Pioneer One (2010) s01e06 Episode Script
War of the World
Pioneer One - S01E06 War of the World Release date December 13, 2011 Previously on Pioneer One.
Aleksei? He's here? So you do know him? The capsule was sending its telemetry there.
The Russians have requested the return of their man and we intend to turn him over.
Unacceptable.
McClellan doesn't want that to happen.
He's ending the quarantine early.
He's dying.
What does it matter now? I want to stay with you.
I think you're gonna have to decide what you believe.
Tomorrow morning, we're going to hold a press conference, We're going to lay out everything we know and let the world decide for themselves.
Tomorrow everything changes.
Good after Good afternoon.
Thank you for waiting but I'm sure you all understand why it was necessary in light of the incident this morning.
My name is Thomas J.
Taylor, and I'm the director of the Helena, Montana field office for United States Homeland Security.
For the last two weeks I have been tasked with investigating the circumstances surrounding the satellite that crashed in Edmonton.
Through the course of our investigation, it has become clear that this was no ordinary satellite, nor was its crash an accident.
It was it was a piece of space hardware left over from the Soviet space program.
It had been commandeered by a terrorist organization whose identity and motives I am not at liberty to disclose at this time.
The secrecy and deliberate misinformation surrounding these events were errors in judgement on my part and have caused unnecessary confusion and panic for both the American and Canadian people.
For that I apologize.
Further improper supervision and inadequate security measures allowed the suspect to take their own life earlier this morning.
I alone take full responsibility.
I have failed to live up to the level of performance and responsibility with which I have been charged In light of my conduct effective immediately.
What happened? He's gone! They took the boy.
The explosion was a diversion to divert us from the main target.
- Who took him? - From the way they fought hand to hand - I'd say they were Russian.
- I thought you said you had the perimeter secured.
A fight broke out in the group of protesters about the same time, it drew my men away.
Was anyone hurt? The president's called a meeting of the Security Council.
Well you tell him to wake his ass up and get him on the phone, you hear me? Calgary's gone dark.
Anything from the Russian embassy? Russians? This wasn't some nut who a bomb strapped to his chest.
This was surgical.
Air Traffic Control in Alaska reported that a 747 broadcasting a civilian code veered off its flight path at 02:30 hours Oh for god's sake so at 2:30 this morning failing to respond by radio before crossing the Canadian border.
Why am I hearing about this for the first time now? Huh? Things are getting missed! Oh, dammit! - Did you get any on you? - When I say now I mean ten minutes ago.
The civilians are in lockdown.
- What? - Everyone, Your attention.
This has just been made a Canadian operation.
Have the Canadians grounded their air traffic yet? I think the Prime Minister just gave the order.
- You think? - Line one.
Yes, sir.
You do realize we have about a hundred reporters about to descend on this place.
- I know.
- What do you want to do? - Vernon can stall.
- Shouldn't we cancel? We can't just tell them to forget about it and go home.
I think the circumstances have changed, don't you? We have something.
It's identified as Korean Airlines flight seven.
Headed toward Alaskan airspace, yes sir.
- Korean Airlines? - Yes, sir.
What the hell is going on here? Flight 00-7.
No response to calls from air traffic control.
The guys we're looking for got out on a chopper you said.
They did.
This is a diversion.
It's a mess up there.
They won't get all their planes on the ground for another hour and that's optimistic.
One voice at a time, please.
Can you hold, please? They're saying Canadian fighters are scrambling now.
- Before they cross into Alaska? - The plane's still refusing to heed to.
We have CF-18s moving in to intercept.
And what then? They're going to fire a warning shot.
- No response.
- Is there any other way to force it to land besides They're going to have to shoot it down.
- If the Canadians don't down that plane - They're crossing into American airspace now - Sir, I don't we have any choice now.
- How many people fit on a 747? The target is over Alaska.
- Our fighters are moving off.
- Why? They don't have authorization to enter American airspace.
Your F-18s are moving to intercept.
They'll be in firing range any moment now.
Korean Air flight seven? Yes, sir.
That doesn't sound right.
Mr.
President: shoot down that plane.
First responders are moving in on the ground.
Thank you.
Jesus I thought you said the civilians were in lockdown.
They are.
How do you suppose the Russians knew what they were looking for? - Your guess is as good as mine.
- Yeah? I've got a pretty good one.
- I just heard.
What happened? - Chertov.
Where is he? - How should I know? - Tom! Get.
Your.
Hands.
Off me! The girl's dead.
- What? - Jane, Yuri's nurse she's dead.
