BLAKE'S 7 Duel. The compilation tape of episodes 6,8 and 9: [c] 2009 by Ron Clarke Geddes. All three episodes written by Terry Nation, Series created by Terry Nation, [c] 1977 by the British Broadcasting Corporation. Episode 6: ''Seek-Locate-Destroy'' Format [c] 1992 by Tommy Persson, Susan Beth Schnitger, Didi Johnson, and Micky DuPree. Episode 8: ''Duel'' Format [c] 1993 by Micky DuPree and Frances Teagle Episode 9: ''Project Avalon'' Directed by: Michael Briant. Format [c] 1993 by Micky DuPree. Transcription: Malcolm Mladenovic. Proofreading: Dave Owen and Sue Clerc. [Planet Centero. Outside what looks like a manufacturing plant.] P.A.: Attention, please. This is planet Centero communications base control. Routine robot surveillance is now in operation. [A mobile robot rolls by, swivels its head, then moves on. Blake materializes, looks about then runs to take cover. He moves deeper into the building as he hears the robot approaching, brushing by a hanging cable as he goes. The robot shoots a stream of flames onto the still swinging cable just seconds later.] BLAKE: [into bracelet] I'm down and safe. I'm somewhere inside the main complex. Is Vila ready? [Liberator teleport room. Jenna is at the controls, Vila is standing near her with his open box of tools. Gan and Cally are nearby.] JENNA: [into comm] Hold on, just checking. [to Vila] Are you ready? VILA: Tell him I've just worked out a completely new strategy. It's called running away. JENNA: He's ready. BLAKE: [v.o.] Put him down. JENNA: [into comm] Standby. [Centero. Vila materializes in the same place as Blake had earlier. He looks about, then starts running in the exact opposite of the direction Blake took.] BLAKE: [beckoning] Vila, over here. [Vila runs to join him.] VILA: Where are we? BLAKE: Shhh, no noise. There's a security robot patrolling the area. As far as I can tell we're in the outer compound. Top security section should be back that way. Now, stay close to me and keep your head down. VILA: [hopefully] Why don't I stay here and keep watch? BLAKE: Come on. [They run, pass alongside a wall and come to a gate in a chain-link fence. A sign on the gate reads "TOP SECURITY."] BLAKE: There it is. That must be the way in. Can you open those gates or are we going to have to climb them? VILA: You won't get over it. That'll have every detector device you can imagine, and a few more besides. I'll have to get a closer look at the locking system. BLAKE: All right, I'll keep watch. [Vila moves over to the gate, Blake hears the robot approaching and flattens to the ground.] BLAKE: [calling softly] Vila, take cover. [Vila keeps working on the panel.] BLAKE: Vila! [Vila reaches into his box. The robot passes by. Blake looks over at the gate -- no Vila in sight. Blake runs over to the gate and looks around.] BLAKE: Vila? [Vila sticks his head out of the doors] VILA: Has it gone? BLAKE: How did you get in there? VILA: There isn't a lock I can't open -- if I'm scared enough. BLAKE: Are you scared enough for that one? VILA: What do you think? [Both move over to the gate and look at it. Vila sets back to work with a couple of tools.] BLAKE: How does it work? VILA: All you've got to do is intercept the feedback from the computer. [Vila holds one finger on a component inside the panel.] Now, you stand in front and I'll press the scan button. [Vila presses a red button with his other hand. the gate swings open.] BLAKE: Nice going. VILA: Any very talented person could have done it. BLAKE: Come on. [Blake enters. Vila starts to follow with his tool box but hears a beeping from the gate controls so pauses to close the panel he'd opened. They run inside, slipping safely behind a patrol group. They see two guards at a door. Blake whispers to Vila who nods, then approaches the guards.] VILA: Hello there. How are you? Excuse me wandering about your premises but I wonder if you can help me. I'm an escaped prisoner. I was a thief but recently I've become interested in sabotage, in a small way you understand, nothing too ambitious, I hate vulgarity, don't you? Anyway, I've come to blow something up. What do you think will be most suitable? [Throughout this babbling the guards have been looking back and forth at him and each other in disbelief. Blake slips up behind them from the other side and takes out one of the guards. Vila bashes the other with his tool box.] GUARDS: Agh! [Blake runs inside. Vila starts to follow then stays with the guards.] VILA: Blake, don't leave me. [Blake moves down corridors, draws his weapon and looks around. Back at the door, Vila arranges the two unconscious guards into a seated position leaning against each other, then enters the building. He looks around in a corridor.] [Teleport room. Avon and Cally are holding mines which Gan packs into a carry bag, Jenna is at the controls.] AVON: All you've got to do with these is find a metal surface and they'll stick fast. GAN: Right. CALLY: They're taking too long. AVON: That's the trouble with heroics. They seldom run to schedule. JENNA: They'll find it. There's not going to be a sign up there saying "This way to the cipher room." GAN: They may need help. CALLY: I think so, too. AVON: They would have called in. JENNA: Avon's right. AVON: [looks over at Jenna] I usually am. JENNA: Blake says wait so we wait. [Corridor outside Cipher Room. Blake and Vila move cautiously down the corridor then duck into cover as Prell wheels a dolly out of the room. He leaves it in the corridor and returns inside. Blake mouths something to Vila then bursts into the room and points his weapon at the technicians and guard inside.] BLAKE: Stand still! Vila, get his gun. [Vila takes the gun from the guard and herds the others with it.] VILA: All right, all of you, over there, against the wall, quickly. BLAKE: [into bracelet] Jenna, we found it. Standby. [Teleport room] BLAKE: [v.o.] Phase one is now complete. Get an absolute locator fix on my signal. As soon as you are set, put them down. [Gan, Cally and Avon move over to the teleport controls.] JENNA: Right. AVON: It had better be right. A fraction out and you could put us down in the middle of the security barracks. JENNA: Don't tempt me. [Jenna is using a panel with an indicator light.] JENNA: Blake, can you give me a voice check? BLAKE: [v.o.] Reading out. [The light moves as he speaks, then comes to a stop.] One, two, three, four. One, two-- JENNA: Right, that's it, got it. Locked on. [to others] Ready? [Avon, Cally and Gan enter the teleport bay.] Good luck. I'm putting them down -- now. [Cipher room. Avon, Cally and Gan materialize.] BLAKE: [to Avon] Now do you know what you're looking for? AVON: [shortly] Yes. [Moves off towards the equipment.] BLAKE: [to Gan] All the equipment here? GAN: All here. BLAKE: [into bracelet] Down and safe. Well done, Jenna. [Teleport room. Jenna smiles and sits back, making notes on a pad.] [Cipher room] BLAKE: Vila, back down to the entrance: keep the door covered. Cally, Gan, get the prisoners out of here, find somewhere to hold them. Cally, you stay with them. Gan, when you've started setting charges come back in here. GAN: Right. [Gan and Cally leave, herding the techs and guard before them.] AVON: Blake! [Blake joins Avon, and looks inside an opened panel.] This is it. BLAKE: You're sure? AVON: It's been updated since the last one I saw, but it's still the same basic instrument. BLAKE: You're absolutely positive? AVON: Yes. BLAKE: Good, disconnect it. [Avon starts to work.] [Storage room with shelves of bins, etc. Cally and Gan herd their prisoners inside.] CALLY: Move on, move on, stand facing those racks. [Gan pushes the men up against the rack, pats their arms into position.] And keep your hands up. GAN: Can you handle it, Cally? [Cally nods, Gan leaves the room.] [Corridor. Gan sticks two mines to walls and activates them.] [Cipher room. Avon is working, Gan comes in quickly startling Blake who aims his weapon at him before recognizing Gan.] GAN: I've set the charges down the corridor. BLAKE: All right, set a couple in here. GAN: Two? One would be sufficient. BLAKE: I want total destruction so nothing can be recognized. If they sort through the debris and find the cipher machine is missing all they'll do is change their code and we'll have wasted our time. [Storage room. Cally moves over to the door and peers out. Prell reaches one hand slowly towards a canister on the shelf before him but puts it back up empty when Cally moves towards the prisoners again.] [Cipher room. Gan is starting to attach a mine to a wall.] AVON: Gan. [Gan moves over to help Avon who hands him a tool.] [Outside the door. One of the guards has come to. Vila sees the robot approaching and takes cover. The guard runs to trigger a switch. Vila chases him and knocks him out, but too late to keep the alarm from going off.] [Cipher room. Blake is standing at the open door. The alarm can be heard.] BLAKE: That's done it. Gan, watch the door. [Blake shuts the door, Gan moves over to it as Blake crosses to Avon.] BLAKE: [to Avon] How are you doing? AVON: [grunts] Well, the main holders are released but I still can't get it free. BLAKE: Here. [He tries in vain to pull the cipher gizmo free.] AVON: It's secured by something that I can't quite fathom. Gan! [Gan joins them] GAN: You better stand back. [He reaches into the panel and grapples with the device, grimacing with strain.] BLAKE: Avon, keep an eye on the door. [Avon moves over to the door.] BLAKE: [Checks his timer] Come on, Gan, hurry it up, hurry up. [Vila bursts in, Avon aims his weapon at him.] AVON: What are you doing here? VILA: What do you think? BLAKE: Lock the door! [Vila slides a bolt just as a guard reaches the door.] BLAKE: Get down, both of you. [Blake blasts the guard through the door. Blake, Vila and Avon push a cabinet in front of the doorway to block it.] BLAKE: [to Gan] How are you doing? GAN: I've broken two connections, just two to go. BLAKE: You've got one minute left. [into bracelet] Stand by, Jenna, we may have to get out of here very fast. [Storage room. Cally moves in front of a set of shelves. She looks over at the door when she hears some guards running past, and Prell grabs the canister and throws it at her, knocking her back. PRELL: [to other prisoners] Come on, get her! [They rush her, and Prell grapples with her, holding her until the guard knocks her out.] PRELL: [to guard] Right, you watch her. [to other techs] You three come with me. [They exit. The guard removes Cally's gun.] P.A.: Attention, please. This is base control, red alert! All security personnel to report to number one command post immediately. [Outside building. A squad of guards jog by.] [Storage room. Cally attacks the guard. They fight, she wins and knocks him out. She realizes her bracelet has come off and starts searching for it, around and behind the racks.] [Cipher room. Gan bends back a sheet of metal and pulls the cipher device free.] GAN: Got it! BLAKE: Right, everything into the bags. [into bracelet] Jenna, stand by to bring us up in, about, twenty seconds. [Shots of Cally still searching, overlaid by the timer on a mine ticking down.] Now! [Blake, Avon, Vila and Gan dematerialize.] [Shots of Cally still searching, the timer reaching zero, explosions, fire, Cally's body lying behind the fallen rack, her bracelet lying beside her.] [Teleport room] JENNA: [lays device on control panel] So you got it. BLAKE: It was close though. AVON: Too close. Another few seconds we'd have all been blown up. VILA: Well, it wasn't my fault. AVON: Well, whose fault was it? I thought you were supposed to guard the corridor. VILA: You were supposed to disconnect that thing, not rely on Gan tear to it loose with his teeth. JENNA: All right, all right, now calm down. Are you sure this is it? [picks