LEDLOGIC - Blakes 7 - 1001

Blakes 7 - 1001 - Trial [ home ] [ prev ] [ next ]

Author: Chris Boucher [ IMDB ]
Director: Derek Martinus [ IMDB ]

Excerpt from Blakes 7: The Program Guide by Tony Attwood

Travis is on trial at Space Headquarters for the massacre of some 1400 unarmed civilians - a trial which has been rigged by Servalan so that Travis will be found guilty, executed and thus be unable to supply evidence concerning her inability as Supreme Commander to capture Blake.

Blake, meanwhile, is guilt-stricken over the death of Gan and retreats to an uninhabited planet, making sure that the crew cannot find him. He soon discovers that the planet is inhabited after all when he meets a mischievous imp named Zil, who first steals Blake's homing beacon and teleport bracelet before trying to explain the complex life patterns that exist on the planet. It becomes evident that the planet is itself alive and Zil merely a parasite. The oceans of the planet are organic and are rising rapidly in order to reduce the number of such parasites on the surface. Before long Zil falls into the planet's interior and is 'absorbed'. Threatened with a similar fate, Blake springs back into action and avoids 'capture' long enough for the crew of Liberator to disobey earlier orders, locate him and teleport him back.

Travis is defending himself at his trial, arguing that his action was a direct result of his training as a Federation officer. The three judges are worried and retire . . . .

Having overcome his guilt feelings Blake decides to revive the legend of his crew's invincibility by carrying out a raid on Space Headquarters using Avon 's cloaking device as a cover. They hit the space station just as Travis is pronounced guilty. As the emergency shutters close Travis escapes, unhindered by Servalan, who allows him to take a ship piloted by mutoids in order to continue (unofficially) the search for Blake.

Review 07/03/2005 by ledlogic

Most of the episode on the Liberator is boring, while the interesting parts of the screenwriting were focused on Travis' trial. At the end, the attack by the Liberator has great potential for space combat, but this is not shown from outside the ship very well.

(c) 1978 by the British Broadcasting Corporation. Series created by Terry Nation. This is a dialogue transcript for research purposes and is not for sale under any circumstances. Format (c) 1993 by Micky DuPree, Susan Beth Schnitger and Linda Knights.

Dramatis Personae

Roj Blake

Kerr Avon

Servalan

Jenna Stannis

Vila Restal

Travis

Cally

Orac

Zen

Samor

Bercol

Rontane

Thania

Par

Lye

Guard Commander

Zil

Uncredited:

Male voice

Computer voice

[Servalan's headquarters/Federation space station. A curving corridor outside the hearing room.]
LYE: Waste of time.
PAR: Shut up, Lye.
LYE: Ceremonial duty ...
PAR: If you don't shut up, we won't be guarding a court martial, we'll be having one.
LYE: I joined up to see some action.
PAR: More fool you.
LYE: You've been on campaigns, Par.
PAR: I have.
LYE: Done a lot of killing.
PAR: Enough. More.
[Bercol and Rontane make their way around the corridor.]
BERCOL: It should embarrass her at the very least.
PAR: Watch it!
[Par and Lye snap to attention.]
RONTANE: Oh, I hope so, but, uh, she doesn't embarrass easily, especially not in her own headquarters.
BERCOL: Oh, I meant politically, of course.
RONTANE: Of course. Any attempt to embarrass her personally is an exercise in total futility.
BERCOL: Oh, quite. She has all the sensitive delicacy of a plasma bolt. [They laugh.]
RONTANE: [When access is not forthcoming] Well?
PAR: Sir, security area, sir. Access is voiceprint linked, sir.
RONTANE: I am Secretary Rontane, personal representative of the President.
[The door opens. Rontane passes through. Bercol starts to follow, but Par and Lye block his way with their weapons.]
BERCOL: Bercol! Senator Bercol. Head of the Information Bureau. Ex-officio member of the High Council. [The door opens and he passes through.]
LYE: [laughs] Thought he was going to run for it.
PAR: Pity he didn't. You could have shot him.
LYE: A top politico?
PAR: Don't worry about them. Space Command runs the Federation.
LYE: Reckon so?
PAR: Know so. And we look after ourselves.
LYE: Tell that to the prisoner.
PAR: Broke the rules, didn't he?
LYE: Whose rules?

PAR: Only ones that matter: ours. [Samor comes into sight around the corridor.] Blazin' 'ell, look at this!
[They come to attention.]
SAMOR: Samor, Fleet Warden General, appointed pro tem military arbiter.
[The door opens. He passes through.]
LYE: Old Star Killer.
PAR: I never thought I'd see him in the flesh. Hasn't left his flagship in years.
LYE: Arbiter in a cruddy court martial ...
PAR: Be by the book. I told you, we look after ourselves.

