna. JENNA: Switched to manual. GAN: Teleport range, Blake? BLAKE: In three hours we'll be in teleport range of Earth. VILA: Earth? JENNA: Blake, are you crazy? We can't afford to take risks like that. VILA: We were just going to skirt the system, that's what you said, take a quick look at the defenses. GAN: The perimeter defenses. VILA: Yes, and that was dangerous enough. JENNA: You never said anything about looking at the perimeter from the inside. CALLY: We must take this risk. BLAKE: All right, I didn't expect you to welcome the idea. That's why I misled you just a little. AVON: That's very diplomatically put. BLAKE: Is my phraseology your only complaint, Avon? AVON: No, but it is my only surprise. BLAKE: You knew? AVON: I never really believed the long-range reconnaissance story. Earth has been on your mind for a long time, Blake. Too long for you to sit outside the planetary system and look. BLAKE: It's time we really hurt the Federation. Oh, we've been hitting at the fingers, the arms. I want to hit at the heart. And the heart of the Federation is Earth. JENNA: Where exactly, or do you plan to take the whole planet? BLAKE: Two hundred years ago, when the Federation began expansion and conquest, the Administration established a computer complex to monitor information: political, civil, military -- everything. That computer is the nerve center of ALL Federation activity. Smashing that would be the biggest single step toward the destruction of their power. I don't think they would ever recover from it. JENNA: You're suggesting that we go into the Forbidden Zone and attack Control? BLAKE: Yes, that is what I am suggesting. CALLY: Do we know where this computer complex is? JENNA: Most Earth people have heard of it. CALLY: But do we know where it is? GAN: The Federation never made any secret of its whereabouts. AVON: On the contrary, they advertise the fact. Control has become a symbol of Federation power. BLAKE: It's a challenge. All the might and the power of the Federation is represented by Control. While it exists, the Federation is invulnerable. JENNA: There have been many attempts to destroy it. They've all failed. That's true, isn't it, Blake? BLAKE: Yes, there've been massive rocket attacks from space, ground assaults, every kind of attack. Control still operates untouched. VILA: Armies can't do it, space fleets can't do it, but we can, is that it? BLAKE: For the past year now, I've been collecting all the information I could find. With Orac's help, I now know more about Control than anyone outside the senior echelon of the Federation. I think I can destroy it. [Avon claps slowly.] I'm not going to minimize the danger. It's a high-risk operation. That is why I'm not going to ask any of you to come with me. GAN: You think you could do it without us? BLAKE: I'd rather not try. But if I have to, I will not be alone. I've already contacted a Resistance leader. [Wooded area near the Forbidden Zone] VERON: No sign of them? KASABI: They should have reported back hours ago. I specifically told them to avoid any contact with the security forces. VERON: Are you going to wait? KASABI: No. Blake will be looking for our signal, I must get to the rendezvous point. Getting close to the Forbidden Zone. Stay quiet and be alert. [Inside the security station. Servalan and Travis have been watching on a security monitor.] SERVALAN: Kasabi. At last. TRAVIS: Worth an eighteen-day wait, Supreme Commander? SERVALAN: Oh, Travis. I've waited longer than that. That woman was a senior political officer in Space Command. TRAVIS: I am aware of her background. SERVALAN: She taught officer cadets. But what she was teaching was treason. TRAVIS: Until a very bright young cadet reported her. SERVALAN: [smiles] Yes, Travis, I was. A very bright cadet. TRAVIS: You? You reported her? SERVALAN: There was an official inquiry, during which the stupid fools let her escape. TRAVIS: I'll make sure that doesn't happen this time. SERVALAN: You'll stay here, Travis. TRAVIS: But-- SERVALAN: Kasabi is mine. [Flight deck of the Liberator] JENNA: Blake, we've decided to come with you. BLAKE: Thank you. I could do with all the help I can get. JENNA: There is a condition. BLAKE: Yes? JENNA: None of us is prepared to commit suicide. We don't intend to die making some heroic gesture. CALLY: We need a chance of survival. VILA: We want your word that if the mission looks impossible, then we'll pull out. [Blake looks at Gan.] GAN: Yes. Guarantee that, and we're all with you. BLAKE: It's understood the decision is mine and mine alone? CALLY: Yes, that is understood. GAN: Yes. BLAKE: All right, if it looks