"All main drives and boosters running." "SLAVE:" "All explosive devices have functioned correctly, Master." "The base complex has been totally destroyed." "Thank you, Slave." " I never liked that place anyway." " Especially not once the wine ran out." "You know, I still don't think Zukan told the Federation." " About the wine?" " About the location of the base." "Why not?" "Wouldn't you expect someone who'd betray his own daughter to betray everything else?" "And if he didn't, one of the others will, sooner or later." "Sooner, definitely." "Your anti-Federation alliance wasn't worth spit without Zukan." " A slight exaggeration." " You think so?" "Nobody is indispensable." "You needed a figurehead." "He was it." "Or am I wrong?" "You are right." "But then figureheads aren't too difficult to come by." "Any idiot can be one." "On your feet, Vila." "This could be your big moment." "Any idiot within reason, that is." "You going to tell us what we've got planned, Avon?" "We know what we've got planned." "Running away is what we've got planned." "A strategic withdrawal is what we've got planned." "There's a difference?" "Oh, yes." "A strategic withdrawal is running away, but with dignity." "So lay in a course and let's get the dignified hell out of here." " That isn't the plan anymore, though, is it, Avon?" " I think we can do better." "Does that mean safer?" "In the end winning is the only safety." "It doesn't mean safer." "I didn't think it would." "So what does it mean?" "I think we can find ourselves another figurehead." "Someone we can use to unify and expand the Rebel Alliance." " Just like that." " More or less." "He is strongly identified with rebels, you see... and very popular with rabbles." "They will follow him and he will fight to the last drop of their blood." "Idealism is a wonderful thing." "All you really need is someone rational to put it to proper use." " Someone like you." " So where do we find this useable idealist?" "According to Orac, he is on a frontier planet called Gauda Prime." "Gauda Prime?" "AVON:" "You know it?" "Yes, I know it." "It's a bad place to be." "No self-respecting idealist would be found dead there." "I imagine that is what he is trying to avoid." "Being found dead anywhere." "Look, are you going to stop playing games and tell us who it is, Avon?" "It's Blake, isn't it?" "You think you've found Blake." "(Twig snapping)" "Whoever you are, I'll share the food." "So long as you stop skulking about out there." "(Twig snapping)" "You're not exactly stealthy, are you?" "I've heard quieter troop transporters." "ARLEN:" "You're looking in the wrong direction." "I know." "But at least you're out in the open now, aren't you?" "If this is a trap you won't live to see it sprung." " Where'd you get that gun?" " I won it in a lottery." " What do you care?" " I don't, so long as it wasn't issued to you." " It's Federation." " That's what I mean." "Do I look like one of theirs?" "I can't really tell anymore." " You hungry?" " Yes." "So am I." " But Servalan told us he was dead." " And you believed her?" "She had no reason to lie." "She doesn't need one." "It comes quite naturally to her." "Like breathing." "The last time you went after Blake it was a trap." "We were lucky to get out." " Cally didn't get out." " And Blake wasn't even there." " Never had been." " Do you take me for a fool?" "Only a fool would go to Gauda Prime without a very good reason." "Orac, what proof do we have that Blake is on Gauda Prime?" "ORAC:" "That is where his trail ends." "What trail?" "Explain." "The chain of cause and effect amounts to a trail, if you can follow it." "I can't even follow you." "Everything has an effect on everything else around it." "It is not easy to trace one line through the pattern of infinity... but in this case, I have." "Blake is on Gauda Prime." "How long have you known?" "Long enough." " Before Zukan." " Oh, yes." "And the answer to your next question is, yes..." "I would have left Blake where he was and said nothing... if things had gone according to plan." "I must try and work that into the conversation when we meet him." " If we meet him." " Still not convinced?" "You tell me what a line through the pattern of infinity is... and I'll tell you whether I'm convinced or not." "You sure they were bounty hunters?" "Well, it's not my irresistible charm that keeps them coming." " How long have they been tracking you?" " Long enough." "You ask a lot of questions." "Try answering one occasionally, maybe I'll stop." "I've got a better idea." "Thanks for the food." "You can keep the Federation gun as payment." " There's no charge." " Arlen pays her debts." "I'll keep the gun." "Give me my gun and get down, quick." " I think there were four of them tracking me." " There were." "And then there was one." "You scum!" "Don't bother calling me names, girl." "Not after