[Servalan's office]
SERVALAN: Yes, Samor is a difficult man. Most of the time I'm more than happy to see him stay with his beloved Galactic Eighth Fleet.
THANIA: On his highly polished flagship.
SERVALAN: He's well respected throughout the service. "Old Star Killer" has earned that respect through a lifetime's devotion to his duty and to his men.
THANIA: A rule book officer of the old school.
SERVALAN: Exactly. With him as arbiter a guilty verdict will not be questioned and the matter will be settled.
THANIA: Well, assuming that is the verdict.
[Communicator signal tone]
SERVALAN: [into communicator] Yes?
VOICE: The tribunal is assembling, Supreme Commander. The arbiter is present.
SERVALAN: Very well. [To Thania] The evidence is straightforward. I can see no reason why we shouldn't get the verdict we want, in the way that we want it.
THANIA: No, neither can I, Supreme Commander.
SERVALAN: And I expect no trouble from the Defense.
THANIA: [shakes head] None.

[Corridor outside hearing room. Two Federation guards and Travis are at the door.]
GUARD: Prisoner and escort, reporting as ordered. [Door opens] Quick march! [They march inside.]

[Hearing room]
TRAVIS: I report for judgment, sir.
SAMOR: Identify yourself.
TRAVIS: Travis, Space Commander. Alpha one five one zero five.
SAMOR: So recognized. You may stand at ease. [Travis does so.] Do you accept the authority of the Arbiter, the balance of the judgment program, and the competence of the defending officer?
TRAVIS: [Pause] I do.
SAMOR: Specify the inditement.
COMPUTER: Space Commander Travis, you are charged under Section Three of the War Crimes Statute Code, Jenkin One, with the murder of one thousand four hundred and seventeen unarmed civilians on the planet Serkasta, Date Code Beta two zero zero one.
SAMOR: How do you answer the charge?
TRAVIS: I am not guilty.
SAMOR: Be seated. Major Thania, does the defense have an opening declaration?
THANIA: We reserve our opening declaration, sir.
SAMOR: Very well. Enter prosecution data. [A clerk presses some buttons.]
COMPUTER: Prosecution data begins. Identities and death certifications of all victims are entered.
THANIA: Objection.
SAMOR: Hold.
COMPUTER: Holding.
THANIA: Defense requests the names of the alleged victims and the cause of death in each case be specified.
SAMOR: All of them?
THANIA: If it pleases the arbiter.
SAMOR: Do you realize how long that will take, Major?
THANIA: A man's life is at stake, sir.
SAMOR: I KNOW what is at stake.
THANIA: My apologies, sir. I meant no disrespect.
SAMOR: Since you have at your disposal instant recall of all prosecution data I fail to see what purpose will be served by having the computer intone a catalog of one thousand corpses.
THANIA: I may wish to challenge elements of that catalog before they are entered in the judgment program, sir.
[Samor confers with his fellow arbiters. During the pause, Bercol and Rontane talk privately.]
BERCOL: Playing for time?
RONTANE: And playing for Servalan. The computer will find Travis guilty, there's no doubt of that, but those three are responsible for the sentence.
BERCOL: So?
RONTANE: So, uh, after hearing all the blood-spattered details--
BERCOL: --they'll vote for the maximum penalty.
SAMOR: Motion sustained. Victims names and causes of death will be specified.
BERCOL: [Still privately to Rontane] Do you think that Travis knows what she's doing to him?
RONTANE: A psychotic like Travis? Who can tell what he's thinking?
[Flight deck of the Liberator.]
BLAKE: Zen, give me stationary orbit, teleport range, somewhere in the temperate zone.
ZEN: Confirmed. Do you require detailed sensor readings?
BLAKE: No. I asked for tolerable conditions. I assume that's what you've given me.
ZEN: Confirmed. There are gravitational anomalies which may affect movement.
BLAKE: And uninhabited.
ZEN: The navigation computers list it as such.
[Avon is listening in the entryway.]
BLAKE: That's good enough.
AVON: Really? It sounds a little casual to me.
BLAKE: I'm going down on my own, Avon. It has nothing to do with you.
AVON: Nothing at all, but it occurs to me that if you should run into trouble, one of your followers -- one of your three remaining followers -- might have to risk his neck to rescue you.
BLAKE: Then you must advise them against that, Avon.
AVON: Oh, I will.
BLAKE: They might even listen to you this time.
AVON: Why not? After all, I don't get them killed.
BLAKE: [Rests a hand on Avon's shoulder] True.
ZEN: Stationary orbit established. Status is firm. All systems are functioning normally.
BLAKE: All right, Zen, you know what to do.
ZEN: Confirmed.
[Blake exits as Jenna enters from a different passage.]
JENNA: Blake? [Blake continues out without reacting.] It's getting worse for him, isn't it?
AVON: [Seats himself before game board.] Guilt does that.
JENNA: What would you know about guilt?
AVON: [Smiles] Only what I've read. Your move, I think.

[The teleport room. Orac is there on a stand.]
BLAKE: Everything set, Cally?
CALLY: Yes. You've forgotten your gun.
BLAKE: What? I won't need it. There's no one down there.
CALLY: Well, there may be some kind of life form.
BLAKE: No, it doesn't matter.
[Flight deck]
CALLY [v.o]: I will get you a gun.
BLAKE [v.o.]: All right, thank you.
[Teleport room]
BLAKE: [Inserts Orac's key.] Orac.
[Flight deck. Cally enters, Vila meets her and hands over a gun.]
BLAKE [v.o.]: Orac, give it five seconds, then operate the teleport.
[Cally hurries out.]
[Teleport room. Blake is gone when Cally enters. She goes to check the controls.]