as if we have less than an even chance, I promise I'll call the whole thing off. JENNA: Good. BLAKE: [To the men] You two get kitted up. [To the women] You two stand by. [Goes and sits by Avon in the pit] BLAKE: The others have decided to go with me. AVON: [smiles] I thought they would. Not very bright, but loyal. BLAKE: That leaves you. AVON: I have thought about it BLAKE: And? [pause] Come on Avon, stop playing games. Are you going to go with me or not? AVON: Well, of course. I am surprised you ever doubted it. BLAKE: Thank you. AVON: Frankly, I don't see how you can do it without me. Your strongest enemies are going to be the defense computers. I am the only one qualified to tackle them. BLAKE: Yes, that had occurred to me. You better start getting kitted up. Do you want to tell me why? AVON: I like the challenge. BLAKE: You don't want to tell me why. AVON: If we succeed, if we destroy Control, the Federation will be at its weakest. It will be more vulnerable than it has been for centuries. The revolt in the Outer Worlds will grow. The resistance movements on Earth will launch an all-out attack to destroy the Federation. They will need unifying. They will need a leader. YOU will be the natural choice. BLAKE: Possibly. AVON: Don't be modest, Blake. You are the only one that they would all follow. You would have no choice. You would have to stay on Earth and organize the revolt. BLAKE: If there's no other way. AVON: There wouldn't be. BLAKE: That still doesn't explain why you're backing me. AVON: With you running the campaign on Earth, somebody has to take charge of all this. BLAKE: [Laughs] You want the Liberator. AVON: [Almost laughs] Exactly. If we succeed, the destruction of Control gives us both what we want. BLAKE: Could be you're planning just a little far ahead. AVON: [Nods] Perhaps. But sooner or later, I will have my chance. BLAKE: There's no hurry. ZEN: Flight completed. We are in stationary orbit within teleport range of the planet Earth. BLAKE: Put it on the screen, Zen. JENNA: It's been a long time. [A wooded area. Servalan and two mutoids are on a ridge, watching Kasabi and her group pass.] SERVALAN: Kasabi. Stay where you are. Stand still, all of you. Throw down your weapons. KASABI: Run! SERVALAN: [To the mutoids] Now. [The mutoids gun down the rebels.] Enough. Get the child. [One mutoid heads off. Servalan looks down at Kasabi's body] Kasabi. [Inside the security station. Kasabi is slumped unconscious in a chair.] TRAVIS: You should have left it to me. SERVALAN: Nothing's lost. TRAVIS: Your opening fire could have ruined everything. SERVALAN: But it didn't, Travis. TRAVIS: My last chance, you said. SERVALAN: Kasabi and I had unfinished business. TRAVIS: This is no time for personal vendettas, Supreme Commander. SERVALAN: Thank you, Travis. I'm obliged for the reminder. [To Kasabi] Are you feeling better? [pause] Oh, don't waste time, Kasabi. You have so little of it left. KASABI: Time spent with you was always wasted, Servalan. SERVALAN: It's good to see you again. KASABI: Why did you murder my people? SERVALAN: Well, they were traitors. Did they expect mercy? KASABI: From you? TRAVIS: Blake. KASABI: Who? TRAVIS: You were to rendezvous with him. KASABI: [To Servalan] Is he young? More in your line, surely. SERVALAN: If you tell me about the rendezvous, I will consider sparing your life. KASABI: My life isn't yours to spare. SERVALAN: Oh, but it is. KASABI: Then take it. But don't try and browbeat me, Servalan. Or have you forgotten that I knew you as a cadet? You were a credit to your background: spoilt, idle, vicious. [Pushes Servalan to the floor. To Travis.] My confidential assessment listed her as unfit for command. But I forgot how well-connected she was. TRAVIS: That is no concern of mine. KASABI: Then it should be. It should be everyone's concern. The Federation is degenerate, run by creatures like her. TRAVIS: You are going to tell me about Blake. KASABI: You think so? SERVALAN: Oh, yes, we think so. TRAVIS: You could spare yourself a lot of pain. KASABI: No doubt. TRAVIS: You are a very intelligent woman. KASABI: Don't tell me you're squeamish, Space Commander? TRAVIS: Not in the least. KASABI: Your reputation suggests that you enjoy your work. TRAVIS: And your reputation suggests you're playing for time. [Kasabi makes a run for the door but finds it blocked by two waiting mutoids.] Secure her to the chair. [They do so.] [Teleport room of the Liberator] AVON: Your backup force doesn't seem too dependable, Blake. The signal is over an hour late. VILA: Why don't we forget the whole thing? BLAKE: No. GAN: We've waited a long time