up the device] It doesn't look like much. [Flight deck, empty except for Blake.] BLAKE: Zen, retaliation status report. ZEN: Detectors confirm massive launch of long range interceptor rockets. They have locked on to Liberator's course and are in pursuit. BLAKE: How long before we outrun them? ZEN: Battle computers estimate seven hours to outrange interceptor tracking systems. BLAKE: Maintain optimum evasive strategy. [He exits the flight deck, the next line coming as he walks away down the corridor.] ZEN: Battle computers confirm, optimum evasion strategy committed. [Teleport room] AVON: So that all communication between Federation units is sent by hyperspace sub-beam, that originates here and here. [indicates areas on device] All messages are converted into zeta three particles and then scrambled. [Blake enters in background.] They in their turn become an unbreakable code. BLAKE: Unbreakable unless you have one of those. AVON: As soon as I get this linked into our communications setup, we should be able to read every message that the Federation puts out. JENNA: Any sign of the interceptors? BLAKE: We picked up a whole flock of 'em. But we should outrun them in seven hours. JENNA: It's almost too easy, isn't it? BLAKE: A lot can happen in seven hours so I suggest we get back to business. Avon, I want you to make a start with that. Cally can help you. Where is Cally? [Everyone looks about.] Anybody see where she went? [Pause, no one speaks.] Has anybody seen her since she came back on board? GAN: I haven't seen her. VILA: Neither have I. BLAKE: Then she's still down there. We've got to get back. JENNA: We can't. The interceptors. BLAKE: We can't just leave her there! AVON: Blake, listen. If she didn't come back up, then she must have been in the building when the charges blew. She's dead. VILA: And anyway, the place will be crawling with security forces by now. They'll be on full alert. AVON: We'd never even get through their interceptors. [Grabs Blake's arm.] Listen! [Blake yanks free.] If you turn this ship round, you will kill all of us. [Federation Space Headquarters. Servalan's office.] RONTANE: Which is why the President has asked me to come here personally; to express his own very grave concern over this matter. The destruction of the communications center has far-reaching political consequences. Controllers from some of the Outer Planets, whose loyalty to the Federation is, uh, delicately balanced, have been openly critical of the Administration's defense system. There are even one or two radical voices that speak of withdrawal from the Federation. BERCOL: My department has done all in its power to suppress information about Blake and his actions -- there is a total blackout on all reports concerning him -- but still the stories get out. They spread by word of mouth, by whispers, by rumour; each time the story is told it is elaborated upon. Any damage to the Federation is attributed to Blake. The smallest incident is exaggerated out of all proportion until it becomes a major event. Blake is becoming a legend. His name is a rallying call for malcontents of all persuasions. He must be stopped. SERVALAN: Gentlemen: I share the President's grave concern. And I am aware of the danger should Blake become a legend. But let us keep this matter in its correct perspective. It is true that Blake has command of a superb space vehicle, but he is just a man, backed by a handful of criminals, and that is all. He is not invulnerable, nor is he superhuman. He is just a man, who has been extremely lucky to evade capture --- so far. RONTANE: With respect, Supreme Commander, we are aware of the facts. They are simply that with all the resources that the Federation can call upon, this one vulnerable, lucky man is still free to cause havoc. SERVALAN: You have some criticism of my handling of this matter, Secretary Rontane? RONTANE: Not at all, I hoped merely to convey the concern shown by the President when he briefed me for this visit. BERCOL: It would be very helpful to all of us if we knew --- if you could indicate what action you will NOW be taking against Blake. SERVALAN: Very well, Councillor Bercol. You may tell the President that I am appointing a Space Commander to take absolute control of this matter. He will be exclusively concerned to seek, locate, and destroy Blake. BERCOL: Oh, excellent, excellent. RONTANE: May we know the officer's name? SERVALAN: Yes, you may. Space Commander Travis. RONTANE: Ah. May I then tell the President that you are confident that the Blake problem will be solved, soon? SERVALAN: You may tell him to prepare a statement announcing that Blake has been eliminated. BERCOL: Thank you for your reassurances, Supreme Commander. RONTANE: Goodbye. SERVALAN: A safe journey back to Earth. [The two men exit.] [Flight deck. Jenna, Avon and Gan are working to install the cipher device. Blake is moving about restlessly, Jenna goes over to him.] JENNA: [rests hand on his shoulder] There's nothing you could have done. It wasn't your fault. BLAKE: And whose fault was it? I should have checked. JENNA: Cally wasn't a child. BLAKE: Wasn't she? JENNA: She knew the risks. She accepted them. She even welcomed them. BLAKE: She was ashamed to go back to her own people because she had survived when the rest of the freedom fighters were massacred. JENNA: Well, that wasn't her fault. BLAKE: Shame like hers is an emotion, Jenna. It isn't rational. JENNA: Exactly, and so is guilt like yours. That's not rational, either. BLAKE: It's ironic, isn't it? She was the only one of us who wasn't a convicted criminal. JENNA: She convicted herself. You can't live like that. You've got to make peace with yourself, Blake, if you want to survive. [Blake moves over to Avon.} BLAKE: How are you coming with that? AVON: The primaries are hooked into the main instrumentation, I just have to link up to a read-out. ZEN: Attention. Liberator is now out of range of the interceptor's scanning systems. Detectors indicate the rockets have begun to self destruct. BLAKE: Have the navigation computers put in a course for the planet listing K-Fourteen. ZEN: Course laid in. JENNA: That's a Federation repair and supply base, isn't it? AVON: Yes, for their deep space cruisers. JENNA: Are we going to attack it? BLAKE: One for Cally. [pause] Because I want to survive. [Servalan's office.] [Door opens and Travis enters. He moves to just in front of her desk and stands with his hands on his hips.] Space Commander, it is good to see you. TRAVIS: Your aide said I was to wait. He was obviously mistaken. He doesn't realize the urgency of the matter. [Servalan lays a folded sheet of paper on the desk before him. Travis picks it up and reads it.] These are your orders? SERVALAN: Destroy Blake. TRAVIS: Depend on it. [Flight deck] AVON: It's working. JENNA: Well done. AVON: Now let's see how well. Jenna, see if you can isolate the Federation's signal beam. JENNA: [Jenna uses a tool on the device as the pitch of the signal shifts.] That's it. AVON: Now, feed that into the cipher control . . . and there it is. [Zen's display screen shows shifted lines of cryptic characters.] BLAKE: Well done, Avon. AVON: Under the circumstances, it would have been a great pity if it hadn't worked. Gan, basic unscrambler? [Gan hands him a set of headphones. Avon and Jenna listen to the earpieces.] BLAKE: What are you getting? AVON: Just routine movement orders, statistical information. I'll rig a selective data link into their battle computers, it'll be useful background information. JENNA: We should monitor what we're getting, we'll need a rota of some sort. BLAKE: Yeah, good idea. [laughs] We should know more about the Federation than the president. [Jenna laughs.] BLAKE: I presume there's a recall record? AVON: It's all going on to microtape. BLAKE: You've done a good job, Avon. Thank you. AVON: At least I'll know what the _Federation_ is planning. [Gan grins] Just a minute. BLAKE: Something? AVON: A message beamed into Centero. JENNA: But we've just destroyed their communications base. AVON: They're using emergency frequencies. BLAKE: What's the message? AVON: Some flight clearance. Priority spaceway for a ship going in from Space Headquarters. The Supreme Commander requests that all personnel give maximum cooperation to the incoming officer. JENNA: Does it give his name? AVON: Space Commander Travis. BLAKE: Travis! JENNA: Do you know him? BLAKE: I thought he was dead. I was sure I'd killed him. [Cipher room. A group of technicians are rifling through the debris when Travis enters.] TRAVIS: Stop! [to Prell] What are these men doing here? PRELL: Well, I didn't think it would matter if we made a start on clearing up the worst of the damage. TRAVIS: My orders were that nothing was to be touched in this room, nothing. [to the technicians] Get out! [Most start to leave, one is slower about it. Travis grabs him by the arm and shoves him towards the door.] Out! [to Prell] Go through the sequence of events. PRELL: From the beginning, sir? TRAVIS: Well, naturally. PRELL: Well, two armed men came through the door. From the description you've given me, one of them was certainly Blake. TRAVIS: Go on. PRELL: Well, we were made to stand against the wall. Then a minute later, three more of them just appeared. TRAVIS: Appeared? PRELL: Well, materialized, sir. My men and I were taken out by a man and a girl. It was the girl who kept us prisoner in the equipment store. We overpowered her, the demolition charges went off, sir. Well, we were lucky to get out alive. TRAVIS: How long were Blake and his men in here? PRELL: Five, ten minutes, not more. TRAVIS: Five or ten minutes? They could have set demolition charges in thirty seconds. What were they doing in that extra time? PRELL: Perhaps they had trouble getting them to work, sir. TRAVIS: And why did they take you and your men out of here? PRELL: I suppose they thought it was safer with us out of the way. TRAVIS: No. No. There's something missing. I'm missing something. [pause] Do you still have the original construction plans for this room? PRELL: They'll be on record, sir. TRAVIS: And detailed diagrams of all the circuits? PRELL: Yes. TRAVIS: Good. I'm sending in a forensic team. I want a full catalog of every item in this room. PRELL: But, sir-- TRAVIS: Everything must be accounted for. PRELL: But, sir-- [breaks off as Travis turns to stare at him coldly.] Well, that could take months, sir, if it's possible at all. TRAVIS: Prell, if I were you I'd make it possible. I want that catalog in twenty hours. PRELL: Sir. [There is a ringing. Prell uses a handheld communicator, holding it alternately to his ear and throat] Yes? Right! TRAVIS: What is it? PRELL: They found something, under the rubble. I think you'd better come along. [Storage room. Eldon is examining the body of the dead guard.] PRELL: Where is it? ELDON: It's over there, sir. [Prell goes behind the fallen rack and touches Cally.] PRELL: It's the girl who was holding us prisoner, sir. TRAVIS: Is she dead? PRELL: I'll check, sir. ELDON: [Hands Cally's gun to Travis] We found this, sir. TRAVIS: Hmm? PRELL: Sir. TRAVIS: Hmm. PRELL: She's alive. TRAVIS: You, get a medical squad. Move! ELDON: Yes, sir. [exits] PRELL: She'll pull through all right, sir, she's lucky. TRAVIS: No, we are. Her luck ran out when she didn't die. The medics are to give her emergency treatment and put her into a life support capsule. I take off for the space station in one hour. PRELL: Right, sir. [exits] [Servalan's office. Travis is scanning through pictures of Blake on a wall screen.] SERVALAN: Shouldn't you rest now? TRAVIS: Is this all the information we have on Blake? SERVALAN: I checked with Intelligence personally. It's all there. TRAVIS: Have you approved my requisitions for