Crusade (1999) s01e05 Episode Script

General Thompson, you don't understand.
We are minutes away from a new destination with some good leads.
I don't care what you're minutes away from.
I have express permission from President Sheridan to use the Excalibur for this mission.
You will contact Robert Black and his colonists and take whatever steps are necessary to ensure they do not lea ve that planet until you ha ve determined whether or not they are carrying the Drakh plague.
If the diagnosis is positive, you will transfer them to an Earthforce ship waiting near Orion 7.
But why? Theta 49 is uninhabited, or at least it was until they got there.
If these colonists are infected, why can't they just stay on the planet? Transporting them out creates all kinds of logistical problems including the risk of further contamination.
Captain, I told you, I want them in custody.
I don't need to explain myself to a subordinate.
Yes, sir.
I don't like being called and harassed.
Nonetheless, I have been asked to remind you that we have not received any recent topographical readouts samples of alien technology, or reports on anything you ha ve found out there.
All of this information would be of use to our archaeological expeditions.
- We need profit margins here, Max.
- I know.
IPX depends on the information from our scouts.
I know.
I've been incredibly busy.
Not to mention the half-dozen life-threatening situations that I've been in in the last two weeks.
This isn't a debate.
You are behind schedule in your corporate updates.
The next mission you go on- Trust me.
The next place promises to be a gold mine.
You'll get a full report.
We'd better.
I understand we're changing course.
What's going on? We're going to Theta 49, Orion Sector.
Why? The previous coordinates promised to be a veritable gold mine of alien technology.
Orion system? Theta 49? Looks incredibly dull.
This order came directly from Earthforce.
That would explain the dull part.
If this isn't a planet that IPX can exploit for profit then maybe this is your cue to take a vacation.
IPX doesn't give paid holidays.
For a cause like this, I'd think we'd all happily chip in.
I just got the word.
What's on Theta 49? Approximately 30 people who escaped from Earth during the Drakh attack.
If they weren't able to get offworld before the plague was released, they're infected.
They could be carrying this plague all over the galaxy.
I hear you wanted to speak with me.
- Have you made a decision? - Yes.
We rolled the stones, and they came up blank.
Never in our history has there been such a terrible sign.
We mean your people no harm.
Roll your stones again.
You'll see I'm telling the truth.
No.
Our stones have spoken.
On the eve of this, my death I hear whispers of a terrible curse.
A tragedy was brought to my people from outside.
By coming here, you brought doom to my people.
There is nothing left to be said between us that the stones have not said for us.
Go now for I must die.
Please take away your people so that mine can live.
Matthew Gideon, Captain.
Attached to the Earth Alliance starship, Excalibur.
To find a cure to the Drakh plague before it wipes out all life on Earth.
Anywhere I ha ve to.
Who do you serve and who do you trust? CRUSADE 1x05 "PATERNS OF THE SOUL" You sure this process is reliable? I mean, this is the first time we've used it in a situation where we know we're going into a contaminated area.
The nanovirus shield has performed flawlessly in 15 out of 15 tests.
It lines the lungs and it sloughs off anything that comes in contact with it for 48 hours.
Just don't eat or drink anything down there.
We can't guard against secondary contamination.
The tests were conducted on rats.
How do I know it's going to work on me? To answer that, we'd have to figure out the difference between a rat and a starship captain, and we don't have that much time.
You all set? Beginning sonic decontamination to neutralize all bacteria, microbes, and pathogens.
Proceed to Station Two.
Beginning nanovirus mist.
Please breathe deeply, and fill lungs to capacity.
Nanovirus shield completed.
You now ha ve 48 hours of exposure time.
All right.
Bring on the rest of the rats.
I told you, Black isn't here.
And until he gets here, you'll get nothing from us.
I don't buy this story of us being infected by the plague before leaving the Earth.
You left in the middle of a war.
Your ship was in the area where the Drakh released the plague- After we took off.
Look, it took us six months to find this place.