to come back to Earth. Be a pity to miss the chance now. Blake, couldn't a couple of us teleport down, find out what's happened? BLAKE: We will wait for the signal. AVON: And if it doesn't come? BLAKE: We'll pull out. Give it another hour. [Inside the Security station] TRAVIS: Come on, come on. Where were you to rendezvous with Blake? KASABI: You can rot, Travis. I'll tell you nothing, nothing. [Kasabi spits on Travis. Travis crosses to Servalan.] TRAVIS: She's stronger than she looks. She's still resisting the drug. SERVALAN: Double the dose. TRAVIS: That amount could kill her. SERVALAN: That's not important, just so long as she talks first. [Moves to Kasabi] Kasabi. Can you hear me, Kasabi? KASABI: I hear you. SERVALAN: Tell me about the rendezvous. KASABI: [Shakes head] No rendezvous. SERVALAN: Very soon now, you are going to die. Do you understand me? KASABI: Always understood you. You're vicious, greedy, sick. [Servalan administers another dose of the drug. She indicates some items O.O.S.] Is there nothing here that might give us a lead? TRAVIS: No, I've checked them. [Picks up one gadget.] This is the only important thing. SERVALAN: A homing beacon? TRAVIS: [Fiddles with beacon while speaking.] I'm presuming it was to give Blake a signal to give him a landing fix. SERVALAN: That's all we need. TRAVIS: No, the signal may have to be sent in code. If we don't get it right, we could scare Blake off. And the beacon may have to transmit from an agreed location. If its position does not match Blake's coordinates, he won't come in. Now, that should be long enough. [Returns to Kasabi's side] Where were you to rendezvous with Blake? KASABI: Coordinates three three one, eleven zero one. SERVALAN: That's better. TRAVIS: Now, Kasabi, listen to this: was the homing beacon to transmit in a code pattern? KASABI: Yes. It was pulse, three long, two short, recurring. [Servalan prepares a final dose of the drug. Travis moves to stop her, but Servalan slaps him off and administers it to Kasabi.] SERVALAN: Now it's over, Kasabi. KASABI: Servalan. I'm sorry. SERVALAN: Sorry? KASABI: I should have tried. In the beginning, I should have tried to help you. [She dies] [Teleport room of the Liberator] BLAKE: Time's up. We're pulling out. Jenna, I want the shortest way out of this system. Avon, run a proximity check on battle fleet patrols. VILA: Shall I get back to the flight deck, then? BLAKE: You might as well. [The signal comes in.] Wait. That's it, that's the signal. [Listens as the signal repeats.] Three long, two short, three long, two short. Cally, get a fix on it. CALLY: Three three one, eleven zero one. BLAKE: That confirms it. Standby to put me down. CALLY: You want to teleport to these coordinates? BLAKE: Yes. No. Put me down at zero point five varying. That should be about a mile away from the rendezvous. CALLY: Why? BLAKE: I'll scout around before I make contact. AVON: What's the matter, Blake? Don't you trust your friends? BLAKE: Of course. I trust them the same way I trust you. CALLY: Teleport's set. BLAKE: Right. You all know what to do. Gan, are you all set? GAN: Yes. I'll be waiting. BLAKE: All right. Put me down. [Blake appears in a wooded area.] BLAKE: [Into bracelet] Down and safe. [He walks a few feet, looking about.] As far as I can see, it's all clear. Get an exact locator fix on my signal and send Gan down. CALLY: [V.O.] Teleport locked on. He's on his way. [Gan appears] BLAKE: [Into bracelet] Gan's down and safe. Now, you're quite clear about the rest of the plan? CALLY: [V.O.] Quite clear. We all know what to do. [Teleport room of the Liberator] BLAKE: [V.O.] All right, start the second countdown now. CALLY: Countdown running. JENNA: Good luck, Blake. [Wooded area near an abandoned building] GAN: What is this place? BLAKE: A church. GAN: A church? BLAKE: Place of religious assembly. GAN: Must be ancient. BLAKE: The Federation had them all destroyed at the beginning of the New Calendar. GAN: There's no sign of Kasabi? BLAKE: No. GAN: [Touches tree, then looks at the wet blood now on his hand] Somebody's been here, though. And not long ago. BLAKE: [Into bracelet] Liberator, we're going in now. Looks quiet enough, but if I give the word, teleport us out. Fast. [They enter the church, and walk down a flight of stone steps. Veron is lying on the floor in the lower section.] VERON: No! [Blake and Gan take aim at Veron when she speaks. Veron confronts them with her gun] No. No-- [She collapses] BLAKE: [Holsters weapon and crosses to her body. He removes her hat and then checks her pulse.] She's still alive. GAN: Who do you think she is? BLAKE: One of Kasabi's