"flash gordon zarkov." "i'm sorry." "if the verden need water, then join me." "we are not yet that thirsty." "hello, baring." "baylin." "you understand nothing of politics." "i'm not stupid, and i want to be useful to you." "flash gordon's father brought this trouble to us." "what is this thing?" "it is our water machine." "your father built it." "where are you going?" "to bend my knee before that tyrant, ming." "it would be an honor to request the bond of your daughter." "the rift has collapsed." "we're stuck on mongo." "i'm hungry." "how can you be hungry?" "you just packed away a ton of grain cakes." "covered with alika sap and nut cream." "i have never seen anything like it." "that was hours ago!" "uh, no, that was an hour ago." "we just left the verden." "well, what can i say?" "fixing their water machine, and saving an entire culture from extinction gives me an appetite." "this is true." "my people are forever in your debt." "i don't suppose there's some kind of a plaque or something?" "you know, like a certificate?" ""employee of the month" kind of thing?" "a little something i could hang in my lab back home?" "paging dr. zarkov-- there is no way back home." "our original rift's collapsed, remember?" "okay, okay, just asking." "i know we have to get to baring and warn him not to submit to ming, but i must say, i do not share your enthusiasm for the task ahead." "we can't just hang out on mongo and wait for ming to open up another rift." "i am just pointing out that it is very dangerous." "she makes a good point." "i mean, as much as i'm dying to get a look at the rift generator, i'd rather not die to get a look at it." "hey, come on, guys!" "come on, positive thinking!" "happy thoughts." "all we have to do is sneak in to nascent city, and break into ming's citadel, find the rift generator, figure out how to work it, open a rift, and then jump through to earth." "what do you think?" "i think we're dead." "i think you should hold tight to those happy thoughts." "i have a feeling you will be needing them." "okay, fine." "you know what we used to do in the boy scouts to make the hikes pass by a little quicker?" "we used to sing." "i'm tone deaf." "fine, then we'll whistle." "that will only attract the deviates." "wow, a tough crowd." "so, am i the only one who's hungry?" "i feel a change in the wind, rankol." "the bonding of your daughter and baring?" "it's a good omen." "i'm sure of it." "then why summon the monks for a reading?" "it never hurts to have a second opinion." "ah." "finally." "it has bitten." "what was the prophecy?" "the celetroph only delivers the truth, so i do not understand... speak!" "it is foretold that the reign of the benevolent father draws to a close." "what?" "a great warrior unites the cantons." "a new order arises." "the prophecy lies." "the venom of the celetroph grants the victim the gift of future sight." "they only speak the truth of what they see." "i don't believe it." "this great warrior... when will he come?" "he is already here." "somehow, it just doesn't have quite the same ring." "do you smell that?" "oh, god, it smells like something died... last month." "what?" "oh, okay, yeah, i get it." "i get it." "i'm not gonna win mongo idol, all right?" "oh, what is that horrific stench?" "our entry into nascent city." "=ææàãðü×öä"×é=- ·­òë£ºfc911 ¾¯²ì zhm19861217 ð£¶ô£º¾æäò·¹´ü ê±¼äöá£ºdingding" "whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" "hey!" "hey. easy." "easy." "nobody needs to die today." "baylin!" "vorak!" "how did you find me?" "you are the only one on mongo with a taste for flamed mange-cat." "such a delectable creature." "it's a shame the stink sack puts most people off." "stink sack." "the animal's only defense." "luckily for vorak, he has no sense of smell." "we should all be so lucky." "these are my friends, flash, zarkov." "may i tempt you?" "oh, we would love to, but, uh... the eyes are a true delicacy." "the eyes?" "fresh from the fire... still warm and runny on the inside." "thought you said you were hungry?" "lost my appetite." "thank you, vorak." "we are honored by your hospitality." "yes, yes. absolutely." "why are we here?" "we must get into nascent city." "in order to do that, we need vorak's help." "no-tribs?" "well, you know my price." "but i have no water credits." "sorry, but the best quality does not come cheap." "i've got $1.73 and a warm thin mint." "i'll take the thin mint." "vorak, have you forgotten last cycle, when you were cornered by a pack of rabid deviates?" "i know, i know." "you saved my life." "she was magnificent." "i have never seen so much blood." "he exaggerates." "well?" "i was always a fool for the ladies." "okay, what do you think?" "uh, you look, um... you know, interesting. yeah." "i am not sure about this." "no, no, it's good." "no, i like it." "blue is your color." "really." "i