We're not leaving now.
You're trying to get us to go back to Earth because we embarrassed the politicians back home.
There are only 30 of you.
That's not enough to warrant a propaganda campaign.
No? What about you and your propaganda campaign? Look at you.
Running around, pretending to have all the answers.
Running off to another mission, another war.
The human race doesn't measure the quality of what it's accomplished only the quantity, the numbers.
How much can we do before someone else can? And we left because we were tired of having our futures dictated at a breakneck pace.
The Earth has been spinning out of control for a long time, Captain but our world will remain constant and our quality of life something we're proud of.
We'll be here long after Earth is just a memory.
Maybe that's the lesson of the Drakh plague.
Slow down and enjoy life, or it will be taken from you.
Maybe that's why we were spared, to come here.
I'm not here to argue philosophy with you.
- I have my orders.
- And what orders are those? I'm Robert Black.
I suppose you can say I'm a designated town spokesman.
Mr.
Black, we have reason to believe that you and your colonists may have been infected by a highly advanced plague.
It was introduced into the Earth's atmosphere at approximately the same time you left.
It's a trick.
They're trying to You were saying? I need to take blood samples from all of you.
No.
You can sample me and only me.
If one of us has it, then we'd all have it by now.
If I test positive, you can have others.
But I'm sure you'll find we're not infected.
I'm sorry about the plague, but it really has nothing to do with us.
We came here to start over and your troubles, your presence is interfering with that.
But if cooperation will get rid of you sooner than opposition you can have our cooperation for now.
Please follow me.
Are you all right? Do you need help? No, young one.
The twilight will soon become night.
It's the way of things.
This was the way of my people as well.
I always wondered if it would be hard to die alone when my time came.
When I was young, I was afraid of the journey into night.
I didn't want to die alone.
Though I have no choice.
There is no one left to watch over me.
I'm the last of my kind.
I can stay, though, and watch for you, if you want.
Who are you, young one? You're not from our village.
You must be the guide who comes to take the dying.
No, I'm Where did you come from? Seek the cave on the moor.
I'm glad you finally came.
My life is turning into night now.
I can finally see the stars.
Finished your examination? We'll have the results back in a few hours.
Just to be on the safe side if I were you, I'd be ready to pack my bags and return to Earth.
We have no desire to return.
It's not your choice.
You can destroy our ship.
I guarantee you, we can't leave.
Earth won't take the risk.
Other races might still come here, and we don't have the resources to post troops to guard a handful of people.
You're just lucky you came to an isolated location.
There's no one else here to contaminate.
We'll be back in a few hours.
Tell your people to get ready.
You're not going to let them take us back, are you? He's right, Tim.
If we're infected, we're a threat to everyone.
Don't do this, not after all we fought for.
We barely escaped Earth.
Are you saying that our freedom doesn't mean a damn thing now? Tim, you don't have all the pieces.
I met with a tribal elder.
He told me that we bring destruction.
I couldn't understand what he meant till they showed up.
And you believe him? It's the first sign of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Then let's leave.
Why are we waiting for an escort? Earthforce will just use us as lab rats again and that captain probably knows who and what we are.
Now, I won't be locked up anymore.
If we're infected, we shouldn't go anywhere.
We still have a little time.
Enough to think of other strategies.
Like what? Surrender? Must be difficult for you, being a career military officer having to play the roles of jailer, ferryman, executioner.
That's where we're different.
I just do what I'm told.
The corporation knows all, sees all, and tells very little.
If we make a bad call, we can honestly say that we've acted in good conscience based on the information available.
Absolution in absentia.
The blessed state of being able to say, "It's not my fault.
" Gaining the knowledge of good and evil was the first original sin, remember? How much better of a world it would be if they hadn't formed an opinion if they had just eaten of the forbidden fruit of knowledge.
Opinion doesn't enter into it.
Recently, I even get a perverse pleasure out of that.
- Dureena.
- Yeah.