She was with Yuri when they took him.
Shot her in the head.
They were Russian.
How do you suppose they knew where to find him? Huh? - You think Aleksei? - You tell me! Do you know where he is, doctor? I haven't seen him since last night.
But I don't think I don't care what you think.
Get him out of here, now! Find the Russian scientist and lock him up.
Thank you, Mr.
President.
Can someone get me a glass of water? It was the only option, sir.
I don't need coddling.
The Security council is meeting.
We're going back to DC? I'm going to Calgary to clean this up personally.
You'll go back and act on my behalf at the NSC.
I'm not getting shut out from this.
Are they going to be okay with you sending a subordinate? If there's a problem you can tell them they can shoot down my plane.
And keep trying the Russian embassy.
Get somebody in a room.
How much leeway do I have? Put the screws to them.
How are your men? Shrapnel injuries and smoke inhalation, but they'll be fine.
What about the capsule? There's nothing left.
And Chertov? And no sign of the two bodies I left on the deck.
They must have been extracted before they got out.
Very tidy.
These guys were in and out in less than ten minutes.
These were professionals.
She was my responsibility too.
Is there anything I should be doing, sir? No, you're fine.
There is still no word on any survivors from the 747 shot down early this morning by American F-18 jet fighters.
Can you tell us if there's any link between the 747 and the bombing this morning? Firstly, firstly, we're not referring to this as a bombing.
This country has now been the victim of not one, but possibly three terror attacks The president's campaign for reelection may not recover from today's events.
At this time it's not clear that the explosion this morning was a terror attack.
But we can agree that something did explode.
Though I understand there will be more clarification on that at the press conference now scheduled for this afternoon in Calgary.
For now I'm setting them up in the mess hall Good, all in one place, you can lock the doors and set the room on fire.
- Not funny.
- It's a gallows humor kind of day.
Just promise me he won't dodge this one, my credibility is already shot to hell I'm not promising anyone anything.
You want a bone to throw? How's this? Mr.
Secretary, I'm Agent Sofie Larson Sit down, I'm going to be doing most of the talking.
I'd prefer to stand if it's all the same.
Fine, whatever.
I almost killed a lot of people today.
The kid wasn't on that plane.
Nobody was on that plane.
It's still a mess out there, but so far, no human remains or luggage.
- It was a decoy.
- Obviously.
But it was the flight number.
Korean Airlines flight seven.
September 1, 1983.
I suppose you're too young to remember.
A 747 on its way from New York to Seoul accidentally strayed into Soviet airspace and was shot down by Russian MiGs.
No survivors.
Sixty-two Americans on that plane.
That flight was Korean Airlines flight seven.
Somebody's idea of a joke, evidently.
So You've managed to lose your suspect, allowed all the evidence to be destroyed, and now we have three separate acts of terrorism to explain to the public.
What are the Russians saying? Nothing.
The guys that came in here were mercenaries.
The Russian government doesn't know or they outsourced the job either way, they've got deniability that's plausible enough.
There's only one choice then.
Which is? Go to the public with what we have.
And what is that we have? The truth.
What truth? That you were holding a Soviet love child from Mars? Do you actually believe that? With all due respect, it's not up to you or to me to decide what the truth is.
You're god damn right it isn't.
You know what really gets me though? I bet you think you're the good guy in this.
You failed in your duty spectacularly.
Every step of the way you have been combative, irresponsible, and less-than-honest Now you've got a dead civilian on that conscious of yours.
You think you were doing the right thing? For what? An orphan from outer space? And where's he now? Huh? You screwed this up you screwed me and you screwed your country.
That's on you.
But right now we have a problem here and I need your help fixing it.
How? I saw a bunch of reporters downstairs.
You're going to get in front of them and do a mea culpa.
You're going to say that your mismanagement and lack of judgment allowed a terrorist suspect to blow himself up in one final blaze of glory.
You're going to apologize to the American and Canadian people for putting their lives in danger.
And then you're going to resign your position pending further charges.
The precise language is up to you, but that's the gist.
And if I refuse? Then I will see to it that the full force of the United States government comes crashing down on your head.
You and everyone who works for you.
You didn't answer me before.
Do you really believe that kid's from Mars? I do.
Well good luck proving that now.
Your second, what's her name again? Agent Larson.
Larson she's good.
You're saying you had no knowledge of this.
That is what I have said.
Say it again.
I will not be spoken to in such a manner.
Understand, sir.
What we're talking about here would be considered an Act of War.