can assure you, all these uniforms are completely authentic, and were acquired at great expense... or in some cases, death." "well, we all look the part, but what about the weird ear-scanning- whirlie-deal?" "my new attribution key." "to get past the sentry scans." "unfortunately, the forgeries degrade quickly, so don't daily." "next?" "do you think this makes me look fat?" "okay, hit me." "ow." "hey, and careful with this coat, huh?" "i'm coming back for it." "this is unbelievable." "i have never been so humiliated." "how dare you?" "who do you think you're speaking to?" "i am not one of your servants." "i am your father." "you're hurting me." "you don't have to love me." "you don't even have to like me, but you will respect me." "is that clear?" "is it?" "yes, father." "now... you were saying?" "he's a verden." "he lives in the woods." "he drinks sap." "enough!" "your bonding with baring is necessary, for all our sakes." "i don't expect you to understand, and perhaps it's my fault for shielding you all these years." "then tell me now." "i am an adult." "politics is power, aura." "and i am consolidating my power base." "but i'm your daughter." "and as such, you have certain responsibilities." "surely, this doesn't come as a surprise?" "so i must spend the rest of my life with a man not of my own choosing?" "you are very fortunate." "you lead a life of high privilege, but that privilege comes at a price... and sometimes, we must make personal sacrifices." "so you have chosen to sacrifice me." "why can't i go first?" "i am the only one of us who has seen the rift generator." "i will take zarkov and go on ahead." "he is the scientist, he will operate the machine." "you stay back and watch out for patriots." "you really think you can operate a sophisticated piece of mongo technology?" "no." "why do i even bother?" "hi." "you three!" "halt!" "so close." "don't forget your extra water credits." "courtesy of the benevolent father, in honor of the upcoming celebration." "celebration?" "the bonding of his daughter, aura, to baring of the verden." "bonding?" "aura... baring." "norah." "i hope this isn't a bad time." "it's fine." "i was just catching up on some emails." "darn things multiply like rabbits." "thank you." "but you didn't come here to talk about my email." "steven's been gone for two days now." "it's not like my son to shirk his responsibility." "don't worry." "i'm sure everything's all right." "i don't mean to pry, but that story he said the two of you are working on, oh, that." "still no progress." "moving slowly." "official channels." "a series of dead-ends." "you know how these things are." "no, actually, i don't." "13 years ago, when steven's father died in that fire," "nobody would tell me anything." "men came in the middle of the night and took it all away." "all of his files, his photographs, his research... personal items-- things they had no right to take." "let me make us some tea." "i don't want any tea!" "i want you to tell me that you two are not in over your heads." "i want you to tell me my son is safe." "the benevolent father welcomes all to nascent city to celebrate the union of my daughter, aura, to baring of the verden." "primitive neoclassical with industrial overtones." "kind of like stalin had a home makeover." "is that ming?" "mm-hmm." "i knew baring was coming to negotiate, but i never thought... why would he agree to marry aura?" "to save his people, a great leader must sacrifice anything, even himself." "back with the verden, you two were off together for quite a while." "anything you want to tell me about?" "no." "so you and the big guy aren't, like... you know." "no!" "i'm just asking." "hans zarkov-- the one everybody thought was nuts-- is here in nascent city!" "what earth scientist wouldn't give his right arm to be me now, huh?" "okay, do not lose our focus." "we're not home yet." "all right, baylin-- baring!" "i must tell him about the water machine." "come on." "the hologram appears to be composed of some kind of a non-lineal optical material." "i must examine it further." "okay, you can stay, but don't move, and don't attract any attention." "i'm not a child." "ac supreme." "baylin." "ming will have your head." "what are you doing?" "what are you doing?" "bonding to aura?" "i did it for the verden." "but you do not have to." "we fixed the water machine." "they called off the lottery." "i thank you for that." "but what about the next time?" "we were wrong to become dependent on a piece of machinery." "i was wrong." "but this alliance with ming... will ensure the protection of my people, with or without the water machine." "you actually believe ming has the verden's best interests at heart?" "of course not." "he uses me for his own ends." "only if you let him." "...of the verden-- of the--of the verden." "may peace-- when aura and