Excerpt from Blakes 7: The Program Guide by Tony Attwood

The planet Albian is a Federation colony, but only a small force of Federation officers is left on the planet to control the entire population.

Revolution is held at bay by the Federation's having primed a solium radiation device which if detonated will destroy all life but leave buildings intact. A revolution has taken place nevertheless and the device is activated. One Federation survivor, Space Major Provine, attempts to escape by using a rocket especially provided for this eventuality.

At the moment of the revolution Blake, Avon and Vila have teleported to Albian searching for Provine in the belief that he can inform them of the location of the central computer control system. However, when the Liberator's crew meet the rebels they try to help by investigating the mechanism that controls the solium device. Avon discovers that the detonation device is not itself within the Federation complex and could be anywhere on the planet. Orac is used to pinpoint its location inside one of the polar caps.

Avon then meets Grant, a mercenary who has been helping the Albians organize their revolution and recognizes him as an old enemy. However, because of Grant's expertise, it is he who teleports with Avon to the polar cap in order to attempt to dismantle the device.

Meanwhile, Blake searches through the ruins of the Federation base and meets Provine who is killed by Blake. Although Provine informs Blake that central control is now called Star One and gives him the name of the one man who knows its location, he fails to disclose any further information before he dies.

Avon and Grant work to de-activate the radiation device but are hampered by faults in the structure of the building in which it is housed. They have switched on the heating system, starting a melting process which causes large amounts of ice to fall into the room. Grant is trapped and injured by a falling beam. Avon nevertheless succeeds in de-activating the device with just one second to spare.

It is revealed at this time that the dispute between the two men originates in Grant's mistaken belief that Avon left Grant's sister Anna to die at the hands of Federation torturers. Avon explains that this is untrue and that he in fact loved Anna. Their differences are reconciled, and Grant chooses to remain on the planet helping the Albian populace build a free society.

Review 07/04/2005 by ledlogic

This episode demonstrates the genius of Blakes 7 screenwriting. Instead of starting with the primary crew, the first part of the episode focuses on the revolution on the planet Albian. You don't even see the Blakes' 7 crew until the second or third act. You would likely not see that on any other science fiction show.

Dramatis Personae:

Roj Blake -- Gareth Thomas
Jenna Stannis -- Sally Knyvette
Kerr Avon -- Paul Darrow
Cally -- Jan Chappell
Vila Restal -- Michael Keating
Del Grant -- Tom Chadbon
Provine -- Paul Shelley
Cauder -- James Kerry
Ralli -- Lindy Alexander
Selson -- Robert Arnold
Tronos -- Geoffrey Snell
Vetnor -- Sidney Kean
Arrian -- Nigel Gregory

Toby Byrne
Peter Caton
Len Gilbey
Ernie Goodyear
Ray Knight
Peter Roy
Robert Smythe
Tony Snell
Derek Suthern

NOTE: _________________ indicates an indecipherable word or phrase.

[Albian. Federation guards in black and rebels in green uniforms fight at a building entrance amid explosions, gun fire, and smoke]

[Federation control room, Albian. Tronos sits at a console to the left of the main door. Selson and Provine stand at another console to the right until Selson crosses the room to look into the corridor]
TRONOS: Selson.
SELSON: Sir.
TRONOS: [Points to the screen on his console] That's the third staircase, isn't it?
SELSON: Yes, sir [The console screen displays a metal staircase] They're getting closer every minute, sir.
TRONOS: I can see that.
[Selson crosses to Provine at the other console]
PROVINE: Where are they now?
SELSON: They're just about [Points to a spot on a grid] here, sir.

[Federation guards running in a corridor, pursued by rebels. Explosions, gun fire, smoke, debris, hand to hand combat. One guard manages to reach an intercom on the wall]

[Control room. The communicator chimes. Tronos and Selson pick up communicators]
TRONOS: [Into communicator] Control. Mm. Right. [Gives Selson a data card which he takes over to Provine]
SELSON: The Albians have broken though into the outer gallery, sir. The field commander reports that despite severe losses, our men are putting up a courageous defense.
PROVINE: Yes, spare me the propaganda, Selson. Can he hold them?
SELSON: He's concentrating what's left of his force to make a stand at level three, sir.
PROVINE: If they beat him at level three, there's little margin left.
SELSON: He'll hold them, sir.
PROVINE: I'd like a little more reassurance than your blind patriotism, Selson. Put the status report on the computer and run a probability program.
SELSON: Sir.

[More guards and rebels fighting in corridors amid explosions and debris]

[Provine in the corridor outside control room. He hears explosions, dirt falls from the ceiling, he returns to control room]
PROVINE: [Enters] They're dropping bombs down the air shafts now.
SELSON: Computer analysis indicates a ninety-three percent probability that the Albians will overwhelm our defenses and take control of the entire complex.
PROVINE: On the evidence of that projection, we have no alternative. We must activate.
SELSON: Sir?!
PROVINE: Tronos, lock the door.
TRONOS: Sir?
PROVINE: Lock the door!
SELSON: Is there nothing else we can do, sir? It means the death of millions. [He brings a box to Provine at the console]
PROVINE: The Albians have always known the penalty for insurrection. Now they must pay the cost. [He has inserted two tubes into the console]
SELSON: But sir, there's still a seven percent possibility we can contain the situation. Couldn't we wait a little longer, sir?
PROVINE: No! Now, then, Tronos, you know what to do.
TRONOS: I give you four minutes to reach the launch area, then I activate. I then follow without delay.
PROVINE: Right. We'll see you at the ship. Four minutes.
[Provine and Selson exit through a door in the wall, opposite the door to the corridor, into an escape tunnel]