I know exactly what you are talking about.
The position of the Russian government has not changed.
What reason would we have to invade your territory? To get back your man.
What man? You tell us you are holding no one.
Has your position changed? Now you listen to me.
We know this was a Russian operation and we're prepared to respond accordingly.
There was no official action taken by my government.
Believe what you like.
Have you ever heard the name White Wolf, Mr.
Ambassador? White Wolf? Private security company, I believe.
We have reason to believe that White Wolf may have been involved in these events.
Now, if you are willing to acknowledge this possibility we may have some room to maneuver.
We cannot be held responsible for the activities of a private organization, Russian or no.
As you should very well know, mister? Collins.
Very convenient.
Outsourcing your government's dirty work to wealthy oligarchs like Viktor Klimenko.
Viktor Klimenko is a fool with too much money.
He's product of American style capitalism.
People like him are running your country.
Ridiculous.
We're willing to consider, for the moment that your government had no knowledge of this.
But if there's an organization operating within your borders that perpetrated an act of terror on this country then it must be dealt with.
If you are unwilling or unable to do so, then we will be forced to take action.
I was not aware that you have authority to speak for your country on matters of international diplomacy.
You should not concern yourself with such things.
Mr.
Ambassador when someone in your country threatens my country it is my concern.
Whatever has begun here first stone was thrown by you.
Hi folks, sorry to keep you waiting, we will be getting started shortly in about 30 minutes.
So, about 4 PM.
4 PM Mountain Time.
- You know, I've given this a lot of thought.
- Jesus! Tom! Sorry.
What have you given a lot of thought? I don't think we should do a sitcom.
I was thinking a variety show, I could tell jokes, you could sing.
We can get Vernon to do that stupid dance that he does.
Yeah, except your jokes aren't that funny.
Really? McClellan seems to think so.
What'd he say? About what you'd expect.
What you're going to do? It's not really a choice.
There's always a choice.
Not this time.
I just wanted to You're not trying to ask me out right now, are you? You were right.
I should have listened, that girl probably wouldn't be dead if I had.
No, she wouldn't.
Is that what you wanted to say? I want to try to explain why I made Tom You've got people waiting for you out there.
I'll see out there.
See you out there.
At which time you took it upon yourself to bring in a civilian expert one Zachary Walzer in to consult for you? - Yes, that's correct.
- Excuse me, madam.
Zachary Walzer a Mars expert.
Correct.
And why did you do this? At the time I thought it prudent to pursue every line of inquiry, including exploring the validity of the Mars story.
And you stand by that action? I do.
And you maintain that you acted properly in delaying the transfer of the suspect? I do, yes.
What motivated you to do that? I felt that turning him over as a terror suspect would prevent us from fully investigating his claims before he succumbed to his injuries.
So you took it upon yourself to continue the investigation in the field? Yes.
A precedent set by the Extra- Terrestrial Exposure Act of 1969.
Did it occur to you that your actions may provoke an international incident? The suspect's frail bones suggested development in a low gravity environment The capsule contained fossilized evidence of primitive life.
At some point in the 1980s the Soviet Union launched a manned mission to Mars.
A mission that they didn't announce to the public.
Yuri as we came to call him, was the child of two cosmonauts sent on that mission.
And where are these cosmonauts now? Still on Mars I assume? I can't say for certain.
Of course you can't.
I think we've heard enough.
Mr.
Taylor as you well know, your actions indirectly caused in the death of a Canadian citizen.
A civilian.
- Yes.
- Knowing what you know now do you regret any of the decisions that you made? Everything I did I did because I thought it was the right thing to do at the time.
And I would do it all again, even knowing the consequences.
Thank you Mr.
Taylor.
This committee is now ready to render judgment.
It's clear to me that you made some very serious lapses in judgement during your handling of the Calgary affair.
But it is the opinion of this committee that those mistakes were not crimes.
Since you have already resigned your position, no further action against you is necessary.
That concludes these proceedings.
Do you have any idea how many favors I had to call in to keep you out of the stockade? You're buying breakfast.
Miss? Could you get me me a knife that cuts please? Thank you.
I asked Susan to marry me.
Don't see a ring.
You noticed that, huh? Was that before or after Calgary? During.
That's why you broke the quarantine? That was stupid.
I'm in no position to argue.
Sounds like the act of a desperate man.
Maybe.
All I can say is that at the time it seemed the most ordinary thing I could do.
- I can't really explain better than that.
- Well, maybe what you saw up there got you to thinking that impossible might just be possible.