i are bonded, i will no longer bow before ming." "i will sit by his side, and it is from that position that i can best protect my people." "please try to understand." "now, we must get you out of here before-- ...all to nascent city of the verden all to nascent city of the verden..." "infidel!" "what have you done?" "please listen!" "you're making a big mistake!" "you look like a nice man." "i wasn't defiling the benevolent father!" "i just wanted to check the molecular refraction of the hologram under the force of external stimulae!" "what i mean is, i stuck my finger in the projector!" "but strictly in the name of science!" "bad day. bad day. bad day." "what is it, rankol?" "a slight disturbance in the mall." "indeed?" "someone dressed as a reconciliation officer was caught trying to destroy your projection." "have security run the usual checks." "they're running his trib-key through the data stacks now." "i suspect the treasoner may be a verden." "i wouldn't be surprised." "as news of the bonding ceremony spreads, it's bound to ignite the passionates." "and not only amongst the verden." "which is why this union must proceed on schedule." "with baring and the verden under my thumb, the rest of the cantons will soon follow, and my reign will be supreme." "invincible." "prophecy be damned." "who?" "me?" "haven't seen you before." "i shouldn't even be here now." "oh, don't worry." "you get used to it." "i don't want to get used to it." "like you have a choice." "no, see, you don't understand sure, i do." "you're innocent, right?" "exactly." "so am i." "i told them those counterfeit water credits jumped right into my pockets all by themselves." "i wonder why they don't believe me, huh?" "aw, come on, don't go!" "it's nice to have a neighbor again, especially one that's not a deviate." "thanks." "i think." "i'm krebb." "what's your name?" "zarkov." "zarkov?" "no!" "yes." "not dr. hans zarkov, the famous scientist from earth?" "it is as we feared." "they have taken him to the prison." "okay, let's go get him." "it is heavily fortified." "we would have to disable the guards, bypass several levels of security codes in order to access the underground cells, then find your friend, release him-- then do the whole thing in reverse." "it shouldn't be so hard." "there may be another way, but in order for it to work, we will need you to commit one small act of treason." "how do you know my name?" "from larry." "from larry?" "yeah." "lawrence." "dr. gordon?" "he was standing right there where you are now." "yeah." "you're telling me that dr. gordon was in prison in this very cell?" "yes!" "not long ago." "this is a trick." "check under your bed." "he's under the bed?" "the intermediate-coupling calculation of atomic spectra in hot plasma!" "i recognize the formula extensions." "oh, my god, dr. gordon was here!" "where is he now?" "silence!" "no talking from the prisoners!" "ah!" "i'll be quiet!" "no talking. not from me." "here." "these should be sufficient." "very well." "i am ready." "barin, you don't have to do this." "you and your friend saved my people." "i am honor-bound to help you." "if we fail, do not attempt to interfere." "ming must never link you to us." "do not worry about me." "i'll take whatever actions i deem necessary." "you are still as stubborn as ever." "guys, i hate to break this up, but it's time to die." "killed by assassins!" "hurry!" "they're escaping!" "that way!" "go!" "go!" "go!" "who ever heard of breaking in to prison?" "the guards must still be above ground, but we must proceed with caution." "don't have to tell me." "silence i cann't who goes there?" "thanks for nothing!" "do you have a men's room?" "state your business." "would you believe that i'm self-employed?" "and they say free enterprise is dead." "you are welcome." "oh. it's you." "aura." "is it that time already?" "have you memorized your bonding vows in preparation for the ceremony?" "i've been busy." "do not think that i am any more eager for this arrangement than you are." "but... i intend to present a picture of peace and unity, as an example to all." "why do you care?" "because i am a man of honor, i have given my word to your father, and because the future of my people is at stake." "well, that's your problem, not mine." "you are wrong." "as my intended bondmate, my concerns are now your concerns." "so... i, baring of verden, pledge my heart and soul to this union." "and i, aura, pledge that i would rather die than bond to you." "as the cycles of the seasons pass, my love for you will blossom and-- if you think you're going to lay a single hand on me, you are sadly mistaken." "and if you think that i would want to, you're as stupid as you are childish!" "i promise to whine and throw tantrums and scream and scream and scream!" "every day!" "then with my last dying breath, i will break you!" "not