Blake's 7 (1978) s02e02 Episode Script
Shadow
You did well The owner didnt think so Did you kill him? -Werewesupposedto? -It's tidier.
It's easy to be tidy from where you sit, Largo Don't get clever, dream head That wasn't the deal The dealwas whatever I say it was I own you, dream heads Unhuhhhh What do you say? Please, Largo Awwww, come on, you need it more than that Please, Largo Pure Shadow You won't just die without it; you'll die in terrified agony Please Good All right I want your brotherto ask for it One word from me, and your supply is gone, forever You've been paid Prove it I thought that honourwas a big thing with the Terra Nostra We own you, boy Please, Largo Please That's better We owned you from yourfirst tiny drop of Shadow Use Shadow? Do I look that stupid? Oh, try it Hanna -Theothertwo hepromised - Enough! Thegems Nobody steals from the Terra Nostra We're innovators You're dead Out, Hanna Casual, don't run Face down, Largo Quickly Quickly Now close your eyes Now stay like that Go ahead and try it Killing a Terra Nostra pusher will be the best fun I've had all day You stupid murdering scum ball They'll catch us Get Peety and meet me at launch grid six in twenty minutes Nobody gets away from them We will Look, I can get a ship Launch clearance, what about launch clearance? The crew on grid six are for sale It's too late forthat Listen Hanna, she told me to look after you and Peety That's what I'm trying to do Grid six, twenty minutes Right? - Right?.
- Right Approach completed Allvectors are matched and holding Power down, now Switching to automatics Confirmed All systems functioning Status is firm Very pretty I know Piloting wasn't bad either So, that is Space City Also known as The Satellite of Sin By whom? Me It had to be someone of limited imagination Pick a pleasure, any pleasure And you'llfind it for sale in Space City If you've got the money But we have, we have And if you can stomach doing business with the Terra Nostra We're going to use them, Gan, not do business with them A subtle distinction that escapes me forthe moment Now don't tell me you have a moral objection to using their organisation to infiltrate Earth? Of course not Well, I have Think, Gan, think what they've got: men, material, information Think what we could do with a fraction of the resources they control No, YOU think, Blake Think what it is they control Everything dirty, degrading, and cruel on just about every colonised world Earth is all I'm interested in The Terra Nostra aren't responsible for everything, Gan I could go and murder somebody now and it wouldn't be theirfault Mind you, if I picked his pocket afterwards they'd want their cut It's largely academic anyway I don't think we'll get within shouting distance of them The Terra Nostra run Space City How can you be sure of that? You say they're a criminal organisation who work in secret They work in secret on Earth and the Federated worlds Organising crime Space City itself is neutralterritory Not officially owned by the Terra Nostra but it's an open secret A neutral base for an outlawed organisation? Well, presumably it has its uses Entertainment, for example Why don't you take a cold shower or something? And risk being left behind when we go and meet yourfriend? Largo's no friend of mine When I met him on Callisto he forgot to mention he was a member of the organisation Just said he wanted me to run a cargo into Earth He didn't tell me what it was at first Drugs? Shadow I turned him down Very sensible Possession carries a mandatory death sentence That wasn't the reason Navigation computers are receiving interrogation signal from Space City traffic approach control It's about time Request standoff position Cally, stand by on the teleport Jenna, get on the communicator and see if you can contact yourfriend Largo Gan, Avon, get ready as well Vector coordinates received and laid in Execute Er, what about me? You're staying here What? Where I can find you if I need you But that's Space City, one of my all time great ambitions You'd probably be disappointed I'lltake that chance I would neverforgive myself, Vila Hanna Twenty minutes I said That launch crew goes off shift in an hour We may not get another chance Where is Peety? How? How? That's how He didn't take any more He didn't need another dose fortwelve hours, at least twelve hours He just, just died Just died? That's what Shadow does It kills you Think I don't know that? Then why? Why so stupid, Hanna? Stupid Stupid Peety Lookafteryou Not yourfault - Largo - Bek?.
It won't help Peety It'll help me What about me? You? It's too late, remember You're already dead, like Peety Must run in the family Shed the gun Largo wants you two, very badly Blake's wrong I know how you feel, Vila I don't mean about leaving me behind I've wanted to visit Space City ever since I was old enough to read the graffiti in the Juvenile Detention Wards But I'm not talking about that, I don't care about that No, of course not I don't Am I arguing? I'm talking about his great plan to enlist the help of the Terra Nostra He plans to buy their help All right, ""buy'' their help It stillwon't work You should have spoken before Who listens to me, ever? Does anyone ever listen to me? I'm telling you, it'll be a disaster Relax You don't know them I know Blake Thinks of himself as a hard man Hard? He's strictly a fluffy cheeked amateur compared to those boys I think Blake can look after himself He's led a very sheltered life What, Blake has led a sheltered life? Look, he was an Alpha grade on Earth A highly privileged group, the Alphas Wouldn't last five minutes among the Delta service grades where I grew up And it's the service grades where the Terra Nostra really operates Without anaesthetic, usually No, Vila No what? No, I'm not going to operate the teleport for you I don't understand I do You're about to suggest it would be a sensible idea, if you went across and gave the others the benefit of your experience I hadn't thought of that What a very good idea, Cally No Cally? I'm going to get myself something to drink Call me if anything happens Miserable alien I just want to see what it's like Information Main visual is available So? You expressed a desire to see what it is like Very funny, Zen Chuckle chuckle If you were a decent computer you'd be able to operate the teleport system like Orac can Like Orac can Key, key Ah, key Orac? Orac? Are you in there, Orac? Am I in where? What precisely do you imagine I am? Some sort of tame rodent in a cage? That's precisely what I imagine you are A rat in a box I see no point in continuing this conversation Now, don't start sulking again, or I shall switch you off and throw away the key Soon, that will be no longer a problem Eh? Well? What do you want? Orac, I've got a little job for you I don't think that at this stage you really need to know specific details of our plans, do you? As you say In effect, we want to buy cooperation and expertise from the Earth based network Why are you telling me allthis? We don't know who rules the Terra Nostra Possibly you don't either But you do know how to get our proposition to them A go between Naturally, we would be prepared to pay for your services Forgive me, Blake, but one of the reasons I made my home in a free city like this is because I adore eccentrics Do we take it that you're not interested? Oh, I'm fascinated But I'm just an independent businessman Are you sure? Look, the Terra Nostra doesn't exist Believe me, it's a phantom, a A shadow? A myth, a legend It's a legend a lot of people believe in And yet you know it doesn't exist? Why are you so certain? I've got a contact in Federation Security If the syndicate existed, then he'd know about it, wouldn't he? This contact, he wouldn't be the one who arrested me after I refused your cargo, would