The Outer Limits (1995) s04e03 Episode Script

1 Big stick's planted and ready to swing, Captain, Easy does it, Sergeant, We're not here to level the place, Anti-personnel charges only, Understood, (Beeping) Hawthorne, you set? Hawthorne? CAPTAIN: Hawthorne? (Beep) Yes, sir, I'm set, Sorry, sir, It's all right, Settle down, Corporal, Archer, ,, is everyone home for the night? Sat-com shows 12 hostiles in the target area, sir, Roger that, A veritable infestation, if you don't mind me saying so, sir, (Beeping) CAPTAIN: Rosen, ,, how's your eyesight? 20/20, sir, OK, Heat 'em up, Yaah! Whoo! Ha ha ha! Whoo! Whoo! Yaah! Damn, I love a bug hunt, (Shrieking) There is nothing wrong with your television, Do not attempt to adjust the picture, We are now controlling the transmission, We control the horizontal and the vertical, We can deluge you with a thousand channels or expand one single image to crystal clarity, ,, and beyond, We can shape your vision to anything our imagination can conceive, For the next hour, we will control all that you see and hear, You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the deepest inner mind to, ,, In order to survive a soldier must fight many battles, ,, physical as well as mental, ,, but in the heat of the struggle, reality can sometimes fade like memory until only one thing remains certain, ,, the first casualty of war is truth, I can't make out a damn thing, There's too much heat interference, One of our charges must have ignited the pergeum ore in the mine, WOMAN: Those bugs aren't going to be too happy, The bugs want pergeum, they can find it somewhere else, This planet belongs to us, Archer, are we sure no aliens survived? Negative, sir, The next surveillance satellite won't be in range for another 5 hours, All right, people, you know what that means, We have to go in, You all ready for that? Yes, sir! ARCHER: Yes, sir, Yes, sir, Yes, sir, Good, Prep weapons, Encounter protocol, (Hissing) HAWTHORNE: Damn it, What's the problem, Hawthorne? Juice up, I'm trying, sir, This is one drill you better know cold, Encounter Protocol, ,, "Any potential encounter with alien forces must be preceded "by self-inoculation to prevent infection," Yes, sir, I know the regs, sir, It's because of those alien parasites, you know, Their stinking bodies are crawling with them, They're called spirochetes, sir, Bacteria, I learned about them in training, sir, No kidding? Well, then maybe you can explain something to me, I mean, I've always wondered which hurts more, ,, the skin ruptures or the hallucinations from the brain lesions? I'm sorry, sir, I don't know, I'm only asking you 'cause when our last medic got the bug, he just wouldn't stop screaming, Well, till he stopped screaming, Damn it, (Hissing) You have to disengage the interlock and open the bleed valve before you cycle the pump, You have to line it up exactly right if you want it to work, It's not as easy as they tell you in training, Yes, sir, Thank you, sir, Lieutenant? When your last medic got the bug, how long did it take him to die? He didn't, He blew his foot off on a pulse mine, He rotated home last week, Approach is clear, I like what you've done with the place, Archer, what's the count? Visual confirmation on 11 bodies, Captain, Means we've got one hostile unaccounted for, people, Look sharp, (Alien shrieks) Stay close, Stay quiet, (Shrieks) Target is definitely alive, Captain, I engaged, but shot wide, sir, Understood, Sergeant, OK, people, let's establish a perimeter, Don't let this bastard get past us, (Alien shrieks) (Shuffling) Rosen, it's heading in your direction, Can you confirm him? Negative, OK, everybody, listen close, We're going to set up a crossfire, Eldritch, take the north corridor and join up at Archer, Rosen, Hawthorne, find cover, Maintain position, I'll be coming through the south-east passage, Down! You OK? Yeah, Yeah, How bad is it? It's not bad at all, sir, It's just a superficial chest wound, The shot went straight through the vest, sir, and only grazed her, Looks like today was your lucky day, Lieutenant, Good work, Thank you, sir, Last hostile present and accounted for, sir, Stinkin' bug, You got a problem with something, Corporal? No, sir, I think you do, These bugs scare you, don't they? Well, they should, You know why? Because they hate you, and unless you learn how to hate them back, you can be damn sure that they will kill you, That's enough, Both of you, Let's go, All right, people, we'll rest for a while, then we'll pack up and get ready for evac, Captain, ,, Looks like we had visitors, Bug patrol, How the hell did they get past our booby traps? Because our traps weren't armed, What happened? But, Captain, I thought I was sure I set those charges, Damn it, Hawthorne, half our food and