Earth: Final Conflict s03e03 Episode Script
Deja Vu
Previously on Gene Roddenberry's Earth Final Conflict: Doors International has formed a new alliance with the Taelons.
The real work will be in the capable hands of my new division head, Renee Palmer.
Still wondering if you can trust me, huh? Trust doesn't come that easy these days.
This skrill will become an appendage of your central nervous system.
This life form, you reengineered it and turned it into a weapon? The genesis of the skrill lies in the work of human bioengineers.
You're a volunteer! Loyalty means everything! You give your commitment to the Taelons, they give you back even more.
- Are you ready to die for them? - Yes, sir! - Are you ready to kill for them? - Yes, sir! Can I help you? We had a few complaints.
Earth Abides is in violation of the President's state of emergency.
That's crazy.
And anyway the state of emergency's been lifted.
That's true, sir.
The fact remains that certain police powers are reserved for dealing with Resistance cells.
Resistance cells? We got absolutely nothing to do with the Resistance.
It's not what our sources say.
Earth Abides has a long history of questioning Companions' motives.
That's what they call the free speech.
That's supposed to be funny? - You think you can laugh this off? - I'm not laughing.
What are they doing? - Looking for evidence of sedition.
- We'll see about that.
Name and unit ID, please.
Absolutely.
This is my name.
And this is my unit ID.
Any other questions? Axarion They have come to Earth with the promise of peace.
An alien race called the Taelons.
But, there are those who resist these Alien Companions.
For the Taelons' true mission, the secrets they hide will forever alter our world.
The fate of humanity now relies on those who dare challenge the future of Earth.
And look at this place! You have any idea how much is it gonna cost to fix that window? - They destroyed the entire database.
- Calm down.
You don't calm down, I cannot help you, sir.
I'm telling you we're gonna sue the Taelons for harassment.
- We - Those fascist pigs just stroll in here and then she tears the place apart with this creepy thing on her arm! Like this? - Are you sure? - Absolutely, man.
She blasts the place! Bam! Bam! Bam! Glass everywhere.
And I was sure I was next.
What did they look like? I've got the holo-composite descriptions.
We'll get back to you.
- You alright? - Yeah, I'm fine.
It's okay, I've ordered for both of us.
I'm on duty.
You said you needed to speak to me in person and fast.
Absolutely.
What's the story with this skrill incident? I'm on the case.
Why are you so thrilled about it? Well, the way I see it, the more people they harass, the more friends the Resistance makes.
Life should be that simple.
Well, let me make it even simpler.
I thought only volunteer officers were armed with skrills, and their CVI is needed to make the blast.
So? So, where does someone get a skrill that works without a CVI? What are you getting at? Well, you being so cozy with the Taelons and all, I thought maybe you could get your hands on one of these user-friendly skrills.
Right now the most important thing is getting these thugs off the street.
This meeting is a waste of my time.
The house on Hammond, What? If payment isn't made to Metro Reserve Bank by close-up business today, the same thing will happen to rental property on Carter Circle.
What do you suggest? Make a guaranteed payment by the close-up business today.
I get that, but where's the money supposed to come from? Enough with that "tsk-tsk" already.
What can I do? Your stock portfolio evaporated in the post-emergency correction.
That was no correction, that was a crash.
So, it's either rob a bank, or sell of the rest of your collection.
Then, hope all your creditors die in the same accident leaving no heirs.
Look, I don't need comedy, I need real solutions.
Solutions to what? Nothing, just watching myself go broke in a rapid clip.
Anything I can do? You? You! You're part of the problem.
Thanks to you, I bought into the romance of the Resistance, and ignored Augur Inc.
And now I'm paying for it.
You know, I've had to unload nearly every property I owned just to cover the costs of playing the revolutionary.
And the thing about revolution is if you don't win there's no one around to pay for the cost of the war.
- Sorry, Augur - You know, I had to sell my collection piece by piece and I still hemorrhaging.
Come on, Augur, you'll be fine.
Now, what do you know about a political party called Earth Abides? Why would the volunteers be going after them? Could Earth Abides be a cover for an unaligned Resistance cell? Maybe I have to paint you a picture, Liam.
I'm not playing anymore! What? The Resistance isn't my fight, it never was my fight.
It was just another expensive videogame.
- Oh, I understand.
- You don't understand a thing! Look at you! You walk in here, you don't even ask, "Hey, Augur, how is it going?" "What happened to your paintings, Augur?" If you don't mind, I'd like to be by myself while my life goes down the toilet.
And what am I supposed to do? You're a big boy now.
You figure it out.
You lost another 40 thousand of mutual funds while I was away.
Can I assume, Agent Sandoval, that you have been less than successful in your search for these rogue volunteers? Every volunteer's whereabouts at the time of the incident has been accounted for.
And the insignia.
There's no resemblance to any unit I'm aware of.
I promise you, Zo'or, we'll get to the bottom of this.
With haste.
I am troubled by the negative public reaction this incident has generated.
It was a slow news day.
You okay, Sylvia? - I'm fine.