personnel and equipment? SERVALAN: The ships you want, the Starburst class, I'm not sure I can get them. TRAVIS: What?! SERVALAN: There've only been three of them built so far, and they've already been assigned to the Galactic Eighth Fleet. TRAVIS: Well, get them reassigned to you. Look, from what we already know about Blake's ship, it's vastly superior to anything we've got. If I'm to stand even a reasonable chance of taking him, I need those three high-range pursuit ships. SERVALAN: You'll have them. TRAVIS: What about my crew? SERVALAN: Already assigned. Why mutoids particularly? TRAVIS: Why mutoids? I've always thought that individuals with a high bionic rebuild were more reliable, less likely to let emotion interfere with judgement or duty. I give a mutoid priority over a man every time. [Points to his left hand] Or perhaps it's this that gives me a fellow feeling. SERVALAN: Does it still trouble you? TRAVIS: Well, not in the way you mean. The surgical mechanics did a perfect refit. I had the Weaponry Division make a few ... adaptations. They built in a laseron destroyer, more powerful than any sidearm. No, the hand is fine, better than the original. It only troubles me because it's a constant reminder that the man who caused it, is still alive. SERVALAN: Blake. That's why I choose you. TRAVIS: Oh? SERVALAN: I've read all the reports, of course. But none of them said what happened. None of them explained about your face. TRAVIS: You find it repulsive? SERVALAN: I find it ... unpleasing. TRAVIS: But memorable. You wouldn't mistake me for anyone else. SERVALAN: Hardly. TRAVIS: Mm. Neither will Blake. Even after all this time, he'll know me, and remember what happened at our first meeting. [Flight deck. The crew are all sitting on couches in the pit. BLAKE: The man who killed twenty of my friends? Oh, yes. I'll recognize him. [Note from transcriber: the person I have labeled "DOCTOR" in the following scene is not listed in the credits and only his hand and part of his leg is ever seen.] [Medical lab. Cally is lying on a bed/medical capsule, with a mask over her eyes, attended by a doctor. Travis's image is displayed on a wall screen.] TRAVIS: What is her condition? DOCTOR: [removes her mask] There's some superficial bruising, a slight respiratory problem, other than that she's virtually unharmed. There's really no need for her to remain in the life support capsule. TRAVIS: No, she'll stay where she is for the moment. It'll make her more responsive to interrogation later. DOCTOR: She's not yet well enough to submit to intensive questioning. She must have rest-- TRAVIS: Yes, thank you very much indeed, Doctor, you are relieved of your responsibility for the prisoner. She is now the property ... the concern of the interrogation division. [The doctor exits. To Cally] We'll want to know about Blake, the ship, his crew, his plans. CALLY: Your words are meaningless to me. Who is Blake? TRAVIS: I think you'll remember, quite soon. Oh, there may be a little pain, a little discomfort, but you will remember. CALLY: I will tell you nothing. TRAVIS: I'll come back later. By that time you may have answered my questions. [to someone offscreen] You may begin. [Scenes of a liquid being poured, Cally grimacing in pain, flashing lights.] [Cipher room] ELDON: [shows piece of debris to Prell] What do you make of this, sir? PRELL: Where did you find it? ELDON: It was embedded in the wall. PRELL: [takes it and looks it over] Strange, it looks like part of the inner workings and yet the surface scoring would suggest that it was exposed at the time of the explosion. ELDON: Hmm. PRELL: Check its code number. ELDON: [puts on a visor with an attached single lens] Fourteen twenty- nine. PRELL: [checks against paper listing] Fourteen twenty-nine, relay boost, prime link is to component fourteen thirty. What have we salvaged for that classification? ELDON: [goes to check against something] Nothing. PRELL: Nothing? ELDON: Not a fragment. PRELL: Of course, it's obvious, obvious. [gestures for comm] ELDON: [Passes him the handheld communicator] What is it? PRELL: [Into communicator] Priority message to Space Commander Travis. Delivery by Category One courier. Message begins ... [Servalan's office. She and Travis are listening to a recording of Prell's voice.] PRELL: [recording] ... thorough check of salvaged material reveals no trace of parts used in manufacture of component fourteen thirty. It is virtually certain therefore that the instrument was removed before the explosion. Component-- [Travis turns the recording off] TRAVIS: Blake got the cipher machine. SERVALAN: He's able to read everything we transmit. Forward planning movements, security, everything. TRAVIS: That's right. SERVALAN: I must advise Central Security. [Crosses to comm] We have to introduce a new code system immediately. TRAVIS: No, no. If the code system is changed Blake will know we are on to him. SERVALAN: That's not important. What matters is that our security is wide open. [Reaches to comm but Travis blocks her hand.] TRAVIS: Listen to me. We know that Blake is reading us. If we transmit a message in the normal routine way he'll intercept it, hm? Now what if that message was something he wanted to hear? Something that we know would bring him to a particular place. [Flight deck. Jenna is alone, monitoring the Federation transmission with the headphones when something makes her react.] JENNA: [into comm] Blake, can you get down here fast? [starts making notes on a pad] [Blake hurries in, followed by Avon and Vila.] BLAKE: What is it? JENNA: This just came through on the cipher. BLAKE: Read it. JENNA: Space headquarters priority. Injured female prisoner taken after attack on communications base planet Centero to be held for treatment and interrogation. BLAKE: She's alive. VILA: I knew she wasn't dead. AVON: No, you didn't. VILA: No, I didn't. I'm going to tell Gan. [exits] AVON: Treatment and interrogation, that doesn't sound too promising. BLAKE: She's alive. That's all that matters. Zen, immediate course change. Direct route to Centero speed standard by six. ZEN: Confirmed. BLAKE: I want a repeat readout of everything in the databanks concerning Centero. The whole lot again. ZEN: Confirmed. BLAKE: I want it now. AVON: Blake, what are you planning? What exactly have you got in mind? BLAKE: I'm not sure yet. JENNA: We could make a really fast strike. They wouldn't be expecting anything. AVON: Oh, I admire your confidence. JENNA: Well, surprise is the only thing we've got on our side. BLAKE: Yes, well, however we do it, one way or another we are gonna to get Cally out of there. [exits] [View of Liberator in space, turning.] ZEN: [v.o.] The banks have collated the required information. Liberator is turning onto new course heading, now. [Room at Centero base. Travis is sitting at a table.] ESCON: Base Commander Escon reporting, sir. TRAVIS: Yes, Base Commander? ESCON: I've escorted the prisoner to the interrogation room and my men have been briefed to keep out of sight until you give the signal. TRAVIS: Good. Blake is to get right inside the building before anybody makes a move. ESCON: Understood, sir. TRAVIS: Sit down, Base Commander. ESCON: Thank you, sir. [sits] TRAVIS: How are your units deployed? ESCON: We have the whole area circled. Squads on every roof, destructors with wide firing spread around every wall. Once they're inside there's no way they're going to get out again. TRAVIS: Good. Space watch reports? ESCON: An unidentified ship entered our upper atmosphere about an hour before you arrived. TRAVIS: Blake's? ESCON: We assume so. TRAVIS: Why? ESCON: Because it came in close and then raced back out again. Our guess is that it was doing a fast ground survey. TRAVIS: Seems reasonable. Where is it now? ESCON: In fixed orbit, about a quarter of a million out. TRAVIS: Quarter of a million? They won't be able to use their teleport at that range. They'll have to come in closer. And they can't do that without our knowing it. Which leaves just one chance factor: exactly where they'll teleport down. The odds are against them being able to zero in on the interrogation room. ESCON: I think we have that beaten, too, sir. [Next couple of lines are delivered v.o. over shots of technicians monitoring some screens in another location.] TRAVIS: Oh? ESCON: My research people have rigged up the entire complex with an MSD. TRAVIS: What? ESCON: A molecular shift detector, sir. Apparently there's an enormous kinetic potential set up by teleport communications. A rough analogy would be the, the static buildup during an electrical storm. TRAVIS: Yes, well, I'm always grateful for a rough analogy. What does it do? ESCON: It tells us exactly where and when they land. TRAVIS: It's perfect. ESCON: He still may not come. TRAVIS: Oh, he'll come. He wouldn't abandon the girl. Not Blake. Right, it starts now. Get under cover. ESCON: Sir. TRAVIS: Oh, and Base Commander, remember: Blake is to get right inside the building. Let him find me and the girl before anybody makes a move. Is that clearly understood? ESCON: Understood, sir. [exits] [Interrogation room.] TRAVIS: I hope you're not too uncomfortable. It won't be long now. CALLY: You're wasting your time. Blake will not risk his ship and his crew just for me. TRAVIS: I've studied that man till I know him better than I know myself. He has one reliable flaw: loyalty. He'll come for you. I'll stake my life on it. [Scenes of Travis looking over guards outside, shots of apparently deserted exterior of base, Travis walking back down the corridor.] [Interrogation room. Travis enters, goes over to the chair which has its back to the door and swings it around to reveal it is empty. Blake grabs him from behind, holding an arm about Travis' neck in a choke hold while holding his gun to his head.] BLAKE: A trick I learned from you, Travis. I got here first. Take his gun, Cally. [Cally takes a small gun from Travis and points it at him.] CALLY: I should like a reason to kill you, one small movement will be enough. BLAKE: [into bracelet] I got her, Jenna. Bring the ship to teleport range. JENNA: [v.o.] On our way. CALLY: Now, Travis, your turn. [gestures] You get in the chair. [Travis sits down, carefully resting his real hand on the artificial one.] BLAKE: We'll be leaving you in about three minutes. I should use the time to think of an excuse for your failure. TRAVIS: You'd better kill me, Blake. Until one of us is dead, there'll never be a time when I won't be right behind you. BLAKE: If not you then somebody else. Killing you'll change nothing. You don't matter enough to kill, Travis. [Blake turns away to look out the door. Travis uses his thumb to twiddle with the ring on his artificial hand. Cally notices this and where his hand is pointed.] CALLY: Blake, get down! [Blake ducks, Travis fires, missing Blake, Cally swings his chair around, Blake smashes Travis' hand, sparks fly from the hand and Travis cries out.] BLAKE: The door, Cally! They'll be coming. [into bracelet] How long, Jenna? JENNA: [v.o.] Ninety seconds. BLAKE: [into bracelet] Make it faster. CALLY: Coming. BLAKE: Get down. [The guards fire, blasting down the door.] TRAVIS: [to guards] Take them. JENNA: [v.o.] In teleport range now. TRAVIS: [to guards] It doesn't matter about me. JENNA: We're bringing you up. TRAVIS: [to guards] I order you to take them! [Cally and Blake dematerialize. Some guards enter] Don't stand there, you idiots! Launch the interceptors. [Teleport room. Blake and Cally materialize.] VILA: Welcome back. We thought you'd decided to stay. BLAKE: Bit close that time, Jenna. VILA: Anyway, we're glad you are safe, aren't we? [Looks over at Avon who is standing silently.] Aren't we? AVON: Yes, I'm glad you're all right. BLAKE: Those interceptors