ammo was in here, That was stuff we need a hell of a lot more than we need a medic, All right, I want a full inventory of everything that's left, Nobody touch anything unless you've juiced up, The whole damn place is probably contaminated, Mind if I sit down? No, sir, Hawthorne, ,, what are you doing here? See, I was just starting college when the government began the recruiting drives, And they said that the aliens were after the pergeum and that it was our responsibility to fight to protect what was rightfully ours, I thought coming here was the right thing to do, So you're an idealist, I guess I was, CAPTAIN: All right, people, listen up, I just got off the comm at HQ, One of our spy satellites uncovered an alien munitions plant in our sector, According to Intell, that plant goes on-line in 31 hours, If it does, the bugs will gain a major advantage in this sector, Maybe even the edge they need to force us out, So, we're the only unit close enough to get there in time, folks, That's it, What's the matter? Look at you, Take a good look at yourselves, What's wrong with you people? You don't remember the way Earth used to be, Why, just 40 years ago, there were power shortages everywhere, Electricity riots in the city, Countries actually going to war for energy, Yeah, Because of us, every country on Earth gets the pergeum they need to keep their people warm and fed and their economies humming, No more need to fight each other, no more need for us to kill each other anymore, and just when we've finally got our act together, the bugs come and they put it all in jeopardy! So the next time you feel a little tired or hungry or you get a little scared, you think about that, and don't forget it! We won't, sir, CAPTAIN: Good! We move out in 3 hours, These tunnels run underneath most of this quadrant, If we continue in this direction, we'll end up in an abandoned mine, We should be able to use the mine shafts there to get into the munitions plant, How far? 45 klicks, Great, We're on a planet where night lasts half the year, and we're walking through caves, Hey, Rosen, was he this much of a whiner during sunlight depravation training? No, sir, He slept through it, (Muffled shriek) I think it's company, Did you hear that? No, Archer, what do you see? Nothing but us, sir, The area's clear, Good, Let's hope it stays that way, Haul to, Archer, scan, Sat-com shows a UV laser web just around the corner, Captain, I've got a fix on it, Yeah, It's probably rigged to explode, Think you could take that detonator out with an EM-pulse grenade, Sergeant? Got one right here, Do it, Man down! What happened? Who went down? I thought you did, What happened? What's wrong? Nothing, sir, We deacted the trap as ordered, It's my fault, I thought I heard them call for help, It's all right, More caution is better than less, Now, it's going to get a lot worse from here on in, There's lots of opportunities for traps up ahead, maybe even sentries, so let's juice up before we move out, As near as I can tell, sir, the internal release valve was fused shut, Every time you juiced up, the internal pressure kept building until the whole rig blew, Must have happened when you got hit at the station, One of the rounds must have passed close enough to fuse the valve without touching anything else, That would explain why the injector didn't appear to be damaged, Captain, that would mean I haven't been getting my doses since we left the station, I feel fine, Eldritch, Yeah, sure, Replacement injectors were lost with our supplies, That means we got a big problem, What do you suggest we do about it, Corporal? Well, sir, we could try to modify our own injectors and dose the lieutenant off them, Is that going to work? It might, CAPTAIN: No, no, no, I'm not gonna risk the other members of this team on "it might," Corporal, Captain, we don't have any alternative, I can try to compensate with other meds for a while, but if Lieutenant Rosen encounters another bug her chances of becoming infected are practically guaranteed, Lieutenant, ,, that munitions plant goes on-line in about 22 hours, I need you in this mission, You know the risk, I'm with you, sir, First sign of alien infection, ,, you're on your own, CAPTAIN: I see only one sentry at the shaft entrance, What do you see, Archer? We're too far underground for a reliable sat-com, Captain, If there are still any hostiles in the area, I can't pick them up, We better assume he's got support, All right, let's keep it nice and quiet, Take him out, What are you waiting for? It's a clear shot, If I tap him now, he falls in the open, I just want him down where nobody can see him, Relax, What's wrong? Nothing, It's a miss! He's on the move! He's down, (Alien shrieks) Good job, What the hell happened? I don't