he? Oh, that was a mistake, Jenna I was doing a favourfor a friend If I'd known what the cargo was I wouldn't have touched it myself You didn't answerthe question Why do I feel as if I'm on trial here, hmm? Why do I feel as if you should be? They're beautiful stones I'm a bit of a collector, in a modest way I could make you an offer They have a sentimentalvalue for me Oh, family heirlooms, eh? No, I'm just sentimental about money We're wasting ourtime with him Yes, I think so Shallwe go? I'm sorry we couldn't do business Let me at least offer you some refreshment We didn't come for refreshment, Largo Oh, but I insist He insists Maybe we should have listened to Gan Looks as though he was right after all Communicators please And those Thank you Amateur A pro keeps it simple Vila? Vila? Zen, where is he? I left him on watch He is no longer on the ship But he must be He teleported into the city with the assistance of the one called Orac I forgot about Orac The one called Orac is not concerned for the safety of the Liberator Wellwhere is Orac then? He's not in the teleport section; I just came from there In return for the remote activation of the teleport system, Vila conveyed the one called Orac to another part of the Liberator Which part, where? Be silent Orac? Zen? Zen Vila, this is Cally Come in please Vila What do you want, Cally? I want you back here Get ready to teleport Wasting your time, Cally I'm not wearing a bracelet I'm not going to be snatched away in the middle of, in the middle of anything Sightseeing And you should see some of the sights I'm seeing No Perhaps you shouldn't Where is Orac? I promised not to tell I never break a promise Oh yes, you do Almost never Orac's all right He can't run away Oh, you fool, Vila Stop worrying, Cally I'll be back soon Tell you what; I'll bring you back a present What would you like, Cally? Name it and it's yours A necklace, Vila, made from yourteeth No Orac? I will destroy the life support systems if you attempt to find me Why are you doing this? I don't think even Vila could open that I wonderwhat they'll do? ""A pro keeps it simple'' I imagine they'll kill us You can't get much simplerthan that Sorry, Avon That makes allthe difference I don't know how they spotted me ""I don't know how they spotted me '' Something amuses you? You were using him as a lookout? I mean, he'd really blend into the background, wouldn't he? What did you do, put up a sign? Is that what you did or is Largo keeping you here as a favour? We made a fool of him Obviously That's why we haven't been killed yet He's making an example of us Oh, shut up Hanna It's none of their business Isn't it? I mean if they're making an example of you It's not for outsiders You don't know much about the Terra Nostra, do you? Do you? Leave her alone We are an object lesson fortheir own people Largo's on his way up in the organisation One sign of weakness and he'll be on his way down again, probably minus his head Now there's a happy thought It's a pity we won't live to see it We're not dead yet Largo hasn't got what he wants yet COMMUNICATOR CHIME Liberator, this is Blake Come in please Blake, this is Cally We have a problem Later, Cally, this is more important We've made a deal but we need the rest of the money as a demonstration of good faith They don't entirely trust us yet Have Zen collect it and bring it across Allthe money? Yes, Cally, all of it Ah, it's a trick Kill him Wait a minute Why do you think it's a trick? You think I'm a fool Zen can't leave your ship Your shuttlecraft is here in the city We carry more than one shuttle How many? Four Four Cally, this is Largo Yes Shallwe send your shuttle back or one of ours? Neither It is not necessary Why not? We have anothershuttle Another shuttle? Quite a ship How many do you carry? He's testing me Probably too far away Blake, Blake, I shall count When I reach the right number, call my name One Two Three Four Cally, are you stillthere? Sorry, what did you ask? I was just wondering how many shuttles you carry Four Does it matter? We'll be expecting your man, Zen Right And he won't be expecting us We shan't be needing his othertwo friends after all Kill 'em What about her? We'll keep hertillwe're sure Orac, I need Zen I will ask no questions Zen? Put the battle computers online Put up the force wall, activate the radiation flare shield, and clearthe neutron blasters forfiring Completed Neutron blasters are cleared forfiring Open up a voice channel to the city's central control Confirmed Central control Go ahead This is the weaponry officer on the battle cruiser Liberator Your computertook a priority channel Whatever you want had better be important Four of my friends are being held prisoner in your city Unless you release them immediately I shall open fire on you Listen, lady You shouldn't drink in those cheap dives You go blind eventually Zen, report battle computer status to central control Confirmed All right So you're at battle stations You don't expect us to believe that you'd A man called Largo is holding my friends You have six minutes to release them You can't be serious? I was never more so You have five minutes and fifty five seconds Detectors report high speed approach Scan Gun ship It is manoeuvring for attack position Warn them off Warning ignored Compute coordinates, range blasters Blasters ranged Warn them again Warning ignored They are pressing their attack I gave them a chance Hold yourfire! Central, the next shot will be right down yourthroats You have three minutes and thirty seconds You two, out Why? You'd prefer not to know Your professional simplicity is beginning to irritate me Wellthink of it as a temporary problem Move Simple enough for you? Don't stand around There's more where he came from Your sense of timing is as impeccable as ever I have always admired your patience Are you all right Jenna? What does it look like? Leave it Largo Central You're holding prisoners Release them What? There's a lunatic woman threatening to destroy the city Get those people back to their ship Must I? Do it, Largo I think we've outstayed ourwelcome All right, Cally We're ready to come across We'll come with you I'm sorry Sorry? Polite, but inadequate We can't stay here, so you're not going without us I think they went without us There's gratitude for you Gratitude? You point a gun at them and expect gratitude? Maybe we could use him as a hostage? Him? After his foul up you won't get a drink of water in exchange for him I changed my mind Why? Do we care? Put these on What's in it for you? You can help me with one of my crew His name's Vila and he's suffering from a bad attack of alcoholic remorse All right, Cally He wants to make a necklace of his teeth No effect on the flight systems? Everything seems normal enough Maybe she imagined it That's not like Cally Not like Orac either Any luck? Can't find Orac Even tried calling his name Oh, I'm sorry I missed that It's the kind of natural stupidity no amount of training could ever hope to match You found Orac? No, but then I never really expected to It is one of Vila's more elaborate practicaljokes Talking of Vila, how long before he comes round? Oh, several hours And he won't feel much like laughing when he does Oh, I'll guarantee that All right, we've wasted enough time on it Let's get back to the Terra Nostra Back? We only just managed to get away from them We chose the wrong approach, that's all Is that all? I thought maybe we'd chosen the wrong people to get involved with WE chose the wrong approach? I chose the wrong approach Does it matter? Yes, it does All right, Avon You were right and I was wrong You said persuasion wouldn't work and it didn't So now we use force Force? Yes, of course Lawmakers, lawbreakers, let's fight them all Why not? The Terra Nostra's wealth comes from