[Surface of the planet. Vegetation all around, many sounds like animal or bird calls. Blake appears. He removes a homing beacon and hand locator from his case and checks their operation. He takes off his bracelet and puts it in the case, then exits leaving the beacon near a bush. Something picks up the beacon using a hooked stick.]

[Flight deck. Cally enters]
AVON: What was all that about?
CALLY: I think Orac altered the teleport coordinates.
AVON: You THINK?
CALLY: Well, there's no way of telling. He zeroed the controls.
JENNA: Our orbit's shifting.
VILA: Shifting? What do you mean shifting? Are we in trouble again?
JENNA: Zen?
ZEN: New orbit will be established in six minutes, as instructed.
JENNA: Instructed? By whom?
AVON: Blake. He's making sure that we can't find him. He could be running out on us.
[Surface of the planet. Blake walks along.]

[The hearing room.]
SAMOR: Hearing will reconvene at oh-nine-hundred. Return the prisoner to detention.
GUARD: Prisoner, about turn. Quick march. [Travis and his two guards exit. The arbiters and court personnel exit.]
RONTANE: One almost has to admire that woman.
BERCOL: What, Thania?
RONTANE: Servalan.
BERCOL: Oh.
RONTANE: We know that she's sending Travis to his death in order to keep his mouth shut, but she is doing it with such an impeccably honest and painstaking tribunal that her real motives can't even be hinted at.
BERCOL: Has, um, a date been set for the Blake inquiry?
RONTANE: Does it matter? Without Travis' evidence the mishandling of the Blake affair becomes a matter of conjecture. The inquiry becomes a formality.
BERCOL: A Presidential stay of execution so that Travis can give evidence? After this, he should be more than willing.
RONTANE: After this he'll be a convicted mass murderer.
BERCOL: It could still damage Servalan. 'Slime sticks,' as the old saying has it.
RONTANE: Yes, but the President can't be seen to throw it.
BERCOL: Servalan picked Travis.
RONTANE: The President picked Servalan.
BERCOL: So she's outmaneuvered us once again.
RONTANE: Let's say she's outmaneuvering us, but it's not over yet. She could still make a mistake.
BERCOL: Which is presumably why we came. I was beginning to wonder.
RONTANE: We came, Bercol, because Servalan's ambitions threaten us all. And the President particularly dislikes being threatened. Shall we dine?
BERCOL: I wish I'd known that this was going to drag on so. I'd have brought my own chef. As I recall, Space Command's cuisine is appalling.

[Servalan's office.]
SERVALAN: [Watching the preceding on closed circuit] Pathetic! [Into communicator] Send her in. [Thania enters] Thania. How was the first day?
THANIA: More or less as expected.
SERVALAN: So?
THANIA: Travis is behaving oddly.
SERVALAN: Three years ago, he committed a capital crime. Justice has finally caught up with him. How would you expect him to behave?
THANIA: I wouldn't expect him to sit staring straight ahead, not moving, not reacting.
SERVALAN: Not even listening.
THANIA: That's it. That's exactly how he was, Supreme Commander. Has someone else remarked on it?
SERVALAN: Oh, the, uh, Guard Commander's report mentioned something.
THANIA: It's almost as though he were drugged.
SERVALAN: No, of course not. Risk a mistrial?
THANIA: Then what?
SERVALAN: You're representing him. You better find out. I don't want any doubts about the conduct of this tribunal. Any doubts at all. [Thania rises and starts to exit.] And Thania, try not to let Travis guess your motives. He's probably mad, but he certainly isn't a fool.