before i make your life a living hell!" "and, now, you may kiss my-- aura!" "enough!" "brat." "shoot me." "i think that went rather well." "it happened again?" "where were my patriots?" "they arrived when the alarm was raised." "the mall was cleared and order was restored." "order?" "you call this order?" "this is anarchy." "lock down the city." "no one gets in or out until i say so." "as you wish." "one other thing." "yes?" "who raised the alarm?" "barin." "indeed." "is this one of your dead-ends?" "nick's backlogged at the garage, so i was helping him file some paperwork and i found this." "i think flash found that in a box of his father's things." "really?" "because i should know what's in that box." "i've been through it a hundred times." "the chewed-up pencil stub, the broken comb, the french franc from our trip to paris." "i know everything in that box by heart, and this was not there." "i'm sorry this is upsetting you." "well, what did you expect would happen?" "all we're trying to do is get answers, and the deeper we dig, all we find is more questions." "what kind of questions?" "like what actually happened to dr. gordon?" "did he really die in a fire 13 years ago?" "and if he did, why was no body ever discovered?" "you don't know what it's like to lose a husband prematurely." "and, god willing, you never will." "to have your whole life swept out from under you." "don't you think i had questions?" "don't you think i wanted the truth?" "i'm sure you did." "but a single mother, a housewife-- who pays her any attention?" "who listens to her rave on about government conspiracies and cover-ups?" "i'm sorry." "yeah." "and then, one day, the nice men in expensive suits come by the house, with sympathy and flowers, and an envelope containing a big check." "more than enough to see us through until i could get a job." "all i had to do was stop asking questions." ""compensation," they called it." "i'm ashamed to say i took the money." "you did what you thought was right." "no." "no, not at all." "you want the truth?" "i sold out." "norah, don't do this to yourself." "i was scared." "not for me." "i didn't want anything to happen to steven." "i sold out so that he could have a life." "and now he's out there, trying to find the answers to my questions?" "don't you understand?" "this was supposed to be my fight." "not his." "zarkov!" "open it, open it." "zarkov!" "wait, is he-- merely unconscious." "i think i prefer him this way." "lift up your side." "i'm trying!" "he's not exactly aerodynamic." "he seems to be waking up." "no!" "please, no!" "poor guy, what did they do to him?" "no, mommy!" "i don't want to go to school today!" "wake up." "what?" "where?" "what?" "we're busting you out." "can you walk?" "wait!" "what now?" "krebb. krebb!" "oh, great, he's delirious." "no!" "the guy in the cell across from me--krebb." "that's fascinating." "you can tell us all-- no!" "he knew your father!" "what?" "he was in my cell." "i saw some formula he'd scratched on the wall." "when was this?" "where's dad now?" "i don't know." "we must keep moving." "no, i'm going back." "we cannot just leave you behind!" "nobody's leaving anybody behind, all right?" "you take zarkov and you get the rift generator working." "no, i don't-- i don't know if i-- i'm not going anywhere until i talk to this guy." "just make sure when i come running, you've got a rift open." "well, well... like father, like son." "come on." "beep." "flash should be here by now." "i hope he did not get lost." "this is incredible!" "i've never seen anything like this." "that's not surprising, since you are from another planet." "this is the rift generator." "wow... wow!" "wow." "can you activate it?" "i don't know." "uh... this one looks important." "wrong button!" "wrong!" "turn it off!" "i can't!" "step away from the controls!" "get it working!" "uh, if these buttons control the transduction condensers, assuming we're even talking the same paradigm, then these probably invert the plasma field diopters." "this is incredible!" "this is exactly what dr. gordon was trying to work on-- quickly!" "i think it's working!" "my god!" "it's working!" "i did it!" "where's flash?" "that rift won't stay open for long." "we must go not without flash!" "he has a rift blaster." "he will find the rift and follow." "if we stay, they will capture us all." "we can't just leave him behind!" "we are outnumbered and my i.p. is empty." "are you ready?" "no!" "good." "now!" "welcome home." "what the hell did you do to my father?" "some questions have no easy answers." "you know i'm never going to stop looking for him, right?" "unfortunate, but true, i fear." "since you're so eager to catch up on old times... i thought this would be an appropriate place to start." "so... you're flash gordon?" "i've heard a lot about you." "you even look like