organising and controlling all sorts of crime But their biggest profits and a lot of their control comes from one area Shadow That is the only one that matters That is what we attack And how do you propose to go about it? Where would we get the information we would need? Bek, would you ask your sisterto join us, please? COMMUNICATOR CHIME Blake? Yes, Cally Has anyone found Orac yet? No, I think we'll have to wait for Vila There may not be time forthat Has something else happened? No, not exactly Well what exactly? A feeling I have Come back to the flight deck I should keep on searching Leave it, Cally Yes Orac? I warned you not to look for me I know where to look forthem, chairman Only your stupidity makes it necessary to look forthem I had to ensure that they took my agent with them When she is reporting on their movements I'llfollow them and capture them So Chairman, the rewards will be threefold The money they are carrying, which is substantial; the bounty from the authorities, which is also substantial, and more importantly, the demonstration that we can punish where the Federation itself can't even reach Very well, Largo, a heavy cruiserwill be at your disposal, but don't delay too long orthe rewards will be one fold: the demonstration that we can punish I thank you for your confidence, Chairman Largo, that is too small a thing to thank me for You'll pay forthat Before or after he finds out that you are lying? Was I lying? It would make me very unhappy to think that you tried to use me, like some fool You're just an enforcer Here for your gun, not your brain Of course I was lying Except about the girl She's not your agent Ohh, but she is That dream head is going to tell us exactly where Blake and his friends decide to go Don't worry It's all I have You'll get it back Zen Analyse I want the derivation The main constituent is an organic compound, probably derived from the zerophyte of the genus Korda A cactus Confirmed The species is alpha seven oblique five Known as the Moon Disc, it was greatly prized for its partial telepathy and its ability to move short distances to avoid direct sunlight It stayed in the shadows That's where the name comes from Commercial collectors rendered the Moon Disc extinct on its native planet Which planet, Zen? Zondar And when it proved impossible to grow in any other environment the total extinction of the species followed logically Only it didn't There are traces of an element All right, Zen, we've got enough Have the navigation computers set in a course forthe planet Zondar Confirmed Wait It has to be the source, the key to allthe Terra Nostra's power If we controlthat, we controlthem Right The drug in return fortheir help? Blake that would make us pushers Maybe we won't keep our end of the bargain And that would make us cheats That will make us winners, Gan That's the only excuse forfighting It's too good a chance to miss, Gan I'd like to see that, to see them grovel When the Federation introduced the death penalty for possession, the President described Shadow as the greatest single threat to the welfare of mankind Don't tell me you agree with Gan No, no, no, I'm just interested It seems to me that we have identified the source of that threat rather easily So why haven't they? Exactly Maybe we're about to find out Maybe we already know Never again I'm dying Cally Cally, what's the matter? Cally? Cally? It's only me What's the matterwith her? DISTANTSCREAMING Obviously, she's insane How is she? The same I left the girlwith her Have you run the diagnostic checks again? Still nothing There's no physical explanation for her condition unless somehow it's locked up in here and I don't see how that can be She is an alien She is more human than I am That's not difficult Have you remembered anything yet? It's a complete blank From the time you left to meet Largo to when I woke up back on the ship With what you drank you're lucky to rememberwho you are I would hardly callthat lucky This is NOT helping Cally Orac's told you what happened Nothing, according to him I don't believe it Computers do not lie Orac is not a computer That was its creator's vanity Orac is a computer It is a highly sophisticated tool, and that is all Well, something frightened Cally Yes, and so badly she may never come back from wherever she's hiding It was not Orac Maybe it wasn't anything, anything real Information Flight time remaining is now forty eight minutes Visual and detector readouts are now available Let's see it, Zen It's a pretty colour Oh, considering what it is Let's hope they don't know we're coming There's no reason why they should They'll be making planetfall anytime now Excellent Are all Largo's addicts so available? Yes, Chairman It seems he's been adding it to allthe Shadow that we've supplied Radioactive, you say? Not exactly Controlled particle emission Detectable only with the right equipment, which Largo's got, of course Surely it damages the addicts? Kills them a little sooner But at least if you need one you always know where to look What a clever idea We must consider it for general use What about Blake and his friends, Chairman? You can leave allthat to me Yes, Chairman You've done well Dispose of the body His assets are now yours Thank you, Chairman Cally's stillthe same Hanna's singing to her now What? I don't think she's going to come out of it, Blake She will I don't think you care whether she does or doesn't One thing at a time, Jenna I've been thinking If it's that hot down there, why don't you try landing on the night side? Why don't you try listening? The system has twin suns; there is no night side I wish you wouldn't shout Gan, have you got everything clear? Yes Well? Zen's doing the flying, I'm just monitoring it Monitoring what? Maintaining a powered orbit on the edge of the atmosphere Why? For maximum cover From defences that should be there but aren't Are you ready to go? There's nothing you can do for Cally Shouting at everybody else is not going to help her A powered orbit can be tricky, Gan You need to stay alert All system are functioning normally Status is firm Good, then let's go Jenna, Vila Teleport I don't know why they're all so jumpy Show me the planet Visual I mean, look at it It's nothing Why should anyone draw attention to it with heavy defences? They don't expect it to be found Down and safe Stay by the teleport, Vila Cover me It's enough to fry your eyeballs Daintily put It must be the company I keep Zen's right It looks to be about half a mile away That's far enough to walk in this heat Far enough to crawl There's no cover Blake, over here Look Moon Discs FAINT CHITTERING Prized by collectors People collect odd things Look what you ended up with You process those; you'll get a liquid that'll killyou Only if you're stupid enough to use it Listen No, not overthere It's coming from them It's a sort of whispering They're supposed to be telepathic They're supposed to move So are we Come on It could have been frying eyeballs you heard Daintily put FAINT CHITTERING Vila Get back to the teleport Five minutes I must get something for my head You can't leave the teleport now Five minutes Don't be stupid My head is killing me And you may be killing Blake and the others All right Orac, operate the teleport as instructed Satisfied? Not really I'll only be five minutes Orac, did you understand the instruction? It was quite explicit Child of Auron Listen to the voice of Orac Remember the touch of hands and laughter and the warmth of open minds Remember these things for they are gone You are alone No You are alone You are the last of the humankind Orac, don't I am the darkness Orac brings my darkness You are alone, in me Run, last of the humans Run, before my darkness engulfs you Run, run, run Cally? TELEPORTWHINE They probably collect them in