[Flight deck]
CALLY: If he was going to desert us, surely he'd have chosen somewhere special.
VILA: Right! Paradise that is not.
AVON: Perhaps Blake knows something that we don't.
VILA: There aren't even any people down there.
AVON: So it has at least one aspect of paradise.
CALLY: Would you maroon yourself on that planet?
AVON: We don't know that he is marooned. He could have a ship waiting.
JENNA: Oh, come on, Avon. You don't really believe that.
VILA: I wish Gan was here.
AVON: Oh, yes, of course. He would be able to work out exactly what was going on.
VILA: Maybe he would.
CALLY: Why do you say that, Vila?
VILA: He was straightforward, wasn't always expecting to be cheated and double-crossed -- not like us. He trusted people -- he trusted Blake completely.
JENNA: Much good it did him.
AVON: Welcome back to reality, Jenna.
VILA: You think he is double-crossing us, Jenna?
JENNA: I don't know. But you're right about one thing, I'm not like Gan. I don't trust unless I'm trusted in return.
AVON: What do you think we should do then?
JENNA: Suggest something.
AVON: Well now. I find the idea of being wealthy rather appealing.
VILA: Leave?
AVON: I don't see much prospect of getting rich around here.
VILA: Well, it certainly looks as though Blake's left us, doesn't it?
AVON: That is the only reasonable assumption that we can make.
VILA: So we've got to look out for ourselves now.
AVON: Exactly.
VILA: Blake can't complain really.
JENNA: Hardly, since he's not here.
VILA: No, I mean it's not as though we haven't done our share for freedom and all that.
AVON: [Smiles] More than our share.
JENNA: You two make me sick. Are we going to get out of here or aren't we?
CALLY: Orac, do you know what Blake is doing?
ORAC: Of course I do.
CALLY: Then tell us.
ORAC: Without the correct data recall code, that information is not available.
CALLY: Data recall code, Avon?
JENNA: He's even put a secret classification code on what he's doing.
CALLY: Yes, but why did he code it and how? Vila, if Gan was here, what would he have asked Orac?
VILA: Something obvious: did Blake leave us any message?
[The main viewscreen displays a recorded message from Blake.]
BLAKE: Thank you. I must confess I wasn't sure whether you'd trust me or even care enough to ask if there was a message. In your place I'd probably have just said I don't give a damn and cleared off. I think -- well, that's just it, I need time to think. We all do. That's what all this is about. I must apologize for the somewhat dramatic exit. I had to stop myself coming back. At least until we've made some decisions, you and I. I took one hell of a risk with your lives when I went ahead with the attack on Central Control. I thought it was justified, I thought we had a chance to win. And I was wrong. Completely, utterly, stupidly wrong.
AVON: I noticed that.

BLAKE: I almost killed you all. I did kill Gan. For nothing: an empty room, a trick, an illusion. Now I find myself
wondering if that's what it's been all along: just a dream. I don't know anymore. I don't know whether we should go on, whether you would even supposing I could ask you to. So, that is what we've got to decide, you
and I: where do we go from here?
AVON: So that is what we have got to decide, is it?
BLAKE: I'm taking a homing beacon down with me. It will start to transmit in thirteen hours. The detectors should be able to locate it and guide the ship to the rendezvous. It's an automatic beacon. I shall leave it on the ground when I land and make my way back to it with a hand detector. It seems more fitting somehow. Besides, if either of us chooses not to keep the rendezvous, then we needn't think too badly of each other. Maybe the detectors failed. [Message ends.]
VILA: He really cares about us, doesn't he?
AVON: You swallowed that?
CALLY: You think he was faking it?
AVON: Everything but the self-pity. That was real enough.
CALLY: You're wrong.
AVON: Jenna? [Jenna exits] Which only leaves one question to be answered. Is it that Blake has a genius for leadership, or merely that you have a genius for being led?

[On the planet. Blake drops his case to the ground and sits on a fallen log to rest. After a few seconds he is hit lightly by a small stone, then by a second a little later. A few seconds later he is sprayed with water. Annoyed, he rises and starts to look around, and is hit with a stream of water. He arms himself with a stick and looks around. His case is hooked away with a stick. Zil shows herself to Blake, holding his case dangling from the stick.]
BLAKE: HEY!

[Travis' detention cell. The door opens.]
TRAVIS: Who is it?
PAR: Do you remember me, sir?
TRAVIS: Par. [Par enters.] What are you doing here, Trooper?
PAR: I'm off duty, sir.
TRAVIS: Well, I'm not. [Glances at the securicam] I gather you're tired of your freedom.
PAR: I'm a twenty-year man, sir. I wouldn't recognize freedom if I fell over it. There's a temporary fault on surveillance. Guard's a friend of mine.
TRAVIS: Stand to attention when you talk to me.
PAR: [Stands to attention] Sir.
TRAVIS: I'm putting you and your friend on report.
PAR: Only trying to help, sir.
TRAVIS: Help? And how do you think you can help me, Trooper?
PAR: Brought you something, sir. [Starts to extract something from a pocket]
TRAVIS: [Grabs Par's hand and slowly lets him proceed. It is a small flask.] Open it. [Par opens it. Travis takes it and brings it near his nose.]
PAR: That's good stuff, sir. You won't go blind drinking that.
TRAVIS: All right, Par. What have I done to deserve this?
PAR: Sir?
TRAVIS: Faithful trooper, beloved officer -- not quite how I see either of us.
PAR: You always looked after your men, sir. Now you're gonna die. We thought a drink was the least we could do, sir.
TRAVIS: Stand at ease. [Par does.] Have one with me.
PAR: Thank you, sir. [Travis pours him a drink which Par downs in one gulp.] That is good stuff.
TRAVIS: [Watches Par for about five seconds] You can go now, Par.
PAR: Oh, sir?
TRAVIS: Par?
PAR: The report, sir?
TRAVIS: No one would believe it. [Par exits.] Any more than I do. [Drinks from the flask.]

[Corridor. Thania is waiting for Par.]
THANIA: Did you give it to him?
PAR: Yes, Major.
THANIA: I appreciate it.
PAR: With respect, Major, I didn't do it for you.
THANIA: You served a full tour with Space Commander Travis, didn't you?
PAR: Five years. He was hard.
THANIA: But fair.
PAR: No, not often, anyway. But you could always rely on him not to get you killed unnecessarily. He never wasted troopers.
THANIA: Oh, that's something, I suppose.
PAR: Major, when you're up to your neck in slime and lasers, that's everything.
THANIA: All right, Par.
PAR: Major. [Starts to walk away.]
THANIA: Trooper Par? Do you think he's guilty?
PAR: No doubt about it, Major. He gave the order. We just did the shooting.
[On the planet. Blake is drinking from a pool of water. He hears noises from Zil and chases after her.]