people. She's lost a lot of blood by the look of it. GAN: Let's have a look. [He rips her sleeve open, revealing a small wound.] No, she'll be fine, soon as I treat her with this. BLAKE: I'd better tell the others. [Teleport room of the Liberator] CALLY: Come in, Blake. BLAKE: [V.O.] Liberator, we're at the rendezvous point. Everything's all right. AVON: You have made contact with Kasabi? BLAKE: [V.O.] Not yet. Not directly. AVON: Then everything is not all right. BLAKE: [V.O.] It will be. I'll get back to you. AVON: [To Vila] Do you get the feeling there's something he's not telling us? JENNA: I don't know. I hate waiting like this. VILA: Could be worse. We could be down there with him. CALLY: I'd prefer that to being here. VILA: You're welcome to take my place when the time comes. AVON: If it comes. CALLY: What do you mean? AVON: Something's not right. VILA: He's failed to make contact with Kasabi. AVON: Exactly. But Kasabi's signal came from the rendezvous point. Blake has arrived there and failed to make contact. JENNA: That doesn't necessarily mean anything disastrous. Perhaps they're just being extra careful. AVON: Let's hope so. Because I have a feeling that we are not being careful enough. [Inside the church] VERON: No! GAN: It's all right, it's all right. We won't hurt you. [Hands her pill he has taken from a container.] Take this. VERON: No. GAN: Please. VERON: [Swallows pill] Who are you? GAN: My name is Gan. This is Blake. VERON: Blake! You came, then. BLAKE: Yes. What is your name? VERON: Veron. I'm Kasabi's daughter. BLAKE: Where is your mother? VERON: She's, she's dead. BLAKE: What happened? VERON: We were ambushed, we didn't have a chance. My mother was hit, everyone else was killed. I, I started to run but they came after me, so I hid. [Buries head in Blake's shoulder and starts to sob.] BLAKE: That's all right now. Sssh. Sssh. Gently, gently, gently. What happened then? VERON: They searched the area. One of them came right up to where I was hiding. I was so frightened. They searched for a long time and then I, I stayed hidden for awhile, and then I came here as we planned. I gave the signal. GAN: Well, you're safe now. We'll take care of you. BLAKE: I'm very sorry about your mother. She was a remarkable woman. You lie here and rest while we decide what's to be done. VERON: Thank you. [She lies down, Blake and Gan move away from her.] GAN: Blake, we're going to have to pull out. BLAKE: It's a setback, but we've come this far. It means a change of plan, but I'd still like to try for it. GAN: What's the use? The risks are doubled now. BLAKE: I'm not so sure. Kasabi was only giving us backup cover, holding off the security forces to give us time to penetrate the Forbidden Zone. GAN: Yes, so how can we hope to do it without her? BLAKE: We still have the element of surprise. Even more so now with Kasabi's force wiped out, security aren't going to expect another assault so soon. GAN: You're guessing, Blake, guessing and hoping. BLAKE: It is a calculated risk. Remember, we've got one foolproof factor: the teleport. Even if they do attack, we can still get out. We will have failed, but at least we'll be alive. GAN: It's still a big risk. BLAKE: It always was. Even with Kasabi's people, there were no guarantees. GAN: All right, well, what do we do next, what do we do now? BLAKE: We carry on as planned. The next step is still up to Avon and Vila. [Into bracelet] Liberator, do you read me? [Teleport room of the Liberator] CALLY: We hear you. BLAKE: [V.O.] We're going ahead with phase two. Avon and Vila ready? AVON: What about Kasabi? BLAKE: [V.O.] Avon, give me a rundown check on what you're going to do. AVON: We teleport directly into the Forbidden Zone, we make an analysis of the defense systems, and then we teleport directly to your location. [Inside the church] BLAKE: No more than five minutes in the zone. Get out sooner if you sense something's wrong. AVON: [V.O.] I've already got that feeling, Blake. What about Kasabi? BLAKE: Cally, if you don't get their signal, transfer them after five minutes anyway. [Teleport room of the Liberator] CALLY: Confirmed. BLAKE: [V.O.] That is all then. Good luck. AVON: [To Vila] You ready? VILA: He didn't answer your question. AVON: He will. VILA: I don't want to go. AVON: You surprise me. VILA: I don't feel well. I'm going to be a big handicap. AVON: I'm used to that. JENNA: Avon. Good luck. AVON: Put us down, Cally. [The field beyond the blockhouse] AVON: THAT will be the only access point. We have to get into there before we can try for the main vault. But before that, we have to cross the zone. VILA: I've