What are you doing down there? Nothing.
Captain, what's the status of the colonists? They're infected.
Then I think you better send the doctor here.
What's wrong? What have you found? Some indigenous life you might want to check out.
I'll explain everything later.
Uploading my location now.
Priority signal coming in from Earthforce, Captain.
I'll take it in my quarters.
Doctor, find out what this is about.
Interesting.
Computer, transfer readings to com pad.
Transferring.
Captain Gideon, I was expecting a status report two hours ago.
What's the situation? The colonists are infected with the plague, sir.
We've given them three hours to get their equipment together.
That's extremely generous.
They aren't in immediate danger, sir.
In fact, they'd prefer to be quarantined on the planet until we can find a cure.
Granted, there are difficulties.
Absolutely not.
The time and cost to maintain a quarantine isn't viable.
Before they move out, I want the record of their ship's history uplinked to me.
We should know if anyone else might need to be quarantined along the way.
Yes, sir.
After you upload the information to me, you will erase the ship's log.
We don't want anyone else stumbling onto those records.
God knows what nonsense they've put in there.
- But, sir- - That's all, Captain.
Enter.
I'm about to head down to the planet but before that, I thought you should know while I was doing my work on the colonists I came across a cyberorganic compound in their bloodstream.
I've never seen anything like it.
I shouldn't see something like this in human biology.
- Any idea what might have caused it? - One or two.
I'm running some tests now, but won't have anything for a couple of hours.
I see.
All right.
Thank you.
- Captain to Team One.
- Yes, sir.
Download all the records in the colonists' ship and relay that information to the Excalibur.
Aye, sir.
All right, General, let's see what's so important in these records that you want to delete them.
Computer, cross-check the name Robert Black against all Earthforce records.
Accessing.
Name: Robert Black.
Requires Earthforce restricted ultraviolet clearance.
Do you wish to proceed? Sure.
Log in the ultraviolet code name "Benedict.
" Password, "sharks.
" Commencing.
Security violation.
Code name registered to another user.
Password to proceed via secondary access.
Confirmed.
Password, "ante up.
" You came in answer to our prayers.
We waited for a sign at the sacred cliff.
You are that sign.
You walk among us, but are not one of us.
No, I'm not who you think I am.
I just came on a starship.
I don't see how you could be my people.
It doesn't make sense.
Our tale is a long and difficult one.
I will tell you what has been passed down to us for generations.
We were taken as labor to help to form a colony by the starship Qualtham.
It was when our people were first taken to the stars by others.
There was a terrible accident before we could arrive at our destination.
Something appeared near our ship and with weapons of great destruction nearly destroyed our vessel.
When the ship was damaged, our escape pods landed on this planet.
Those of us who managed to escape eventually gathered here.
But we had no communications no record of what happened and so we were soon forgotten.
A lost tribe.
Yes? Doctor, could you swing by the colonists ' ship on your way in and take a look at their waste disposal system? Charming.
What exactly am I looking for? I'm not sure yet, but just let me know what you find.
I could have been the chief medic on the science vessel, the Olympus but no, I chose this mission because it was honorable commendable important.
And this is how I'm helping humanity.
Captain? I have a reading from some of the food the colonists picked up en route.
The package in my hand isn't open, but there are traces of the plague.
That confirms what I found here.
According to the ship's log the colonists did get off Earth before the plague was released.
I don't understand.
If the plague had broken out at whatever supply base this came from we'd have heard about it.
But this food is definitely contaminated.
- Is that possible? - No.
Not unless it was deliberately contaminated.
If they were deliberately contaminated, who did it, and where did it come from? The package says it was manufactured by Pro Zeta corporation.
Never heard of it.
Probably some low-grade food or black market drop that could be sold quick and cheap without any quarantine.
Maybe.
Maybe not.
I'm going to try and find out more about this Pro Zeta corporation.
I think I know just the person to help look into it.
You better get on up here.