- Yeah? Looked like it really hurt when you used that thing.
I said I'm fine.
If you can't take the heat, stay out of the revolution.
Once we're done, we're all gonna be armed with one of these things.
Whether you like it or not.
Hey, you seen that little geek's face when you blasted the computer? He must've wet himself.
This is the way we radicalize these cowards and then blame it on the Taelons.
Everything's okay.
Good.
We're not getting anywhere in this investigation.
Sandoval seems to be hitting the same blank walls I am.
This is why Agent Sandoval wants to see us at the Skrill Center.
It is here that the skrills are birthed.
Then genetically reengineered into weapons.
I tracked every volunteer in the unit.
Everyone was accounted for at the time of skrilling, so it appears we're dealing with imposters.
Then I learned of a security breach.
We found a gap in the security video, and discovered there's been a theft of a new skrill prototype.
How are these impostors able to use a skrill without a CVI? We've created an experimental skrill designed to bond without a CVI.
And that's all that was stolen? As I said, it was a prototype.
There was only one to steal.
When we last spoke you indicated that you and your staff had not yet found a solution to the neural problem.
I'm afraid that's so.
The skrill prototype will function without a CVI, but it takes an enormous toll on the host's nervous system.
- What sort of toll? - We don't know exactly.
What's this? That's the skrill queen.
The only one of its kind.
Every skrill in service's her child.
She's pulsing.
We keep her permanently pregnant.
Now, this seems worth stealing.
A single skrill, even an experimental prototype, seems small reward for breaking in here.
Stealing the queen and keeping her alive is impossible.
Is the shifting color a symptom of her pregnancy? On the extreme right she seems slightly bluer.
What precisely are you saying, Liam? We've got a problem bigger than the theft of the prototype.
- Kincaid, what the hell are you doing? - Major, stop, you'll kill her! - Major! - It's a hologram.
Some one's stolen the skrill queen.
I have a feeling that anybody good enough to pull this off wouldn't leave any incriminating evidence.
And I have a feeling the thief if still here.
An inside job does seem likely.
Yes, which makes Dr.
Lindford or someone on her staff the likely a suspect.
I need a complete list of your staff.
- My staff could never - Dr.
Lindford You've told us stealing the queen was impossible.
Your track record leaves a lot to be desired.
Zo'or? I require you on the bridge in 15 minutes, Agent Sandoval.
Problem, Agent Sandoval? These are the holos of the three who vandalized Earth Abides.
They could be anybody.
So, these imposters stole the mother of all skrills? My guess is that it's a Resistance group trying make the volunteers and the Taelons look bad.
More power to them.
Why do I get the feeling you know who they are? I don't know.
Why do you? Look, even if this theory of yours held water no one's gonna believe it.
Wait till someone gets hurt.
Come on, Joe 6-Pack will never believe that a Resistance cell could pull this off and denials for the Taelons would be read as disinformation.
Oh, one more thing, this prototype apparently causes nerve damage to the user.
And where did you get this little piece of news? Da'an and Dr.
Lindford.
The woman who runs the Skrill Development Center.
See my earlier remark about Taelon disinformation.
Where are you heading? Not that it's any of your business, but I have a date.
Oh, you wouldnt by any chance be planning to find these guys, would you? Ooh, you've got a suspicious soul.
And you lie for a living.
Must be awful to be so paranoid.
Perhaps you do not grasp the urgency of this situation.
The skrill arsenal is in jeopardy.
If you do not recover the queen, one of our most powerful weapons will be eliminated.
I understand completely, Zo'or.
I have placed Dr.
Lindford under arrest.
My understanding is that only a scientist could've stolen the queen with any hope of birthing the litter.
Assuming, of course, that the queen is still alive.
Traitors found the holographic.
So, the Taelons know we've got her? And they know it's inside job.
What happens when they find out who infiltrated the skrill lab? Don't worry about what you can't control.
I made some enquiries.
Sounds like Black Wednesday.
Come on, Renee, everyone knows Black Wednesday is a straw man invented by the Taelons.
Wrong.
Black Wednesday is for real.
The Taelons landed on Wednesday.
I was at the meeting the day after when the Resistance was founded.
You were there? I've been Resistance since the day one.
And there isn't a Resistance cadre as hard core as Black Wednesday.
And there's no more committed anti-Taelon, than Sylvia Ehrengraf.
So, you did recognize her yesterday.
And you did try to go out and find her on your own.
She's changed her hair.
And those holos are based on the descriptions anyway, but that's Sylvia.
One thing's for sure though, she may have changed her looks a little, but she's still a sociopath with an unyielding belief in her mission.
Terrific.
She's nuts.
But she's got something the Resistance desperately needs.
The skrill queen.
We gotta brig them in, before the Taelons get them.
And before the skrill kills her.
So, I guess, we have to at least try to work together.
I'm afraid we're gonna have to ask you to come with us, Mr.
Dinesen.
I'm not sure I understand.
Your organization is being charged with sedition against the Taelons.
You call questioning these creatures' agenda a sedition? I'm afraid so.