[Selson and Provine in the escape tunnel]

[Guards and rebels in a corridor]

[Tronos in the control room. Dirt falls from the ceiling]

[Guards in a corridor pursued by rebels]

[Selson and Provine in the escape tunnel. Explosion]
PROVINE: Selson!
[Selson is down, apparently pinned by falling rock]
SELSON: It's no good, sir. There's no way through; it's blocked. You must try and get back, sir -- you must try and get back and stop... ahhh...[Dies]

[Rebels in the corridor outside the control room, beating on the door]

[Scene cuts between the control room and corridor. Tronos mouths a countdown as he looks at his watch. He crosses the room. In the corridor, a rebel throws a grenade. In the control room, the door bursts open, Tronos dives for his gun, spins, and is shot]

GRANT: ____________
[Grant, Cauder, and Ralli enter and move around the room. Tronos crawls up the console and reaches for a button]
CAUDER: Del, stop him!
[Tronos activates the device and collapses, presumably dead]
GRANT: It's started.
[The device ticks and displays a digital countdown -- 999, 998, 997]
CAUDER: I always thought they were bluffing. I never thought that when it actually came to it they'd REALLY activate!
GRANT: You'd better believe it, Cauder. Believe it and do something fast. [Countdown 994, 993] That thing is ticking away the lives of everybody on this planet. I'd say we have less than an hour.
CAUDER: Ralli, get Vetnor up here -- I want to know exactly what we're up against. And then put out a general call for anybody who can give help.
RALLI: Right away.
GRANT: [Takes Ralli by the hand] And when you've done that, get this place cleaned up, get a casualty report, and get some Federation prisoners for questioning.
RALLI: And while I'm doing all that, what are you going to do?
GRANT: [Patting her hand] Worry, that's what I'm going to do -- worry.
RALLI: You've got good cause [Exits]
GRANT: Sorry, Cauder. I won you a battle, but I lost you a war.
CAUDER: Let's get communications started.

[Exterior of Liberator]

[Teleport section. Avon enters. Blake and Vila are standing together, Jenna passes by in background]
AVON: I've got the read-out you wanted on Albian.
BLAKE: Good.
AVON: Nothing very special. Temperate climate in the equatorial zone, but both polar regions are uninhabitable. Temperatures remaining close to absolute zero.
VILA: Sounds bracing.
BLAKE: Population?
AVON: Approximately six million. It was colonized in the last century of the Old Calendar. At first they resisted political affiliation, but then they joined the Federation, and they have remained unswervingly loyal.
VILA: Then they're not likely to welcome us with open arms.
BLAKE: I hope we're not going to be there long enough to sample their hospitality. This is a fast hit and run.
AVON: What are we after?
BLAKE: A Federation officer called Provine. His service record shows he's served with Central Control. I hope he might be able to tell us quite a lot about where they've moved it to.
CALLY: [Enters and puts data card on console. Jenna, seated at console, picks it up] There's something coming in from Albian.
BLAKE: What is it?
CALLY: Well, it's a very weak signal but as far as I can make out there's been some fighting. The main text is just a general call for technical assistance and it's repeated over and over again.
JENNA: Could be some sort of uprising.
BLAKE: [To Jenna] Get a locator fix on the signal.
CALLY: It's already pinpointed.
BLAKE: Well done. Alright, Avon, get kitted up. You too, Vila.
VILA: Good, terrific -- I'm really looking forward to this. Danger, excitement, sudden death -- I can't wait.
BLAKE: What's the matter with you, don't you ever give up?
JENNA: That's it, Blake -- navigation plot completed. We're locked into stationary orbit within teleport range of planet Albian.
BLAKE: [To Vila] Get your gear.

[Exterior of Liberator in orbit]

[Control room]
VETNOR: [Straightens up from inspecting the device] I don't know, just don't know. Some of the circuitry's fairly basic, that I understand ...the rest --
CAUDER: Oh, come on, Vetnor, there must be something you can do! This is life and death, it must be stopped!
VETNOR: There is one thing...might just work. Might, I can't be sure. If I'm wrong --
GRANT: We won't be here to worry, will we?
CAUDER: Could it detonate?
VETNOR: I don't know, there's always that risk.
GRANT: Everything we've done so far has been risk. We're getting very close to nothing to lose. We've got to chance it.
CAUDER: [To Vetnor] What is it you want to do?
VETNOR: There's a main rotonoid link. If I cut through its primary impulse vein, it might break the circuit. Then again --
CAUDER: It might not. We'll chance it.
[Vetnor reaches into the console and drops a tool, Grant and Cauder exchange looks. Vetnor pulls out some wires and cuts them. There is small explosion and the ticking that marks the countdown stops]
CAUDER: We've stopped it!
[Countdown holds at 722...then starts ticking 721, 720]
GRANT: It hiccoughed, that's all.
VETNOR: Sorry. I don't know what else to try.
CAUDER: That's alright, Vetnor -- you did what you could. We'll think of something else.
[Ralli enters]
GRANT: We've just taken another step towards oblivion.
CAUDER: What do you want, Ralli?
RALLI: We've got some prisoners. You said you wanted to question.
CAUDER: Yes, I do! Is Space Major Provine amongst them?
RALLI: Well if he is he hasn't been identified yet. I've got men checking the prisoners' identity papers.
[Provine is listening to them from the escape tunnel]
GRANT: [O.O.V.] What about the dead -- are you checking them, too?
RALLI: [O.O.V.] Yes, of course.
CAUDER: [O.O.V.] Well, I hope for all our sakes' he has survived. If he has, we have to find him -- he's the only one who knows the complete system.
GRANT: [O.O.V.] How will we know him if we find him?
CAUDER: [O.O.V.] By his identity papers and his uniform. As far as I know, none of our people have seen him.
GRANT: Come on, let's get the questioning started.
CAUDER: Ralli, you go through those files. Find the plans for that thing.
[Grant and Cauder leave]
RALLI: Alright, Vetnor.
VETNOR: I'm sorry I couldn't do the job. It needs tools I haven't got.
RALLI: Well, you'd better go and help look for prisoners.
VETNOR: Right. [Leaves]