I will as soon as I've found Dureena.
If something funny's going on here, somebody's got to warn her.
All right.
Just be careful.
Captain.
What an honor.
I don't think I've had the pleasure of a visit from you in all the time that we've known each other.
Come in.
I was just reading a bit of Canterbury Tales to amuse myself.
Chaucer, you know.
Another astute individual.
- Why, thank you.
- Who said I was comparing him to you? How can I help? Pro Zeta.
We think they're dealing in contaminated goods specifically the Drakh virus.
And I figured if anyone knew about them, it would be Mr.
Corporation.
It's a protein manufacturing company.
Synthetic meats.
They distribute throughout the Earth Alliance territory and beyond.
How far beyond? As far as they want.
That's a lot of permits.
Some serious government connections.
Very serious.
Their headquarters are on Ceti Gamma II.
Understand that if they have done something naughty you won't be able to trace it back.
You're lucky to have gotten this far.
But you won't get any further.
Try, and you'll end up six feet under.
That any of us survived the crash is a blessing.
Out of nearly 1,000 workers aboard our vessel there were only 100 survivors.
You've done well for yourselves.
And you've kept the traditions of our world alive.
We have always kept our reverence for the stones.
If you have come to take us back to Zander Prime you must understand, this place is now our home.
I wish I could offer you that much.
- But our home is- - Dureena! I can't believe what I'm seeing.
I thought they were all- I have to know if they are infected.
I need you to test them.
We've had contact with the humans.
I'm afraid your doctor's too late.
We rolled the stones.
We know.
Our people have been marked with doom.
Let the doctor help.
I know it isn't customary.
But your colony is the last of our people.
- No.
- Yes.
Zander Prime is destroyed.
That's why I travel with the humans.
Our world, as you remember it, is dead.
Until today, I thought I was the last of our race.
If you don't seek help for the plague, it will be the true end of our civilization.
When will you have the results? A few hours.
But my guess is your people are infected with the plague as well.
I'm sorry.
I know this must be very difficult for you.
When we get back to the ship, we can arrange to transfer them.
They're not leaving here.
This is their home.
They've already lost one home world.
I won't have them lose another.
- Be reasonable.
- Reasonable? Let me tell you what reasonable is.
Reasonable is that you keep quiet about my people being here and that you head back to the shuttle and you finish their tests.
Pretend you were examining the wildlife to see if they were infected.
Reasonable is doubling our efforts to find the cure because now there are two very good reasons to find it: your race and mine.
If you do report this and Earthforce endangers the lives of my people I will hold you personally responsible.
You should never have come here.
We don't want to go back to Earth and I'm going to make sure we don't go back and so are you.
Help! I don't want to hurt you.
Please don't struggle.
Let go of me! - What? - Cybernetic arms.
I'm afraid they aren't very pressure sensitive.
Slight defect.
If you struggle, I might crush you.
Dureena? Captain, this is Dr.
Chambers.
Dr.
Chambers? - Are we locked in? - It's okay.
I meant to call the shuttle.
My mistake.
Chambers out.
Download of Earthforce personnel records successful.
Robert Black, active GROPOS during the Minbari war.
Black participated in the Battle of the Line.
Medal of honor, 2248.
2249, personnel file change.
Transfer to Earthforce bioweapons division.
Code name: Tarsier.
Undercover member of Earthforce bioweapons division.
Cumulative testing resulted in failure.
Project abandoned.
Bioweapons division? Interesting.
Cross-reference any classified files on Ceti Gamma II and bioweapons division with other Earthforce personnel, specifically General Thompson.
Commencing.
Where's Black? Still trying to negotiate a way out of this.
He can't negotiate with these people.
Earthforce will do anything to get us back.
Keep this cyber-enhancement out of the wrong hands.
He's buying into their lies again.
Look, it's too late for you to fight back.
You're already infected.
If I do only have five years to live I want to spend them free, not locked in a cage.
The ship has been powered since they got here.