We'd like you to come with us.
Of course.
Until we bring in these impostors to justice no one's gonna believe the Taelons are innocent.
You're getting anywhere? I followed all what I've got from an informant.
Sounds like this is the work of a fringe group that's more criminal the revolutionary.
Any of that tied to this Dr.
Lindford? Well, she's on the mailing list of a number of organizations that question the Taelon agenda.
Come on, that describes half the people we both know.
You're on those mailing lists.
For entirely different reasons.
I've got Dr.
Lindford up on the mother ship.
Discussion over, Major.
Next.
Now, assuming they are the same perps, they might have travelled by portal, which means their identities are buried in a portal database.
I'll hit the portal Authority, check for anyone travelling with a skrill on a wounded volunteer.
And I'll interface with the Bureau on the wounded man's DNA.
It was a noble gesture to bring Alan home.
But he didn't have a chance.
You'll need plastic sheeting and lye to dispose of the body.
Sorry I pulled you out.
Just a matter of time before they caught up.
Time to take a look at the patient.
Everything looks good to go here.
If something should happen to me you've got to continue this work Nothing's gonna happen to you.
Don't forget who upped the ante from kidnapping to homicide.
- If I hadn't we'd all be dead! - No, what I'm trying to say to you Why don't you let me deal with the combat and you handle your end? - Hey, I'm talking to you.
- And I've got work to do.
I'm sorry, Noah.
I was just I know.
I know.
She looks like she's ready to give birth anytime.
And, once she does, we're gonna use this one as a model to genetically engineer the litter to blasters.
Now, Peter tells me that every time you use the skrill - It seems to hurt you or something - I told him to shut up about that.
Hey, recriminations.
He did the right thing by telling me.
I told you from the beginning this might be a little too risky.
And I told you that if anyone was gonna take any risks, it was gonna be me.
Fine.
But promise me one thing.
You will not use the skrill, until I had a chance to see if I can bypass whatever it is that's causing the pain.
Understood? Fine.
I promise.
But do it soon.
When I think of all the hell we can raise with this things Without the healthy outlet for hate the Taelons give you, I just shudder to think what you'd do for release.
What all revolutionaries do.
Purge intellectuals like you.
Just kidding.
It's people like Dr.
Lindford who should worry.
Oh, a good Doctor She's gonna have a lot to worry about, once they find what I planted in her files.
This is Alan Kelly, the man killed Copenhagen.
My people at the Bureau matched his DNA with a participant in the compatibility survey you did for this new skrill prototype.
I've never seen this man before in my life.
I tell you I'm innocent! Then you have to work with me.
I want a list of the equipment needed to safely bring the queen to term.
Is it conceivable, Zo'or, that the loss of the skrill queen was fated.
Fated? Perhaps, our subjugation of the skrills has run its course.
We conquered the skrills for a purpose.
And the will continue to serve that purpose.
If you had not taken it upon yourself to institute this project we would not have this problem.
A skrill that does not require a CVI is foolhardy.
The CVI is no more than a governor on our human allies.
Regardless of what you may believe, we will never be able to bioengineer humans as we have the skrills.
Your cloyingly sentimental feelings for the humans are insipid.
We can do whatever we choose.
And we will.
Yeah, I admit I was wrong, but the victim did fire first.
That doesn't diminish the fact that they've crossed the line.
And that we've got to bring them in before there are more killings.
Alright.
We're are you, anyway? Portal Authority.
Going over DC-Copenhagen records.
Well, good luck.
Ah, I'm trying another tac.
I'll see you later.
Hey.
Hey.
What are you drinking? Ah, Club Soda.
Great, just let me clean the glass a little.
So, what's with the my dog died look? I've just had to sell half of my interest in this place to a partner.
And I'm just hoping that it's a silent partner.
Though break.
But enough about you.
These people we are looking for.
You mean the Resistance phychos who go around killing people who work for them? I'm willing to bet they are using stolen or counterfeit cash cards.
Help me find them, and I'll help you get Starry Night back.
Where are you going with this? Oh, don't be so modest, everyone knows your counterfeit cards were the best around.
- They weren't bad.
- They were perfect.
And these guys might have travelled on one of your cards.
Well, I can see if there's any of my cards still floating around.
Great.
Not so fast.
How do I get Starry Night back? Well, my broker bought it for me.
It looks fabulous over my living room sofa.
But it's yours If you can find what I need.
So? Do we have a deal? I'll call you if I find anything.
Good.
Oh, cheer up.
Maybe your new partner will spark up the joint a bit.
The Portal Authority search got me as far as Union Station.
From which they could've gone anywhere.
And what brings you here? Deeper research into the skrills.
The more I understand them the better I can work this case.
It is important for both our species to better understand our place in the greater scheme of things.
Don't you mean three species? Skrills.
I see you now realize the skrills are far more complex than would appear at the first glance.
Excuse me.
Kincaid.
Liam, they did use one of Augur's counterfeit cash cards.
And the same card was used to rent a loft on L Street.
Upload the address to my global's map file.
Already there.
Thanks.