know, sir, Well, I know! It's obvious, Captain! She's got the bug! She's losing it! It's not possible, I tested her blood sample an hour ago, it's clean, Coming from you, that doesn't mean a damn thing, Enough! Archer, ,, their sentry get a call off? I can't be sure, Captain, Eldritch, take Archer and Hawthorne, Get down to that shaft, Rig it to blow, Don't forget to juice up, Be right behind you, Captain, I don't think it's a good idea I just gave you an order, Sergeant! Yes, sir, All right, what's going on? I'm not sure, sir, Speculate, Something happened to me at that station, sir, I've never been so close to a live one before, I saw his face when I fired, I can't get that image out of my head, and when I think about it, ,, I almost feel like a murderer, You killed a bug that was trying to kill you, You did what you were trained to do, I know, Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a soldier, Rosen? Sir? I know there's a lot of people on Earth who believe we've outgrown the need for war, but it takes more than a few decades of peace to change human nature, You volunteered to fight, and I've seen what you can do, Make no mistake about it, you are a soldier, If you've lost your confidence, then you've become a liability to this team and to yourself, I made you second in command because I trust you to watch my back, If you can't do that anymore, you better tell me right now, I can do it, sir, Let's go, How are we doing with those charges, Sergeant? We're almost ready to attach the detonators, Captain, We'll be a few more minutes, sir, Good, We'll do a quick patrol of the area, Hawthorne, you'll come with me, You stay here, stand watch, Keep your distance away from that thing, That won't be necessary, sir, I torched it, I sterilized the entire area, Lieutenant Rosen's in no danger of infection here, sir, It's good to see initiative, Corporal, Yes, sir, Let's go, Doesn't look like much of a soldier, does he? That's because he's a dead soldier, I mean, for all we know, he could be a kid, Is that who we're killing now? Innocent civilians? To tell you the truth, I don't care, The bugs started this war, and as far as I'm concerned, every last one of those things is fair game, And any thing carrying a weapon is not a civilian, I hope you haven't forgotten that, sir, We still have another hook-up on the other side, sir, (Weapons firing) ELDRITCH: Go! Let's go! Let's go! Fall back! Where the hell is it coming from? I don't know! Aah! (Coughing) Captain? Captain? Hawthorne! (Equipment beeping) (Sighs) You all right, Hawthorne? I tried every bio-regen, (Sighs) I couldn't do anything for him, sir, Wounds were too massive, Took more than a dozen hits in the back and the chest, ARCHER: There's no sign of pursuit, sir, ELDRITCH: The bugs probably think we're dead, What's so interesting? These rounds don't look like they're from an alien weapon to me, Is that some sort of accusation, Lieutenant? I'm not accusing anybody of anything, No, you're just suggesting the captain was killed by friendly fire, Maybe that's something we should consider, Does that bother you? Me? It was your mess that got us into this situation in the first place, If it should bother anybody, it should bother you, The captain's dead no matter who killed him, We still have a mission to finish, Yeah, I guess we do, but I don't think the lieutenant is in any condition to command, I'm in command, Sergeant! I'm sure Corporal Hawthorne will certify me fit for duty, Yes, Yes, sir, Well, that's good enough for me, Your orders, Lieutenant? If we're going to make it to that munitions plant in time, we can't take the captain with us, Strip his gear, We're moving out, Yes, sir, Should be getting close, Yes, sir, Lieutenant? We're right under the munitions plant, What do you see? Sat-com shows several bugs clustered in a work area roughly 2 klicks from here, We should be able to use the surface corridors to approach, All right, I'll take recon, Lieutenant? I think it's time for another sample of blood, Make a quick scout, Keep it quiet, (Beeps) Well, your luck is still holding up, sir, Your blood's clean, No trace of spirochetes, What do you know about spirochete-induced psychosis? Well, only what I've seen in the training vids, Nothing you haven't encountered in the field, I'm sure, I've never actually seen psychosis in the field, Not one single case, I never realized that before, (Sighs) (Noise) The drugs in our injectors, ,, do you know how they work? Well, they don't give field medics a lot of details, sir, But I've heard that the alien DNA is quite a bit different from ours, which makes it tough to deal with, That's why the drugs are genetically engineered for our individual biologies, But apart from that, the composition's classified, Is