[Travis' detention cell. Travis is lying on the cot, with the nearly empty sitting on the floor beside his dangling arm. The door opens to reveal Thania.]
TRAVIS: Come in, Thania. I've been expecting you.
THANIA: I thought you were asleep.
TRAVIS: What is it you want to ask me?
THANIA: Is there anything you need?
TRAVIS: [tosses the flask at her] You lack subtlety, Major.
THANIA: What are you suggesting, Travis?
TRAVIS: Get out.
THANIA: Look--
TRAVIS: GET OUT!

[On the planet. Blake trips and falls, and lie there until he is poked by a stick. He tries to catch Zil but nobody is within reach. When he turns, Zil is standing in sight.]
BLAKE: WHAT are you?
ZIL: [Unintelligible bird-like noises]
BLAKE: Well, if that's your only way of communicating I can't see us having much of a conversation.
ZIL: [at first very stuttering, hesitant, her clarity improves as dialog continues] Why did you stop? Why did you stop?
BLAKE: Well, why did you run?
ZIL: Movement is life. To stop is to lose yourself and be absorbed. Is it that you are ready to be absorbed? Is Oneness already a burden?
BLAKE: No, I don't understand what you mean.
ZIL: You are newly hatched. Zil saw you come to Oneness. But your movement was slow. Zil risked Oneness to waken you.
BLAKE: What are you?
ZIL: My Oneness is Zil. What is yours?
BLAKE: Well, I'm called Blake.
ZIL: Come, Blake. Keep distant. Zil and Blake must be alone to live. [exits]
BLAKE: No, wait. Zil!
[The ground rumbles and shakes.]
ZIL: [o.o.s.] The Host stirs.

[The flight deck. Avon is working on a device. Jenna enters and goes to the controls.]
AVON: I have already programmed an automatic search pattern for the homing beacon.
JENNA: You don't mind if I check it?
AVON: [smiles] I'd be disappointed if you didn't.
[Vila enters]
JENNA: What are you doing?
AVON: It's a detector shield. I've been working on it for some time.
VILA: Everyone should have a hobby. What's it do?
AVON: It should keep us off everything but the Federation's close range visual scanners.
VILA: You mean their long-range detectors won't pick us up at all? But that's brilliant, Avon, absolutely brilliant. It'll never work.
AVON: There's only one way to find out. I'm sure Blake will find us something suitable to attack.
VILA: I see. You've decided to be led like the rest of us.
AVON: I shall continue to follow. It's not quite the same thing.
VILA: I don't see the difference.
AVON: I didn't really think that you would.
JENNA: Do you want to tell me why you've left most of the southern hemisphere off the search pattern?
AVON: I don't believe that Blake can think and swim at the same time. It's nothing but ocean down there.
[On the planet]
BLAKE: Zil, where are you?
ZIL: You have stopped again. Is Blake afraid to be alone? All must stay alone or wake the Host.
BLAKE: You took something from me, something that I need. Now, Zil, what have you done with it?
ZIL: Blake will be lost to you unless Zil can explain. But, but how? How to explain what Blake is?
BLAKE: Well, tell me what Zil is.
ZIL: Zil is my Oneness. Alone. Zil is my waking, as Blake is your waking.
BLAKE: You mean we live?
ZIL: Everything lives. The Host lives. To live is not enough for Blake and Zil. Blake and Zil woke. The waking must not be feared or you will lose it and Blake will be absorbed.
BLAKE: To live is not enough?
ZIL: To be alone must not be feared. The Host is slow to recognize one who is alone. Though there are many, all stay alone. [Clears off a patch of ground] Do you hunger? [Tears the ground open, scoops up some of the lining of the opening and eats it.] Do you hunger?
BLAKE: What is it?
ZIL: Life.
[Blake tastes some. The ground shakes again.]
ZIL: The Host stirs again. Now Blake, understand the need for swiftness.
[Flight deck. Avon and Jenna are playing a board game.]
ZEN: Information. Detectors indicate rapid changes now occurring on the planetary surface.
VILA: Changes?
AVON: Specify.
ZEN: Indications are that the land mass is sinking. Projections of the rate at which the process is accelerating suggest that it will be entirely submerged beneath the oceans in two hours.
JENNA: That's impossible.
AVON: Recheck the data.
ZEN: Confirmed.
JENNA: The climatic and gravitational changes would be catastrophic.
VILA: Well, perhaps they are.
CALLY: The planet would be tearing itself to pieces.
VILA: Are we sure it isn't? Shouldn't we move away?
AVON: How long before the homing beacon activates?
JENNA: One hour, fifteen minutes.
ZEN: Data is confirmed. Analysis continues.
AVON: [inserts Orac's key] Orac, have you got anything on this?
ORAC: The phenomenon is unknown to me. I shall require an analysis of the chemical composition of the oceans.
AVON: Zen?
ZEN: Full range chemical analyses are being carried out.
JENNA: What about Blake?
AVON: Let's hope he's on high ground.