the killing you've done." "There's a premium for bringing you back alive, but I'll kill you if I have to." "The price for you dead isn't bad." "I'm not a greedy man." "VILA:" "I can't see Blake doing anything like that." "My interpretation of the data leaves little room for error." "Hunting people for money?" "Not him." "Avon?" "Why ask me?" "DAYNA:" "Because you and Vila know him." "We don't." "Could he be a bounty hunter, do you think?" " Does it matter?" " TARRANT:" "Well, it might." "There's still a price on our heads from the old days." " Not on GP, there isn't." " GP?" "I imagine that is what the locals call Gauda Prime, your home planet." "I grew up there, yes." "But for a home you need a family." "And mine were murdered when the Federation declared Gauda Prime an open planet." "A general suspension of the penal code." " That's right." " DAYNA:" "You mean there's no law at all?" "It's the fast way to get resources exploited." "In this case, mineral resources." "I don't understand." "Neither do I. How does junking the law speed up mining?" "GP was an agricultural world." "The settlers were sent there to grow crops, raise timber." "They were farmers, my family among them." "They were given title to the land." "Then somebody discovered there was more profit under the ground than on top of it." "Only the farmers were in the way and the law was on their side." "Hence the open planet designation." "What, get rid of the law you get rid of the problem?" "You seem to know a lot about it." "Orac is an excellent research tool." "Do you imagine I would take us in blind?" "You've done it before." "What happened to your family?" "When the mining corporations moved in the farmers moved out." " Those that didn't were murdered." " And it wasn't even a crime." "Oh, yes, it was a crime all right." "It just wasn't illegal." " That's what I meant." " I hope so." "The planet must have been a draw for every crook and killer in the quadrant." "A lot of people made a lot of money." "Some even lived to enjoy it." "I imagine they are the ones who now want the planet returned to normal legal status." " You're not serious." " Orac?" "A formal application was laid before the High Council on Earth within the last 30 days." " I could get you the exact date." " SLAVE:" "I don't wish to interrupt, Master..." " Then kindly don't." " I wasn't talking to you." "You were attempting to override a superior system." "Be silent." "...the exact date, if you wish." "But the importance of the application lies not in its exact date, but in its general requirements." "Which are?" "That the citizens of Gauda Prime put their house in order." "Law must be established before the benefits of law can be restored." "It is the day of the bounty hunter." "Thieves, killers, mercenaries... psychopaths are as unwelcome now as the farmers once were." "(Alarm sounding)" " Slave, what's wrong?" " Well, nothing is actually wrong, sir, yet." "Explain the alarm, Slave." "I had to get your attention, Master, and I was forbidden to speak unless spoken to." "All right, you're spoken to." "What is it?" "I beg to advise you, Master, that we are approaching the planet Gauda Prime." "And Scorpio is under attack." "How much further to your flyer?" " I can't walk any further." " Yes, you can." "Why don't you just kill me?" "I told you." "You're worth more alive." "Get up, girl." "Arlen." "My name is Arlen." "That's the name they're paying for." "That's right." "I made them pay for it." "So use it, scum." "Blake." "My name is Roj Blake." " Who the hell are they?" " Who the hell cares?" " They could be making a mistake." " It doesn't seem to affect their aim." "Burnout on drive two." "Overall power loss is 32%." "Alignment on three and four is drifting." "This won't hold it for long." " Have we shaken any of them off?" " Not exactly." "Not remotely." "There's four more coming on 023." "And two more on the reciprocal bearing." "They'll have us in strike range in 25 seconds." "We're running out of options." "Power-dive the atmosphere." "Fake it." "Make it look as though we're out of control." "TARRANT:" "I may not have to fake that." "Do it!" "All right, everybody, stand by for a rather sudden visit to Gauda Prime." " They're not following us down." " They're breaking away, all of them." " They're falling for it." " So are we." " It was a calculated risk." " What's wrong?" "There isn't enough power to get us back out." "Or enough control to land." " You mean we really are going to crash?" " No wonder they were convinced." " There must be something we can do!" " I'll accept suggestions." " How does "abandon ship" grab you?" " Well, it's a neat trick if you can do it." "We can use the teleport." " He's right." " DAYNA:" "What, at this speed?" "Do you want to wait around until we hit something soft?" "Come on, you're wasting time." " Another calculated