The Outer Limits (1995) s07e17 Episode Script

1 We missed a trail marker, We didn't miss anything, Maybe they took the marker, We are pretty close to the border, Do you think they even have a concept of what a border is? Maybe not, But they got the idea of pulse rifles by now, I'm not worried, (GRUNTING) (ALIENS SCREECHING) They're all around us, (ROARING) (GRUNTING) Move, (GRUNTING) (ALIENS SCREECHING) (GRUNTING) (GRUNTING) (GROANING) (SNARLING) (ROARING) (ROARING) CONTROL VOICE: 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 The Outer Limits, CONTROL VOICE: As humanity spreads to the stars, we will take with us our values and our laws, But how will those laws and moral judgments apply to creatures and cultures alien to our own? (HONKING) (GRUNTING) (HONKING) Hi! I'm looking for the courthouse, We ain't got no working courthouse, No courthouse? You're sure? I said, we ain't got no working courthouse, Oleaga slapped a room together but we ain't got a judge yet, Crooked old geezer from Earth isn't due till next week, -Geezer? -Word is that he's senile enough that Oleaga won't have much trouble bribing him on the cheap, (BOTH LAUGHING) Well, where's Oleaga's office? Oh, just follow your nose around the corner, When you come to a building that don't stink of manure that'll be Oleaga's place, -(CROWD SCREAMING) -(MAN YELLING) Oh, looks like Jake and his posse got their Medusan, Street justice is the custom? Unless the criminal is paying protection of Quince and the army, You want this animal to hang? CROWD: Yeah! -Yeah! -MAN: That's Jake Armstrong, Lost his little brother in the attack, JAKE: Hang him! -I'll put a stop to this right now, -Why? I've got to, I'm the crooked old geezer from Earth, (GRUNTING) Jake Armstrong! As territorial judge of this quadrant by order of the fifth circuit court, I hereby take custody of your prisoner, Get back to Earth, We don't need no judge here, Jake, I never killed a man in anger, The problem for you is, ,, I ain't angry, Nice antique, But how are you gonna stop a lynching with it? (CROWD YELLING INDISTINCTLY) If this Medusan killed your brother, he will be punished with the full extent of the law, There's no law in Dedalus, There is now, I didn't come to the far side of nowhere for the sunny climate, Finch, Dedalus is a commercial mining colony, But until we establish a court of law we're under the thumb of the military, And that is bad for business, And that is why I sent for you, Governor Oleaga, I report to the fifth judicial circuit, Not to local politicians, Of course, I didn't mean to imply anything else, -Thank you, -(GRUNTING) So what is the situation with the indigenous Medusans? Well, the military guard the town, But you can't venture out into the countryside without an armed escort, The Medusans can be quite savage, Hmm, Must be something about having your planet colonized that brings out the worst in people, Listen, Finch, we bought that land fair and square 11 years ago from the local Medusan chieftain, And unfortunately with his death this year things have gotten a little dicey, Now, about the Medusan you want to try, It might be best handled by Quince and the military, Governor, if you want the court to be the moral authority here, people have to respect it, That means trying the tough cases like this Medusan attack, And not throwing it to a military firing squad, My daughter was injured in that attack, Her three friends were murdered, She was the only survivor, As a father I want that killer punished, And as a judge so do I, If he's guilty, Of course, You sent for me, Governor? Ah, yes, Judge Finch, this is our prosecuting attorney Mr, O'Brien, -Mr, O'Brien, how do you do? -Judge, Mr, O'Brien, will you show the judge to his courtroom? Governor, ,, -(SIGHING) -Well, not exactly mahogany paneled splendor, It's perfect, For a judge, you sure are easy to please, Judge Roy Bean used to convene his courtroom in a bar room back in 1882, Montana territory was wide open frontier, Judge and marshal for a 1000 square miles, No bureaucracy, no politics, no shades of gray, All a judge needed was common sense, guts, fairness of mind, ,, And a six-shooter strapped to his belt, You know, Judge, Oleaga was right, You should leave this Medusan for Quince, What's the matter, Mr, Prosecutor? I thought you said this was an open and shut case, That doesn't mean I'm looking to make work for