Thanks to Ms.
Palmer at Doors International we might have a lead on these terrorists.
Then I would suggest that you hurry.
Unless, you want Agent Sandoval to arrive first.
I've cross indexed Dr.
Lindford's list with records of purchases and thefts of the same technology.
And I believe I've found the terrorists' hideout.
See to it that you retrieved the skrill queen safely, Agent Sandoval.
We must have her back at all costs.
Now, do you hear those noises? Yeah.
She's responding to your skrill.
Seems like inherent memory bonding to me.
Sylvia Noah, they've found us! Move.
Keep it together, Peter.
- The door will slow them down.
- Yeah, long enough for us to get outside.
- Meet you out front.
- Right.
Hands in the air! Get them in the air! Where's Ehrengraf? Where's Ehrengraf? She's getting away! Oh, it's been too long.
- Augur, are you listening?.
.
- Hey! You're mistaking not listening for not giving a damn.
Well, for someone who doesn't give a damn you're perfectly willing to track those counterfeit cash cards for Renee.
For the price of getting my baby back.
Oh, so I have to pay you to listen? Not to listen, but if you want any work done.
Hey! Okay, okay.
What? It was Renee who told me where Ehrengraf was holed up.
- She was supposed to meet me there.
- But she never shows up.
That's why I'm not so sure.
While I was chasing Ehrengraf down the alley, I heard a car revving on the street.
Time I get to the street, no Ehrengraf, no car.
This car revving, what it like throaty, or purry, or was it more like humming? How the hell should I know? Okay, okay, it was It was throaty.
The convertible.
Yep! I lose everything and it's as if she has a different car for every day of the week.
Now, where's the justice in that? Can I go on? She's not answering her global.
Could Renee have helped Ehrengraf escape? Could she? Renee Palmer is capable of doing almost anything to get what she wants, but Then again, so am I.
You know, the minute I realized that it was her that bought my paintings, and as it turns out a few others from my collection, I bugged her global.
Just in case I need to reacquire any of them in the near future.
- If you catch my drift.
- Steal them, you mean.
Liberate, but why quiver over semantics? The global file is labeled Capitalist Piglet.
Help yourself.
Augur, we've got to talk.
It's my new partner who's supposed to be silent.
Thank you, Dr.
Restin, we should only need your office for a day or two.
Tell me where she took the queen.
I don't kn Wrong answer.
You've got 15 minutes to come up with the right answer.
Or it will become very uncomfortable.
See, the skrill responds to gentle massage.
Particularly, its lower extremities.
The gentle is the operative word.
Or else its system could undergo a shock that might harm the litter.
Put the gun down or I kill it right there.
And give up everything you've done so far to get it? I don't think so.
You don't know who you're dealing with.
That skrill is killing you.
yeah, why don't you let me worry about that.
Put the gun down.
Stop firing! You're killing yourself! You have to be willing to die for what you believe.
When Sylvia went over the edge, we were sisters in arms with the same goals.
And, hopefully, different means to reach them.
Sometimes I wonder just how different.
Are you keeping the queen for the Resistance? I'll cover the research and development cost.
That's not gonna happen.
- What? You gonna return it to the Taelons? - That's not what I said.
What are you doing? Liam? My research into the skrills raised a lot of questions.
There's only one way to answer them.
No! Liam, it's okay.
No, Renee, it's not okay.
I know now what the Taelons did to the skrills.
We can never allow them to do the same to us.
We found the terrorist body in a parked car with the dead skrill prototype.
And the skrill queen? - It was nowhere to be found.
- Nowhere to be found.
And there other terrorists? They remain in custody, but they don't know anything.
You have taken an infinite supply of weapons and turned it into a finite resource that now must be conserved.
Why not simply return to the skrill world and take another queen? Unfortunately, the skrill world lies within Jaridian dominated space.
Which means they are lost to us for the foreseeable future.
Who would've believed 10 years ago this jungle would bloom again.
I guess, we have to thank the Taelons for that, huh? Why here though? Rainforest is the closest thing on Earth we've got to the skrill home world.
If they've got any chance of becoming part of the Earth ecosystem, this is the place.
Look.
It's happening.
You okay? Yeah, fine, just never Just never expected to feel anything.
Those sounds she's making.
Any idea what they mean? What she's saying seems to be a skrill prayer of some sort.
And just what seems to be Bless this new world we have come to live in.
Loosely translated, of course.
Then I guess we can reasonably assume she likes it here? - Sounds that way to me.
- Then, I think, it's time for us to leave.
Let her raise her family in peace.
Are you hurt, Liam? I thought, perhaps, you might have been injured in your hunt for the skrill queen.
Never been better.
Where do you draw the line, Da'an? What line is that, Liam? To regard humanity with the same contempt that you have for the skrills.
I find your tone of moral superiority to be strangely misplaced.
You slaughter your fellow creatures for food and medical research.
Who are you to judge our actions? Until you opened the deeper data files I had no inkling of the truth about the skrills.
I merely demonstrated that there might be more to know.
You were the one who sought out your own truth.