deep desert and bring them here to boost their growth With surface water in the area there will be a whole network of these gardens I almost feel sorry forthem They're plants These are singing You should have stayed in the cool The collection and processing plant should be somewhere overthere Seems logical Yes, well don't get too close Allwe've got to do is plant these sensors in some form of rough circle The battle computers will put together a complete picture of what's there And then the ship's main blasters will pick off anything we care to nominate Yes Back in an hour FAINT CHITTERING No, she didn't hit me, she ran straight over me I was just in the way I never saw anyone so scared You couldn't tellwhy? You couldn't see what was driving her? I don't think I'd want to You can't share someone's madness They can on Auron Cally told me her people can share any experience And telepathy means they never have to be alone Makes them very strong When they're together What happens when one's isolated? I think that's what we're finding out I'm going back to the teleport All right Orac, you can go back to sleep Agh That key's electrified Did you do that purposely? You will not disconnect Is that right? Ow That hurts The bridge is almost complete You will not disconnect GUNFIRE Next, please This is silly It's just a machine Of course it is If it wasn't so expensive, I'd kick it to pieces Yes, if it didn't bite Avon'llfix it when he gets back Yes The bridge is complete What? What did he say? Something's wrong No, that wasn't it Information Liberator is losing powerfrom all systems Orbital maintenance is threatened Switch off all auxiliary systems Power drain is increasing Orbit is decaying What's happening? Switch to main boosters Zen Automatic flight control is now aborted The manual controls won't respond Do something, Gan Something is draining off the power Orac, it has to be Orac Disconnect him, Vila Do it We're heading toward the atmosphere We'll burn up, explode Here, let me Hanna She's dead That thing killed her Don't do it It'll killyou too We're falling towards the atmosphere Hello You cannot stop me, child of Auron Then why do you threaten me? Orac is my bridge You stand before it, puny telepath Yes, I know you now My powers are in your dimension, and Orac's carrierwaves are your bridge The energy is building I am ready to cross Hungry dark to absorb the blazing suns I will deny you You are alone No The warmth you mock me with is here I am not alone You will stay in your universe of darkness You will not disconnect You will not disc We're getting power The power's coming back Orac The key's gone There's two more overthere Vila, bring us up now Liberator, come in Liberator Cally, what're you doing down there? Waiting to come up, again So it was an alien life form that killed her? Yes It was trying to use Orac as a bridge to cross from its own universe into ours That's why it needed so much power But a quantum jump would need much more energy potentialthan Liberator could develop The explosion in the planet's atmosphere would have provided the rest Yes, I hadn't thought of that So you see, Bek, this thing tapped into Orac's channels, sucked up all his energy, so that it could come squirting out and swallow us all The plain man's guide to alien invasions But, where did Cally fit in? Why did it attack you, Cally? I was a threat to it I knew it was there because of my telepathy Orac uses special communication waves, which pass into another dimension And it is the same dimension that allows thought transference Orac's telepathic? No, telepathy is conscious Orac has no consciousness in that dimension He merely drives a beam though it Which is why he could be controlled by this force And why you couldn't, you fought it telepathically Yes Once the Moon Discs had broken through my isolation; as soon as I was no longer all alone, I could fight it But what about the key? How did you get Orac's key while he was up here and you were down there? Long arms? Telekinesis Who? The powerto move objects by thought alone That seems unlikely Yes, it does Even among my people such power is rare Maybe the Moon Discs Theirtelepathy gave me courage Perhaps it gave me strength, too So Eitherwe all become telepathic, orwe dump Orac Destroy ratherthan dump, surely? I'll do it It isn't necessary Will it work? Of course it willwork I have set a small disruption bomb to precise limits within Orac's energy range Any variation above or below and there will be a rather satisfying little explosion Any attempt to tamperwith the communication channels will reduce Orac to a heap of spare parts So Hanna died for nothing Just her Even that machine survives I'm sorry, Bek She was dying anyway Oh, I know that Just another dream head What about the low life scum that really killed her? What about the Terra Nostra? That is who we're waiting for now We're what? Why? We want them to realise that we know who they are This is the ID of a guard I killed He was a member of Federation security, a very special member He was one of the President's personal security force The President of the Federation runs the Shadow operation And since Shadow is the basis of the Terra Nostra I don't believe it It's quite logical To have total control, you must controltotally Both sides of the law The Terra Nostra, the Federation: two sides of the same power The same men of power Ironic, isn't it? We were hoping to use the Terra Nostra to attack the Federation, only to discoverthat it is already being used to support it Where are allthe good guys? You could be looking at them What a very depressing thought Whose is this? Mine Is it alive? Yes I thought they died if they left the planet No, you have to talk to them That's like talking to Vila, a complete waste of time When we've finished here, we'll get you back to Space City What for? There's nothing left there It's yourterritory At least you know who you're fighting now What have I got left to fight for? I'll give you three years, then I'll come looking I expect you to be able to help me Information Detectors report seven Federation pursuit ships approaching in attack formation Seven? One for each of us How very generous of the President Blasters cleared forfiring, sensors functioning, planetary targets identified and ranged Wait a minute, Avon Bek, that button burns the President's garden It won't hurt him much, but it'll sting a bit Stand by to take us out, Jenna, when it's done
It's easy to be tidy from where you sit, Largo Don't get clever, dream head That wasn't the deal The dealwas whatever I say it was I own you, dream heads Unhuhhhh What do you say? Please, Largo Awwww, come on, you need it more than that Please, Largo Pure Shadow You won't just die without it; you'll die in terrified agony Please Good All right I want your brotherto ask for it One word from me, and your supply is gone, forever You've been paid Prove it I thought that honourwas a big thing with the Terra Nostra We own you, boy Please, Largo Please That's better We owned you from yourfirst tiny drop of Shadow Use Shadow? Do I look that stupid? Oh, try it Hanna -Theothertwo hepromised - Enough! Thegems Nobody steals from the Terra Nostra We're innovators You're dead Out, Hanna Casual, don't run Face down, Largo Quickly Quickly Now close your eyes Now stay like that Go ahead and try it Killing a Terra Nostra pusher will be the best fun I've had all day You stupid murdering scum ball They'll catch us Get Peety and meet me at launch grid six in twenty minutes Nobody gets away from them We will Look, I can get a ship Launch clearance, what about launch clearance? The crew on grid six are for sale It's too late forthat Listen Hanna, she told me to look after you and Peety That's what I'm trying to do Grid six, twenty minutes Right? - Right?.