I saw something bigger than me.
Something bigger than this.
All this.
I think I saw a kid that grew up on mars.
You realize that that sounds crazy to most normal people? I do.
But you believe it.
I believe in a possibility, and that's why I had to do something.
I was the only one that could protect that kid.
I needed to know for certain.
Sounds like something Sam would have done.
He was smarter than me, you know? I remember one time he said to me "Frank", he said "do you know what we're fighting here?" "The Communists", I said.
"No", he said.
"It's bigger than that.
" "We're fighting despair.
" I have no idea what that means.
Me neither.
I think he would have been proud of you.
I'm gonna go out on a limb.
You asking what's-her-name to marry you sorry about that, by the way, but but I don't know if that's what you really wanted.
You wanted something to make sense because you were confronted by something that didn't.
Which is part of the reason why you were the perfect man for this job.
You you had to think possibilities that the others won't.
And that, that's what makes you important.
That's what makes you worth saving.
Even if sometimes it leads you to make stupid-ass mistakes now and again.
If you say so Give yourself some credit.
Your instincts weren't entirely wrong.
The whole idea that the Soviets stranded some people on Mars It isn't entirely impossible, you know.
It has just the right ring of desperation to be true.
I took the opportunity to poke around.
I flexed my considerable muscle in certain intelligence circles to see if there was anything to find.
And? Almost nothing.
A name Why? You got beat up over this but that doesn't mean you were wrong.
But you've made an enemy out of McClellan.
That's not good.
He's a player.
The country needs people like McClellan.
But it also needs people like you.
You've stumbled on to something here, and if you see the whole way through it, it might just be the most important thing you'll ever do.
So You want what I got? How are ya Adlai.
What are you doing here, sir? You can drop the sir.
I'm not your boss anymore.
Okay.
What are you doing here? I need to talk with him.
I don't think he has any desire to see you.
It's important.
I'm sure it is, but I don't want to be the one to tell You have something you wanna say to me? Than say it.
You put her in that situation.
I know.
She trusted you.
We all trusted you.
You want to make sure she didn't die for nothing? Then help me.
Where is he? Laika! Doctor.
I have nothing to say to you.
I think you'll want to hear what I have to say.
Can I come in? You like whiskey? I spoke with a colleague of mine at Cornell a couple months ago.
He said he'd check for high levels of deuterium in the person's blood.
It'd tell you if they'd been drinking the water.
Never occurred to me.
If we'd checked Yuri's blood we would have found what we were looking for.
Was that her? Who? Oh Yeah, that's her.
What'd she think of your work? She was fine with it.
Until she wasn't.
She said I was obsessed.
People like us don't get to have wives.
People like us? People like us can't be happy unless we feel like we're doing something important.
Something that matters.
Or maybe it's just an excuse to avoid confronting your real problems, ever think about that? What are you actually doing here? I told your people everything I know during the debriefing.
They're not my people anymore.
Tough break.
You ever hear from your Russian friend? No.
I've lost a lot of sleep over that one.
You were just doing what you thought was right at the time.
But it doesn't excuse it.
There's a lot we don't know about that day.
What if I told you I might know how to find Yuri? I sincerely doubt they were able to get him out of that base alive.
You sure about that? You have something? A name.
Who? Someone in the Ukraine.
Someone who may have been involved with the Soviet mission.
Come with me.
To the Ukraine? Are you insane? That's the prevailing opinion these days.
- Taylor - We've had our difficulties, but I can't do this without your help.
I need your knowledge.
And frankly, you're the only one who knows what's at stake here.
And the only idiot dumb enough to actually go with you? You're serious.
What do you think this guy knows? Is he for real? Let's find out.
When I first saw that kid when I saw this evidence that people had already been to Mars I felt depressed Strange, right? You'd think I'd be elated.
I thought I'd be.
I figured it was just a matter of time that it just hadn't sunken in yet.
But I always thought that when we went to Mars we'd go together in peace.
That it was a place we'd go with the noblest of intentions a bold new start for humanity But this this was all so messy and awful.
I realized that it was foolish to think that we could do anything without bringing our baggage along.
And I was sad about that.
I wondered for the first time would I even want to go? Would you? Of course.
Then come with me.
I can't, I have things - I have - Baggage? You really think we can find him? I don't know, but I have to try.
Okay.
But there's a condition.
Don't ever lay a hand on me again.
I must be out of my mind.
There are events that are pivot points in history.
There are moments when we have to make hard choices.
Those choices have consequences.
And some moments change the world.