[In the tunnel, Provine hides his identity card under a rock]

[Exterior shot of Liberator in orbit]

[Teleport section. Blake hands over a plastic sheet to Jenna and Cally, who sit at the console]
BLAKE: Can you correlate the locator fix to this.
[Jenna moves some levers and a light dot moves on the grid]
JENNA: How about this?
BLAKE: But that puts it right in the middle of the Federation defense complex.
CALLY: Well, we can put you one half co-ordinate point to the fix. That will put you down in the outer limits of the complex.
BLAKE: That'll do. Let's go. Come on, Vila.
VOILA: You're quite sure you need me?
BLAKE: Certain.
AVON: Doesn't it make you feel good to be wanted?
VILA: I've been a wanted man all my life. What I need now is to be unwanted.
BLAKE: Come on. Put us down, Jenna.
JENNA: Good luck.
[They teleport]

[In the complex grounds. Federation corpses are lying about]
AVON: It must have been quite a fight. These men are from the Federation Space Assault Force. They're crack troops.
BLAKE: It's quiet enough now. The battle seems to be over.
VILA: Just one thing we don't know: who won?
AVON: Let's find out. [He starts to move off]
BLAKE: Not that way. Let's look at some of the other levels first.
VILA: Why?
BLAKE: I'd rather not meet anyone until we get the geography of this place sorted out. Men fresh from a battle tend to be a little trigger happy.
[There are sounds of guns firing in the background. He moves off]
VILA: Trigger happy?
AVON: It would be stupid to be shot up by our own allies. [Follows Blake]
VILA: Not only stupid, painful.

[Blake, Avon, and Vila in a corridor. Blake tries a door]
BLAKE: It's locked.
VILA: Allow me. [He opens it] You see -- the old magic's still there.
AVON: [To Blake] The old ego, too.
[They enter the room and Avon turns on the lights]
VILA: It's a rocket launch pad!
BLAKE: [To Avon] What do you make of it?
AVON: I'm not sure.
BLAKE: [Follows Avon to side of rocket] Vila, take a look around.
AVON: [Apparently reading from far side of rocket] This is the specification. It's fast but short-range. It has a life-support capability of about a hundred space hours.
BLAKE: But the nearest habitable planet to Albian is over five hundred space hours away.
AVON: Then it would probably have to rendez-vous with a mother ship.
BLAKE: Or come back to Albian. I don't see the point in having a rocket like that here.
AVON: Just in case of emergencies, perhaps.
BLAKE: Come on, let's go. There's nothing else for us here.
VILA: Blake, look!
BLAKE: What is it?
VILA: There's a sliding section in the roof -- they're launch doors
[He opens and closes them using a control panel on the far wall]
BLAKE: Why don't you do that again, maybe they didn't hear you.
[Blake and Avon leave]
VILA: Wait for me!

[Control room. Ralli is checking the files. Provine opens the escape tunnel door and watches her, then emerges from the tunnel, knocks her out, puts her into the tunnel, and closes the door. Countdown 587, 586, 585. Provine checks it and leaves the control room]

[Blake, Avon, and Vila walking in a corridor, weapons drawn]
CAUDER: Stand where you are! Lower your guns.
BLAKE: [He continues to be noticeably on guard] Easy now, we're not Federation.
CAUDER: Don't move. Now who are you?
BLAKE: I'm Blake. This is Avon and Vila.
CAUDER: Blake? [He lowers his gun] You mean the Blake who's been giving the Federation so much trouble?
BLAKE: We've certainly been trying and from what we see here, you've been doing the same thing.
CAUDER: How did you get here?
BLAKE: Our ship has teleport capability. We came down from the rocket level.
CAUDER: Rockets? Where?
BLAKE: Two levels up.
CAUDER: [To Arrian and another who have been standing O.O.V.] You two: find that rocket and stay with it. If Provine's alive it'll be his escape route [They leave and Blake finally relaxes] My name's Cauder. I'm glad to see you, Blake, all three of you. We have a desperate problem.
BLAKE: Can we help?
CAUDER: If you can't, every living being on this planet will be dead within hours. Come with me. [Blake and Avon follow him]
VILA: Oh dear.