All we have to do is make a run for it.
And with the good doctor here, no one's going to try and stop us.
Black, you have got a big problem.
Who are you? Dureena Nafeel.
I came with the Excalibur.
One of your men just attacked me and took Dr.
Chambers captive.
Considering his unnatural speed and strength I would say you have some serious explaining to do about who you are and what you are doing here.
Where are they going? Looks like you're too late.
What's going on? It's the colonists' ship.
They're making a run for it.
We have a lock on the departing shuttle heading 22 by 75 by 83.
Navigation, plot an intercept course.
- Dureena to Gideon.
- Gideon here.
Several of the colonists have just taken off.
They've taken Dr.
Chambers.
She may be onboard as a hostage.
Got it.
Dureena, I suggest you get up here immediately.
Negative.
I'm staying here, Captain.
Suit yourself.
Gideon out.
- Patch me through to that ship.
- Yes, sir.
Online.
This is Captain Matthew Gideon of the starship Excalibur.
You're too late for negotiation.
We've got your doctor.
I suggest you let us leave in peace.
Let them go.
Earthforce can track them from here.
They're fugitives now.
- That's grounds for calling Earthforce.
- Not with Chambers onboard.
In a few more hours, the virus screen will wear off and she'll be infected with the plague.
Tim, listen to me.
- There's another way.
- Why should I believe you? - If you don't, you're dead.
- We're already as good as dead.
- What can you say that will change that? - Plenty.
Weapons off.
Safeties off.
Repeat, safeties off.
Target acquired.
Fire when ready.
You're staying because of your people, aren't you? I understand how you feel.
You don't want them sent away any more than I want mine taken away.
- They've suffered enough.
- So have we.
Do you have any idea what cybernetic implants do to a person? The sickness? The convulsions? The body shock and trauma? It's hard to watch people you care about go through that but we did it because we were young and career military, and we believed.
The operations were illegal, of course.
Really deep, covert stuff.
When it started to leak out, they shut down the program.
Tried to shut us down with it.
Even when we'd been lied to, given hush money and forgotten by our own government, we still had each other.
And I had Emma.
We went in together, and we promised to go out together.
She was the kind of person who knew your soul from the first time she looked in your eye.
It was her eyes that ended it.
She lost them to enhanced night vision and ultraviolet spectrum receptors.
Brass figured it'd give us an edge on alien worlds.
Something went wrong with the operation and I lost her.
When she went away, it took away everything.
Everything I believed in, all my hope.
The others up there, they helped me find it again.
I wish I knew what was happening.
The com system's been turned off.
We'll just have to wait and see.
- Captain.
- General Thompson.
We should have the destroyer Anubis meet you at Orion 7.
Anubis won't be necessary.
Computer, play back the last record.
We're already as good as dead.
What can you say that will change that? Plenty.
Target acquired.
Fire when ready.
I see.
How very unfortunate.
The irony, if I may, sir is that the colonists weren't infected by the plague when they left Earth.
They did get out in time.
We found evidence indicating that one of their shipments had been deliberately contaminated.
Unfortunately, we don't have anything substantial enough to prove who did it, or why.
I thought perhaps you might want me to look into it.
Of course, it's a moot point now, I suppose.
I suppose.
In any event, job well done.
We'll look into this theory of yours.
Good work, Captain.
You acted in good conscience.
Y es, sir.
I did that.
Somebody's coming.
You're alive.
Hey, John.
Hello, Stan.
Hey, Billy.
Mr.
Black? You were right.
You made it off of Earth uninfected.
It was Earthforce that infected you.
General Thompson used to be commanding officer of an advanced bioweapons testing center on Ceti Gamma II which happens to also be the center of operation for Pro Zeta corporation, the source of your food supplies.
My guess is he was afraid of the truth getting out when you did so he decided to cover his ass, so he arranged to get infected shipments of food onto your ship while you stopped for supplies on the last leg of your trip here.