[On the planet]
ZIL: [Indicating the beacon and the container] There. The Host has not absorbed them.
BLAKE: What is the Host? [Zil waves at everything.] And yet you fear it?
ZIL: Resist it. Oneness must resist the Host.
BLAKE: But you don't know that it exists. [Snaps on his bracelet] Perhaps you're imagining it. [Chuckles] How do you resist an illusion?
ZIL: Eat lightly, move quickly, so the Host is not aware of your Oneness.
BLAKE: Yes ... I don't suppose you know how to speed up the timer on a hom-- [Sees that Zil is out of earshot] -- homing beacon? Yeah. [He straightens up and starts after her. Zil has collapsed.] Zil, what's wrong?
ZIL: Zil is lost. [The ground opens near her. Blake scoops her up and walks off with her.] The Host will take...
[Flight deck]
VILA: Saliva? You mean that's an ocean of spit?
ORAC: No, of course not. That was merely an analogy I was drawing.
AVON: All right, so it's digestive fluid. What does it mean?
ORAC: Surely that's obvious. This planet is alive.
AVON: Define alive. All planets are by some definition.
ORAC: I am not referring to a complex ecosystem. I refer to a single organism. A planetary life form. Fascinating, don't you think?
VILA: I doubt if Blake does.
CALLY: If it is a single organism, how does it function?
ORAC: That would require study. At present I can only conjecture.
AVON: So conjecture.
ORAC: To maintain life on that scale the organism must have achieved stasis, a perfect balance within itself. Clearly something has upset that balance.
JENNA: Blake?
ORAC: No. The stimulus would be insufficient.
JENNA: So, what, then?
ORAC: My conjecture would be parasites. A life form living on the organism whose population has reached too high a level.
JENNA: Well, what's that organism doing, Orac?
ORAC: Cleansing itself.
VILA: Killing them?
ORAC: Correct. And replacing the energy thus expended by eating them.
JENNA: There's still forty-five minutes before that homing beacon activates.
AVON: Blake hasn't got that long.

[On the planet. Blake is carrying Zil. He sets her down.]
ZIL: Blake must leave Zil.
BLAKE: No. What's happened to the light?
ZIL: The waking time is over. The Host absorbs all.
BLAKE: Not yet, it doesn't.

[Teleport room]
JENNA: [v.o] Avon, the flight program's laid in.
AVON: Close to the atmosphere?
JENNA: [v.o.] As close as we dare.
AVON: All right, stand by. [To Cally] If this works the teleport should operate on a series of brief automatic pulses, each pulse covering a section of the area we are flying across.
CALLY: If Blake is there, it will bring him up.
AVON: Start to bring him up. It will be up to you to hit the main switch and complete the process. You'll have to concentrate. He'll appear and disappear in one short flash.
CALLY: And if I miss it?
AVON: [smiles] He's gone for good.

[On the planet. Blake is carrying Zil.]
ZIL: This place is fitting.
BLAKE: [Sets her down.] Zil, what --
ZIL: Oneness will return when the Host is quiet again.
BLAKE: [sees nearby pile of white spherical objects.] They're eggs. The children of your people.
ZIL: Their skin is strong. They cannot be absorbed.
BLAKE: The teleport materialization. The field glows white. You thought I was hatching from an egg. You've been protecting a child.
ZIL: This place is fitting. Here Blake and Zil will surrender Oneness.
BLAKE: Zil. Zil! [She falls into the gap that opens near her. It closes back up.] Not me. I am not ready to surrender ANYTHING!
[Teleport room]
AVON: All right, Jenna. Let's get on with it.
JENNA: [v.o.] Flight program running.

[On the planet. Louder rumbles and ground shaking. Blake covers his ears in pain.]

[Teleport room]
ZEN: Flight program will be complete in two minutes.
VILA: [enters] The flight's almost over. Is it working?
AVON: Quiet, Vila. [A few seconds pause, then Blake starts to appear.] Now! [Blake starts to fade out. Cally works the controls and Blake appears completely.]
BLAKE: Thank you. Next time I want to think, I'll do it in my cabin.
AVON: I should stick to action, Blake. That's what you're good at.
CALLY: [into communicator] Jenna, we've got him back.
VILA: [to Blake] Avon adapted the teleport with his usual skill -- probably ruined it. [exits]
BLAKE: You went to a lot of trouble.
[Cally looks at him and then exits.]
AVON: One of these days they are going to leave you. They were almost ready to do so this time.
BLAKE: Yes, I thought they might be.
AVON: You handle them very skillfully.
BLAKE: Do I?
AVON: But one more death will do it.
BLAKE: Then you'd better be very careful. It would be ironic if it were yours.
[Avon exits]