This was one of those moments.
Closed captioning: Francesco Bavastro "zefram cochrane"
Aleksei? He's here? So you do know him? The capsule was sending its telemetry there.
The Russians have requested the return of their man and we intend to turn him over.
Unacceptable.
McClellan doesn't want that to happen.
He's ending the quarantine early.
He's dying.
What does it matter now? I want to stay with you.
I think you're gonna have to decide what you believe.
Tomorrow morning, we're going to hold a press conference, We're going to lay out everything we know and let the world decide for themselves.
Tomorrow everything changes.
Good after Good afternoon.
Thank you for waiting but I'm sure you all understand why it was necessary in light of the incident this morning.
My name is Thomas J.
Taylor, and I'm the director of the Helena, Montana field office for United States Homeland Security.
For the last two weeks I have been tasked with investigating the circumstances surrounding the satellite that crashed in Edmonton.
Through the course of our investigation, it has become clear that this was no ordinary satellite, nor was its crash an accident.
It was it was a piece of space hardware left over from the Soviet space program.
It had been commandeered by a terrorist organization whose identity and motives I am not at liberty to disclose at this time.
The secrecy and deliberate misinformation surrounding these events were errors in judgement on my part and have caused unnecessary confusion and panic for both the American and Canadian people.
For that I apologize.
Further improper supervision and inadequate security measures allowed the suspect to take their own life earlier this morning.
I alone take full responsibility.
I have failed to live up to the level of performance and responsibility with which I have been charged In light of my conduct effective immediately.
What happened? He's gone! They took the boy.
The explosion was a diversion to divert us from the main target.
- Who took him? - From the way they fought hand to hand - I'd say they were Russian.
- I thought you said you had the perimeter secured.
A fight broke out in the group of protesters about the same time, it drew my men away.
Was anyone hurt? The president's called a meeting of the Security Council.
Well you tell him to wake his ass up and get him on the phone, you hear me? Calgary's gone dark.
Anything from the Russian embassy? Russians? This wasn't some nut who a bomb strapped to his chest.
This was surgical.
Air Traffic Control in Alaska reported that a 747 broadcasting a civilian code veered off its flight path at 02:30 hours Oh for god's sake so at 2:30 this morning failing to respond by radio before crossing the Canadian border.
Why am I hearing about this for the first time now? Huh? Things are getting missed! Oh, dammit! - Did you get any on you? - When I say now I mean ten minutes ago.
The civilians are in lockdown.
- What? - Everyone, Your attention.
This has just been made a Canadian operation.
Have the Canadians grounded their air traffic yet? I think the Prime Minister just gave the order.
- You think? - Line one.
Yes, sir.
You do realize we have about a hundred reporters about to descend on this place.
- I know.
- What do you want to do? - Vernon can stall.
- Shouldn't we cancel? We can't just tell them to forget about it and go home.
I think the circumstances have changed, don't you? We have something.
It's identified as Korean Airlines flight seven.
Headed toward Alaskan airspace, yes sir.
- Korean Airlines? - Yes, sir.
What the hell is going on here? Flight 00-7.
No response to calls from air traffic control.
The guys we're looking for got out on a chopper you said.
They did.
This is a diversion.
It's a mess up there.
They won't get all their planes on the ground for another hour and that's optimistic.
One voice at a time, please.
Can you hold, please? They're saying Canadian fighters are scrambling now.
- Before they cross into Alaska? - The plane's still refusing to heed to.
We have CF-18s moving in to intercept.
And what then? They're going to fire a warning shot.
- No response.
- Is there any other way to force it to land besides They're going to have to shoot it down.
- If the Canadians don't down that plane - They're crossing into American airspace now - Sir, I don't we have any choice now.
- How many people fit on a 747? The target is over Alaska.
- Our fighters are moving off.
- Why? They don't have authorization to enter American airspace.
Your F-18s are moving to intercept.
They'll be in firing range any moment now.
Korean Air flight seven? Yes, sir.
That doesn't sound right.
Mr.
President: shoot down that plane.
First responders are moving in on the ground.
Thank you.
Jesus I thought you said the civilians were in lockdown.
They are.
How do you suppose the Russians knew what they were looking for? - Your guess is as good as mine.
- Yeah? I've got a pretty good one.
- I just heard.
What happened? - Chertov.
Where is he? - How should I know? - Tom! Get.
Your.
Hands.
Off me! The girl's dead.
- What? - Jane, Yuri's nurse she's dead.
She was with Yuri when they took him.
Shot her in the head.