myself unnecessarily, I'm paid on a weekly, Judge, Tell me, what were the victims doing when they were attacked? The geographical survey, About as threatening as the Red Cross, Any idea what brought it on? What brings on a shark attack? QUINCE: O'Brien, Sure thing, I'm Quince, And welcome to Dedalus, Judge, Oh, and congratulations on your rather colorful entrance, Oh, congratulations on yours, May I ask you a straightforward question? When I first heard they were sending a judge to Dedalus, I kept asking myself, "Now what is it this judge did "to get his ass booted from the high-tech comforts of Earth to this sewage pit?" I'm not much for the high-tech comforts of Earth, All they've gotten us is fat and lazy, Besides the sanitized lifestyle on Earth these days comes with a bill I'm tired of paying, And that bill being? Independence, Candor, The ability to answer straightforward questions straightforwardly, That straightforward enough for you? Word has it you're gonna put the Medusan on trial, From my experience that attack was more of an act of war, If the Medusan was ordered to attack the mapping party it'll come out in the trial, Well, how are you gonna do that? -You're gonna ask the Medusan? -Something like that, And if he won't answer? I'll call you to the stands so you can beat it out of him, You're a funny man, Judge, We don't get a lot of funny men in Dedalus, The problem is they keep turning up dead, Nice talking to you, Oh, the pleasure was mine, (BEEPING) Hi, this is Eileen, Please leave your name and trans tag and I'll call you back as soon as I can, Thank you, AUTOMATED VOICE: Please leave your message now, Hey, I'm in Dedalus, Any sane person would get the hell out of here in the next freighter, Somehow I feel that a chapter of my life needs to be written here, (LAUGHING) Is that mystical enough for you? No wonder all my lawyer friends think I'm crazy, (SIGHING) I still think about you, I know you're still working on the big decision, (SIGHING) Wish I could steer you to the right choice but hell I'm just the ex-husband, And as advice givers rank just below the town drunk, Don't marry him, Leni, (SIGHING) -Good morning, Judge Finch, -Woah! Did you have a nightmare? Who the hell are you? Justice Hafner of the fifth circuit sent me from Earth to assist you, -Didn't you get his message? -No, Here let me help you up, Oh! Can I get you something to start your day? I need a chiropractor, -I doubt that Dedalus has a doctor of that specialty, -Just kidding, Oh! So Hafner put you up to this? -Why? -He's not sure you're up to the assignment, He said that? What were his exact words? -(BEEP) -(MAN'S VOICE) "I'm not sure he's up to this assignment," Oh, my god! -You're a sim? -Yes, A simulated human, My name is Miranda, Hafner sent me a sim! He feels you're too unconventional, That you're too quick to abandon judicial protocol, Let me tell you what Hafner can do with his protocol, And he feels you have a temper, It may comfort you to know that the rest of the fifth circuit disagreed, Sending me along was the compromise that got you the job, Then send a person, Why send a sim? Hafner knows I hate anything to do with technology, -Really? -No offense intended, Why should I be offended? -Simply because you hate me for what I am! -Hey, ,, Because you don't want to give me even the smallest chance to show you what I can do, I'm sorry, okay, No, let me apologies, I'm sorry, Judge, that my existence gives you a headache, Oh, thank you, Judge Hafner! (INDISTINCT TALKING) (EXHALING) All rise for the Honorable Judge Jerome Finch, First territorial court of Dedalus is now in session, Please be seated, (INDISTINCT MURMURING) (CLEARING THROAT) For future reference, my name is Joshua Finch, -What did I say? -Jerome, -Sorry, -It's okay, All rise for the Honorable Judge Joshua Finch! Please be seated, Your honor, I am Kra'dok, attorney for the defense, Before we begin this I might tell you, I cannot plead my client, -Why not? -Well, I don't speak Medusan, Why am I only hearing about this now? Up until this morning I was doing property line disputes and immigration claims, (SIGHING) Fine, Bailiff, we need a translator, (GRUNTING) Anybody here speak Medusan? (INDISTINCT MURMURING) (SPEAKING MEDUSAN) It looks like you're not gonna get a plea your honor, The Medusan refuses to participate, Your honor, the prosecution moves for a summary judgment, If