So, where is the skrill queen? In a safe and secure place.
Thanks to you, Da'an.
Axarion
The real work will be in the capable hands of my new division head, Renee Palmer.
Still wondering if you can trust me, huh? Trust doesn't come that easy these days.
This skrill will become an appendage of your central nervous system.
This life form, you reengineered it and turned it into a weapon? The genesis of the skrill lies in the work of human bioengineers.
You're a volunteer! Loyalty means everything! You give your commitment to the Taelons, they give you back even more.
- Are you ready to die for them? - Yes, sir! - Are you ready to kill for them? - Yes, sir! Can I help you? We had a few complaints.
Earth Abides is in violation of the President's state of emergency.
That's crazy.
And anyway the state of emergency's been lifted.
That's true, sir.
The fact remains that certain police powers are reserved for dealing with Resistance cells.
Resistance cells? We got absolutely nothing to do with the Resistance.
It's not what our sources say.
Earth Abides has a long history of questioning Companions' motives.
That's what they call the free speech.
That's supposed to be funny? - You think you can laugh this off? - I'm not laughing.
What are they doing? - Looking for evidence of sedition.
- We'll see about that.
Name and unit ID, please.
Absolutely.
This is my name.
And this is my unit ID.
Any other questions? Axarion They have come to Earth with the promise of peace.
An alien race called the Taelons.
But, there are those who resist these Alien Companions.
For the Taelons' true mission, the secrets they hide will forever alter our world.
The fate of humanity now relies on those who dare challenge the future of Earth.
And look at this place! You have any idea how much is it gonna cost to fix that window? - They destroyed the entire database.
- Calm down.
You don't calm down, I cannot help you, sir.
I'm telling you we're gonna sue the Taelons for harassment.
- We - Those fascist pigs just stroll in here and then she tears the place apart with this creepy thing on her arm! Like this? - Are you sure? - Absolutely, man.
She blasts the place! Bam! Bam! Bam! Glass everywhere.
And I was sure I was next.
What did they look like? I've got the holo-composite descriptions.
We'll get back to you.
- You alright? - Yeah, I'm fine.
It's okay, I've ordered for both of us.
I'm on duty.
You said you needed to speak to me in person and fast.
Absolutely.
What's the story with this skrill incident? I'm on the case.
Why are you so thrilled about it? Well, the way I see it, the more people they harass, the more friends the Resistance makes.
Life should be that simple.
Well, let me make it even simpler.
I thought only volunteer officers were armed with skrills, and their CVI is needed to make the blast.
So? So, where does someone get a skrill that works without a CVI? What are you getting at? Well, you being so cozy with the Taelons and all, I thought maybe you could get your hands on one of these user-friendly skrills.
Right now the most important thing is getting these thugs off the street.
This meeting is a waste of my time.
The house on Hammond, What? If payment isn't made to Metro Reserve Bank by close-up business today, the same thing will happen to rental property on Carter Circle.
What do you suggest? Make a guaranteed payment by the close-up business today.
I get that, but where's the money supposed to come from? Enough with that "tsk-tsk" already.
What can I do? Your stock portfolio evaporated in the post-emergency correction.
That was no correction, that was a crash.
So, it's either rob a bank, or sell of the rest of your collection.
Then, hope all your creditors die in the same accident leaving no heirs.
Look, I don't need comedy, I need real solutions.
Solutions to what? Nothing, just watching myself go broke in a rapid clip.
Anything I can do? You? You! You're part of the problem.
Thanks to you, I bought into the romance of the Resistance, and ignored Augur Inc.
And now I'm paying for it.
You know, I've had to unload nearly every property I owned just to cover the costs of playing the revolutionary.
And the thing about revolution is if you don't win there's no one around to pay for the cost of the war.
- Sorry, Augur - You know, I had to sell my collection piece by piece and I still hemorrhaging.
Come on, Augur, you'll be fine.
Now, what do you know about a political party called Earth Abides? Why would the volunteers be going after them? Could Earth Abides be a cover for an unaligned Resistance cell? Maybe I have to paint you a picture, Liam.
I'm not playing anymore! What? The Resistance isn't my fight, it never was my fight.
It was just another expensive videogame.
- Oh, I understand.
- You don't understand a thing! Look at you! You walk in here, you don't even ask, "Hey, Augur, how is it going?" "What happened to your paintings, Augur?" If you don't mind, I'd like to be by myself while my life goes down the toilet.
And what am I supposed to do? You're a big boy now.
You figure it out.
You lost another 40 thousand of mutual funds while I was away.
Can I assume, Agent Sandoval, that you have been less than successful in your search for these rogue volunteers? Every volunteer's whereabouts at the time of the incident has been accounted for.
And the insignia.
There's no resemblance to any unit I'm aware of.
I promise you, Zo'or, we'll get to the bottom of this.
With haste.
I am troubled by the negative public reaction this incident has generated.
It was a slow news day.
You okay, Sylvia? - I'm fine.
- Yeah? Looked like it really hurt when you used that thing.
I said I'm fine.