[Provine hides in a corridor as Arrian and the other rebel pass by]

[Control room. Avon has been looking at the device]
AVON: This is a solium radiation device.
BLAKE: Solium?
CAUDER: You know about it?
AVON: Enough to know that it's deadly. Once in fission it creates intense radiation. It destroys living tissue instantly.
CAUDER: That's right, and the Federation made us understand exactly its effects, left us in no doubt if we mounted any major rebellion they wouldn't hesitate to use it.
VILA: But to blow up the whole planet, destroy everything's that's here -- that's stupid.
AVON: But they don't blow it up, that's the point. Solium itself produces a very small explosion and the radiation fall-out decays rapidly. They could wipe out a whole population and still leave the buildings and the installations intact. In less than a day there is no trace of any radiation.
BLAKE: See what you can do with it. Typical Federation policy: things are more important than people.
[He and Cauder sit at a table]
CAUDER: The Federation was bleeding us dry. They levied impossible demands on our economy, gave us no voice in our own government. We were little better than slaves on our own planet.
BLAKE: It's a familiar pattern. Go on.
CAUDER: So we decided to cede from the Federation. Oh, we tried to do it legally, went through all the normal diplomatic patterns, through all the interplanetary laws, but none of it did any good. They declared a state of emergency and placed Albian under martial law.
BLAKE: But policing a planet of this size must tie down a fairly considerable Federation force.
CAUDER: No. They had less than a hundred troops here.
BLAKE: What?
CAUDER: They had an easier way to ensure our loyalty. Simple and terrifying. They installed THAT. [Gestures. Shot of Avon working on the device]
BLAKE: Yes, must've been like living with a gun against your heads.
CAUDER: That's right. And that is why we were finally driven to act. We knew the enormity of the risk but we had to take it. Somehow, I thought when it came to it, they wouldn't detonate, I thought they were bluffing. I was wrong. Now unless we can deactivate that, millions will pay for my mistake.
AVON: I can dismantle the solium device, but first of all I have to find it. This isn't it.
CAUDER: What?
AVON: It is a subetheric transmitter that activates remotely. The bomb itself could be anything up to ten thousand miles from here, hidden anywhere on the planet.
[Countdown 503, 502, 501, 500]

[Rebel in the rocket silo. Hears noise in hall and goes to investigate. Provine kills him O.O.V., then enters the room and unsuccessfully tries to open the launch doors]
ARRIAN: You're not going anywhere -- Major Provine. The launch doors won't open; I've smashed the relays. Don't move! Just throw your gun down, carefully. There [Gestures to middle of floor] where I can see it. [Provine complies] Good. Now, we're going back to the control room and you're going to deactivate this device.
PROVINE: I can't do that.
ARRIAN: I think we can find ways of convincing you.
PROVINE: I didn't say I wouldn't, I said I can't. Once the device is activated it can't be stopped.
ARRIAN: I don't believe that.
PROVINE: But it's true. It's out of our control now. Neither I nor anybody else can do anything about it. Now. You listen to me. You can give yourself a chance. You don't have to die here with the rest of them.
ARRIAN: What do you mean?
PROVINE: Help me repair the relay. It's a Stadler link, isn't it? Well, there must be a spare in the technical stores, mustn't there?
ARRIAN: Maybe.
PROVINE: Help me find it and we can get the launch doors open. Once we get this ship into orbit, we'll be safe. We can stay out in space until the radiation decays and then return in perfect safety.
ARRIAN: Return to what?
PROVINE: This planet is important to the Federation. They'll bring in settlers, repopulate it. You could play an important part in that. You could have power, position. Help me now and you won't find the Federation ungrateful.
ARRIAN: And my family, my friends?
PROVINE: I'm afraid there's nothing you can do to help them now. Be sensible; to stay here and die with them achieves nothing.
ARRIAN: You think I could live, knowing I'd helped a man who'd murdered an entire world? No, Provine, you're not going anywhere. You're going to stay here and die with the rest of us. Now move.
PROVINE: No, wait.
ARRIAN: Now move!
PROVINE: You're a fool. [He moves to the door and reaches for the panel, hesitates]
ARRIAN: The door.
[Provine touches the lowest portion of the panel and the rocket exhausts flare. He retrieves his gun and kills the Arrian after a brief struggle. Provine then begins to leave, goes back for the damaged relay circuit, begins to leave again, looks from his uniform to Arrian's, then begins undressing them both]