[Hearing room]
COMPUTER: Prosecution data is now entered as complete. Judgment program Jenkin One Oblique Three holding.
SAMOR: Major Thania, is your defense data prepared and ready to be entered?
THANIA: If it please the arbiter, we would like at this time to offer our opening declaration.
SAMOR: Very well.
THANIA: Thank you, sir. [Approaches the arbiters.] Gentlemen, it is with a very real sense of waste, perhaps even of tragedy--
TRAVIS: [bolts to his feet] NO!
SAMOR: Has the prisoner some objection?
[The next lines by Travis and Thania are delivered simultaneously, overlapping and obscuring each other.]
THANIA: I request a consultation [unintelligible] ...with the Arbiter's permission I must insist--
TRAVIS: Fleet Warden Samor, I have no wish to consult with my defense--
SAMOR: [cutting them both off] That's enough! I will not have this tribunal reduced to the level of a common trooper's brawl. [To Travis] You have already made formal acceptance of the competence of the defending officer?
TRAVIS: Yes, sir!
SAMOR: Defense may consult.
THANIA: Thank you, sir. [She and Travis move aside.] What the hell do you think you're doing, Travis?
TRAVIS: You handled that badly, Thania. The Supreme Commander will not be pleased.
BERCOL: [privately to Rontane] Signs of life?
RONTANE: [privately to Bercol] Death throes, nothing more.
THANIA: All right, what is it you want?
TRAVIS: The opening declaration.
THANIA: You want to know what I am going to say? I'm going to say that you were a brilliant and dedicated soldier who had a lapse of judgment, a momentary aberration--
TRAVIS: Only a momentary aberration?
THANIA: I'm further going to say that you deeply regret what happened. In other words, I am going to lay the basis of your defense.
TRAVIS: I will make the opening declaration.
THANIA: Look, don't be a fool. Do you really think you're going to impress them sympathetically?
TRAVIS: I think the Supreme Commander wants me to go to my death quietly. That is as close to quietly as I am going to get.
THANIA: Look, I'm trying to save your life, Travis--
TRAVIS: You've be better occupied trying to save your own, Thania. Majors can die quite anonymously. And your involvement in this fiasco makes your life expectancy only slightly longer than my own.

[Flight deck]
BLAKE: We were getting a reputation for being invulnerable.
CALLY: We were even beginning to believe it ourselves.
AVON: Some of us, anyway.
BLAKE: All right, yes, I admit it. Gan's death woke me, made me realize that I'd come to accept our own legend. But far more important than that, every Federation trooper, every kill-happy bounty hunter now knows that we are fallible.
VILA: You're saying that it's time to stop. That is what you're saying, I hope.
JENNA: No, he's saying it's too late to stop, aren't you? We've come too far.
BLAKE: No, what I'm saying is there will be a better time.
AVON: When we have restored our legend.
BLAKE: Ah.
AVON: All right, what death defying feat must we undertake in order to do that?
BLAKE: Will this detector shield work?
AVON: Yes.
BLAKE: A high speed attack. A single strike run. We'll be on them before they know and away before they can respond.
AVON: Where?
BLAKE: Servalan's headquarters.

[Hearing room]
SAMOR: You may begin.
TRAVIS: [Paces about madly throughout this speech] A field officer, like myself, is frequently required to make fast, unconsidered decisions. You were all field officers, you know that's true. Time to think is a luxury battle seldom affords you. You react instinctively. Your actions, your decisions, all instinct, nothing more. But, an officer's instincts are the product of his training. The more thorough the training, the more predictable the instinct, the better the officer. And I am a good officer. I have been in the service all my adult life. I'm totally dedicated to my duty and highly trained in how to perform it. On Serkasta I, I reacted as I was trained to react. I was an instrument of the service. So if I'm guilty of murder, of mass murder, then so are all of you!
SAMOR: The prisoner will be seated. [Travis returns to his chair.] Is the defense data prepared?
THANIA: It is, sir.
SAMOR: Enter it.
COMPUTER: Judgment program Jenkin One Oblique Three running. Defense data commences.
[Flight deck]
BLAKE: Speed?
JENNA: Standard by Eight.
BLAKE: Flight time to target?
ZEN: Six hours and four minutes at present speed.
BLAKE: Increase speed to Standard by Ten.
JENNA: Standard by Ten.
BLAKE: [approaches Avon] Can we rely on it?
AVON: I thought we were?
VILA: Detector contact, extreme range Grid Five.
CALLY: Six ships. Standard Federation patrol pattern.
VILA: Bearing One Nine Four.
BLAKE: Have they picked us up yet?
CALLY: Maintaining patrol pattern.
VILA: Holding One Nine Four.
BLAKE: Put them on the screen, Zen.
[View of six ships crossing the screen.]
VILA: They missed us! Avon's gadget works!
BLAKE: I never doubted it for a moment. [To Avon] Is something wrong?
AVON: It just occurred to me, that as the description of a highly sophisticated technological achievement, "Avon's gadget works," seems to lack a certain style.

[Hearing room]
SAMOR: The prisoner will stand. [Travis rises.] Run judgment.

COMPUTER: Judgment program one oblique three. Conclusion: Space Commander Travis, you are guilty as charged.
SAMOR: The tribunal will retire to consider sentence.