- Right Approach completed Allvectors are matched and holding Power down, now Switching to automatics Confirmed All systems functioning Status is firm Very pretty I know Piloting wasn't bad either So, that is Space City Also known as The Satellite of Sin By whom? Me It had to be someone of limited imagination Pick a pleasure, any pleasure And you'llfind it for sale in Space City If you've got the money But we have, we have And if you can stomach doing business with the Terra Nostra We're going to use them, Gan, not do business with them A subtle distinction that escapes me forthe moment Now don't tell me you have a moral objection to using their organisation to infiltrate Earth? Of course not Well, I have Think, Gan, think what they've got: men, material, information Think what we could do with a fraction of the resources they control No, YOU think, Blake Think what it is they control Everything dirty, degrading, and cruel on just about every colonised world Earth is all I'm interested in The Terra Nostra aren't responsible for everything, Gan I could go and murder somebody now and it wouldn't be theirfault Mind you, if I picked his pocket afterwards they'd want their cut It's largely academic anyway I don't think we'll get within shouting distance of them The Terra Nostra run Space City How can you be sure of that? You say they're a criminal organisation who work in secret They work in secret on Earth and the Federated worlds Organising crime Space City itself is neutralterritory Not officially owned by the Terra Nostra but it's an open secret A neutral base for an outlawed organisation? Well, presumably it has its uses Entertainment, for example Why don't you take a cold shower or something? And risk being left behind when we go and meet yourfriend? Largo's no friend of mine When I met him on Callisto he forgot to mention he was a member of the organisation Just said he wanted me to run a cargo into Earth He didn't tell me what it was at first Drugs? Shadow I turned him down Very sensible Possession carries a mandatory death sentence That wasn't the reason Navigation computers are receiving interrogation signal from Space City traffic approach control It's about time Request standoff position Cally, stand by on the teleport Jenna, get on the communicator and see if you can contact yourfriend Largo Gan, Avon, get ready as well Vector coordinates received and laid in Execute Er, what about me? You're staying here What? Where I can find you if I need you But that's Space City, one of my all time great ambitions You'd probably be disappointed I'lltake that chance I would neverforgive myself, Vila Hanna Twenty minutes I said That launch crew goes off shift in an hour We may not get another chance Where is Peety? How? How? That's how He didn't take any more He didn't need another dose fortwelve hours, at least twelve hours He just, just died Just died? That's what Shadow does It kills you Think I don't know that? Then why? Why so stupid, Hanna? Stupid Stupid Peety Lookafteryou Not yourfault - Largo - Bek?.
It won't help Peety It'll help me What about me? You? It's too late, remember You're already dead, like Peety Must run in the family Shed the gun Largo wants you two, very badly Blake's wrong I know how you feel, Vila I don't mean about leaving me behind I've wanted to visit Space City ever since I was old enough to read the graffiti in the Juvenile Detention Wards But I'm not talking about that, I don't care about that No, of course not I don't Am I arguing? I'm talking about his great plan to enlist the help of the Terra Nostra He plans to buy their help All right, ""buy'' their help It stillwon't work You should have spoken before Who listens to me, ever? Does anyone ever listen to me? I'm telling you, it'll be a disaster Relax You don't know them I know Blake Thinks of himself as a hard man Hard? He's strictly a fluffy cheeked amateur compared to those boys I think Blake can look after himself He's led a very sheltered life What, Blake has led a sheltered life? Look, he was an Alpha grade on Earth A highly privileged group, the Alphas Wouldn't last five minutes among the Delta service grades where I grew up And it's the service grades where the Terra Nostra really operates Without anaesthetic, usually No, Vila No what? No, I'm not going to operate the teleport for you I don't understand I do You're about to suggest it would be a sensible idea, if you went across and gave the others the benefit of your experience I hadn't thought of that What a very good idea, Cally No Cally? I'm going to get myself something to drink Call me if anything happens Miserable alien I just want to see what it's like Information Main visual is available So? You expressed a desire to see what it is like Very funny, Zen Chuckle chuckle If you were a decent computer you'd be able to operate the teleport system like Orac can Like Orac can Key, key Ah, key Orac? Orac? Are you in there, Orac? Am I in where? What precisely do you imagine I am? Some sort of tame rodent in a cage? That's precisely what I imagine you are A rat in a box I see no point in continuing this conversation Now, don't start sulking again, or I shall switch you off and throw away the key Soon, that will be no longer a problem Eh? Well? What do you want? Orac, I've got a little job for you I don't think that at this stage you really need to know specific details of our plans, do you? As you say In effect, we want to buy cooperation and expertise from the Earth based network Why are you telling me allthis? We don't know who rules the Terra Nostra Possibly you don't either But you do know how to get our proposition to them A go between Naturally, we would be prepared to pay for your services Forgive me, Blake, but one of the reasons I made my home in a free city like this is because I adore eccentrics Do we take it that you're not interested? Oh, I'm fascinated But I'm just an independent businessman Are you sure? Look, the Terra Nostra doesn't exist Believe me, it's a phantom, a A shadow? A myth, a legend It's a legend a lot of people believe in And yet you know it doesn't exist? Why are you so certain? I've got a contact in Federation Security If the syndicate existed, then he'd know about it, wouldn't he? This contact, he wouldn't be the one who arrested me after I refused your cargo, would he? Oh, that was a mistake, Jenna I was doing a favourfor a friend If I'd known what the cargo was I wouldn't have touched it myself You didn't answerthe question Why do I feel as if I'm on trial here, hmm? Why do I feel as if you should be? They're beautiful stones I'm a bit of a collector, in a modest way I could make you an offer They have a sentimentalvalue for me Oh, family heirlooms, eh? No, I'm just sentimental about money We're wasting ourtime with him Yes, I think so Shallwe go? I'm sorry we couldn't do business Let me at least offer you some refreshment We didn't come for refreshment, Largo Oh, but I insist He insists Maybe we should have listened to Gan Looks as though he was right after all Communicators please And those Thank you Amateur A pro keeps