the feeling we're being watched. AVON: [smiles slightly] Automatic scanners will have picked us up as soon as we got here. [They start across the field, but Avon stops after a couple of steps and halts Vila. He brushes aside some of the grass to reveal a wire cable.] VILA: What's that? AVON: High intensity radiation grid. The rays from these could burn you up in seconds. VILA: In that case, do you think you ought to be fooling around with it? AVON: It has to be activated somehow. Let's find out. Walk anywhere here, and you set the whole thing into operation. [Cuts through one of the cables. Immediately the ends begin to grow back towards each other and rejoin.] Total self-repair in eight seconds. How far would you say it is to that blockhouse? VILA: Fifty yards, maybe more. Are you sure we're safe here? [Some flames and smoke start near the wires.] [Teleport room of the Liberator] JENNA: Five, four, three, two, one. Time's up. CALLY: Teleport now. [The field beyond the blockhouse. Avon and Vila vanish a split-second before a series of explosions happen.] [Inside the church. Avon and Vila appear and Veron screams. Gan moves to her side.] GAN: Don't worry, they're friends. VERON: How did they get here? GAN: [showing her his bracelet] We have teleport equipment. VERON: I don't know what that is. GAN: You know, I'm not sure I do. BLAKE: Well? AVON: It is not going to be easy. BLAKE: Can we do it? VILA: Not a chance, it's absolutely impossible. AVON: There is a way. Where are Kasabi and her people? GAN: They were wiped out in an ambush. This is Kasabi's daughter. [Indicating the men in turn.] Veron, Avon, Vila. Veron was the only survivor. AVON: I'm sorry. [To Blake] I knew you were lying. BLAKE: Yes, well unless you can come up with some good reasons why not, we're going ahead as planned. VILA: Certain death -- would you accept that as a good reason? [Removes a clear map disk from inside his jacket and gives it to Blake as he speaks.] AVON: From somebody else, maybe. VILA: All right, but if we all get killed, don't say I didn't warn you. BLAKE: Let's hear the rest of it. [They all kneel down and look at the map, O.O.S.] AVON: One thing is in our favor, there do not seem to be any security forces within the zone. BLAKE: None at all? AVON: They don't need them. The defense system is totally automated. It is more efficient than any brigade of troops. BLAKE: That improves our chances. [Pointing to the map O.O.S.] This is the idea: we start here near the perimeter. Then we teleport across the Forbidden Zone directly into the entry blockhouse. GAN: You know, the teleport will have to be precise. [Veron gets up and starts to leave.] A fraction out and we'll land up right in the middle of the zone. BLAKE: Cally and Jenna won't make any mistakes. GAN: [Halting Veron as she passes him.] You all right, Veron? VERON: Do you mind if I go up for some air? I still feel a bit faint. GAN: Well, don't go too far. You mustn't take any chances. VERON: I won't. BLAKE: Now, once we're into the entry blockhouse-- VILA: Why don't we teleport right down to the control computer chamber? BLAKE: Too deep. Teleport won't necessarily reliably transmit through that level of density. Anyway, we need an exact locator fix. The only way to get that is to -- VILA: -- is to go there first. BLAKE: Right. AVON: I wouldn't be too certain that it can even get us into the blockhouse. Judging by the electronics we've seen, there's bound to be anti-matter screening built into the structure. BLAKE: All right, then we teleport right up to the door of the entry blockhouse. Then it's up to Vila to break the locking systems. GAN: Can you do it, Vila? VILA: Well, that's a stupid question. At least I think it is. BLAKE: Right. Let's discuss what we do once we get inside. According to intelligence reports, there is a shaft -- GAN: Down! [An arm reached in the church's doorway and throws a cylinder down the steps. It begins to emit a cloud of gas. Veron enters and moves to each of their unconscious bodies, removing their bracelets.] [Inside the Security station] SERVALAN: Are you beginning to have doubts, Travis? TRAVIS: No. It won't fail. SERVALAN: I hope not. There'll be no second chances. TRAVIS: I won't need them. It's running my way now. The luck has changed. It's my turn. SERVALAN: Capturing the girl was the only luck you've had so far. TRAVIS: That single event has given me total control of the situation. SERVALAN: You've gambled everything on her cooperation. TRAVIS: That was no gamble. She will do precisely as she was instructed. She has no choice. SERVALAN: [to mutoids, indicating Kasabi's body] Get