They were Russian.
How do you suppose they knew where to find him? Huh? - You think Aleksei? - You tell me! Do you know where he is, doctor? I haven't seen him since last night.
But I don't think I don't care what you think.
Get him out of here, now! Find the Russian scientist and lock him up.
Thank you, Mr.
President.
Can someone get me a glass of water? It was the only option, sir.
I don't need coddling.
The Security council is meeting.
We're going back to DC? I'm going to Calgary to clean this up personally.
You'll go back and act on my behalf at the NSC.
I'm not getting shut out from this.
Are they going to be okay with you sending a subordinate? If there's a problem you can tell them they can shoot down my plane.
And keep trying the Russian embassy.
Get somebody in a room.
How much leeway do I have? Put the screws to them.
How are your men? Shrapnel injuries and smoke inhalation, but they'll be fine.
What about the capsule? There's nothing left.
And Chertov? And no sign of the two bodies I left on the deck.
They must have been extracted before they got out.
Very tidy.
These guys were in and out in less than ten minutes.
These were professionals.
She was my responsibility too.
Is there anything I should be doing, sir? No, you're fine.
There is still no word on any survivors from the 747 shot down early this morning by American F-18 jet fighters.
Can you tell us if there's any link between the 747 and the bombing this morning? Firstly, firstly, we're not referring to this as a bombing.
This country has now been the victim of not one, but possibly three terror attacks The president's campaign for reelection may not recover from today's events.
At this time it's not clear that the explosion this morning was a terror attack.
But we can agree that something did explode.
Though I understand there will be more clarification on that at the press conference now scheduled for this afternoon in Calgary.
For now I'm setting them up in the mess hall Good, all in one place, you can lock the doors and set the room on fire.
- Not funny.
- It's a gallows humor kind of day.
Just promise me he won't dodge this one, my credibility is already shot to hell I'm not promising anyone anything.
You want a bone to throw? How's this? Mr.
Secretary, I'm Agent Sofie Larson Sit down, I'm going to be doing most of the talking.
I'd prefer to stand if it's all the same.
Fine, whatever.
I almost killed a lot of people today.
The kid wasn't on that plane.
Nobody was on that plane.
It's still a mess out there, but so far, no human remains or luggage.
- It was a decoy.
- Obviously.
But it was the flight number.
Korean Airlines flight seven.
September 1, 1983.
I suppose you're too young to remember.
A 747 on its way from New York to Seoul accidentally strayed into Soviet airspace and was shot down by Russian MiGs.
No survivors.
Sixty-two Americans on that plane.
That flight was Korean Airlines flight seven.
Somebody's idea of a joke, evidently.
So You've managed to lose your suspect, allowed all the evidence to be destroyed, and now we have three separate acts of terrorism to explain to the public.
What are the Russians saying? Nothing.
The guys that came in here were mercenaries.
The Russian government doesn't know or they outsourced the job either way, they've got deniability that's plausible enough.
There's only one choice then.
Which is? Go to the public with what we have.
And what is that we have? The truth.
What truth? That you were holding a Soviet love child from Mars? Do you actually believe that? With all due respect, it's not up to you or to me to decide what the truth is.
You're god damn right it isn't.
You know what really gets me though? I bet you think you're the good guy in this.
You failed in your duty spectacularly.
Every step of the way you have been combative, irresponsible, and less-than-honest Now you've got a dead civilian on that conscious of yours.
You think you were doing the right thing? For what? An orphan from outer space? And where's he now? Huh? You screwed this up you screwed me and you screwed your country.
That's on you.
But right now we have a problem here and I need your help fixing it.
How? I saw a bunch of reporters downstairs.
You're going to get in front of them and do a mea culpa.
You're going to say that your mismanagement and lack of judgment allowed a terrorist suspect to blow himself up in one final blaze of glory.
You're going to apologize to the American and Canadian people for putting their lives in danger.
And then you're going to resign your position pending further charges.
The precise language is up to you, but that's the gist.
And if I refuse? Then I will see to it that the full force of the United States government comes crashing down on your head.
You and everyone who works for you.
You didn't answer me before.
Do you really believe that kid's from Mars? I do.
Well good luck proving that now.
Your second, what's her name again? Agent Larson.
Larson she's good.
You're saying you had no knowledge of this.
That is what I have said.
Say it again.
I will not be spoken to in such a manner.
Understand, sir.
What we're talking about here would be considered an Act of War.
I know exactly what you are talking about.
The position of the Russian government has not changed.