will be lifting off any minute now. Let's get on with it. [into comm] Gan, get the ship moving. Full interceptor evasion. [Flight deck. Gan is at the controls.] GAN: Check. Zen, battle computers to interceptor evasion. [Teleport room. Blake takes off his gun, lays it on the control panel and has started to leave when Cally's voice stops him.] CALLY: Blake, thank you. BLAKE: Too many of my friends are already dead, Cally. I can't afford to lose another one. [He looks down at her hands, which are cradling Travis's gun.] Travis's gun. I'll take that. [Both exit.] [Interrogation room. A technician is fiddling with Travis's mechanical hand. Travis grimaces and strikes him away.] TRAVIS: [soliloquy] Run, Blake. [shot of the Liberator is show over the next two lines.]Run. As far and as fast as you like. I'll find you. You can't hide from me. I am your death, Blake. [smiles] PURSUIT SHIP ONE - Two mutoids are sat at the controls, Travis is standing behind them. TRAVIS: There! [Points at screen] Estimate approach speed. MUTOID: Time Distort Six. TRAVIS: Minimum scan, their sensors mustn't register the beam. MUTOID: Scan complete TRAVIS: Analysis? MUTOID: Identification confirmed. TRAVIS: Blake. The other patrols have pushed him into this galaxy. I knew it, I knew it! This time I've got him. MUTOID: Target vehicle maintaining course and speed. TRAVIS: Set for orbital compensation, we'll use the planet to mask us from his scanners. MUTOID: Orbital shift computed. TRAVIS: Execute. Make it random pulse emission, I'm not going to lose him now. LIBERATOR - First and external shot, then the flight deck. Avon and Blake are looking at the planet displayed on the main screen. AVON: I wonder what the surface conditions are like. BLAKE: Jenna? JENNA: Star is G Two, planet is Earth-type right across the range, Earth-level gravity, breathable atmosphere. There's a lot of static too, the place is alive with electrical storms. BLAKE: Cally, anything on the star charts or planet listings? CALLY: Nothing in the data banks at all. BLAKE: Hmm, what do you think? JENNA: It seems safe enough. AVON: What Jenna thinks, is largely academic Blake, we've been running on full power for far too long. Slipping those Federation patrols has used up all our energy reserves. JENNA: Four of our power banks are exhausted. If we had to make a run for it now, we couldn't do better than Standard by Two, and we couldn't hold that for long. BLAKE: Recharge time? AVON: Forty-eight hours. BLAKE: All right, we'll hide here for a while. The planet should give us some protection from the detectors. Zen, take us into orbit as close as possible to the planet's surface. As close as possible Zen, the orbit could decay in forty-eight hours. ZEN: Confirmed. The parameters were anticipated. BLAKE: [Laughs] I get the distinct feeling I offended Zen's professional pride then. AVON: It's just a machine, Blake. VILA: And he should know. GAN: Well Avon is the expert. VILA: That's not what I meant. AVON: No, he was calling me a machine, but since he undoubtedly defines himself as a human being, I shall choose to accept that as more of a compliment than anything else. BLAKE: Yes, well since we've got some time on our hands, we might as well take a look at this planet. Anybody feel like some exercise. JENNA: I'd be happy to get clear of this lot for a while. [Exits] BLAKE: Gan? GAN: I could do with a change of air. I'll get kitted up. [Exits] BLAKE: Vila? VILA: I'll stay here, thanks. BLAKE: Then you can work the teleport. [As Vila leaves his console he comes face to face with Avon, who stares him down intimidatingly, then takes his place.] PURSUIT SHIP MUTOID: Readings show target has assumed a stationary orbit. TRAVIS: Excellent. [He sits in the commander's chair] MUTOID: Orbit confirmed at one thousand spacials from the planet's surface. [She unfastens a panel in her tunic and places a small liquid container in a recess.] TRAVIS: This is hardly the time for that. MUTOID: Normally I wouldn't do it in the presence of an unmodified. TRAVIS: Forget your coyness, I'm aware of your need for blood serum. MUTOID: Most are, but few accept it for what it is - a functional convenience. Opponents of mutoid modification call us vampires. TRAVIS: Rather appropriate, isn't it? MUTOID: It is immaterial. I await your orders, Commander. TRAVIS: Attack formation, fifteen hundred spacials trajectory. Pursuit Ships Two and Three move to flank, fire on my command. [Shot of pursuits separating] LIBERATOR - Teleport room BLAKE: Vila, try and stay alert. VILA: Of course I will, how can you doubt me? BLAKE: It isn't easy, but somehow I manage it. Come on. Put us down. [Blake, Jenna and Gan teleport to the planet's surface and look around] BLAKE: [Into bracelet] We're down safely. It looks very barren, there's nothing much else to report. We'll check with you when we've had a look round. [pauses, but no reply from Vila] All right? VILA: [Over intercom] Yes, all right. [Blake and Jenna examine the rocks.] BLAKE: What do you think? JENNA: The surface seems to be melted. It's almost like the effects of a fusion bomb. GAN: Blake! Jenna! [They walk over to The Monument] BLAKE: Well, at least we know the planet's inhabited. GAN: WAS inhabited. BLAKE: Hmm? GAN: Look here [Points them to the memorials] as far as the eye can see. BLAKE: Grave markers? JENNA: So many. GAN: [Turns and sees Sinofar and Giroc] Blake, we've got company. [When the others look, they have gone] They were here! Two women, watching us. There's nowhere they could have gone. JENNA: So where are they now? GAN: I hope my limiter hasn't malfunctioned. BLAKE: Maybe we've all been on the ship too long. JENNA: [Goes over to The Monument] Blake. BLAKE: What is it? JENNA: This broken weapon, could it be a symbol of peace? BLAKE: Or defeat. This whole place is a memorial to the dead. Maybe they were ghosts you saw. GAN: [Looking up] Those aren't ghosts! [The pursuit ships can be seen closing on Liberator] BLAKE: Pursuit ships. They've got to be. JENNA: Where did they come from? GAN: They must have been waiting for us. BLAKE: Travis's strategy again. [Into bracelet] Vila! Pursuit ships closing on you. [In the teleport room Vila has his feet up] Vila!! Full alert and get us up fast. Move it!! They're right on top of you. [Vila hits the alarm button and teleports them up.] VILA: Sorry. [They all run for the flight deck.] PLANET - Sinofar and Giroc are watching the sky. SINOFAR: So Giroc, the star ships are closing for battle. The choice is made. LIBERATOR - Flight deck, alarm blaring. AVON: What's going on? VILA: Pursuit ships. BLAKE: Zen, can we get past them? ZEN: All possible flight trajectories would require Liberator to cross enemy strike range. BLAKE: Avon, what's our power reserve? AVON: Banks five, six, and seven, full power; zero on the rest. BLAKE: Maximum speed and range? JENNA: Standard by four, about eight million spacials. BLAKE: We can't even outrun them this time. VILA: We've got the neutron blasters. CALLY: But there isn't enough power. BLAKE: Zen, state battle computer tactics. ZEN: Preemptive action was inhibited by manual overrides. Strategy options are now reduced to one. Battle computers suggest surrender. AVON: Logic says we're dead! BLAKE: Logic has never explained what dead means. ZEN: Sensors report plasma bolt launched. BLAKE: Direct vision. GAN: On. [Screen shows approaching plasma bolt] JENNA: Avon, put up the force wall. BLAKE: No, wait. JENNA: Why? BLAKE: It's too much of an energy drain. VILA: Blake! AVON: They're closing fast, Blake. [Beat] Come on! BLAKE: I said wait! [Boom!] BLAKE: Deactivate. Track second bolt. GAN: Tracking. BLAKE: Power status? AVON: Seventy percent on bank five. ZEN: Third bolt launched. GAN: Second bolt closing. BLAKE: [Waits] Activate! [Boom!] GAN: Third bolt closing. [Boom!] BLAKE: Deactivate. AVON: Bank five has forty per cent remaining. CALLY: They'll move in closer now and strike again. BLAKE: Sensors on full alert. VILA: Are we just going to sit here and let them shoot at us? BLAKE: Yes! While they do they're using power faster than we are. Might even things up a bit - shorten the odds, anyway. VILA: The odds on what? BLAKE: Us being able to blast a way through them and run. ZEN: Three plasma bolts launched and running. GAN: Bearing directly. BLAKE: Right. Hang on everyone, this is going to be rough. VILA: I don't mind rough. It's fatal I'm not too keen on. [Cut to Travis' ship] TRAVIS: He's low on power! He'd have made a run for it otherwise. [Into communicator] Leader to Pursuit Three: continue barrage. Leader to Two: hold your fire. [to Mutoid] We'll make him keep that defence shield in operation, bleed his energy banks. MUTOID: If Pursuit Three keeps firing, it won't have enough reserve to put up its own defence shield. TRAVIS: Pursuit Three is expendable. So is Two. Let Blake destroy them both. Between them, they can run his reserves down to zero. This ship will still have full power, and we can move in, and finish him. LIBERATOR - Laser bolt impact, everyone is thrown about. BLAKE: Deactivate. AVON: Bank five is finished. Drawing on six. BLAKE: Zen: power reserves? ZEN: At the present level of discharge, reserves will be exhausted in two point three hours. JENNA: Which is when they'll move in for the kill. GAN: Yes, and we'll be helpless. ZEN: Plasma bolt launched. GAN: Bearing directly. BLAKE: Avon, Cally. Jenna, take command. Gan, Vila, you help her. [Avon and Cally join him, he draws diagrams on an electronic pad which are projected onto the screen] Now watch the screen. This is the Liberator, surrounded by one, two, three pursuit ships. They're trying siege tactics. Our only chance is to break out and run before we're too weak, do you agree? JENNA: Activating. AVON: We know we can't outrun them. [Violent impact.] BLAKE: I wasn't planning to try. JENNA: Deactivating. BLAKE: Now, this is the pursuit ship that's done all the firing. That'll be low on power now, so it won't be a problem. CALLY: So we can ignore it. BLAKE: Right. This one hasn't fired at all yet, so this must be Travis. We're going straight for it. Not over, under, or around, but right through it. ZEN: Plasma bolt launched. GAN: Bearing directly. AVON: Ram it? BLAKE: The Liberator should be able to take the impact. AVON: I admire your confidence. CALLY: So that would leave only one more to deal with. BLAKE: That's right, a straight fight, one against one. CALLY: I agree. AVON: If any of our control systems are damaged by the impact, we will be helpless. BLAKE: We're not exactly in a commanding position now. JENNA: Activating! BLAKE: Have you got any better ideas? [Violent impact. As Blake and Avon reel back, Avon clutches Blake protectively, perhaps to steady him] AVON: As a matter of fact, no I haven't. BLAKE: Does that mean you agree? AVON: Do I have a choice? BLAKE: Yes. AVON: Then I agree. [Lets go of Blake] JENNA: Deactivating. BLAKE: Vila, Gan, Jenna: we're going for a ram, take out the command ship. GAN: A ram?!? BLAKE: I don't see that there's any other hope for us. JENNA: Neither can I, so let's get on with it. BLAKE: Jenna, you'll have to fly us on manual. JENNA: Yes, we'll need to take the impact on the lower hull. ZEN: Plasma bolt launched. GAN: Bearing directly. BLAKE: Right, as soon as this one hits, we move. Stand by. [Pause] Activate! [Violent impact] AVON: Force wall deactivated. BLAKE: Right, now, Jenna. PURSUIT SHIP MUTOID: Pursuit Three reports total power shutdown. They're incapable of further action. TRAVIS: [Into communicator] Pursuit Two, commence firing. MUTOID: Target ship is underway. It's turning. TRAVIS: He's running. There's nowhere to run, Blake! Compute course, speed, and lock on. MUTOID: Time Distort Three and rising. Course zero-zero-zero -- they're