something bothering you, sir? Remember when I asked you why you were here? Yes, I'm beginning to wonder why myself, Lieutenant, with all due respect, ,, I think you should remember what the captain told us, because he was right, What we're doing here is important, I'm not sure that's true anymore, Lieutenant, I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that, but I suggest that you don't discuss it in front of Sergeant Eldritch, At least, not if you want to stay in command, (Footsteps) Well, that's another clean bill of health, sir, What are we up against? It's hard to say, sir, The power emissions from their equipment were interfering with our sensors, but we observed only minimal defences and 10 possibly more hostiles in the area, sir, Technical recommendations? We stage the assault from below Quick strike, Go pack out of here, Lieutenant, the injectors are due for a recharge, You want me to take care of that now? Go ahead, I'll collect the empties, (Pours liquid) (Screws on cap) (Aliens roaring) Is everyone juiced up? Yes, sir, MAN: Yes, sir, Yes, sir, (Aliens roaring) (Footsteps) Lieutenant? I'm in position, I copy that, All set, Lieutenant, (Footsteps) (Aliens roaring) (Garbled voices) Stand down, What? I said stand down, Abort, That's an order, Why? Those aren't aliens up there, Yes, sir, (Muffled voices) What the hell were you doing? We got at least a dozen hostiles back there, No, They're human beings, You're out of your mind, Listen to me, Do you remember what happened at the mining station? What does that have to do with this? Just hear me out, What did you see? I saw a bug, I fired, I missed, OK, Focus on that moment as hard as you can, What did you see there? What did you see? What did you see? It was, ,, It was a bug, just like I said, How about you? I saw it only for a second, Lieutenant maybe less, Think about it again, What did you see? I'm not sure, Um, ,, It It could've been human? It was, There was no alien in that station, And there are no aliens here, Then how do you explain what we've been seeing? I'm not sure, but I think it might be some sort of a memory implant, I've heard enough of this, You're crazy, and you're trying to make the rest of us crazy as well, How come we didn't realize this before? The drugs we take when we juice up, it must reinforce the memory implant, and when my injector was damaged, the implant began to break down, Yeah, but your injector was damaged because you got shot, How come we can see through these implants now, too? Because I sabotaged your injectors, I replaced the drugs in your canisters with glucose supplement to help you see the truth, You're all done, Sergeant, please, this is not the way, It's good advice, Corporal, You should listen to it yourself, What's wrong with you? You want to fight so bad, you don't care who you kill anymore? You had no right to tamper with our injectors, That's a court martial offence, You could be executed for it, Lieutenant, you're risking all our lives on the basis of a belief, It's more than just a belief, I've had several close contacts with the enemy with no drugs to protect me, and I'm still perfectly healthy, Why haven't I been infected? Because there are no alien bacteria, because there are no aliens, If we've been conditioned the way you say, how come when I look at you I see a person and not a bug? The images must be triggered somehow, maybe electronically, Yeah, but why go through such an elaborate charade just to create an enemy? The person I killed in the station, I think he may have been with the coalition, Our government knew they couldn't convince us to fight a war just to protect their profits, so they transformed human miners into aliens and made them enemies in our own minds, They brainwashed us into fighting and killing other human beings, That's insane, Is it? Well, there's one way to be sure, (Footsteps) My God, They're here, Run! Get help! (Miners yelling) They're terrified of us, Of course they are, They thought we were here to wipe them out, And they were right, Listen, Please, You don't have to be afraid, We know the truth now, Yeah, we do, This is where the killing stops, No, no, no, it's OK, No one's going to hurt you, Please, You don't have to be afraid, We know the truth now, ELDRITCH: We won't hurt you, (Gunfire) Don't, Don't, We know you're human, We didn't come to fight, (Garbled speech) (Gunshot) MINER: Disgusting creature, Not so close, We must medicate first, Humans kill for love, for revenge, for survival, and even for ideas, Perhaps the capacity to kill, then, is a very true part of our nature, But within this behaviour defined by fear, must we also be taught to hate? CAPTIONING MADE POSSIBLE BY MGM/UA HOME ENTERTAINMENT INC, INSTITUTE, INC, PROHIBITED WITHOU PERMISSION OF