him." "especially around the eyes." "you're krebb?" "when's the last time you saw my father?" "oh, hard to say." "time passes kind of differently around this place." "please, it's very important." "oh, less than a cycle, more than a day." "you know, he talked a lot about you-- all the time." "was he... was he okay?" "i mean, did they-- did they hurt him?" "aw, he got knocked around a bit in the beginning, like we all did, but he didn't care." "he was a fighter." "a fighter?" "that guy." "he even tried to destroy ming, which is not easy, believe me." "my father?" "yeah." "he was forced to build a machine." "the rift generator." "yeah." "said he was only doing it to get back home." "he was going to jump through, leaving everything set to blow up behind him." "so what happened?" "same thing that always happens here." "ming." "ming." "so here he was, and now here you are." "good!" "am i under arrest?" "no, no, not at all." "the patriots are merely for your own protection." "i was not aware i needed any." "what with radicals running around, trying to disrupt the celebrations, i thought it best to be prudent." "i can assure you, i'm in no danger." "can we be so sure?" "you were present in the mall during both attacks." "have the infidels been caught?" "sadly, no." "i was hoping you might be able to help me with that." "i do not understand." "well, you raised the alarm." "perhaps you saw something or someone suspicious?" "it all happened so quickly." "it was difficult to see anything." "what a pity." "if you do happen to recall something... i will inform you immediately." "i'd be most grateful." "in times like this, it's difficult to know who i can trust." "well, what now?" "we can't just wait around here." "we cannot go back to mongo." "we have no rift blaster." "oh. hey." "hey, sight for sore eyes." "i bet you've got a story to tell." "where's flash?" "your father was a brave man." "so i'm learning." "even after everything he went through, he was only scared of one thing." "yeah?" "and what's that?" "never seeing his family again." "well, i'm going to fix that as soon as i get out of here." "what do you mean?" "i'm going to tear this planet apart until i find him." "oh. oh... you... you don't know, do you?" "know what?" "your father was executed for treason." "no." "no!" "no, you're lying." "i'm sorry." "i'm sorry." "no. well, did you-- what-- did you actually see it?" "did you see it yourself?" "huh rankol makes us watch every prisoner execution." "says it promotes obedience." "no. no... you're lying." "you're wrong, okay?" "you're wrong!" "i'm sorry." "no." "you bastards!" "where are you taking him?" "you'll see soon enough." "his execution is scheduled immediately." "no." "pardon me for disturbing you." "if it's another bonding gift, it can be put on the pile with the rest of them." "i was in the kitchen talking to one of the girls." "she knows a patriot soldier-- well, she more than knows him, if you know what i'm saying, and this patriot had just come off work from the prison-- the point!" "get to the point!" "i think your earth man is in prison." "flash gordon?" "he's here?" "get this slime off of me!" "so this is it, huh?" "this is how it all ends?" "underground, a million miles away from home." "is this where you took my father, too?" "like father, like son." "well, i'll tell you, that freak was right about that." "if there's one thing my father taught me, it was to never give up." "your father was right." "never give up." "flash!" "you wanted to see me?" "you've been a naughty boy." "i'm afraid you'll have to be a bit more specific." "my days are so full." "keeping flash gordon all to yourself." "it appears you've been misinformed." "so, you're telling me you're not holding flash gordon prisoner?" "that is correct." "but i have a witness." "oh, really?" "who?" "i would be most interested to talk to him... or her." "never mind." "if flash gordon had been in nascent city today, it would have been my duty to report it immediately." "my point exactly." "take my advice, aura, and don't fatigue yourself listening to malicious gossip and rumors." "no doubt, the recent stressful events have everyone's nerves on edge." "it seems... nobody is really themselves today." "steven!" "i was so worried... is everything all right?" "i know." "i miss him, too." "we'll be okay." "some days are... some days are harder than others." "you're free to go." "can't be that easy." "there's no trick." "no matter what you may think of me, i am a man of my word." "so i can just walk out of here?" "that was our arrangement." "you fulfilled your part of the bargain." "now it is my turn." "why did you make me lie to him about his father's execution?" "maybe you should just concentrate on enjoying your newfound freedom." "and console yourself with the fact that some questions are best left unanswered." "go."