[Control room]
BLAKE: If there is any information on the location of the device --
CAUDER: But there must be!
BLAKE: Then the obvious place is the safe. Vila, can you crack it?
VILA: It's a tough one, but I've got the combination.
CAUDER: You have?
VILA: Yes, but the buttons are sensitized to respond only to certain fingerprints. I've got to bypass all that before I can go to work on the combination mechanisms. [Goes back to safe]
BLAKE: If anyone can crack it, he can. Breaking into a Federation stronghold must've taken some doing. How many men did you have?
CAUDER: About a hundred and fifty. They came from resistance groups all over the planet.
BLAKE: But you planned the organization.
CAUDER: Initially, but it didn't take me long to realize I'd need a professional dealer.
BLAKE: You mean you hired a mercenary?
CAUDER: Yes. He organized the revolution on the planet Arcos, others before that. He has a very good record.
BLAKE: Hmph.
CAUDER: I made contact. He agreed to help, but demanded a very substantial sum.
AVON: Mercenaries generally do.
CAUDER: No, I think the price was to satisfy his ego, to prove he's the best in his field.
BLAKE: He's certainly very good at his job to get your men in here. Where is he?
CAUDER: He should be back. I'll fetch him.
BLAKE: Oh, what's his name?
CAUDER: [On his way out] Grant. Del Grant.
[O.O.V., Avon? drops something]
BLAKE: What's the matter?
AVON: Nothing. It's not important. I was a little surprised, that's all.
BLAKE: Why? Do you know him?
AVON: I once knew somebody called Del Grant, but it was a long time ago. I doubt that this is the same man.
BLAKE: You don't seem very eager to find out. Why?
AVON: There are matters that remain to be settled between us.
BLAKE: Like what?
AVON: I told you: it's not important.
BLAKE: If it is not important, then why did his name have such a strong effect upon you?
AVON: Because the Del Grant that I knew said that if we ever met again, he would kill me.
VILA: I've done it! I think I've done it. [He joins them, a box in his hand] I've isolated the identification sensors. It's straight combination now. Watch this -- it should open like a dream [He does something with the box and the safe explodes]
BLAKE: [Coughs] More like a nightmare. [He and Vila pull data cards from the safe] They're all in code [Avon takes one]
VILA: So are these.
AVON: Give me a little time, I can decode it.
BLAKE: Time is what we don't have. [Into bracelet] Liberator, this is Blake, do you read me?
CALLY: [V.O., on bracelet] We hear you.
BLAKE: Stand by to teleport, Vila's coming up. [To Vila] I want all that stuff run through Orac, I want the cipher broken, and a full read-out.
VILA: Right.
BLAKE: Ready?
VILA: Yes.
BLAKE: [Into bracelet] Take him up. [Vila teleports]

[Teleport section. Vila materializes]
CALLY: What's happening down there?
VILA: I'll tell you later, no time now.
JENNA: Well, what's all the rush?
VILA: There's a bomb timed to detonate in under half an hour. We don't even know where it is. Give me a linkup with Orac.

[Control room]
AVON: We have now used up more than half the time we have available.
BLAKE: Hm.
CAUDER: [Enters with Grant] Blake, this is Grant.
GRANT: Good to meet you. [They shake hands]
BLAKE: And you. We've been hearing about your strikes against the Federation.
GRANT: You've been hitting them pretty hard, too. You keep it up, you'll put us out of business.
BLAKE: [Laughs] That I wouldn't mind.
GRANT: If it meant breaking the Federation, nor would I. [Sees Avon]
AVON: Hello, Del. It's been a long time.
GRANT: I heard you were dead.
AVON: I heard the same about you. Wishful thinking perhaps.
GRANT: I'm glad the stories were wrong. I felt cheated. We have some things to settle.
BLAKE: You two can talk about the old days some other time. Right now we have a problem that's just a little more pressing.
CAUDER: What's the countdown?
BLAKE: Four two five.
CAUDER: It's getting closer.
BLAKE: Vila's using Liberator's computers to try and decipher the code. It could just give us the location.
AVON: I have found the circuit plans [Holds up plans. Grant joins him]
GRANT: Yes, that's the detonator. A nasty one, tricky to disarm.
AVON: You would have to take out the secondary circuit first, go in under here [Points to plans]
GRANT: Hmm. Might work. Still, not easy.
[The tunnel door opens and Ralli falls into the room]
BLAKE: Cauder!
CAUDER: Ralli! [They gather around her] Ralli, what happened?
RALLI: Oh. I don't know. Someone came up behind me and just hit me.
BLAKE: [To Grant] That's an escape tunnel. Come on. [They leave]
CAUDER: You'll be all right, Ralli.

[In the tunnel, Blake and Grant find Selson's body]
BLAKE: He's not long dead.
GRANT: Get his papers. Where do you think this leads?
BLAKE: Probably comes out by the rocket silo.
GRANT: Hmm. Must've been trying to get to the rocket when the roof caved in.
[Blake has retrieved Selson's papers and handed them to Grant]
BLAKE: Who is he?
GRANT: Selson, sergeant, security forces.
BLAKE: Hmm. Have you searched all the Federation dead and wounded?
GRANT: Most of them.
BLAKE: Any senior officers?
GRANT: No.
BLAKE: He's got to be here somewhere.
GRANT: Who has?
BLAKE: I came down to question a man called Provine, a Space Major. I think that he can help us with the whereabouts of Federation's Central Control.
GRANT: There's no Space Major amongst the prisoners.
BLAKE: Let me try this on you. The complex is under attack, your men have already penetrated the outer defenses. Provine decides to evacuate, he activates the device, starts down the escape tunnel towards the rocket silo. An explosion brings down the roof, and kills this one.
GRANT: Maybe the other one, too. He could be buried further in.
BLAKE: No, somebody survived. He waited his chance, went back to the room. When the girl came in and was alone --
GRANT: He moved out and hit her. It makes sense.
BLAKE: THAT was Provine.
GRANT: If you're right, he could be still wandering around here somewhere.
BLAKE: Yes, come on.