If you can't take the heat, stay out of the revolution.
Once we're done, we're all gonna be armed with one of these things.
Whether you like it or not.
Hey, you seen that little geek's face when you blasted the computer? He must've wet himself.
This is the way we radicalize these cowards and then blame it on the Taelons.
Everything's okay.
Good.
We're not getting anywhere in this investigation.
Sandoval seems to be hitting the same blank walls I am.
This is why Agent Sandoval wants to see us at the Skrill Center.
It is here that the skrills are birthed.
Then genetically reengineered into weapons.
I tracked every volunteer in the unit.
Everyone was accounted for at the time of skrilling, so it appears we're dealing with imposters.
Then I learned of a security breach.
We found a gap in the security video, and discovered there's been a theft of a new skrill prototype.
How are these impostors able to use a skrill without a CVI? We've created an experimental skrill designed to bond without a CVI.
And that's all that was stolen? As I said, it was a prototype.
There was only one to steal.
When we last spoke you indicated that you and your staff had not yet found a solution to the neural problem.
I'm afraid that's so.
The skrill prototype will function without a CVI, but it takes an enormous toll on the host's nervous system.
- What sort of toll? - We don't know exactly.
What's this? That's the skrill queen.
The only one of its kind.
Every skrill in service's her child.
She's pulsing.
We keep her permanently pregnant.
Now, this seems worth stealing.
A single skrill, even an experimental prototype, seems small reward for breaking in here.
Stealing the queen and keeping her alive is impossible.
Is the shifting color a symptom of her pregnancy? On the extreme right she seems slightly bluer.
What precisely are you saying, Liam? We've got a problem bigger than the theft of the prototype.
- Kincaid, what the hell are you doing? - Major, stop, you'll kill her! - Major! - It's a hologram.
Some one's stolen the skrill queen.
I have a feeling that anybody good enough to pull this off wouldn't leave any incriminating evidence.
And I have a feeling the thief if still here.
An inside job does seem likely.
Yes, which makes Dr.
Lindford or someone on her staff the likely a suspect.
I need a complete list of your staff.
- My staff could never - Dr.
Lindford You've told us stealing the queen was impossible.
Your track record leaves a lot to be desired.
Zo'or? I require you on the bridge in 15 minutes, Agent Sandoval.
Problem, Agent Sandoval? These are the holos of the three who vandalized Earth Abides.
They could be anybody.
So, these imposters stole the mother of all skrills? My guess is that it's a Resistance group trying make the volunteers and the Taelons look bad.
More power to them.
Why do I get the feeling you know who they are? I don't know.
Why do you? Look, even if this theory of yours held water no one's gonna believe it.
Wait till someone gets hurt.
Come on, Joe 6-Pack will never believe that a Resistance cell could pull this off and denials for the Taelons would be read as disinformation.
Oh, one more thing, this prototype apparently causes nerve damage to the user.
And where did you get this little piece of news? Da'an and Dr.
Lindford.
The woman who runs the Skrill Development Center.
See my earlier remark about Taelon disinformation.
Where are you heading? Not that it's any of your business, but I have a date.
Oh, you wouldnt by any chance be planning to find these guys, would you? Ooh, you've got a suspicious soul.
And you lie for a living.
Must be awful to be so paranoid.
Perhaps you do not grasp the urgency of this situation.
The skrill arsenal is in jeopardy.
If you do not recover the queen, one of our most powerful weapons will be eliminated.
I understand completely, Zo'or.
I have placed Dr.
Lindford under arrest.
My understanding is that only a scientist could've stolen the queen with any hope of birthing the litter.
Assuming, of course, that the queen is still alive.
Traitors found the holographic.
So, the Taelons know we've got her? And they know it's inside job.
What happens when they find out who infiltrated the skrill lab? Don't worry about what you can't control.
I made some enquiries.
Sounds like Black Wednesday.
Come on, Renee, everyone knows Black Wednesday is a straw man invented by the Taelons.
Wrong.
Black Wednesday is for real.
The Taelons landed on Wednesday.
I was at the meeting the day after when the Resistance was founded.
You were there? I've been Resistance since the day one.
And there isn't a Resistance cadre as hard core as Black Wednesday.
And there's no more committed anti-Taelon, than Sylvia Ehrengraf.
So, you did recognize her yesterday.
And you did try to go out and find her on your own.
She's changed her hair.
And those holos are based on the descriptions anyway, but that's Sylvia.
One thing's for sure though, she may have changed her looks a little, but she's still a sociopath with an unyielding belief in her mission.
Terrific.
She's nuts.
But she's got something the Resistance desperately needs.
The skrill queen.
We gotta brig them in, before the Taelons get them.
And before the skrill kills her.
So, I guess, we have to at least try to work together.
I'm afraid we're gonna have to ask you to come with us, Mr.
Dinesen.
I'm not sure I understand.
Your organization is being charged with sedition against the Taelons.
You call questioning these creatures' agenda a sedition? I'm afraid so.
We'd like you to come with us.
Of course.
Until we bring in these impostors to justice no one's gonna believe the Taelons are innocent.