[Servalan's office]
SERVALAN: No surprise from the defense.
THANIA: How did you know?
SERVALAN: How did you NOT know?
THANIA: I thought he'd given up.
SERVALAN: I warned you not to underestimate Travis.
THANIA: I don't think he's persuaded them.
SERVALAN: I was watching Samor. What Travis said bothered him!
THANIA: You were watching?
SERVALAN: [laughs] Secret session or not, did you seriously imagine I wouldn't have a spy camera in there? Travis knew, right from the beginning. It really is a pity he's got to die. He's so much better than anything I've got left.

[Flight deck]
BLAKE: Time to target?
ZEN: Fourteen minutes. Attack run will commence in nine minutes and thirty seconds.
BLAKE: How long before they see us?
AVON: Nine minutes and twenty-five seconds.

[Hearing room]
SAMOR: Space Commander, we have considered your sentence at some length. Your contention that what happened on Serkasta was a direct result of your training concerned us greatly. We accept that you are trained to kill. As are we all. What we cannot accept is that this training leads inevitably to the murder of innocents. Your behavior was not that of a Federation officer, but rather that of a savage, unthinking, animal.

[Flight deck]
CALLY: Target now registering on all detectors.
AVON: Three minutes to commencement of attack run.

[Hearing room]
SAMOR: We cannot find it in our hearts to absolve you in any way of the responsibility for these murders. The sentence of this tribunal is, therefore, that you should be stripped of all rank and privileges, that you be dishonorably dismissed the service, and that you then be executed for the common criminal you have shown yourself to be. Have you anything to say?

[Flight deck]
AVON: Five seconds to attack run threshold.
BLAKE: Commit.
CALLY: We are now in their visual range. Attack run commenced.
BLAKE: Stand by the main blasters.
VILA: Main blasters ready.

[Hearing room]
SAMOR: Do I take it you have nothing to say?
TRAVIS: The Federation is run by hypocrites and supported by fools. I'm glad to be rid of you all.
VOICE: [v.o.] All personnel to battle stations. All personnel to battle stations. Unidentified ship on attack run in quadrant six.
[Flight deck]
BLAKE: Fire the main blasters!

[View from space. The Liberator fires, a section of the space station explodes.]

[Hearing room. Travis attacks and overcomes his guards and takes one of their guns.]
VOICE: [v.o.] Automatic airlock will trigger in three seconds.
[Travis leaps through the airlock door as it starts to close. He shoots another guard then passes through the main door and finds himself confronting Par who is pointing a gun at him.]
TRAVIS: Don't make me kill you, Par.
PAR: What happened in there?
TRAVIS: Outer wall cracked, automatic airlock sealed the chamber. They'll all be dead by now. Drop the gun.
PAR: I can't do that, sir.
TRAVIS: Don't be a fool. I've got nothing to lose anymore.
PAR: I can't let you go, sir.
TRAVIS: [Knocks Par out] Some of us weren't hypocrites, were we, Par?
[Flight deck]
BLAKE: Get us out of here, Jenna. Speed Standard by Twelve.
JENNA: Speed Standard by Twelve. Battle computers, put force wall on standby.
[Servalan's office]
VOICE: [from communicator] Single attack run on Quadrant Six. Damage is extensive but confined to that section as far as we can tell.
SERVALAN: Damage control teams?
VOICE: Moving in now.
SERVALAN: What about casualties?
TRAVIS: [from doorway] High and rising all the time.
VOICE: No estimates yet, Supreme Commander.
SERVALAN: Very well. Keep me informed. [Switches off communicator. To Travis] Well! Savage, THINKING animals have a way of surviving, don't they?
TRAVIS: Who was it?
SERVALAN: We think it was Blake.
TRAVIS: Huh. I must remember to say thank you before I kill him.
SERVALAN: What are you planning to do?
TRAVIS: I'm planning to leave. You're going to give me a pursuit ship -- oh, and the trigger circuit for this. [Raises artificial hand]
SERVALAN: Heh. You think so? [He moves in.] And you'll hunt Blake.
TRAVIS: While you hunt both of us. Now give the orders. Carefully.
SERVALAN: [into communicator] Is Pursuit Four ready for immediate launch?
VOICE: Yes, ma'am. And your crew is standing by.
SERVALAN: Have the crew stand down. I want them replaced by three mutoids.
VOICE: Mutoids?
SERVALAN: Yes, mutoids. And have them blanked. I want their minds imprinted to receive orders only from the person who first uses the trigger word "outlaw" to them.
VOICE: Yes, ma'am.
SERVALAN: [Switches off communicator] Well, you'll need a crew you can rely on.
TRAVIS: Still one step ahead? You're not going to use me anymore. Move!
[Flight deck]
CALLY: The last patrol is off the detectors. We have lost them all.
BLAKE: "Resist the Host or your Oneness will be absorbed."
AVON: I would quite like to have met this Zil of yours. It's not often that one comes across a philosophical flea.
VILA: That's the stuff that legends are made of.
AVON: Then again, perhaps they are not that uncommon.
[Blake and Avon laugh.]