So what Earthforce couldn't have, they wanted to destroy.
Despite the fact that Earth was dying, all they really cared about was keeping their dirty little secrets.
I don't want to give them that satisfaction.
So I'm giving you a chance.
I've put a reconnaissance satellite in orbit.
The doctor can get authorizations to quarantine the planet now that the plague has jumped species and has infected some native fauna.
Anyone approaching will be warned away.
What about our ship? I saw it explode.
Yes, that.
The captain used a subchannel to send us information he discovered about our cybernetic enhancements.
He also showed us that we were infected by Earthforce.
We then left the ship before it was destroyed.
My orders were to make sure that you don't spread the infection.
Without your ship, that problem is solved.
And as far as Earthforce is concerned, you're all officially dead.
Consider it the gift of reincarnation.
But if you try to leave, I'll know.
The satellite is set up to monitor any attempt to leave here.
So don't screw up.
Thank you.
You're not going to tell me how you found out about the cybernetic enhancements, are you? Why? You weren't planning on telling us about finding your people on Theta 49.
Point taken.
How did you- Chambers told me.
She's a doctor, so she has to do what she thinks is in their best interest even in the face of certain threats made in the heat of emotion which I'm sure someone might want to take back in calmer moments.
I can understand why you would want to keep this from me but we've got to trust each other.
At least a little.
I trust Chambers as a doctor.
I don't trust who she reports to.
- She reports to me.
- That's not the point.
I don't trust your generals any more than you do.
What I meant is you should trust me enough to decide who needs to know what.
Granted, I'm a bit eccentric, as captains go.
- Yeah, you gamble.
- Yeah.
- You cheat.
- That's subjective.
- You never tell anyone the whole truth.
- And who does? All right.
But I want a secret for a secret.
It's only fair.
What do you want to know? How did you find out about their cybernetic implants? I have an advantage.
I've always been one to associate myself with troublemakers, like yourself.
There's a benefit in knowing people in high places.
Some of them I consider friends.
Then one day I was playing a game of sharks against one of these individuals.
We were four sheets to the wind, could barely hold the dice and we decided to raise the stakes.
We played for access to his security codes.
He lost.
I've never compromised his position but they do come in handy from time to time.
There.
Now you have something for collateral.
But even without that, I wouldn't compromise your people, Dureena.
I may palm a card off the table from time to time but killing off your trust isn't a fair game.
Max, if you have something to say, just say it.
I happened to be in the map room and I noticed a number of life forms very similar to Dureena's on the scanner when she called you down to check out the fauna.
Don't you think you have an obligation to the Captain to tell him what you found? Who you found? What makes you think I haven't? Then you won't mind if I tell my people? That's my call, not yours.
The folks back home should know about this.
This is a decision that means the continuation or the extinction of an entire race.
- Dureena's race.
- Don't you think I realize that? I don't need you to help me make a decision like this.
You're the one butting in where you don't belong.
Now I appreciate your concern, but I know full well what's motivating it.
You just want to take credit for finding them.
You have no real compassion just a wallet where your heart should be.
Now, if you don't mind, I have work to do.
It's late.
I wasn't expecting anyone to come by.
- Especially you.
- Yeah, I know.
I came by because I may have been more upset than I should've been back on the planet.
So, you know, I figured I'd stop by.
You're forgiven.
About my people and the plague how much time do they have left? One year.
I'm sorry.
I finished the final analysis.
The plague uses a template as a basis.
While it works slow on human biology, it works faster on your species than ours.
You were right about doubling our efforts.
I'll do everything I can for your people.
I swear it on my life.
No.
Swear it on theirs.
To close my report, I'd like to make one note for the record.
That not all of the colonists on Theta 49 were killed in the explosion today.
A detailed surface scan of the planet indicates that there is another race living there as well.
Suggest that the Corporation check it out one of these days.
Report complete.
Ready to send.
Last entry deleted.
To close my report, we found nothing of interest on Theta 49.