[Corridor. A rebel and Provine, now in rebel uniform, pass each other]

[Control room]
RALLI: I tell you I saw nothing. The only thing I remember is a man in uniform. I just got a glimpse as I blacked out.
BLAKE: He's got to be found.
CAUDER: I'll organize a search party.
BLAKE: [To Ralli] Come on, you need some rest.
AVON: That last day, when it was all over, did they hurt her? [Blake passes by with Ralli in background]
GRANT: They kept her under interrogation for nearly a week. They tried everything but she never broke. If she had spoken, told them what they wanted to know, she'd be alive now.
AVON: She should have told them. [Unseen by Avon and Grant, Blake listens and watches them from a distance]
GRANT: She held on because she believed in you. She didn't know that you'd run out and leave her to face it alone.
AVON: That was not the way it was.
GRANT: I know exactly how it was. She died under Federation torture. But it was you who killed her.
[Blake's bracelet chimes and Avon and Grant turn toward him. Blake speaks into his bracelet while looking at the two of them]
BLAKE: Blake. Go ahead, Jenna.

[Teleport section]
JENNA: [Into console] That's it, we got it, Blake, the exact position of the installation. I'm sending Vila down now.
CALLY: [Into console] Blake, co-ordinates are one eleven seven nine, intersect four forty-one.
JENNA: Stand by, Vila.

[Vila teleports and materializes in corridor, enters control room]
BLAKE: Coordinate one eleven seven nine, intersect four four one.
CAUDER: Are you sure?
BLAKE: Orac doesn't make mistakes.
CAUDER: Then we're finished.
AVON: What do you mean?
CAUDER: Well, look at that. [Indicates a small screen which displays a tundra] It's the polar cap, right in the center of the ice zone.
BLAKE: Then we'll have to get to it.
CAUDER: But it's four thousand miles away. It can't be done.
AVON: It can if we use the teleport.
BLAKE: We can teleport right down to the location.
AVON: We'll need special equipment, thermal clothing.
BLAKE: We'll do it. [Starts to call the ship]
AVON: Wait. Disarming a device is not your field. You finish what we came here for: find Provine.
GRANT: [To Avon] I'll come with you.
AVON: No.
GRANT: I can help.
BLAKE: Look, I don't know exactly what it is between you, but there's enough danger without letting personal grudges interfere.
GRANT: That's something we can settle in our own time. Cauder, what matters now is that I can give this man backup. I've worked with timing devices. I know the mechanisms.
BLAKE: All right, it's your decision, Avon. Do you want him?
AVON: Give him a bracelet.
BLAKE: Vila. [To Avon] Just one thing: if that countdown goes below fifty and the device is still primed you will be teleported out. Vila and I will do the same.
AVON: Understood.
BLAKE: [Into bracelet] Jenna, Cally, prepare thermal equipment. Stand by to teleport, Avon's coming up. [To Grant] One more thing: if anything happens to Avon, I will come looking for you. [Grant puts on bracelet and stands by Avon] Ready?
AVON: [Into bracelet] Jenna, take us out of here.

[Teleport section. Avon and Grant materialize]
JENNA: Is everything all right?
AVON: Not exactly. I'll tell you about it some other time. This is Del Grant, this is Jenna. [Cally enters with suits] Cally, get me those co-ordinates. [To Grant] Put on one of those, you're going to need it. Jenna, I need some high-temperature lances. [She leaves]

[Escape tunnel]
CAUDER: Any luck?
BLAKE: He's alive. I know it. He's here somewhere.
CAUDER: If he is, my men will find him.
BLAKE: It's a very large area to search.
CAUDER: Yes. What would he do? Where would he go?

[Provine in a corridor]
VETNOR: Where are you going, soldier?
PROVINE: Circuit maintenance, sir.
VETNOR: Has this area been checked?
PROVINE: I've been right through it, sir. Nothing.
VETNOR: All right, come with me, we're searching the next level.
PROVINE: Right, sir.

[Teleport section. Avon and Grant are suited up]
AVON: You adjust the temperature with this [Points to knob on suit] You all set?
GRANT: Well, uh... [Looks at gun. Avon gives him one]

[Shot of polar region]

[Avon and Grant materialize in polar installation]
AVON: All right?
GRANT: Yeah.
AVON: Look for the lights.
GRANT: Here they are. [Switches on lights]
AVON: Good. [Indicates grates in the wall] Heaters.
GRANT: I see them. [Moves to switches on other wall]
AVON: That's better. Now all we have to do is find the device.
GRANT: Right.
[They search]
GRANT: There's nothing here.
AVON: Well, keep looking. [More searching] Grant.
GRANT: Yeah?
AVON: There's a relay cable here. I'm going to follow it. [Grant joins him by the wall] The cable goes down under here so it must be under this section. [He lifts a panel and touches the surface] Solid ice. Get the axe. [Grant hands him the axe and he chips at the ice] It's no good -- we're not going to get into this way.
GRANT: If we stand here talking, we certainly won't.
AVON: Get a space heater started. I'll put a lance into it.
GRANT: There's mercury in that detonator. You burn your way in, you could trigger it.
AVON: I know, but we don't have time to wait for it to thaw. Get started.