rid of that. [In the church] BLAKE: [getting to his feet] Sono gas. VILA: Yes, but who threw it in? BLAKE: Veron. It had to be. GAN: No, I don't believe that. Why should she do it? AVON: By all means, let us stand around and discuss it. BLAKE: Avon's right. We're not safe here any longer. Let's move out. [They climb the stairs. Vila reaches the door first and tries to open it.] VILA: The door's been blocked off. It won't budge. BLAKE: [Tries to force it open] It's barred. GAN: Let me try. [He throws his weight against it three times.] It won't move. BLAKE: Well, leave it. I'll tell Cally. [Lifts wrist and discovers that the bracelet is gone. The others see this and simultaneously check their own bare wrists.] We've no means of getting hold of the Liberator, no means of getting out of here. Someone set up a trap. VILA: And it worked, didn't it? [Inside the Security station] TRAVIS: [Holding all four bracelets] With no teleport to snatch them away, they're mine. [Tosses the bracelets away.] SERVALAN: [To Veron] They believed your story. VERON: It wasn't difficult. It was close to the truth. The only lies were that I escaped the ambush, and that my mother was dead. TRAVIS: You did seal the entrance? VERON: Yes, just as you told me. TRAVIS: Good. You did well. You can be proud of yourself. VERON: I disgust myself. TRAVIS: That will pass. There is a reward for Blake, you know. VERON: What you made me do -- TRAVIS: Might even get you a civilian citation. VERON: No! TRAVIS: You were sensible. You did what was expedient. VERON: I betrayed four men, men who represent the only cause worth fighting for. That's what I did. And now I want my side of the bargain. SERVALAN: Bargain? Travis, did you make a bargain with this traitress? VERON: My mother, let me take her. He promised me my mother would no-- TRAVIS: Don't concern yourself with your mother. She died one hour ago. VERON: NO! I want my mother-- [Travis chops her down.] TRAVIS: Now you'll stay here as my prisoner. SERVALAN: I'll deal with her. You just bring me Blake. TRAVIS: As the Supreme Commander orders. [exits] SERVALAN: [turns Veron's body face up] Kasabi's child. [In the church. Avon and Blake step away from the door.] AVON: It's no good. GAN: Let me try again. [He throws himself against the door repeatedly.] VILA: It's opening! GAN: [After a few more blows they are able to force it open.] Sorry it took so long. I'm a bit out of condition. [Teleport room of the Liberator] CALLY: Come in, Blake. This is Liberator. Come in. [Pause] Avon, Vila, Gan, respond. Are you reading us? Come in. JENNA: It's over an hour since our last contact. CALLY: It can't be a communicator fault. JENNA: Not on all four bracelets, no. CALLY: What do you think has happened? JENNA: They've run into trouble. CALLY: Yes. And what do we do, wait and guess? JENNA: What was our last contact bearing? CALLY: [switches on display and indicates light spot.] Here. [In the church. Travis enters with two mutoids to find it empty.] MUTOID: They have not had time to get far. TRAVIS: Couple of miles at the most, and without their teleport they're earthbound now. MUTOID: I will call security. TRAVIS: No! MUTOID: But they would have men searching the woods for them now -- TRAVIS: I want to take him myself. MUTOID: Shall I call Central? TRAVIS: Hum. There's still a way. We have to think like Blake. Think how he would act in a situation like this. Now where is the most dangerous place he could go? The last place we would think of searching for him? The Forbidden Zone, he'd go into the Forbidden Zone. That's what he came for, and that's where he'll go. Come on! [They exit.] [The field beyond the blockhouse. Avon is showing the wire grid to Blake.] AVON: These are weight and disturbance sensitive. Touch them and you activate the ray emission. They have already registered our presence, so the whole area will be sensitized and primed. Cut the mesh, and it has an eight second repair cycle. BLAKE: Sounds unbeatable. AVON: It may well be. BLAKE: But come on, you've got something on your mind. AVON: If I can fire at ground level, the beam radiation should be great enough to cut a narrow channel through the sensor mesh. That would give you eight seconds to get from here to the blockhouse. The mesh would start its repair cycle instantly. Take one step off the channel and you're dead. I know it's a slim chance, but it's the best I can come up with. BLAKE: Let's try it. AVON: How's your sprinting? BLAKE: I think I'm about to find out. AVON: Make it quick. There is no room for a good loser in this race. You go the minute I give you the word, understand? BLAKE: Right. AVON: [Takes aim and fires] GO! [Blake begins to run.] Faster, Blake! BLAKE: [Reaches blockhouse safely. Turns to shout back.] You next, Vila. You can get started on the door. VILA: I'm about to set a new galactic record. AVON: [Fires again] Now! [Vila begins to run, and Gan starts running right after him.] Gan! BLAKE: [muttering] Come on, come on. GAN: Vila! [Vila and Gan reach the blockhouse safely.] BLAKE: You took a big risk there, Gan. GAN: I thought it might save time. Besides, I needed a pacemaker. VILA: Me, too. Implanted in me heart. BLAKE: Just get started on the door. [Avon fires again and starts to run but trips and falls.] BLAKE: Avon! [The wires grow toward each other.] GAN: It will repair before he gets here. [Blake takes aim with his gun.] VILA: [Grabbing Blake's arm] You'll hit him! BLAKE: Let go! [Shakes free, takes aim, and fires] Avon, run for your life! [Muttering] Come on, come on. AVON: [Completes his dash with Gan catching him. Places his hand on Blake's arm.] THANK YOU. BLAKE: [To Vila] How long? VILA: Oh, it's a difficult one. Thirty seconds? BLAKE: Get started. [Inside the Security station] TRAVIS: [Over viewscreen] Supreme Commander, I don't know how he did it, but Blake has penetrated the Control complex. I want to go in after him. I'll need the zone deactivated. SERVALAN: I don't have the authority to order that. TRAVIS: Then get the authority. I'm so close now. The only way out is the way Blake went in. I can shut him off. I want that authority. SERVALAN: Stand by. [Switches off viewscreen then presses something O.O.S.] FEMALE VOICE: Central. SERVALAN: This is Supreme Commander Servalan. I want a direct link to the High Council, priority rating one. FEMALE VOICE: Hold. [Blake and the others descend a ladder down a white wall, then travel through some white corridors.] [Blake and the others descend a ladder down a wall lit in red, then travel through some red-lit corridors. They see a door down the next corridor.] AVON: [Blocking Blake] Hold it. BLAKE: What is it? AVON: More security. [He gestures to Vila who hands him some doodads. Avon tosses one. It explodes.] VILA: Sprinting's one thing, but I think flying's beyond me. BLAKE: [Jumps up to hang from one of the pipes that form a "horizontal ladder" down the corridor ceiling. He passes from rung to rung down five of them.] Am I safe now? AVON: [Tosses another doodad. It explodes.] No. BLAKE: [Continues for three more pipes.] What about now? AVON: [Tosses another. It just bounces. Blake starts to swing forward.] Possibly. BLAKE: [drops to floor safely] Come on, Vila, there's another lock here. VILA: Times like this, I wish I'd gone straight. [Gan boosts him up to reach the bars. Vila starts moving along them.] [Inside the Security station] SERVALAN: [turns on viewscreen] Travis? TRAVIS: [From viewscreen] Yes, Supreme Commander? SERVALAN: I've staked a great deal on this, Travis, but I've achieved what you wanted. The zone will be deactivated in precisely fifteen seconds. TRAVIS: That's all I'll need. SERVALAN: Both our heads are on the block now, Travis. This must not fail. TRAVIS: Don't worry, Supreme Commander, I will not fail you. SERVALAN: [Breaks contact, turns, says to someone O.O.S. just as the door opens] Who are you? [Red corridor. Avon passes along the pipes safely. Gan begins to cross, then one of the pipes breaks under his weight.] BLAKE: Gan! [Gan catches himself, swings, and lands safely.] [Blake and the others descend a ladder down a blue-lit wall.] [Travis and two mutoids run through white corridors.] [Blake and the others travel through some blue-lit corridors up to a blue door with the Federation symbol on it.] BLAKE: This is it! VILA: [Looking at the lock] Oh, it's a bad one. GAN: Can you do it? VILA: I'm not sure. BLAKE: You've got to! Behind this door is the key to it all: Control. That computer is the most vital part of Federation power. We're the thickness of this door away from destroying them. [Travis and the mutoids descend the white wall.] [Blue corridor at the blue door] VILA: That should do it. Come on, open, open. [Nothing happens.] BLAKE: Come on. VILA: I'll have to try another way. It means starting all over again. BLAKE: Take all the time you want. [Grabs Vila by the shirt] You CAN do it. [Vila selects another card and works on it with an electronic probe.] [Travis and the mutoids run down a red corridor.] [Blue corridor at the blue door] VILA: Gan, try pushing it, this time. GAN: Right. [The door opens.] BLAKE: [Races through the door] We've done it! We've done it! We've done it! I've done it! AVON: Blake! There's nothing here. [Blake turns