You're getting anywhere? I followed all what I've got from an informant.
Sounds like this is the work of a fringe group that's more criminal the revolutionary.
Any of that tied to this Dr.
Lindford? Well, she's on the mailing list of a number of organizations that question the Taelon agenda.
Come on, that describes half the people we both know.
You're on those mailing lists.
For entirely different reasons.
I've got Dr.
Lindford up on the mother ship.
Discussion over, Major.
Next.
Now, assuming they are the same perps, they might have travelled by portal, which means their identities are buried in a portal database.
I'll hit the portal Authority, check for anyone travelling with a skrill on a wounded volunteer.
And I'll interface with the Bureau on the wounded man's DNA.
It was a noble gesture to bring Alan home.
But he didn't have a chance.
You'll need plastic sheeting and lye to dispose of the body.
Sorry I pulled you out.
Just a matter of time before they caught up.
Time to take a look at the patient.
Everything looks good to go here.
If something should happen to me you've got to continue this work Nothing's gonna happen to you.
Don't forget who upped the ante from kidnapping to homicide.
- If I hadn't we'd all be dead! - No, what I'm trying to say to you Why don't you let me deal with the combat and you handle your end? - Hey, I'm talking to you.
- And I've got work to do.
I'm sorry, Noah.
I was just I know.
I know.
She looks like she's ready to give birth anytime.
And, once she does, we're gonna use this one as a model to genetically engineer the litter to blasters.
Now, Peter tells me that every time you use the skrill - It seems to hurt you or something - I told him to shut up about that.
Hey, recriminations.
He did the right thing by telling me.
I told you from the beginning this might be a little too risky.
And I told you that if anyone was gonna take any risks, it was gonna be me.
Fine.
But promise me one thing.
You will not use the skrill, until I had a chance to see if I can bypass whatever it is that's causing the pain.
Understood? Fine.
I promise.
But do it soon.
When I think of all the hell we can raise with this things Without the healthy outlet for hate the Taelons give you, I just shudder to think what you'd do for release.
What all revolutionaries do.
Purge intellectuals like you.
Just kidding.
It's people like Dr.
Lindford who should worry.
Oh, a good Doctor She's gonna have a lot to worry about, once they find what I planted in her files.
This is Alan Kelly, the man killed Copenhagen.
My people at the Bureau matched his DNA with a participant in the compatibility survey you did for this new skrill prototype.
I've never seen this man before in my life.
I tell you I'm innocent! Then you have to work with me.
I want a list of the equipment needed to safely bring the queen to term.
Is it conceivable, Zo'or, that the loss of the skrill queen was fated.
Fated? Perhaps, our subjugation of the skrills has run its course.
We conquered the skrills for a purpose.
And the will continue to serve that purpose.
If you had not taken it upon yourself to institute this project we would not have this problem.
A skrill that does not require a CVI is foolhardy.
The CVI is no more than a governor on our human allies.
Regardless of what you may believe, we will never be able to bioengineer humans as we have the skrills.
Your cloyingly sentimental feelings for the humans are insipid.
We can do whatever we choose.
And we will.
Yeah, I admit I was wrong, but the victim did fire first.
That doesn't diminish the fact that they've crossed the line.
And that we've got to bring them in before there are more killings.
Alright.
We're are you, anyway? Portal Authority.
Going over DC-Copenhagen records.
Well, good luck.
Ah, I'm trying another tac.
I'll see you later.
Hey.
Hey.
What are you drinking? Ah, Club Soda.
Great, just let me clean the glass a little.
So, what's with the my dog died look? I've just had to sell half of my interest in this place to a partner.
And I'm just hoping that it's a silent partner.
Though break.
But enough about you.
These people we are looking for.
You mean the Resistance phychos who go around killing people who work for them? I'm willing to bet they are using stolen or counterfeit cash cards.
Help me find them, and I'll help you get Starry Night back.
Where are you going with this? Oh, don't be so modest, everyone knows your counterfeit cards were the best around.
- They weren't bad.
- They were perfect.
And these guys might have travelled on one of your cards.
Well, I can see if there's any of my cards still floating around.
Great.
Not so fast.
How do I get Starry Night back? Well, my broker bought it for me.
It looks fabulous over my living room sofa.
But it's yours If you can find what I need.
So? Do we have a deal? I'll call you if I find anything.
Good.
Oh, cheer up.
Maybe your new partner will spark up the joint a bit.
The Portal Authority search got me as far as Union Station.
From which they could've gone anywhere.
And what brings you here? Deeper research into the skrills.
The more I understand them the better I can work this case.
It is important for both our species to better understand our place in the greater scheme of things.
Don't you mean three species? Skrills.
I see you now realize the skrills are far more complex than would appear at the first glance.
Excuse me.
Kincaid.
Liam, they did use one of Augur's counterfeit cash cards.
And the same card was used to rent a loft on L Street.
Upload the address to my global's map file.
Already there.
Thanks.
Thanks to Ms.
Palmer at Doors International we might have a lead on these terrorists.