[Control room]
BLAKE: The rocket. That's the key to it.
CAUDER: Yes. I have men posted at the silo.
BLAKE: He may try and get in some other way. Through the launch doors, perhaps. I think I'll take a look.
CAUDER: Well, you better take somebody with you. There might be Federation guards on the loose. Ralli, find somebody.
RALLI: Right.
BLAKE: [Into bracelet] Blake. Any news from Avon?
JENNA: [V.O.] They're down safely, that's all we've heard.
BLAKE: [Into bracelet] Call me if they come through with anything.
JENNA: [V.O] Confirmed.
RALLI: Whenever you're ready.
BLAKE: Thank you. Cauder, if there's still no news from Avon when that countdown goes below fifty, I'm pulling out.
CAUDER: I understand. To stay with us would be a stupid gesture.
BLAKE: I can take some of you off with me.
CAUDER: No, not for me. I'll stay here till the end. Ralli can go if she likes.
RALLI: No, I'll stay.
BLAKE: All right, think about it. There's still time.
[Leaves, taps the rebel guard on the shoulder to go with him]

[Polar installation. Avon and Grant are wearing visors. Avon is apparently inserting the lance into the ice -- lights and smoke]
GRANT: Careful, you'll trigger it. [Avon looks at him and Grant moves off. Avon goes back to work]
AVON: Done it. Get that table under the light. [Grant does, and also pulls some dangling chains out of the way. There's a rumbling noise] What's happening?
GRANT: [Looks at the ceiling] The main roof beam's cracked...resting on the ice. If it melts any more, it'll cave in.
AVON: Give me a hand.
[They lift the device onto the table. Countdown 202, 201, 200]
GRANT: Well, while it's ticking we're all right.
AVON: We're going to have to take out the relays to get at the activator. Get the cutters. [Avon reaches into the device. Grant fetches cutters from tool box. Water is dripping freely from the roof. Grant gives Avon the cutters] Which one is it first? Left, right, or center?
GRANT: Center first.
AVON: Cutters. [Grant passes him the cutters. Avon cuts the center wire] Which next?
GRANT: Right next. No, no, wait! I'm opposite you now. Left is the next in sequence. Your left.
AVON: You don't get another guess.
GRANT: Left. [Avon cuts the left wire] Next bit's straightforward. Do you want me to do it?
AVON: Go ahead.
GRANT: Hadn't we better turn the heaters off?
AVON: It depends which you prefer: being crushed or frozen to death?

[Control room]
RALLI: These are some more Federation personnel files. Any use to you?
VILA: Yes, I'll check them. No. No. No. [He looks at the cards and places them on the table. The last one shows a picture of Provine]
RALLI: That's Provine! That's his service record. [She picks up the card] That's the man I got to go with Blake!
VILA: Which way did they go?
RALLI: The rocket silo.
[Vila runs to door, then back]
VILA: I've forgotten how to get there!
RALLI: The junctions of corridor eleven A, fifty-one B.
VILA: Eleven A, fifty-one B [Runs out]

[Vila stops in a corridor] VILA: Five A, eleven one B...

[Blake and Provine walking in a corridor]

[Polar installation. Avon and Grant are working on the device]
GRANT: It's getting cold again.
AVON: You turned the heaters off. [Lifts top from device. Grant pulls out a cannister] Don't let it tilt, keep it level.
GRANT: I must be getting old.
AVON: Waste any more time and you won't get any older. Give me the extractor. Now.
GRANT: [Hands him the extractor] There's one thing I never understood. Why did you leave her alone?
AVON: I had arranged to buy some exit visas, but I had to go right across the city to collect them. It was safer for Anna to stay out of sight. Separator.
GRANT: [Hands him the separator] What happened then?
AVON: There were patrols out everywhere looking for us. I was late at the rendezvous. And then the man from whom I was buying the visas increased the price. He wanted ten times what we had agreed. He said he could get even more if he turned me in and collected the Federation reward.
GRANT: You should have killed him.
AVON: I did. Link clamp.
GRANT: [Hands him the link clamp] So you got the visas. Why didn't you go back for her?
AVON: Killing the dealer wasn't quite so straightforward. He was expecting something and fired first. I started back but I was losing a lot of blood. Somewhere along the way I passed out. I was lucky. Some people found me and got me under cover.
GRANT: You could have got a message to her, told her to get out.
AVON: I was unconscious for more than thirty hours. I need to hold this flap back. Get your hand in here. [Grant complies. He and Avon are standing chest to chest] That's good. You can get at the main now.
GRANT: You used the visa and got out of the city. You left her there.
AVON: That's right. But that was a week later. Anna was already dead.
GRANT: You're lying. You left the city the same day, before the Federation found Anna. You could have got her out.
AVON: No. She came looking for me, the patrols found her. It was only after we got word that she was dead that I left.
GRANT: You expect me to believe that?
AVON: Not particularly. But it happens to be the truth. If there had ever been a time when I could have given my own life to save her, I would have done it. The only grain of consolation that I have is that Anna knew that.
GRANT: She died because of you, that's all that matters. There's nothing changed between us.
AVON: I didn't really expect that it would be. That's the primary isolated. My fingers are cramping.
[Countdown 150, 149,148, 147, 146]
GRANT: Did you see the read-out?
AVON: I did.
GRANT: We're running it fine. There's a long way to go. [Looks over at Avon] I said "there's a long way to go."
AVON: I heard.