you want a summary judgment without evidence, my ruling will be, "Not guilty, case dismissed," You still want it? Motion withdrawn, I'm gonna enter a plea of not guilty on your behalf, Does he understand? (SPEAKING MEDUSAN) Excuse me, do you want me to apprise you of your small procedural errors as they happen or just save them up and tell you at the end of the day? At the end of the day, (SPEAKING MEDUSAN) He says do as you wish, I'll take that as a yes, Court is adjourned until trial, MIRANDA: I'm sorry to inconvenience you, Judge Finch, It's okay, There isn't an available room in town, I'm sure one will open up soon, Oh, thank you for the pillow, I'm sure we can make do for a couple of days, I thought you were masterful in court today, Well, thank you, Miranda, In fact your few mistakes were hardly worth noting, -Mistakes? -The small procedural errors, Oh, yeah! I've noted them and left a copy on your desk, Would you like to review them? No, actually, I think I'm gonna get some sleep, (GRUNTING) Good night, Good night, (EXHALING) -You want a blanket? -No, -Glass of water? -No thanks, -Okay, then, Well, see you in the morning, -First thing, Well, sweet dreams, (SIGHING) Are you gonna go to sleep? I don't sleep much, What does that mean exactly? Well, it varies each night depending on the day's activities, What are we looking at tonight, you think? 48 minutes, Probably just before dawn, Great! Thank you, Judge Hafner! Lavinia told us they attacked along the eastern border area, So that's where I took the posse, We figured we still had a chance to get our people back alive given what we'd heard about the Medusans, -You mean their torture methods? -Yes, As slow as possible, Objection, Hearsay, Sustained, Did you personally observe the Medusans engaged in torture? Yes, We tracked the Medusans, caught up with them just across the territorial border, I saw Matt strung up tied to some sort of wooden rack, Medusans burnt him alive, We charged but it was too late, Then more of them showed, we had to pull back but we go that one there, -No further questions, ,, -You should have let me finish it the other night, Judge, You should have let me string him up, Enough, Mr, Armstrong, (GRUNTING) (GRUNTING) (GRUNTING) It's a Narcopta, They have a daily two hour hibernation, That's lunch, (GRUNTING) Your trial's not very popular with some of the locals, They'd just as soon strung the Medusan and gotten it over with, Well, that's another Christmas card I won't be getting, Well, ,, Watch those two over there, The one on the left is about to steal from his neighbor, -Ah! -FINCH: Well, why don't you arrest him? Cos the neighbor stole from him first, You learn soon enough, my friend, Soon enough, (SPEAKING MEDUSAN) The damn thing won't swear on the Bible, Your honor, uh, the book has no meaning for them, He doesn't respect our rituals, Well, why should he show us any respect? How much respect are we showing him? Get him out of that cage, -(INDISTINCT MUTTERING) -Are you sure? Sir, he's very dangerous, And we don't have force field barriers here like they do on Earth, You're supposed to be the defense attorney, Mr, Kra'dok, Yes, but I'm the one who's gonna be sitting next to him, Bring a chair forward, please, Judge, procedure in homicide trials requires the use of a protective barrier between the accused and the court, The defendant is shackled and we have two armed guards, True, but procedure clearly, ,, Bailiff, please remove the defendant from the cage and seat him at the defense table, We can go over it later, Do you recognize the woman in the gallery? (SPEAKING MEDUSAN) (SPEAKING MEDUSAN) Yes, it was the leader, What happened to the other humans? (SPEAKING MEDUSAN) Uh, they were killed and, ,, Your honor, the word doesn't translate, Was it as Mr, Armstrong described? (SPEAKING MEDUSAN) Yes, Were you present when they were killed? (QUINCE SPEAKING MEDUSAN) Yes, Did you kill anyone yourself? (SPEAKING MEDUSAN) Yes, One of them was for me, Son of a bitch! You killed them! You killed them all, Order! (FAINT MUSIC PLAYING) -(THRASHING) -(CREATURE SCREECHING) (INDISTINCT TALKING) MIRANDA: Judge, he came by after court to see you about the case, FINCH: What would he have known about the case? Straight for the throat, Classic Medusan attack, They have a habit of targeting anyone who collaborates with humans, But how did a Medusan get into town