coming straight at us. TRAVIS: Stand by plasma bolts. MUTOID: Holding course. Computers propose evasive action. TRAVIS: No! Hold your position. [Cut to Liberator] BLAKE: Zen, count down to impact. [Zen begins with twenty-six and proceeds to count down in the background.] BLAKE: When Travis realizes we're going for a ram, he'll fire a full salvo. GAN: Will the force wall hold at this rate? BLAKE: We're about to find out. GAN: Salvo fired, four of them! BLAKE: Stand by the force wall. JENNA: We're losing power, we're slowing. BLAKE: Full thrust. JENNA: It's not responding. Blake, we're stopping! PURSUIT SHIP TRAVIS: Impossible. They're holding course. They're going to ram us. Evasive trajectory, full thrust. MUTOID: Controls are not responding. All systems are locked. TRAVIS: [Leaps to his feet] Operate boosters. MUTOID: Still no response. [Weirdness commences, everything goes haywire, affecting all ships. The lights dim, there are garbled sounds and time slows down, distorting speech] LIBERATOR BLAKE: Activate the force wall. ZEN: [In background] Ten, nine, eight, seven ... AVON: Force wall activated. ZEN: Six, five... [Liberator and the pursuit ship slowly close almost into an embrace and halt as Sinofar and Giroc assert control. Travis and Blake are seen clutching their heads in pain while the other crew members look around in surprise] [Travis and Blake dematerialise and Sinofar brings them down to The Monument] GIROC: We are ready, the warriors can be released. [Sinofar rouses them, they become aware of each other, but cannot move their feet] TRAVIS: BLAKE?! [He tries to fire his hand blaster, but nothing happens] SINOFAR: No. GIROC: [Laughs] The weapon built into that hand will not work here, primitive. SINOFAR: Nor will brute force, until *I* allow it. GIROC: His impulse to kill is primitive. SINOFAR: As ours was not? TRAVIS: Who are you? SINOFAR: I am Sinofar, the Guardian. This is Giroc, the Keeper. TRAVIS: I am Space Commander Travis, an officer and representative of the Earth Federation. As an agent of my government, I demand an explanation. GIROC: Not only is he primitive, he's pompous as well. [To Blake] And you, do you also make demands? BLAKE: I am not a Federation officer, but I would like some answers. TRAVIS: This man is an enemy of the state and a fugitive. He is my prisoner. [Grabs at Blake, but cannot move his feet.] GIROC: [Laughing] Primitive, pompous, and stupid. SINOFAR: Giroc! GIROC: All right, all right. It's just that there is such violence in him, it's exciting. [Shamefacedly] Old instincts die hard, Sinofar. SINOFAR: I know. TRAVIS: You will lift this force field. SINOFAR: There are things you must understand first. TRAVIS: You do realize that any hostile act against me will be regarded as a hostile act against the Federation. [Giroc laughs.] Have you any idea of the risk you're running? [Giroc laughs harder.] BLAKE: They don't seem very impressed, Travis. [Laughs] Why don't you try stamping your foot? TRAVIS: Oh, that's very amusing, Blake. For a dead man. BLAKE: Do you intend to keep us prisoners? GIROC: Only for the moment. BLAKE: You were responsible for what happened to my ship. SINOFAR: It will be restored when this matter has been settled, [to Travis] as will yours. No harm will come to your crews or your ships. GIROC: You have seen what we can do. We are capable of protecting our planet, your threats of reprisal are meaningless. SINOFAR: Our powers grew out of a thousand years of war, out of hate, and fear and the will to survive. GIROC: [On Liberator's screen] We built destruction, weapons that your peoples have not yet dreamed of. Every passing year brought new and more powerful ways to kill, and through the centuries the war raged across our planet. SINOFAR: With each generation there were fewer of us. The dead vastly outnumbered the living. And still there was no victory for either side. BLAKE: How did it end? GIROC: How? Another development of another weapon. We demanded their surrender, they refused, the weapon was used. Those that we call our enemy were annihilated. TRAVIS: You won, that's all that matters. SINOFAR: It wasn't a victory, it was only the end of the war. We were left with a planet made barren by radiation. Our children were monsters, or died, or were never born. This, we won. BLAKE: How many of you are there now? GIROC: None. We are a dead race. SINOFAR: We tell you this so that you will understand our reasons for intervening in your dispute. GIROC: Tell us, what is your dispute? TRAVIS: I *have* told you. This man is an enemy of the Federation, tried and convicted. I must bring him back to justice or kill him. GIROC: [To Blake] You? BLAKE: I am an enemy of the Federation. But it is corrupt and oppressive. I will destroy it. If I can. SINOFAR: Irreconcilable viewpoints. Your differences can only be resolved by the destruction of the other's belief. The classic pattern for war. TRAVIS: I was about to resolve them when you interfered. SINOFAR: [To Blake] How many are there in your group? BLAKE: There are six of us. SINOFAR: And in your ships, Travis? TRAVIS: Nine. SINOFAR: Fifteen people could die because of your beliefs. BLAKE: My crew are with me by their own choice. AVON: [Watching Liberator's screen] Really? TRAVIS: [On pursuit ship screen] Mine have sworn allegiance to the Federation. GIROC: I’m sure they are all splendid and dedicated. I'm sure that you will both find supporters for your cause and each of you could be backed by a massive army eventually. SINOFAR: But would numbers change the nature of the dispute? BLAKE: Probably not. SINOFAR: [to Travis] What do you say? TRAVIS: Numbers? Immaterial. SINOFAR: We understand that men will kill for their beliefs. GIROC: Since each of you wishes to destroy the other, we are going to give you the chance. TRAVIS: A duel? Is that what you are suggesting? GIROC: A fight to the death. SINOFAR: But this way, there will be a limit to the deaths, and we will ensure that the loser's ship has an opportunity to get away. Don't you find that rational? TRAVIS: No. When I've killed Blake, I'll simply hunt down the others. SINOFAR: There will be no destruction within our influence, but we cannot control your actions beyond this planet. BLAKE: I don't think I want to kill for your entertainment. GIROC: You have no choice. BLAKE: [To Travis] We could agree not to fight. TRAVIS: [Chuckles slightly] Could we? GIROC: If you trusted one another. SINOFAR: There is another matter: a lesson you must learn about death. BLAKE: I think we both know enough about that already. SINOFAR: You both know how to kill. But here you must take a life. There will be no machines to make the act unreal. You must touch the life you take. TRAVIS: Shall we get on with it! GIROC: How anxious he is to reach the forest. Once there, you can only return when it is over. TRAVIS: Weapons? SINOFAR: Tools for survival. [Machetes materialise in their hands] BLAKE: How long have we got? SINOFAR: There is no limit - except your physical endurance. TRAVIS: So this is your lesson. Pathetic. GIROC: Half the lesson the death of an enemy; the other half is the death of a friend. VILA: [Watching on Liberator] What does she mean? BLAKE: I've seen friends die. SINOFAR: Travis? TRAVIS: Nothing concerns me but my duty. I don't give a damn about their lessons, I shall enjoy taking your life, Blake. BLAKE: You talk a good fight, Travis. SINOFAR: But now the talking is done. Learn. [She closes her eyes in concentration. Jenna and the Mutoid are teleported from their seats. Blake materialises in woodland. He looks around and starts to walk cautiously.] THE WOODS - Jenna is walking through the bushes. BLAKE: [From hiding] Jenna! [comes out] how did you get here? JENNA: I don't know. It seems your weird ladies have picked on me to demonstrate the death of a friend. BLAKE: You heard all that? JENNA: They beamed it into the ship's main screen. Everything else is on some sort of stasis beam. What are we going to do? BLAKE: Have you seen any sign of Travis? JENNA: Have you? BLAKE: No. We'd better make ourselves some weapons. [LATER - Blake is sharpening two stakes into spears with his machete] BLAKE: Finding Travis shouldn't be too difficult. If he runs true to form, he'll set a trap and then try and draw us into it. JENNA: Who do you suppose he's got with him? BLAKE: Oh I don't know, his pilot maybe. Must present our hosts with something of a problem. How do you demonstrate the death of a friend to a man who hasn't got any? ANOTHER CLEARING TRAVIS: Anything? MUTOID: No, Commander. TRAVIS: You've searched thoroughly? MUTOID: Your opponent is not yet within this vicinity. TRAVIS: Good, then I have a little plan we can put into operation. Come. WOODLAND - Blake finishes sharpening the stakes. He hands one to Jenna. BLAKE: Not exactly a neutron blaster, but it's better than nothing. JENNA: Not much better, though. LATER - Travis is pulling fibres out of a shrub, watched by Sinofar (in projection). The scene is also being shown on Liberator's screen GAN: He seems to be working to a plan. VILA: I wish we were. AVON: [Entering] Well? Did any of the controls respond? GAN: Nothing here. VILA: Nothing on mine. CALLY: Nothing on these. AVON: That's it, then, I've done everything I can. Every machine except life support is frozen. CALLY: Even Zen. AVON: Zen is a machine. VILA: Unless he just doesn't want to get involved. AVON: What's Travis doing? CALLY: As Blake said, he's probably preparing a trap. It could be a mistake. That sort of war is best fought on the move. WOODS - Night; an enormous moon, loud animal cries, roars and snarls. BLAKE: We'd better try and find somewhere safe. JENNA: The quicker, the better. ELSEWHERE - Travis and the Mutoid are constructing something with poles and hand-made ropes - more loud roars. MUTOID: The night hunters are at work. TRAVIS: Come on, let's take shelter. Bring my knife. UP A TREE - more animal noises BLAKE: Let's hope those things can't climb trees. JENNA: Or fly. Do you believe what they told us? About themselves, I mean. BLAKE: With that much power why bother to lie? JENNA: That's one way to become a hunted man: trust the powerful. BLAKE: True. What's your excuse? JENNA: Oh, I wasn't clever enough, we none of us were. The Federation has beaten us all at least once. BLAKE: At least. JENNA: If we get out of this it still won't be any better. LIBERATOR - Vila and Gan, watching [Main action] VILA: She's right. Jenna's right, you know, why should it be any different? We'll have the Federation after us till the day we die. GAN: Who says? We've been lucky up till now, we'll be lucky again. VILA: You hope. Have you thought what might happen if those two don't get back? I mean, could you operate this ship properly? GAN: Let's just listen. VILA: Well, could you? [simultaneously snatches of conversation are heard over the sound system] BLAKE : the Federation - escaped - half way across the galaxy - propped up in the middle of the night with a pointed stake for a weapon (laughs). The federation hasn’t got a chance. [Main action - back at the tree] BLAKE : Right, are you going to go to sleep first, or shall I? JENNA: You can. BLAKE: Right, wake me when you're tired. TRAVIS’S TREE - Travis looks thoughtfully at the mutoid BLAKE'S TREE - Jenna rouses and sees a small vampire bat sucking at Blake's left hand JENNA: Blake! BLAKE: Huh? [He shakes it off] JENNA: Are you all right? BLAKE: It's just a small cut, that's all. JENNA: I'm sorry. I went to sleep. BLAKE: No, it's all right, it was my fault. We should have both stayed awake. LIBERATOR - The tired crew are watching the screen WOODS - Daylight; Blake and Jenna climb out of the tree. Jenna takes a look at Blake's hand. JENNA: It's a very big bite, looks inflamed. BLAKE: Yes, it makes my arm a bit sore. It's nothing that I can't cope with. ELSEWHERE - The Mutoid is working on an apparatus of sharpened stakes fastened to a frame. Travis inspects the corpse of a vampire bat and throws it away. TRAVIS: What were these things doing at the foot of the tree, hmm? MUTOID: They came in the night. I trapped them. TRAVIS: You did more than that. MUTOID: My serum supply is running low, there was a little blood in each of them. TRAVIS: There's a lot of blood in me. MUTOID: There still is, Commander. You are a Federation officer, as I am. TRAVIS: Yes, just so long as you remember that. MUTOID: Do you now believe we mutoids are vampires? TRAVIS: I believe you're useful. Get on with it. MUTOID: My function will be impaired if I don't get further serum soon. TRAVIS: Maybe that can be arranged. ELSEWHERE - shot of Blake and Jenna on the move LIBERATOR - Crew are watching Travis on the screen. VILA: Is that what I think it is? AVON: I don't imagine that it is a recreational aid. VILA: I can't see Blake throwing himself on it, though. Can you? AVON: I can't ever see Blake finding the right place. GAN: How is he supposed to find it. I mean, he hasn't got anything to go on, has he? CALLY: I've been watching Blake. He's quartering the area. That is the correct search pattern. AVON: IF it is the correct area. THE WOODS TRAVIS: Any sign? MUTOID: None, Commander. TRAVIS: I've lit a fire, it'll draw Blake to us. Since I was given you, he must have been given a companion as well. Whoever it is, I want you to find them, bring them back here. Dead or alive, it doesn't matter, just bring them. MUTOID: And Blake? TRAVIS: No. Don't touch Blake. He belongs to me. [The Mutoid looks slightly ill] Well, go on - what's the matter with you? MUTOID: The blood of those creatures, it was not suitable. TRAVIS: When you've found Blake's companion, there'll be plenty of blood. ELSEWHERE - BLAKE: We can't even be sure they're in this area. JENNA: We have to assume they are. BLAKE: Well, maybe I can see something from up there. [Climbs tree. Jenna hears rustling in the bushes and goes to investigate. The Mutoid surprises her and knocks her out] BLAKE: Jenna, Jenna! There's some smoke over there. Jenna? [Climbs down] UNDER A LARGE TREE - Travis has suspended the deadfall from a high branch of a large tree. Jenna is being staked out beneath it by the Mutoid - she is gagged. The Mutoid extrudes a long needle from the cuff of her gauntlet and prepares to draw blood from Jenna's neck. TRAVIS: No! Not yet - get to your position. NOW! [Throws down his machete. The Mutoid picks it up] Blake! Blake, can you hear me? I know you're there Blake, I know you're close by. Hear me Blake, I have your friend. Your friend will die Blake, unless you give yourself up. [Blake breaks cover and runs to release Jenna] JENNA: [muffled by the gag] Blake, look out! Up there... TRAVIS: NOW!! [The Mutoid hacks at the rope while Blake frees Jenna's feet, but she takes two tries to sever it, giving them time to roll clear as the harpoon grid crashes down, missing them. Blake thrusts his machete into the ground for Jenna to cut her ropes with, then grabs his stake and races across to engage with Travis, also armed with a sharpened stake. Jenna frees her feet and kicks the mutoid away as she tries to bleed her again. Blake and Travis are using their stakes as quarter staves - Jenna throws the Mutoid head first against a tree, where she falls unconscious. Blake disarms Travis and stands over him, poised to skewer him - he hesitates] VILA: [Watching] You've got him. GAN: Go on! CALLY: Kill him. AVON: [Smiles faintly and shakes his head slightly] [Blake lowers his weapon and Sinofar teleports him away] THE MONUMENT - Blake and Jenna materialise. GIROC: You fought well, Blake. BLAKE: I'm glad you enjoyed it. GIROC: Why didn't you kill him? BLAKE: Too weak? Or maybe I didn't entirely trust your motives. Besides, as long as he's alive, he'll be the one chasing me. And I know I can beat him. GIROC: [Laughs] At least you're not stupid. BLAKE: [To Sinofar] I need time enough to get my ship away and recharge the energy banks. SINOFAR: They have been recharged. I will see that your ship gets away. BLAKE: Another reason why I didn't kill Travis: I would have enjoyed it. SINOFAR: Perhaps there was nothing for you to learn. LIBERATOR - Backs out of embrace with pursuit ship and leaves [Scene: Near blizzard conditions on a planet. Travis and a mutoid enter a cave mouth.] TRAVIS: The temperature's dropping quickly. MUTOID: It'll be dark soon. Then it'll freeze. TRAVIS: The Long Cold. I find this planet...unnerving. Come. [They go in and down. A man is crouching hidden in rocks above the passage.] TERLOC: [softly] Travis. TRAVIS: Where are you? TERLOC: Shhh! Softer. The sound travels in the caves. TRAVIS: You're late. TERLOC: They would've missed me had I come sooner. TRAVIS: What have you got for me? TERLOC: Avalon is moving to Winter quarters, in the ice caves. I've drawn a map. [He throws a paper down to Travis] TRAVIS: But contact -- has Blake made contact with Avalon? TERLOC: Yes. She's asked for transportation to a safer planet. TRAVIS: And Blake has agreed? TERLOC: His ship has already entered out star system. The rendezvous is expected within fifty hours. TRAVIS: Good. Go back and join Avalon. Now. You understand what you have to do? TERLOC: I understand. [He crawls away.] TRAVIS: [To Mutoid] It's working; just as I predicted. [To himself] This time we'll be ready for you, Blake. [Scene: Liberator flight deck. A planet appears on the viewscreen.] BLAKE: Zen, can you get an estimated surface temperature from this range? [The viewscreen shows wintry scenes on the surface.] ZEN: Sensors indicate a temperature of minus one hundred and twenty degrees and still falling. VILA: That's on the cool side, you'll need thermal suits. [Exits] BLAKE: Cally, are you still getting Avalon's signal? CALLY: It changed position by about eight miles but it's stationary now and switched to automatic. BLAKE: Well, lock onto it and get a precise fix. Jenna, when Cally's got a fix, let her take us into orbit. You're the only one who's ever seen Avalon, I need you down there with me. Go and get kitted up. JENNA: Right. BLAKE: Cally, we want an orbit just inside teleport range. [Avon enters the flight deck, standing just inside.] GAN: Blake, there are four...five interceptors orbiting the atmosphere now. They're all below the horizon at the moment. BLAKE: Track them. GAN: Right. AVON: [Simultaneously] And don't imagine they will maintain the same orbit. [Moves onto deck and hands data to Blake.] I've summarized the relevant data. BLAKE: And? AVON: We've come at the worst time, of course. The northern hemisphere is just entering its winter cycle. They call it the Long Cold. Something of an understatement, it lasts the equivalent of eight-and-a-half Earth years. BLAKE: Does it support any intelligent life? AVON: Does the Liberator? [Blake and Jenna exchange looks.] There are humanoid creatures called subterrons. They live in caves. Quite what that says for their intelligence, I really wouldn't know. BLAKE: Why are the Federation there? AVON: Minerals. About thirty years ago it was discovered that deposits were seeping down into the ice and forming gem stones of outstanding purity and hardness. They are called 'Ice Crystals'. The Federation uses them in heavy duty lasers. They are mined by the subterrons as a slave labour force. BLAKE: Ahh, that is why Avalon is here. AVON: Perhaps, but the ice crystals are unique and as such quite valuable. BLAKE: No, Avalon has started resistance movements on a dozen Federation planets. AVON: Another idealist, poor but honest. I shall look forward to our meeting with eager anticipation. BLAKE: Is your anticipation eager enough to come down there with me? AVON: [Avon looks at the screen] Not quite. I think I shall contain my enthusiasm here in the warm. [Scene: A mutoid watches a guard below her position, then jumps him and after a brief struggle strangles him. Then she signals to various groups of mutoids with a morse-code like sender. The groups move through caves. A number of mutoids surround a group of people in a cavern. Travis is in the background.] MUTOID: Stay where you are. [Travis moves forwards] TRAVIS: Which of you is Avalon? [He holds a nearby man and places his gun to the man's head.] I want Avalon -- now. [A figure moves forward. Another puts out a hand to stop her, but she continues forwards. Travis hits the man he was threatening, knocking him over.] AVALON: Who betrayed us? TRAVIS: [To mutoids] Take her. MUTOID: [Indicating homing beacon] Shall I smash it? TRAVIS: No. Give Blake his homing beacon -- make it easier for him. Finish it. TERLOC: Ughh. Uh, ah. [Mutoids systematically shoot everyone amid lots of screams and shouts, then leave.] [Scene: Blake and Jenna enter the flight deck.] CALLY: ...and holding. Orbital drift compensators? GAN: Activated. JENNA: Confirm position and status. ZEN: All systems confirm instrument readings. Orbit is established, status is firm. JENNA: [To Cally] Very impressive. I think I might have taught you too well. BLAKE: All right, let's go. JENNA: Keep sensors on full alert. Those pursuit ships are still around. GAN: Don't worry -- we're watching. JENNA: Good luck. CALLY: You, too. [Scene: Teleport section, Vila is at the controls when Blake, Jenna and Avon enter.] VILA: Surface temperatures are down to minus one eighty, better wrap up warmly. BLAKE: [To Jenna] Set your suit to seventy-five percent. [They adjust their suit controls] Right, stay at the controls. If all goes well we'll be back in fifteen minutes. AVON: We'll be ready. [They put on bracelets and Blake takes a number of spares.] BLAKE: Right. [Scene: Blake and Jenna materialize in a tunnel and find the guard's body.] [Scene: In the cavern where the massacre occurred, Chevner reaches for a rifle and hides. Jenna and Blake enter and see the bodies and the homing beacon.] BLAKE: Federation security must have found them -- looks like their handiwork. JENNA: None of them are armed. BLAKE: That's what I mean. JENNA: Weapons are still in the racks. BLAKE: They probably tried to surrender. JENNA: Let's get out of here, Blake. BLAKE: No, we must find out if Avalon's one of them. No, we must know for certain. This homing beacon's still transmitting. Once Federation security found that they wouldn't have any trouble getting onto this place. [Chevner collapses and drops the rifle.] JENNA: Blake! [They move over to him.] BLAKE: He's still alive. [He and Jenna help Chevner sit up.] JENNA: Careful, he's been hit in the shoulder. BLAKE: It's all right, it's all right, we're friends. CHEVNER: The others, what about the others? BLAKE: I'm afraid they're dead. JENNA: What about Avalon? Was she with you? Can you remember whether she was with you when you were attacked? CHEVNER: Terloc betrayed us -- it was Terloc. BLAKE: Where is Avalon? CHEVNER: She was with us, she... They took her out, before the firing started. [Scene: A large laboratory inside the Centre.] COMPUTER: Project A-six security green now in operation. Stand by yellow release to project A-eight. Doctor Ellisdee to area blue-six basement main control area. [Travis is working on a hand computer -- a mutoid enters.] MUTOID: The Supreme Commander's ship has landed, they've already disembarked. TRAVIS: Good. I think we're about ready. Oh, I'll need a human to assist in a test. Check with the detention block, see if they can give you someone. MUTOID: Any special characteristics? TRAVIS: No -- an ordinary unskilled labour grade will do -- an expendable. MUTOID: If there isn't one in detention? TRAVIS: Then detain one! MUTOID: Yes, Commander. [Travis goes to an adjoining area -- Avalon is restrained in an interrogation machine.] TRAVIS: [To scientist] Any problems? SCIENTIST: Not that I can see. A good healthy specimen. No deformities or unusual features. The standard triple omega should provide a perfect basis. TRAVIS: Good. Can you complete quickly? SCIENTIST: I think so. TRAVIS: [To Avalon] You should be flattered by all this special attention. AVALON: Anyone who opposes the Federation knows what to expect if they get captured. It's a risk we're all prepared to take. TRAVIS: Obviously; but whatever the risks, no one really ever expects to get caught, do they, hmm? Still, I wish I could find the same urge to sacrifice among my subordinates. AVALON: They have no cause. TRAVIS: True. AVALON: Every year more people defy the Federation, thirty planets in this sector alone, and others will follow -- many others. TRAVIS: Yes. Well, you'll tell us about those, won't you? Their leaders, locations, their plans. I'm sure we'll be able to convince them that loyalty to the Federation is after all in their best interests. AVALON: I know enough about these machines to realize that I will tell you everything. You will murder hundreds of people, maybe thousands. But you won't end the opposition, you'll never end it. TRAVIS: Perhaps not. However, we shall persevere. You're right, of course, you will tell us everything. But first we need you for a far more important venture. We've codenamed it Project Avalon. [Scene: The cavern. Blake and Jenna are tending to Chevner's wound.] BLAKE: There, how does that feel? CHEVNER: Not too bad, thanks. JENNA: Are you sure that they took her to the Centre? CHEVNER: They abandon the outer complex when the Long Cold sets in. Anyway, the main interrogation units are in the Centre. BLAKE: That's where she'll be all right. Have you ever been inside the Centre? CHEVNER: No. I helped build the outer complex, but the labour gangs were restricted in their movements. I don't exactly know my way around. JENNA: Could you get us in there? CHEVNER: To the Centre? JENNA: Mmm hmm. CHEVNER: No. Can't be done. BLAKE: Listen, Avalon knows all the resistance movements in this star sector. Places, names, everything. CHEVNER: She'd die before she told anybody anything. BLAKE: Not a choice she'll be given. In a couple of days they'll know everything she knows. It'll be disaster for the resistance. JENNA: And a lot of people will die. BLAKE: So we have to get her before that happens. CHEVNER: Well, you'd never make it through any of the normal entrances. They're computer-linked and manned by mutoid guards. BLAKE: What about ventilation shafts? CHEVNER: No, they're closed off during the Long Cold. The atmosphere is recycled. The regeneration plant. It's outside the Centre and linked by inlet and outlet channels. We might just make it through there. BLAKE: All right, we'll have to give it a try. CHEVNER: There's no guarantee it'll succeed. They're bound to have all sorts of security devices linked into it. BLAKE: We have our own specialist in that area. [Into communicator] Blake, do you read? [The scene cuts between the cavern and flight deck.] CALLY: Cally, we hear you. BLAKE: [in the cavern] Vila, get on a thermal suit and come down here fast. VILA: Me? Oh, now wait a minute, it's cold out there, and I'm very susceptible to low temperatures. I've got a weak chest. AVON: The rest of you's not very impressive. BLAKE: You're wasting time. Come down here and bring your bag of tricks. VILA: I don't know why it always has to be me. I'm tired of being indispensable. BLAKE: Gan. [V.O.] Any space activity? GAN: Yes, a ship came in and docked about half an hour ago. BLAKE: [V.O.] Can you identify it? GAN: Well, the detectors read it as a military command cruiser and the trajectory suggested it could have come from Federation space headquarters. BLAKE: It could be something to do with Avalon's capture. Maybe they're going to try and ship her out of here. JENNA: We'd better get moving quickly. [Scene: Teleport section] [Vila puts on a teleport bracelet and puts on a thermal suit] AVON: Ready? [Cally and Avon exchange smiles after Avon teleports him.] [Scene: The cavern.] BLAKE: Vila! This is Chevner. [To Chevner] Come on, you lead, we'll follow. VILA: [To Jenna] What's the, er, problem? JENNA: Avalon's been taken prisoner, we've got to get her out. VILA: Oh no. [Scene: The Centre laboratory. Travis is watching Avalon and the scientist on a monitor screen, the latter comes over to the camera.] SCIENTIST: We're finished -- we've everything we need. TRAVIS: Good. Prepare to take her down to transfer. They're standing by. SCIENTIST: Right. [mutoid enters with man] MUTOID: Will he do? TRAVIS: [Examines the man and hits him in the stomach.] Yeah, he seems healthy enough -- he'll do. [Servalan enters with mutoid guards.] TRAVIS: Supreme Commander, it's good to see you. A safe journey I trust. SERVALAN: Nothing is safe any more. You've heard, of course, that there have been two attempts on my life. TRAVIS: I have. I was very concerned. SERVALAN: I consider Blake to be responsible. [Slides fur coat off and drops it on the floor.] Oh, not personally, of course; but stories of his exploits are still circulating. They excite people. The fact that he is still free gives them hope. And that is dangerous, Travis. Hope is very dangerous. TRAVIS: The loss of it can be fatal, and the source of it all is about to be wiped out. SERVALAN: I've been under considerable pressure to replace you. TRAVIS: Ohh? SERVALAN: Oh, so far I have resisted that pressure. But now, I need your reassurance that my confidence has not been misplaced. TRAVIS: I think Project Avalon will silence the critics. SERVALAN: It does seem an excellent plan. It should have every chance of success. TRAVIS: I'm glad you approve. SERVALAN: Oh, Travis, you know better than that. In my position one never approves anything until it is an undisputed success. TRAVIS: Yeh. SERVALAN: So, this is the famous Avalon is it? I'd expected something more impressive. TRAVIS: All the checks have been made. They're ready to take her down to transfer. SERVALAN: Well, don't let me delay you. TRAVIS: Take her down. SCIENTIST{?}: [Off screen -- very faint] Right. SERVALAN: Travis, I think the labs have come up with what you wanted. It's totally new -- and very costly. [Travis takes a spherical phial out of a box held by a mutoid.] TRAVIS: This is the only element that was missing. SERVALAN: When will you test it? TRAVIS: Now. Everything's prepared. SERVALAN: Excellent -- I'm curious to see it work myself. [They move over to a screen showing an inner chamber in which the 'expendable' is restrained in a seat. Travis introduces the phial into the chamber.] TRAVIS: Check door seals. MUTOID: Door solid -- seals are firm. TRAVIS: We're ready. SERVALAN: Proceed. TRAVIS: Activate. [The phial is smashed by remote control. A fungus appears to grow over the man's head and body. Another screen indicates the passage of time.] TRAVIS: Twenty-three seconds. It's fascinating. [Scene: A tunnel: Blake, Jenna, Chevner and Vila approach a door at the end of a short side tunnel.] BLAKE: Vila. [Vila starts working on the lock.] [A security robot approaches.] JENNA: Security robot. [They crouch down against the side of the tunnel as the robot crosses the entrance from the main tunnel.] BLAKE: Vila! [Scene: Flight deck.] ZEN: Sensors report spacecraft approaching. AVON: Identify. ZEN: Analysis indicates they are Mark Four Federation interceptors. CALLY: Compute course, speed and range. ZEN: Interceptors are bearing directly on this position. Speed standard by two. Range two million spacials. CALLY: Have they seen us? ZEN: Hull sensors register scanning beams. AVON: So they know we're here. [He checks a console.] We'll be within their attack range in minutes. CALLY: We must tell Blake. [Scene: The tunnel. The robot moves past and away.] BLAKE: All right, Vila. [Vila sets to work again. Blake spots the robot again.] He's coming back. [They flatten themselves against the wall again. Blake's communicator beeps and he muffles the sound.] [Scene: Flight deck. Cally is pushing buttons on the force wall console communicator.] CALLY: He's not answering. GAN: They're coming in very fast. What do we do now? AVON: Run for it -- we daren't risk a fight now. CALLY: But that'll leave them trapped down there if they need to get out quickly. AVON: If we stay here there might not be anything to get out to. Our only hope is to make a fast orbit, lose those interceptors, then come back onto station. Well, have you got any better ideas? [Gan and Cally don't reply.] All right, then let's get the hell out of here! Cally, take her on manual. [Scene: The tunnel. The robot moves away again.] BLAKE: OK, Vila. [Into communicator] Avon. Cally. JENNA: [Into communicator] Avon. Cally. [To Blake] Jammed. BLAKE: No. Well, let's hope they're back on station by the time we need them. Come on, Vila. CHEVNER: Here we go. BLAKE: Right. [They clamber through as Vila packs up his tools.] Vila, move it! [Scene: The Centre laboratory. Servalan and Travis are seated in a sort of waiting area.] TRAVIS: Well? MUTOID: Space security report. Our interceptors have detected an alien ship. TRAVIS: Has it been identified? MUTOID: Available data suggests it could be the Liberator. TRAVIS: Suggests? Suggests? Of course it's the Liberator. What action's been taken? MUTOID: Our ships are in pursuit. SERVALAN: Shouldn't you call them off? TRAVIS: Not really. I know they can't match the Liberator's speed but it would look suspicious if they took no action. SERVALAN: True. TRAVIS: Hmm. If I read my man correctly we can expect him to penetrate the Centre within the next twelve hours. [Scene: Another tunnel. They reach another door.] BLAKE: [To Chevner] Try this one or move on to another? CHEVNER: Well, I think we should be well inside the main Centre now. Let's give it a go. BLAKE: Vila, you're in business again. [Scene: The Centre detention block, the scientist is putting Avalon in cell F2.] TRAVIS: Ah, are you finished with her? SCIENTIST: Yes, we've just put her in her cell. SERVALAN: Was everything satisfactory? SCIENTIST: Perfectly. COMPUTER: Interrogation team one report to duty control. Repeat. Interrogation team one report to duty control. [Travis manipulates a control panel to show cell F2.] COMPUTER: F-two. Avalon. TRAVIS: [To guard] You've drawn your new weapon from the armoury, I see. GUARD: Sir. TRAVIS: Good. Stay alert. COMPUTER: Stand by medic unit and report to area control. [The group moves into the Centre.] COMPUTER: … A-eight. Stand by blue control... Interrogation team one report to duty control. Repeat. Interrogation team one report to duty control. [Blake, Jenna, Vila and Chevner advance.] COMPUTER: Attention block seven, report to duty control. Project A-six security green now in operation. BLAKE: [Very quietly] There's a guard coming. [He stands in the hallway and claps his hands.] VILA: [Whispering] What are you doing? BLAKE: Getting us a guided tour! [Loudly] You, there! What are you doing in this section? GUARD: I was posted here by the security commander. BLAKE: My orders were that no one should enter this area. What is your security commander's name? GUARD: Sergeant-Major Garven, may I have your name and authority, sir? VILA: [Prodding him with gun.] His name is Blake, and this is his authority. BLAKE: You have a woman prisoner here called Avalon. Where is she being kept? GUARD: All prisoners are being held in the main detention block. [Chevner scouts ahead to the nearest corridor junction.] BLAKE: Right, take us there, now. VILA: He said "now". [Scene: Flight deck.] ZEN: Sensors indicate that Liberator is no longer being scanned. CALLY: I'll make a fast turn so that they do not pick us up