[Vila running back and forth in a corridor]

[Blake and Provine turn a corner into another corridor and spot the rebel Provine killed earlier]
BLAKE: That's one of the men Cauder sent to guard the rocket silo. Now where is the other one?
[Enters silo with Provine behind him. Blake sees Arrian's body behind the rocket and bends down to check it. When he straightens up, Provine shoots at him and he dodges behind the rocket. Provine runs into the corridor looking for Blake, then re-enters the room. Blake grabs him at the doorway, they struggle]

[Vila outside the rocket silo. A gun fires inside the room and Provine backs out, collapsing against the far wall]
VILA: Blake! [Blake comes out of the room] That's Provine. We found his picture on his service record.
BLAKE: He's dying. [Grabs Provine's shirt front] Provine! Provine! The computer complex, Control, where have the Federation moved it to?
PROVINE: Go to hell.
BLAKE: You may still have a chance if I can get you to our surgical unit. Now where is Control, Provine?
PROVINE: Star One. It's called Star One now. Docholli. Cybersurgeon. Only Docholli knows.
BLAKE: Where is Docholli? Where is Docholli?! [Provine dies] See you in hell. [Blake and Vila leave]

[Polar installation]
GRANT: [Lifts a component of the device -- three tubes standing upright in a round base] Sixty-three. Can we do it?
AVON: It's still possible.
GRANT: Blake said he'd pull us out at fifty. We won't do it in that time.
AVON: Are you willing to chance it?
GRANT: That's what these people are paying me for.
AVON: Then give me your bracelet [Grant complies and Avon removes his own] Now he can't pull us out, can he? [Pitches bracelets aside] Right.
GRANT: This isn't familiar to me.
AVON: It's a new mark, but the principle is the same. There are three detonators, each activated by a plunger. If we enlarge these holes and then insert a rod, we can arrest the downward travel of each plunger.
GRANT: A laser lance would be faster.
AVON: It's too risky on this kind of material [Debris, ice, water fall from ceiling. Avon drills two holes in one of the tubes] I'm through. Give me a rod. [Grant does]
GRANT: Will it be strong enough to hold it?
AVON: It'll do [Inserts rod] All right, release the trigger.
GRANT: Ready?
AVON: Let it go. [The plunger drops and stops at the rod. Avon smiles]
GRANT: One down, two to go.

[Control room. Blake and Vila enter. Scene cuts between control room and teleport section]
CAUDER: Blake!
BLAKE: What's the countdown?
CAUDER: Fifty-three.
BLAKE: [Into bracelet] Liberator, this is Blake. Do you read me?
JENNA: [V.O., over bracelet] We hear you.
BLAKE: Any news from Avon?
JENNA: There's been no word at all.
BLAKE: [V.O., over console] All right. Teleport them up. We just dropped under the safety margin I gave him.
JENNA: We can't.
BLAKE: [V.O., over console] What do you mean?
JENNA: We can't make teleport contact.
BLAKE: They must have taken their bracelets off. [Into bracelet] All right, remain on standby. We'll stay down here a little longer.

[Polar installation. Water is falling like rain from the ceiling. Grant shelters under a plank. Avon inserts another rod in another tube, then joins Grant]
AVON: Two down, only one to go.
GRANT: What's the countdown?
AVON: Forty-one. I've left it for you. Look out! [Some of the ceiling collapses. One of them grabs the detonator. Grant is trapped by a beam] Grant!

[Control room]
VILA: Thirty-nine, thirty-eight, thirty-seven... Blake.
CAUDER: Blake, go! Leave us.
VILA: Blake! [He lifts his wrist to call the ship, but Blake stops him]

[Polar installation. Avon ties a chain to the beam and starts to lift it off Grant]
AVON: You all right?
GRANT: It's no use, Avon. You don't have the time.
AVON: [Stops hauling on chain] Hell, it's jammed.
GRANT: Face it, Avon; we've lost the game. Find your bracelet and tell them to teleport you out.
AVON: We're not done yet. I think I can still get at it. I'm going to have to crawl in over you.
GRANT: I've told you you haven't got time, get out!

[Teleport section. Cally is tapping her fingers on the console]
JENNA: Cally, stop that, will you, please?
CALLY: I'm sorry.

[Polar installation]
GRANT: What's the countdown?
AVON: Twenty-five.
GRANT: It's no use, Avon. It was a good try. Get out. You haven't got time. Nobody's going to blame you. [Avon drills holes] If the positions were reversed, if it were you under this beam, I might have left you, the way things are between us. Why are you helping me? [More drilling] There's one thing we've forgotten.
AVON: What?
GRANT: The last of the rods. I was holding it when the roof collapsed.
[Countdown 12, 11. Avon spies the rod. Countdown 7, 6. Avon inserts the rod. Countdown 4, 3, 2, 1. The last plunger drops onto the rod]
GRANT: You did it.
AVON: [Laughs] Yes, I did, didn't I?
GRANT: Why did you help me?
AVON: Perhaps because Anna was your sister.

[Exterior shot of Liberator]

[Teleport section]
GRANT: Goodbye, Jenna.
JENNA: Goodbye.
GRANT: Goodbye Cally, goodbye Vila. And thank you.
VILA: Any time.
GRANT: I'll remember that.
VILA: Oh, will you?
BLAKE: All right, Jenna, take us on manual. Get us out of here.
JENNA: Right. [She, Cally, and Vila leave]
BLAKE: Avon. [To Grant] You're welcome to come with us if you want to.
GRANT: Thanks, but no. They still need me down on Albian. Besides, I've got a pretty hefty fee to collect.
BLAKE: You've earned it. Ready?
GRANT: Yeah. [Looks at Avon. Offers his hand. Avon looks at it a second, then shakes hands, and gives a slight nod]
BLAKE: Good luck. [Teleports Grant]

[Exterior shot of Liberator leaving orbit]

[Teleport section]
BLAKE: Are you going to tell me about Anna?
AVON: You wouldn't understand.
BLAKE: Wouldn't I?
AVON: I doubt it. [Turns and leaves]
[Blake smiles]