What reason would we have to invade your territory? To get back your man.
What man? You tell us you are holding no one.
Has your position changed? Now you listen to me.
We know this was a Russian operation and we're prepared to respond accordingly.
There was no official action taken by my government.
Believe what you like.
Have you ever heard the name White Wolf, Mr.
Ambassador? White Wolf? Private security company, I believe.
We have reason to believe that White Wolf may have been involved in these events.
Now, if you are willing to acknowledge this possibility we may have some room to maneuver.
We cannot be held responsible for the activities of a private organization, Russian or no.
As you should very well know, mister? Collins.
Very convenient.
Outsourcing your government's dirty work to wealthy oligarchs like Viktor Klimenko.
Viktor Klimenko is a fool with too much money.
He's product of American style capitalism.
People like him are running your country.
Ridiculous.
We're willing to consider, for the moment that your government had no knowledge of this.
But if there's an organization operating within your borders that perpetrated an act of terror on this country then it must be dealt with.
If you are unwilling or unable to do so, then we will be forced to take action.
I was not aware that you have authority to speak for your country on matters of international diplomacy.
You should not concern yourself with such things.
Mr.
Ambassador when someone in your country threatens my country it is my concern.
Whatever has begun here first stone was thrown by you.
Hi folks, sorry to keep you waiting, we will be getting started shortly in about 30 minutes.
So, about 4 PM.
4 PM Mountain Time.
- You know, I've given this a lot of thought.
- Jesus! Tom! Sorry.
What have you given a lot of thought? I don't think we should do a sitcom.
I was thinking a variety show, I could tell jokes, you could sing.
We can get Vernon to do that stupid dance that he does.
Yeah, except your jokes aren't that funny.
Really? McClellan seems to think so.
What'd he say? About what you'd expect.
What you're going to do? It's not really a choice.
There's always a choice.
Not this time.
I just wanted to You're not trying to ask me out right now, are you? You were right.
I should have listened, that girl probably wouldn't be dead if I had.
No, she wouldn't.
Is that what you wanted to say? I want to try to explain why I made Tom You've got people waiting for you out there.
I'll see out there.
See you out there.
At which time you took it upon yourself to bring in a civilian expert one Zachary Walzer in to consult for you? - Yes, that's correct.
- Excuse me, madam.
Zachary Walzer a Mars expert.
Correct.
And why did you do this? At the time I thought it prudent to pursue every line of inquiry, including exploring the validity of the Mars story.
And you stand by that action? I do.
And you maintain that you acted properly in delaying the transfer of the suspect? I do, yes.
What motivated you to do that? I felt that turning him over as a terror suspect would prevent us from fully investigating his claims before he succumbed to his injuries.
So you took it upon yourself to continue the investigation in the field? Yes.
A precedent set by the Extra- Terrestrial Exposure Act of 1969.
Did it occur to you that your actions may provoke an international incident? The suspect's frail bones suggested development in a low gravity environment The capsule contained fossilized evidence of primitive life.
At some point in the 1980s the Soviet Union launched a manned mission to Mars.
A mission that they didn't announce to the public.
Yuri as we came to call him, was the child of two cosmonauts sent on that mission.
And where are these cosmonauts now? Still on Mars I assume? I can't say for certain.
Of course you can't.
I think we've heard enough.
Mr.
Taylor as you well know, your actions indirectly caused in the death of a Canadian citizen.
A civilian.
- Yes.
- Knowing what you know now do you regret any of the decisions that you made? Everything I did I did because I thought it was the right thing to do at the time.
And I would do it all again, even knowing the consequences.
Thank you Mr.
Taylor.
This committee is now ready to render judgment.
It's clear to me that you made some very serious lapses in judgement during your handling of the Calgary affair.
But it is the opinion of this committee that those mistakes were not crimes.
Since you have already resigned your position, no further action against you is necessary.
That concludes these proceedings.
Do you have any idea how many favors I had to call in to keep you out of the stockade? You're buying breakfast.
Miss? Could you get me me a knife that cuts please? Thank you.
I asked Susan to marry me.
Don't see a ring.
You noticed that, huh? Was that before or after Calgary? During.
That's why you broke the quarantine? That was stupid.
I'm in no position to argue.
Sounds like the act of a desperate man.
Maybe.
All I can say is that at the time it seemed the most ordinary thing I could do.
- I can't really explain better than that.
- Well, maybe what you saw up there got you to thinking that impossible might just be possible.
I saw something bigger than me.
Something bigger than this.
All this.
I think I saw a kid that grew up on mars.