to stare at him. Avon holsters his weapon.] There's nothing here. [Blake turns slowly and falls to his knees. Avon grabs him by the arm and shoulder. Whispers.] Nothing. [Travis laughs O.O.S.] BLAKE: Travis. TRAVIS: You believed it, Blake, like all the other fools before you. Destroy Control and you destroy the Federation. No. BLAKE: [Grabs Avon] It WAS here. Everybody knows it was here. TRAVIS: Of course. We've never concealed it. On the contrary, we've broadcast the fact. We used it as a challenge to our enemies, we invited them to attack Control. BLAKE: It was never here? TRAVIS: It was moved -- thirty years ago. BLAKE: [Lets Avon go] To where? TRAVIS: Even I don't know that. But it's safe and secure and will remain so while those who seek to destroy us believe it's here. You see, it's the great illusion, Blake. You give substance and credibility to an empty room, and the real thing becomes undetectable, virtually invisible. Now take their weapons. [The mutoids disarm Blake and his men. Blake and Avon are now on their feet.] I've waited a long time for this moment, Blake, and it was worth it. Move out. SERVALAN: [Moves into the doorway] Release your prisoners, Travis. TRAVIS: No! SERVALAN: Your mutoids will put down their weapons. TRAVIS: What are you talking about? SERVALAN: Do as I order! TRAVIS: What's the matter with you, Servalan? [Jenna and Veron emerge into sight behind her in the doorway. Both are armed.] JENNA: She's nervous. BLAKE: Jenna! JENNA: When we lost contact, I came looking for you. I happened to come across this one. I thought she might come in useful. I also found somebody else. She told me what had happened. Travis threatened to kill her mother unless she betrayed you. VERON: Then he killed her anyway. TRAVIS: The moment you pull that trigger they will be dead. JENNA: That's right, but so would your Supreme Commander. VERON: And so would you. SERVALAN: Release them. [pause] Do it! BLAKE: Your move, I think, Travis. [Travis gestures angrily to the mutoids.] BLAKE: Take their weapons. [The men from the Liberator re-arm themselves.] All right, let's move. It seems as though we both failed, Travis. [He and his crew exit.] TRAVIS: [To mutoids] Get after them! SERVALAN: [Slaps Travis] You hesitated. My life was at risk and you hesitated. [Tries slapping him again, but he catches her hand] [Blake and crew hurry through the red corridors.] [Blake and crew hurry through the white corridors. Blake stops to speak to Jenna.] BLAKE: Jenna, have you got the teleport bracelets? JENNA: Yes. BLAKE: Too risky to use them here. Let's get nearer the surface. JENNA: Right. [White corridor. Travis is arming a grenade. Servalan and two mutoids hurry to reach him.] SERVALAN: Travis, what's that? TRAVIS: Strontium grenade. SERVALAN: [She grabs his arm.] You fool, it's too powerful. You'll bring the roof in. [Travis shakes her off and throws it.] [Another white corridor. The building shakes with the explosion, and a door starts to come down in front of Blake and the others.] GAN: The door! [He rushes forward and braces it open while the others pass through.] BLAKE: Now, come on, Gan, hurry, come on, come on. [There are more explosions and crashes as slabs of masonry come down.] [A white ladder. Jenna is a few rungs up it, looking back.] JENNA: Blake! [At the door in the white corridor. It has closed, catching Gan's leg. Rubble is lying about.] GAN: My leg! [More rumbling sounds] Blake! Go! I'm not worth dying for! [More chunks of masonry crash down. When it stops Blake is lying stunned just in front of Gan.] BLAKE: [Stirs] Gan! Gan. [Holds Gan's head. Gan dies in his arms, and Blake lowers his body gently to the floor. He shakes his head.] No. [After a few seconds he leaves.] [Base of the white ladder] JENNA: They must be trapped. Come on, let's go back. [Blake arrives.] Blake? VILA: Where's Gan? BLAKE: Gan's dead. [White corridor] MUTOID: It's completely blocked. There's no way through. SERVALAN: Brilliant! TRAVIS: They'll dig us out eventually. SERVALAN: Oh, yes. They'll dig us out eventually. And then I'll bury you. [exits] [White corridor near the blockhouse entry. Blake and the other crew put on bracelets.] BLAKE: [To Veron] You're welcome to come with us. VERON: I have a debt to pay. BLAKE: So have we. VERON: Mine must be paid here on Earth. BLAKE: [Into bracelet] Bring us up, Cally. [They vanish. Veron smiles very slightly.] [Flight deck of the Liberator] ZEN: State course and speed. BLAKE: Standard by Ten. Get us out of the solar system. ZEN: The instruction is imprecise. BLAKE: Just do it. ZEN: Confirmed. [Blake looks back at Gan's empty station.] |