it simple Vila? Vila? Zen, where is he? I left him on watch He is no longer on the ship But he must be He teleported into the city with the assistance of the one called Orac I forgot about Orac The one called Orac is not concerned for the safety of the Liberator Wellwhere is Orac then? He's not in the teleport section; I just came from there In return for the remote activation of the teleport system, Vila conveyed the one called Orac to another part of the Liberator Which part, where? Be silent Orac? Zen? Zen Vila, this is Cally Come in please Vila What do you want, Cally? I want you back here Get ready to teleport Wasting your time, Cally I'm not wearing a bracelet I'm not going to be snatched away in the middle of, in the middle of anything Sightseeing And you should see some of the sights I'm seeing No Perhaps you shouldn't Where is Orac? I promised not to tell I never break a promise Oh yes, you do Almost never Orac's all right He can't run away Oh, you fool, Vila Stop worrying, Cally I'll be back soon Tell you what; I'll bring you back a present What would you like, Cally? Name it and it's yours A necklace, Vila, made from yourteeth No Orac? I will destroy the life support systems if you attempt to find me Why are you doing this? I don't think even Vila could open that I wonderwhat they'll do? ""A pro keeps it simple'' I imagine they'll kill us You can't get much simplerthan that Sorry, Avon That makes allthe difference I don't know how they spotted me ""I don't know how they spotted me '' Something amuses you? You were using him as a lookout? I mean, he'd really blend into the background, wouldn't he? What did you do, put up a sign? Is that what you did or is Largo keeping you here as a favour? We made a fool of him Obviously That's why we haven't been killed yet He's making an example of us Oh, shut up Hanna It's none of their business Isn't it? I mean if they're making an example of you It's not for outsiders You don't know much about the Terra Nostra, do you? Do you? Leave her alone We are an object lesson fortheir own people Largo's on his way up in the organisation One sign of weakness and he'll be on his way down again, probably minus his head Now there's a happy thought It's a pity we won't live to see it We're not dead yet Largo hasn't got what he wants yet COMMUNICATOR CHIME Liberator, this is Blake Come in please Blake, this is Cally We have a problem Later, Cally, this is more important We've made a deal but we need the rest of the money as a demonstration of good faith They don't entirely trust us yet Have Zen collect it and bring it across Allthe money? Yes, Cally, all of it Ah, it's a trick Kill him Wait a minute Why do you think it's a trick? You think I'm a fool Zen can't leave your ship Your shuttlecraft is here in the city We carry more than one shuttle How many? Four Four Cally, this is Largo Yes Shallwe send your shuttle back or one of ours? Neither It is not necessary Why not? We have anothershuttle Another shuttle? Quite a ship How many do you carry? He's testing me Probably too far away Blake, Blake, I shall count When I reach the right number, call my name One Two Three Four Cally, are you stillthere? Sorry, what did you ask? I was just wondering how many shuttles you carry Four Does it matter? We'll be expecting your man, Zen Right And he won't be expecting us We shan't be needing his othertwo friends after all Kill 'em What about her? We'll keep hertillwe're sure Orac, I need Zen I will ask no questions Zen? Put the battle computers online Put up the force wall, activate the radiation flare shield, and clearthe neutron blasters forfiring Completed Neutron blasters are cleared forfiring Open up a voice channel to the city's central control Confirmed Central control Go ahead This is the weaponry officer on the battle cruiser Liberator Your computertook a priority channel Whatever you want had better be important Four of my friends are being held prisoner in your city Unless you release them immediately I shall open fire on you Listen, lady You shouldn't drink in those cheap dives You go blind eventually Zen, report battle computer status to central control Confirmed All right So you're at battle stations You don't expect us to believe that you'd A man called Largo is holding my friends You have six minutes to release them You can't be serious? I was never more so You have five minutes and fifty five seconds Detectors report high speed approach Scan Gun ship It is manoeuvring for attack position Warn them off Warning ignored Compute coordinates, range blasters Blasters ranged Warn them again Warning ignored They are pressing their attack I gave them a chance Hold yourfire! Central, the next shot will be right down yourthroats You have three minutes and thirty seconds You two, out Why? You'd prefer not to know Your professional simplicity is beginning to irritate me Wellthink of it as a temporary problem Move Simple enough for you? Don't stand around There's more where he came from Your sense of timing is as impeccable as ever I have always admired your patience Are you all right Jenna? What does it look like? Leave it Largo Central You're holding prisoners Release them What? There's a lunatic woman threatening to destroy the city Get those people back to their ship Must I? Do it, Largo I think we've outstayed ourwelcome All right, Cally We're ready to come across We'll come with you I'm sorry Sorry? Polite, but inadequate We can't stay here, so you're not going without us I think they went without us There's gratitude for you Gratitude? You point a gun at them and expect gratitude? Maybe we could use him as a hostage? Him? After his foul up you won't get a drink of water in exchange for him I changed my mind Why? Do we care? Put these on What's in it for you? You can help me with one of my crew His name's Vila and he's suffering from a bad attack of alcoholic remorse All right, Cally He wants to make a necklace of his teeth No effect on the flight systems? Everything seems normal enough Maybe she imagined it That's not like Cally Not like Orac either Any luck? Can't find Orac Even tried calling his name Oh, I'm sorry I missed that It's the kind of natural stupidity no amount of training could ever hope to match You found Orac? No, but then I never really expected to It is one of Vila's more elaborate practicaljokes Talking of Vila, how long before he comes round? Oh, several hours And he won't feel much like laughing when he does Oh, I'll guarantee that All right, we've wasted enough time on it Let's get back to the Terra Nostra Back? We only just managed to get away from them We chose the wrong approach, that's all Is that all? I thought maybe we'd chosen the wrong people to get involved with WE chose the wrong approach? I chose the wrong approach Does it matter? Yes, it does All right, Avon You were right and I was wrong You said persuasion wouldn't work and it didn't So now we use force Force? Yes, of course Lawmakers, lawbreakers, let's fight them all Why not? The Terra Nostra's wealth comes from organising and controlling all sorts of crime But their biggest