Then I would suggest that you hurry.
Unless, you want Agent Sandoval to arrive first.
I've cross indexed Dr.
Lindford's list with records of purchases and thefts of the same technology.
And I believe I've found the terrorists' hideout.
See to it that you retrieved the skrill queen safely, Agent Sandoval.
We must have her back at all costs.
Now, do you hear those noises? Yeah.
She's responding to your skrill.
Seems like inherent memory bonding to me.
Sylvia Noah, they've found us! Move.
Keep it together, Peter.
- The door will slow them down.
- Yeah, long enough for us to get outside.
- Meet you out front.
- Right.
Hands in the air! Get them in the air! Where's Ehrengraf? Where's Ehrengraf? She's getting away! Oh, it's been too long.
- Augur, are you listening?.
.
- Hey! You're mistaking not listening for not giving a damn.
Well, for someone who doesn't give a damn you're perfectly willing to track those counterfeit cash cards for Renee.
For the price of getting my baby back.
Oh, so I have to pay you to listen? Not to listen, but if you want any work done.
Hey! Okay, okay.
What? It was Renee who told me where Ehrengraf was holed up.
- She was supposed to meet me there.
- But she never shows up.
That's why I'm not so sure.
While I was chasing Ehrengraf down the alley, I heard a car revving on the street.
Time I get to the street, no Ehrengraf, no car.
This car revving, what it like throaty, or purry, or was it more like humming? How the hell should I know? Okay, okay, it was It was throaty.
The convertible.
Yep! I lose everything and it's as if she has a different car for every day of the week.
Now, where's the justice in that? Can I go on? She's not answering her global.
Could Renee have helped Ehrengraf escape? Could she? Renee Palmer is capable of doing almost anything to get what she wants, but Then again, so am I.
You know, the minute I realized that it was her that bought my paintings, and as it turns out a few others from my collection, I bugged her global.
Just in case I need to reacquire any of them in the near future.
- If you catch my drift.
- Steal them, you mean.
Liberate, but why quiver over semantics? The global file is labeled Capitalist Piglet.
Help yourself.
Augur, we've got to talk.
It's my new partner who's supposed to be silent.
Thank you, Dr.
Restin, we should only need your office for a day or two.
Tell me where she took the queen.
I don't kn Wrong answer.
You've got 15 minutes to come up with the right answer.
Or it will become very uncomfortable.
See, the skrill responds to gentle massage.
Particularly, its lower extremities.
The gentle is the operative word.
Or else its system could undergo a shock that might harm the litter.
Put the gun down or I kill it right there.
And give up everything you've done so far to get it? I don't think so.
You don't know who you're dealing with.
That skrill is killing you.
yeah, why don't you let me worry about that.
Put the gun down.
Stop firing! You're killing yourself! You have to be willing to die for what you believe.
When Sylvia went over the edge, we were sisters in arms with the same goals.
And, hopefully, different means to reach them.
Sometimes I wonder just how different.
Are you keeping the queen for the Resistance? I'll cover the research and development cost.
That's not gonna happen.
- What? You gonna return it to the Taelons? - That's not what I said.
What are you doing? Liam? My research into the skrills raised a lot of questions.
There's only one way to answer them.
No! Liam, it's okay.
No, Renee, it's not okay.
I know now what the Taelons did to the skrills.
We can never allow them to do the same to us.
We found the terrorist body in a parked car with the dead skrill prototype.
And the skrill queen? - It was nowhere to be found.
- Nowhere to be found.
And there other terrorists? They remain in custody, but they don't know anything.
You have taken an infinite supply of weapons and turned it into a finite resource that now must be conserved.
Why not simply return to the skrill world and take another queen? Unfortunately, the skrill world lies within Jaridian dominated space.
Which means they are lost to us for the foreseeable future.
Who would've believed 10 years ago this jungle would bloom again.
I guess, we have to thank the Taelons for that, huh? Why here though? Rainforest is the closest thing on Earth we've got to the skrill home world.
If they've got any chance of becoming part of the Earth ecosystem, this is the place.
Look.
It's happening.
You okay? Yeah, fine, just never Just never expected to feel anything.
Those sounds she's making.
Any idea what they mean? What she's saying seems to be a skrill prayer of some sort.
And just what seems to be Bless this new world we have come to live in.
Loosely translated, of course.
Then I guess we can reasonably assume she likes it here? - Sounds that way to me.
- Then, I think, it's time for us to leave.
Let her raise her family in peace.
Are you hurt, Liam? I thought, perhaps, you might have been injured in your hunt for the skrill queen.
Never been better.
Where do you draw the line, Da'an? What line is that, Liam? To regard humanity with the same contempt that you have for the skrills.
I find your tone of moral superiority to be strangely misplaced.
You slaughter your fellow creatures for food and medical research.
Who are you to judge our actions? Until you opened the deeper data files I had no inkling of the truth about the skrills.
I merely demonstrated that there might be more to know.
You were the one who sought out your own truth.
So, where is the skrill queen? In a safe and secure place.
Thanks to you, Da'an.
Axarion