again, then we must return to position. GAN: How long will that take? ZEN: Minimum possible transit time is thirty-seven point zero one minutes. GAN: That's a long time to hold on if you're in trouble. AVON: Then let's get on with it. Speculation and fast turns aren't going to make it any shorter. [Scene: Detention block. Blake, Jenna, and Vila are around the guard.] BLAKE: [To the guard] Right, remember to do exactly as I told you. And remember there are two guns right behind you. [To the others] All right, let's go. [Jenna holds both men's' guns on the guard as he marches Blake and Vila down the hall as if they were prisoners. They approach the guard at the entrance to the cells.] COMMANDER: Halt. GUARD: I have two prisoners to be confined in detention unit four. COMMANDER: This area is under maximum security and totally off limits. GUARD: Down, it's Blake! [He shoves Blake and Vila into the other guard and takes off down the hall.] BLAKE: Chevner! [A fight ensues.] Jenna! COMPUTER: Detention block seven -- condition red. [Alarm starts.] BLAKE: Get after him, Jenna. [Blake manipulates the control panel -- various detainees appear on the monitors as he does so.] COMPUTER: A-twelve Istar. S-eight Hend. N-fifteen Raiker. T-five Kalor. G-one Pelar. F-two Avalon. JENNA: [Returning from chasing the runaway guard.] I lost him, he must have got down a transit shaft. BLAKE: Right, cover this end. [Giving him a teleport bracelet] Chevner, put this on. Get down and cover the other corridor. BLAKE: Come on, Vila. [He and Vila go into an inner corridor.] VILA: Right. BLAKE: F-two --there, open that. [Into communicator] Liberator, come in Liberator, stand by to teleport. Liberator, do you read me? [Jenna, Chevner, and the guards engage in a gun battle as Vila opens the door and during the ensuing conversation and escape.] BLAKE: Avalon -- I'm Blake. We had hoped to get you out sooner, we've had a bit of trouble. VILA: [Noting the brief tunic Avalon wears] She'll freeze to death dressed like that. BLAKE: Right. Let's move it...[To Avalon] Right, go! [They make their way out of the Centre, exchanging fire with the guards.] CHEVNER: [To Vila] Come on. [Blake is hit in the shoulder.] JENNA: Ahh! BLAKE: I'm all right -- go on. [The chase continues until they exit the original outer door. Avalon is shot in the leg and must be helped out by the others.] BLAKE: Chevner, the security robot. [Into communicator] Avon! Cally! Bring us up! [Scene: Cuts between the Liberator and the tunnel.] ZEN: Liberator has resumed original position and status. AVON: You'd better switch on the communication channel. [Gan crosses and switches it on.] BLAKE: [V.O.] Liberator, we need teleport now. Come in, Liberator, Liberator, do you read me? We need teleport now! [End V.O.] Do you hear me? Bring us up! Avon! Cally! [Avon rushes into the teleport section. The teleport activates just in time to save them.] AVON: Welcome back. BLAKE: Vila, Jenna, get the ship moving. Gan, take care of Avalon -- put her down in a cabin. If the Federation find out where we are, they'll send up everything they've got after us. AVON: What went wrong? BLAKE: I was about to ask you that. [Scene: The Centre. Travis and Servalan are standing at a communication screen.] GUARD: [On screen] We have a firm location reading and an accurate track. TRAVIS: Have the pursuit ships been launched? GUARD: Yes, sir. TRAVIS: Good. Keep me informed. Couple of hours and it should be all over. [Scene: A room on the Liberator. Chevner, Cally, and Avalon -- now changed out of her tunic -- are sitting round. Jenna enters.] JENNA: [To Avalon] How are you feeling? AVALON: I'm fine. I'm perfectly all right. But my tunic -- it is very important, my tunic. JENNA: It's all right, relax, I'll go and get it for you. CALLY: You just rest for a while. Perhaps we could talk later. I've admired your work for the resistance for a long time. [Chevner looks strangely at Avalon.] [Scene: Flight deck. Blake is examining a Federation gun. Avon and Gan are looking at a control console. Jenna enters.] JENNA: Avalon seems to have recovered. BLAKE: Jenna, there's something wrong. There's something about our escape that bothers me. JENNA: Well, we were lucky. BLAKE: Yes, we were. One of those guards got a clear shot at me. The impact knocked me over, that's all. JENNA: That should have ripped your shoulder off. BLAKE: Yes, and Avalon was hit in the leg. [Shoots at a tumbler on a table. It falls over. He picks it up and inspects it] A nasty kick, that's all. Avon, what do you make of this? [Tosses the weapon to Avon.] AVON: It's not standard issue. Low energy bolt discharge. This could bruise or stun, but it couldn't cause any serious injury. GAN: A dud gun doesn't make sense. BLAKE: Exactly. I think they wanted us to escape. AVON: That's an interesting idea but I don't see the logic. BLAKE: Neither do I. AVON: The Federation chases you all over the galaxy with the highly understandable desire to destroy you, then when they've got you pinned down they let you go. Why? JENNA: They could have got all of us, but there were still three of you left on the Liberator. BLAKE: The Liberator! That's it! They must want the Liberator. The only way they could do that is to put somebody here on board. The whole thing has been set up and we have fallen for it beautifully. GAN: Not Avalon. I mean, we are sure that woman is Avalon, aren't we? JENNA: Well, yes, I've only met her once, but, yes, that's her. AVON: Then it must be Chevner. GAN: Chevner. How do you think he'll do it? BLAKE: I don't know. We've got to find out. Gan, you stay here. [To Avon and Jenna] You two come with me. [Scene: They hurry to the room and discover Cally unconscious. Avon goes in to check on her.] AVON: She's alive. BLAKE: [To Jenna] Warn the others. Start searching. He's got to be found. [to Avon] You stay and look after her. [Scene: Blake and Vila meet in a corridor.] BLAKE: Jenna tell you? VILA: Yes, but there's no sign of him in any of the cabins. BLAKE: Right, let's try the hold. [Scene: Jenna returns to the room and finds Cally alone, slumped in a chair. As she is tending to her, a very badly injured Chevner staggers towards them.] JENNA: Ahhhh! [Chevner collapses, Jenna goes over to him, he mouths something that is indistinct over the background noise.] [Scene: Teleport section. Gan and Avalon enter.] GAN: Jenna had your tunic in here. She must have left it around somewhere. Ah yes, here it is. [He retrieves it from behind the console and gives it to her.] AVALON: Thank you. GAN: There. [Avalon takes the phial out of the tunic and holds it up, dropping the tunic] JENNA: [Entering from the corridor] Gan, that's not Avalon. [Avalon drops the phial and it lands on her tunic. She struggles with Jenna and Gan, but is obviously stronger than they are. Blake and Vila arrive and the four of them overpower her.] BLAKE: [To Jenna] Get something to tie her up with! [Scene: Flight deck. The phial is under the dome in front of Zen.]] ZEN: Preliminary analysis suggests the phial contains a virus artificially mutated from the delta seven-zero-six classification subset two-zero-five originally known incorrectly as the Phobon plague. This mutation appears to have a short life cycle and be self-eliminating. GAN: If she'd managed to crush that we'd have been wiped out and the Liberator left totally unharmed. AVON: [Examining Avalon's head, from which he has removed a portion of plastic and hair.] It very nearly worked, too. They've made a perfect replica. This is the best robotic engineering I've ever seen. JENNA: I never had a moments' doubt that it was Avalon. CALLY: I talked with her, about her work. Not details, but her reasons and beliefs. I still find it hard to believe. AVON: Brilliant programming. They transferred complete key areas of Avalon's personality. It's really quite impressive. BLAKE: And the only person it didn't completely fool was Chevner. JENNA: Ah, but he'd known the real Avalon for quite some time. He must have been suspicious of this one. AVON: That's why it killed him. VILA: He shouldn't have tried to tackle it alone. AVON: He probably didn't. Just being suspicious would have been enough. A machine of this type would have recognised that easily, more easily than we would. BLAKE: Can you make it safe? AVON: I can deprogram it, scramble its brain. BLAKE: Can you reprogram it? AVON: No. A few minor functions, perhaps, not much else. BLAKE: That's enough. Jenna, take us back into the precise orbit we were in. Cally, I want an exact locator fix on that laboratory. We still have to get Avalon out of there. [Scene: The Centre. Servalan and Travis come through a door into a corridor, followed by a group of mutoids and guards.] SERVALAN: I think I'll stay on during Avalon's interrogation. I have the feeling she's going to tell us a great deal. TRAVIS: There's no doubt of that. SERVALAN: When will you begin? TRAVIS: I want to finish with the Liberator first. As soon as it's confirmed they've put a boarding party on her we'll get started. [An intercom beeps and Travis answers it.] Travis. What!? Are you sure of that? Keep checking, I'm coming up. I don't understand. Space track control say the Liberator's moved back into orbit. SERVALAN: It must be another ship. TRAVIS: No, no, no, they seem very certain. [Alarms start to sound and a Mutoid enters] COMPUTER: Detention block one zero... MUTOID: Blake is here, sir, in the main laboratory. TRAVIS: Blake? MUTOID: He is demanding to see you. SERVALAN: He is demanding? MUTOID: I report only what I have been told, Commander. He also says you are to bring Avalon with you. TRAVIS: How many of them are there? MUTOID: Just Blake, sir. TRAVIS: Right, I'll deal with this. Bring the prisoner. [Scene: The Centre laboratory. Blake, with the Avalon robot beside him, holds several scientists and guards at gunpoint. Travis and Servalan enter.] BLAKE: Ahh, Travis. Didn't work. It was very clever but it didn't work. TRAVIS: How did you stop it? BLAKE: Does it matter? All I want to do is finish what I started. I'm going to take Avalon out of here. TRAVIS: [Raising his artificial arm] I don't think so. BLAKE: [Taking out the phial] That would not be very clever. TRAVIS: You wouldn't do it. BLAKE: What have I got to lose? TRAVIS: It's not a pleasant death, Blake. BLAKE: So I gather, but it would have its compensations: I'd share it with you -- and the Supreme Commander. Are you quite sure I wouldn't do it? SERVALAN: Bring the prisoner in. [Travis grabs Avalon as she walks past him.] Let her go. [He doesn't.] I said, let her go. TRAVIS: You still have to get her out of here, Blake. Are you sure your teleport's fast enough to stop me killing you both? BLAKE: [Takes bracelet from the robot and gives it to Avalon.] Put this bracelet on your wrist. [To Travis] I'm afraid we've had to reprogram your machine slightly. It's nowhere near as sophisticated as it was but it will perform a few basic functions. [To the robot] Raise your arm. Enough. Open your thumb and forefinger. [He holds the phial between her finger and thumb.] Close the thumb and forefinger. Enough. [To Travis and Servalan] The robot will crush the phial in response to one of three triggers. A particular word, a specific sound or a certain movement. You had all better be very, very careful what you say and do. [Into communicator] Bring us up. [Blake and Avalon teleport out.] [Travis edges forwards and manages to catch the phial when the robot drops it.] SERVALAN: [To Travis] Project Avalon has failed totally. There will be a full inquiry. Until that time you are relieved of your command. TRAVIS: [To himself] If it takes all my life, I will destroy you, Blake. I will destroy you. I will destroy you. SERVALAN: Launch the pursuit ships. [end credits]