profits and a lot of their control comes from one area Shadow That is the only one that matters That is what we attack And how do you propose to go about it? Where would we get the information we would need? Bek, would you ask your sisterto join us, please? COMMUNICATOR CHIME Blake? Yes, Cally Has anyone found Orac yet? No, I think we'll have to wait for Vila There may not be time forthat Has something else happened? No, not exactly Well what exactly? A feeling I have Come back to the flight deck I should keep on searching Leave it, Cally Yes Orac? I warned you not to look for me I know where to look forthem, chairman Only your stupidity makes it necessary to look forthem I had to ensure that they took my agent with them When she is reporting on their movements I'llfollow them and capture them So Chairman, the rewards will be threefold The money they are carrying, which is substantial; the bounty from the authorities, which is also substantial, and more importantly, the demonstration that we can punish where the Federation itself can't even reach Very well, Largo, a heavy cruiserwill be at your disposal, but don't delay too long orthe rewards will be one fold: the demonstration that we can punish I thank you for your confidence, Chairman Largo, that is too small a thing to thank me for You'll pay forthat Before or after he finds out that you are lying? Was I lying? It would make me very unhappy to think that you tried to use me, like some fool You're just an enforcer Here for your gun, not your brain Of course I was lying Except about the girl She's not your agent Ohh, but she is That dream head is going to tell us exactly where Blake and his friends decide to go Don't worry It's all I have You'll get it back Zen Analyse I want the derivation The main constituent is an organic compound, probably derived from the zerophyte of the genus Korda A cactus Confirmed The species is alpha seven oblique five Known as the Moon Disc, it was greatly prized for its partial telepathy and its ability to move short distances to avoid direct sunlight It stayed in the shadows That's where the name comes from Commercial collectors rendered the Moon Disc extinct on its native planet Which planet, Zen? Zondar And when it proved impossible to grow in any other environment the total extinction of the species followed logically Only it didn't There are traces of an element All right, Zen, we've got enough Have the navigation computers set in a course forthe planet Zondar Confirmed Wait It has to be the source, the key to allthe Terra Nostra's power If we controlthat, we controlthem Right The drug in return fortheir help? Blake that would make us pushers Maybe we won't keep our end of the bargain And that would make us cheats That will make us winners, Gan That's the only excuse forfighting It's too good a chance to miss, Gan I'd like to see that, to see them grovel When the Federation introduced the death penalty for possession, the President described Shadow as the greatest single threat to the welfare of mankind Don't tell me you agree with Gan No, no, no, I'm just interested It seems to me that we have identified the source of that threat rather easily So why haven't they? Exactly Maybe we're about to find out Maybe we already know Never again I'm dying Cally Cally, what's the matter? Cally? Cally? It's only me What's the matterwith her? DISTANTSCREAMING Obviously, she's insane How is she? The same I left the girlwith her Have you run the diagnostic checks again? Still nothing There's no physical explanation for her condition unless somehow it's locked up in here and I don't see how that can be She is an alien She is more human than I am That's not difficult Have you remembered anything yet? It's a complete blank From the time you left to meet Largo to when I woke up back on the ship With what you drank you're lucky to rememberwho you are I would hardly callthat lucky This is NOT helping Cally Orac's told you what happened Nothing, according to him I don't believe it Computers do not lie Orac is not a computer That was its creator's vanity Orac is a computer It is a highly sophisticated tool, and that is all Well, something frightened Cally Yes, and so badly she may never come back from wherever she's hiding It was not Orac Maybe it wasn't anything, anything real Information Flight time remaining is now forty eight minutes Visual and detector readouts are now available Let's see it, Zen It's a pretty colour Oh, considering what it is Let's hope they don't know we're coming There's no reason why they should They'll be making planetfall anytime now Excellent Are all Largo's addicts so available? Yes, Chairman It seems he's been adding it to allthe Shadow that we've supplied Radioactive, you say? Not exactly Controlled particle emission Detectable only with the right equipment, which Largo's got, of course Surely it damages the addicts? Kills them a little sooner But at least if you need one you always know where to look What a clever idea We must consider it for general use What about Blake and his friends, Chairman? You can leave allthat to me Yes, Chairman You've done well Dispose of the body His assets are now yours Thank you, Chairman Cally's stillthe same Hanna's singing to her now What? I don't think she's going to come out of it, Blake She will I don't think you care whether she does or doesn't One thing at a time, Jenna I've been thinking If it's that hot down there, why don't you try landing on the night side? Why don't you try listening? The system has twin suns; there is no night side I wish you wouldn't shout Gan, have you got everything clear? Yes Well? Zen's doing the flying, I'm just monitoring it Monitoring what? Maintaining a powered orbit on the edge of the atmosphere Why? For maximum cover From defences that should be there but aren't Are you ready to go? There's nothing you can do for Cally Shouting at everybody else is not going to help her A powered orbit can be tricky, Gan You need to stay alert All system are functioning normally Status is firm Good, then let's go Jenna, Vila Teleport I don't know why they're all so jumpy Show me the planet Visual I mean, look at it It's nothing Why should anyone draw attention to it with heavy defences? They don't expect it to be found Down and safe Stay by the teleport, Vila Cover me It's enough to fry your eyeballs Daintily put It must be the company I keep Zen's right It looks to be about half a mile away That's far enough to walk in this heat Far enough to crawl There's no cover Blake, over here Look Moon Discs FAINT CHITTERING Prized by collectors People collect odd things Look what you ended up with You process those; you'll get a liquid that'll killyou Only if you're stupid enough to use it Listen No, not overthere It's coming from them It's a sort of whispering They're supposed to be telepathic They're supposed to move So are we Come on It could have been frying eyeballs you heard Daintily put FAINT CHITTERING Vila Get back to the teleport Five minutes I must get something for my head You can't leave the teleport now Five minutes Don't be stupid My