without being spotted? They're like roaches, They can slither under the door, These wounds were not made by a Medusan, I wasn't aware your assistant was an expert, Taught her everything I know, The Medusans slash with their claws, These wounds suggest a stabbing motion, As if someone used a Medusan claw as a knife, Medusan severed claws are not the kind of thing that people keep lying around their house, I know someone who does, Quince, Sergeant, I want you to place General Quince under arrest, Sergeant, stand your ground, -Quince, I am ordering, ,, -Governor! -What are the charges? -Murder, Murder who? -The Hmong, -FINCH: We found the murder weapon in your office, Enough talk, Arrest him, These men answer to me, They also answer to the military high command on Earth, Now, if they disobey a judge's order they will be court marshaled, Wanna mortgage their futures just to save yourself? Sergeant, do your duty, (BEEPING) AUTOMATED VOICE: You have one new message, I got married, Josh, I know it's not what you wanted to hear, But I know it's the right thing, Deep down you do too, Yeah, I'll always love you, But we want different things, Sometimes love isn't enough, I'm sorry, I can't talk anymore, (MUSIC PLAYING FROM STREET) FINCH: It's open, Hello, Hey! Your blood alcohol level is, 21, Is that all? AUTOMATED VOICE: Replaying same message, EILEEN: I got married, Josh, -Judge Finch? -I know it's not what you wanted to hear, FINCH: Ah! -I know it's, ,, Â -Are you okay? Deep down you do too, I'll always love you, But we want different things, Sometimes love isn't enough, I'm sorry, I can't talk anymore, (PEOPLE TALKING INDISTINCTLY) (GRUNTING) Oh! Jesus! (GASPS) Oh! Good morning, -What are you doing in here? -You were distracted, You needed to be comforted so that you could focus on the case and operate at maximum efficiency, Comforted? What the hell are you talking about? (DOOR KNOCKING) Uh, ,,just a minute, Stay right there, -Yes? -I'm sorry to disturb you, Judge, But I thought you might want to know, ,, They're organizing another party, Why? But, ,, You mean, nobody told you? Well, there's been the jailbreak, The Medusans broke their own kind out and put two of ours in hospital, -What about Quince? -Quince's is gone, I believe the Medusans took him with them, -And they left a Tritium brick with Medusan writing, ,, -Wait there, Get dressed, MIRANDA: It's in Medusan, "Khartouf Point alone," When'd you learn to speak Medusan? I don't speak it, I can read it, My larynx has difficulty reproducing their vowels, -It's actually, ,, -Medusan wants to meet, Probably in his own territory, Tritium fuel is our main export, Difficult as hell to mine but a cash cow, I've never seen a brick like this, though, What's this colored area? Medusan territory, They are sitting on a pile of it, The Medusan Tritium area is run mostly along the border, Why do you think it took so long to carve out a peace treaty? The border was at the heart of it, There it is, Khartouf Point, Let's go, The note said alone, That's the way it's gonna be, The Medusans took me prisoner when they busted their priest out of jail, Priest? Mmm-hmm, They're a lot more intelligent than we thought, It turns out your defendant speaks pretty good English, I'd put that peacemaker away if I were you, Why? Because they'll cut you in half if you don't, (MEDUSANS GROWLING) (GRUNTING) (SPEAKING MEDUSAN) (GRUNTING) (GRUNTING) Well, look on the bright side, They could have killed us in the forest, We would have been better off, They like to torture their victims slowly, There, That one, Our defendant, It's just like Armstrong said, But why are they torturing the dead Medusan? Birth and death, The sacred circle, This ritual honors the dead, The burial rite, Your human comrades died in our attack, We took their bodies here to honor them as we would our own, But why did you kill the humans? FINCH: Tritium bricks, (INFANT WHIMPERING) (GRUNTING) (SQUEALING) Court is now in session, How can you expect to conduct a trial without a defendant? -(GROWLING) -(INDISTINCT TALKING) -Shoot, ,, Shoot him! -No, Stand down, Sergeant, We'll get a testimony first, Don't listen to Quince, He's been arrested for murder, General Quince is free on bond pending trail, What is this? It's called trying a case on the evidence, Mr, Kra'dok, call your witness, The humans came to our sacred place several times, We did not