You realize that that sounds crazy to most normal people? I do.
But you believe it.
I believe in a possibility, and that's why I had to do something.
I was the only one that could protect that kid.
I needed to know for certain.
Sounds like something Sam would have done.
He was smarter than me, you know? I remember one time he said to me "Frank", he said "do you know what we're fighting here?" "The Communists", I said.
"No", he said.
"It's bigger than that.
" "We're fighting despair.
" I have no idea what that means.
Me neither.
I think he would have been proud of you.
I'm gonna go out on a limb.
You asking what's-her-name to marry you sorry about that, by the way, but but I don't know if that's what you really wanted.
You wanted something to make sense because you were confronted by something that didn't.
Which is part of the reason why you were the perfect man for this job.
You you had to think possibilities that the others won't.
And that, that's what makes you important.
That's what makes you worth saving.
Even if sometimes it leads you to make stupid-ass mistakes now and again.
If you say so Give yourself some credit.
Your instincts weren't entirely wrong.
The whole idea that the Soviets stranded some people on Mars It isn't entirely impossible, you know.
It has just the right ring of desperation to be true.
I took the opportunity to poke around.
I flexed my considerable muscle in certain intelligence circles to see if there was anything to find.
And? Almost nothing.
A name Why? You got beat up over this but that doesn't mean you were wrong.
But you've made an enemy out of McClellan.
That's not good.
He's a player.
The country needs people like McClellan.
But it also needs people like you.
You've stumbled on to something here, and if you see the whole way through it, it might just be the most important thing you'll ever do.
So You want what I got? How are ya Adlai.
What are you doing here, sir? You can drop the sir.
I'm not your boss anymore.
Okay.
What are you doing here? I need to talk with him.
I don't think he has any desire to see you.
It's important.
I'm sure it is, but I don't want to be the one to tell You have something you wanna say to me? Than say it.
You put her in that situation.
I know.
She trusted you.
We all trusted you.
You want to make sure she didn't die for nothing? Then help me.
Where is he? Laika! Doctor.
I have nothing to say to you.
I think you'll want to hear what I have to say.
Can I come in? You like whiskey? I spoke with a colleague of mine at Cornell a couple months ago.
He said he'd check for high levels of deuterium in the person's blood.
It'd tell you if they'd been drinking the water.
Never occurred to me.
If we'd checked Yuri's blood we would have found what we were looking for.
Was that her? Who? Oh Yeah, that's her.
What'd she think of your work? She was fine with it.
Until she wasn't.
She said I was obsessed.
People like us don't get to have wives.
People like us? People like us can't be happy unless we feel like we're doing something important.
Something that matters.
Or maybe it's just an excuse to avoid confronting your real problems, ever think about that? What are you actually doing here? I told your people everything I know during the debriefing.
They're not my people anymore.
Tough break.
You ever hear from your Russian friend? No.
I've lost a lot of sleep over that one.
You were just doing what you thought was right at the time.
But it doesn't excuse it.
There's a lot we don't know about that day.
What if I told you I might know how to find Yuri? I sincerely doubt they were able to get him out of that base alive.
You sure about that? You have something? A name.
Who? Someone in the Ukraine.
Someone who may have been involved with the Soviet mission.
Come with me.
To the Ukraine? Are you insane? That's the prevailing opinion these days.
- Taylor - We've had our difficulties, but I can't do this without your help.
I need your knowledge.
And frankly, you're the only one who knows what's at stake here.
And the only idiot dumb enough to actually go with you? You're serious.
What do you think this guy knows? Is he for real? Let's find out.
When I first saw that kid when I saw this evidence that people had already been to Mars I felt depressed Strange, right? You'd think I'd be elated.
I thought I'd be.
I figured it was just a matter of time that it just hadn't sunken in yet.
But I always thought that when we went to Mars we'd go together in peace.
That it was a place we'd go with the noblest of intentions a bold new start for humanity But this this was all so messy and awful.
I realized that it was foolish to think that we could do anything without bringing our baggage along.
And I was sad about that.
I wondered for the first time would I even want to go? Would you? Of course.
Then come with me.
I can't, I have things - I have - Baggage? You really think we can find him? I don't know, but I have to try.
Okay.
But there's a condition.
Don't ever lay a hand on me again.
I must be out of my mind.
There are events that are pivot points in history.
There are moments when we have to make hard choices.
Those choices have consequences.
And some moments change the world.
This was one of those moments.
Closed captioning: Francesco Bavastro "zefram cochrane"