head is killing me And you may be killing Blake and the others All right Orac, operate the teleport as instructed Satisfied? Not really I'll only be five minutes Orac, did you understand the instruction? It was quite explicit Child of Auron Listen to the voice of Orac Remember the touch of hands and laughter and the warmth of open minds Remember these things for they are gone You are alone No You are alone You are the last of the humankind Orac, don't I am the darkness Orac brings my darkness You are alone, in me Run, last of the humans Run, before my darkness engulfs you Run, run, run Cally? TELEPORTWHINE They probably collect them in deep desert and bring them here to boost their growth With surface water in the area there will be a whole network of these gardens I almost feel sorry forthem They're plants These are singing You should have stayed in the cool The collection and processing plant should be somewhere overthere Seems logical Yes, well don't get too close Allwe've got to do is plant these sensors in some form of rough circle The battle computers will put together a complete picture of what's there And then the ship's main blasters will pick off anything we care to nominate Yes Back in an hour FAINT CHITTERING No, she didn't hit me, she ran straight over me I was just in the way I never saw anyone so scared You couldn't tellwhy? You couldn't see what was driving her? I don't think I'd want to You can't share someone's madness They can on Auron Cally told me her people can share any experience And telepathy means they never have to be alone Makes them very strong When they're together What happens when one's isolated? I think that's what we're finding out I'm going back to the teleport All right Orac, you can go back to sleep Agh That key's electrified Did you do that purposely? You will not disconnect Is that right? Ow That hurts The bridge is almost complete You will not disconnect GUNFIRE Next, please This is silly It's just a machine Of course it is If it wasn't so expensive, I'd kick it to pieces Yes, if it didn't bite Avon'llfix it when he gets back Yes The bridge is complete What? What did he say? Something's wrong No, that wasn't it Information Liberator is losing powerfrom all systems Orbital maintenance is threatened Switch off all auxiliary systems Power drain is increasing Orbit is decaying What's happening? Switch to main boosters Zen Automatic flight control is now aborted The manual controls won't respond Do something, Gan Something is draining off the power Orac, it has to be Orac Disconnect him, Vila Do it We're heading toward the atmosphere We'll burn up, explode Here, let me Hanna She's dead That thing killed her Don't do it It'll killyou too We're falling towards the atmosphere Hello You cannot stop me, child of Auron Then why do you threaten me? Orac is my bridge You stand before it, puny telepath Yes, I know you now My powers are in your dimension, and Orac's carrierwaves are your bridge The energy is building I am ready to cross Hungry dark to absorb the blazing suns I will deny you You are alone No The warmth you mock me with is here I am not alone You will stay in your universe of darkness You will not disconnect You will not disc We're getting power The power's coming back Orac The key's gone There's two more overthere Vila, bring us up now Liberator, come in Liberator Cally, what're you doing down there? Waiting to come up, again So it was an alien life form that killed her? Yes It was trying to use Orac as a bridge to cross from its own universe into ours That's why it needed so much power But a quantum jump would need much more energy potentialthan Liberator could develop The explosion in the planet's atmosphere would have provided the rest Yes, I hadn't thought of that So you see, Bek, this thing tapped into Orac's channels, sucked up all his energy, so that it could come squirting out and swallow us all The plain man's guide to alien invasions But, where did Cally fit in? Why did it attack you, Cally? I was a threat to it I knew it was there because of my telepathy Orac uses special communication waves, which pass into another dimension And it is the same dimension that allows thought transference Orac's telepathic? No, telepathy is conscious Orac has no consciousness in that dimension He merely drives a beam though it Which is why he could be controlled by this force And why you couldn't, you fought it telepathically Yes Once the Moon Discs had broken through my isolation; as soon as I was no longer all alone, I could fight it But what about the key? How did you get Orac's key while he was up here and you were down there? Long arms? Telekinesis Who? The powerto move objects by thought alone That seems unlikely Yes, it does Even among my people such power is rare Maybe the Moon Discs Theirtelepathy gave me courage Perhaps it gave me strength, too So Eitherwe all become telepathic, orwe dump Orac Destroy ratherthan dump, surely? I'll do it It isn't necessary Will it work? Of course it willwork I have set a small disruption bomb to precise limits within Orac's energy range Any variation above or below and there will be a rather satisfying little explosion Any attempt to tamperwith the communication channels will reduce Orac to a heap of spare parts So Hanna died for nothing Just her Even that machine survives I'm sorry, Bek She was dying anyway Oh, I know that Just another dream head What about the low life scum that really killed her? What about the Terra Nostra? That is who we're waiting for now We're what? Why? We want them to realise that we know who they are This is the ID of a guard I killed He was a member of Federation security, a very special member He was one of the President's personal security force The President of the Federation runs the Shadow operation And since Shadow is the basis of the Terra Nostra I don't believe it It's quite logical To have total control, you must controltotally Both sides of the law The Terra Nostra, the Federation: two sides of the same power The same men of power Ironic, isn't it? We were hoping to use the Terra Nostra to attack the Federation, only to discoverthat it is already being used to support it Where are allthe good guys? You could be looking at them What a very depressing thought Whose is this? Mine Is it alive? Yes I thought they died if they left the planet No, you have to talk to them That's like talking to Vila, a complete waste of time When we've finished here, we'll get you back to Space City What for? There's nothing left there It's yourterritory At least you know who you're fighting now What have I got left to fight for? I'll give you three years, then I'll come looking I expect you to be able to help me Information Detectors report seven Federation pursuit ships approaching in attack formation Seven? One for each of us How very generous of the President Blasters cleared forfiring, sensors functioning, planetary targets identified and ranged Wait a minute, Avon Bek, that button burns the President's garden It won't hurt him much, but it'll sting a bit Stand by to take us out, Jenna, when it's done