catch them until the last time, And you murdered them, You will be silent, Mr, Armstrong, Damn it, Judge, That thing killed my brother and you're treating it like, ,, A defendant, Jake, Now, sit down and shut up before I have you tossed in the street, (INDISTINCT MUTTERING) Continue, Mr, Kra'dok, What happened this last time when you caught them? We attacked them, Three of them died, Why did you kill them? They stole the Tritium bricks from our village, You killed them because of the bricks? MEDUSAN: The Tritium bricks are for our children, Without the energy that they provide our children cannot be born, The ore must be right and each brick carefully processed, When we had found that so many bricks had been stolen, hundreds of them, ,, There was not enough time to make more before many of our unborn children were dying, -(INDISTINCT MURMURING) -So, you attacked the humans to save your children, I've heard enough of this, Sit down, Governor, We don't have to listen to a murderer, If you wanna leave, leave! But I believe Mr, Kra'dok is gonna call your daughter up to the witness stand, Isn't that right, Mr, Kra'dok? Nobody is going anywhere until his honor says so, You can do whatever you like, Mr, Oleaga, after the trial, Now, sit down, LAVINIA: Everything that thing said is a lie, We were making maps, It attacked us for no reason, You mean, you never visited the Medusan camp? I would never set foot in the forbidden zone, And another thing, Hundreds of those bricks would weigh thousands of pounds, Do I look like I could carry that? Do you, uh, recognize this? -No, -Hmm! It has your name on it, The judge found it in the Medusan camp, Do you recognize this? I'm not sure, It's a Tritium extraction device, And was found in your bag, Do you remember it now? Objection! Witness is not on trial, I wasn't accusing her of a crime, I'm just establishing mitigating circumstances in the case against my client, your honor, -I'll allow it, -KRA'DOK: Tritium is very light, A thousand pounds of ore would only produce a hundred pounds of Tritium, Quite easy for four people to carry, Do you still deny that you were stealing Tritium from the Medusans? Even if we were it wouldn't give it the right to attack us like that, KRA'DOK: But you heard in his testimony today, The Medusan hatchlings need Tritium to survive, Well, that's what they said, They might just be saying that to try to get away with murder, Oh! So you still think that my client was trying to kill you that day? I know it was, Then why didn't he? -I was lucky, -Oh, I'll say! A physically superior species, ,, It takes out three combat veterans with post rifles! In his own environment he is unstoppable, Deadly! And yet he can't track down a single unarmed woman ten feet away? Why? Maybe it had its fill of blood, Or maybe it only killed to stop you from taking the Tritium it needed to save its children, Once it had your knapsacks, it let you go, Now, didn't he? Didn't he? All rise for the honorable Judge Jerome, ,, (DOOR CLOSING) Joshua Finch, Please be seated, FINCH: The defendant has confessed to killing three men, The law here is clear, The killings only occurred when the defendant was resisting a felony, The de facto murder of his tribe's offspring, Under the law such resistance is justifiable homicide, It is another function of the law to prevent future crime, I believe this crime started with ignorance, So to prevent future incidents I hereby order the defendant to serve five years as a Medusan liaison to the Dedalus colony, This is outrageous, These things aren't human, They're subhuman savages, Who cares about their children? (GAVEL HITTING) As for Lavinia Oleaga, she's to be held for arraignment on the charges of border violation and theft, Finch, you'll never get away with this, Court is adjourned, So, what now? Face arraignment hearing next week on a murder charge, Why would I wanna kill the Hmong? It's an obvious frame, So if it is, it'll come out in court, You think I did it? MIRANDA: It would be against regulations for Judge Finch to comment on that pre-hearing, She's right, But off the record, I wouldn't have a drink with a murderer if I was dying of thirst and it was the last beer in the galaxy, Buy you a beer? Thought you'd never ask, Hey, wait a minute! I know what you just did, Judge Finch? CONTROL VOICE: Only by cutting through the darkness of ignorance and prejudice