risk?" " Try and get the sums right this time." " Are you ready?" " No, but do it anyway!" "Good luck." "(High-pitched roaring)" "Orac, on my order, I want you to operate the teleport." "Very well." "But the previous coordinates can only be matched approximately." " Come on, Tarrant." " I can't." "What?" "If I leave the controls for a second, she'll flip over and break up." "Slave, take over the flight controls." "I am most humbly sorry, Master, but I can find no flight controls." "It dropped below his tolerance a couple of minutes ago." "It's only a computer, Avon." "It takes talent to fly a dead ship." "Look, there's nothing you can do." "You're not a good enough pilot." "I can see that." "So get the hell out of here, will you?" "There's no point in both of us dying." " Are you ready, Orac?" " Of course I am." "Then do it." "Goodbye, Tarrant." "(High-pitched roaring)" "Slave, any crash systems still functioning put them online." "Yes, sir." "Am I to understand that you are going to try and ground the ship, sir?" "I'm going to turn it first." "The ground is very close, sir." "I know that!" "(High-pitched roaring)" "(Tarrant screaming)" "All right, Orac, where is the nearest settlement and how do I get to it?" "Checks are finished." "She is who you say she is." "I wouldn't have brought her in if I hadn't made sure." "You're good at this, aren't you?" "I'm still alive." "According to her three of your erstwhile colleagues no longer share that happy condition." "Happy condition?" " She says you killed one of them." " So?" "Was it necessary?" " Yes, Deva, it was necessary." " One bounty hunter killing another?" "It's a competitive profession." "That isn't funny." "Neither was Tando." "Tando?" "Oh, it was Tando you killed." " Does it make a difference?" " Well, he's worse than the people he hunted." " He didn't have a price on him, though, did he?" " It was only a matter of time." "Isn't everything?" "Who's next on the list?" "Thank you." "(Electronic beeping)" " Deva." " It's Klyn." "Yes, Klyn?" "We've been tracking a ship that tried to run the blockade." "Did it get through?" "There was a full squadron of gunships on its tail when it hit the atmosphere." " It didn't, then." " Bits of it, maybe." "What was it?" "Do you know?" "A planet-hopper from the scope reading." "Might have been Wanderer class." "We estimate it must have crashed somewhere in Plantation Five." " Do you want a search patrol sent out?" " No, just log it." "Right." " Chalk up another one to law and order." " Smuggler, do you think?" "Something like that." "Do you know it's getting so you can't make a dishonest living on this planet anymore?" "That is the object of the exercise." "I wonder if those gunships challenged him before they opened fire." "I doubt it." "Um..." "These two." " Plantation Five, did she say?" " Yes." "I might just take a swing out in that direction, see if there's anything left." "You'll be wasting time." "I'll bear that in mind." "Last known locations and probable movements for both subjects," " and official authorization to hunt them." " Thank you." "(Electronic beeping)" "You've been given a temporary appointment as a law enforcement officer." "That central computer doesn't care who it makes respectable, does it?" "It's an inferior model, I'm afraid." " I'll be in touch if I find that ship." " Time really is getting short, you know." "The representative from the Federation High Council could come at any moment." "We can't afford mistakes." "I wasn't intending to make any." "The bounty hunter is on his way up." "Make sure his flyer is fuelled and ready to leave, will you?" "MAN:" "Right." "I'll check it." "Arlen." "Have you anything to say before I decide what to do with you?" " I have information." " What information?" " For my life." " What information?" "It's about the man who brought me here." "What about him?" "(Distress beacon sounding)" " Is there a problem?" " Someone's operating a distress beacon." " It's on the official frequency." " Nothing in it for me, then." "Outlaws tend not to use distress beacons." "I assume you have given some thought to how you will explain your presence here." "Not to mention my impersonation of an official distress beacon." "Just keep sending, Orac." "I don't particularly want to spend the night out here." "You may have to." "There is very little daylight left." "And search parties are unlikely to operate in this terrain at night." "Stick to the distress beacon, Orac." "When I want your impersonation of a pain, I will let you know." "Oh, charming." " Really charming." " Oh, stop moaning, Vila." "It's better than spending a night in the open." "Are you serious?" "The state the roof's in it's the same as spending a night in the open." "Well, if you'd prefer the trees, feel free to go." "Don't let us stop you." "I'd prefer a city, but I'd accept a town." "In fact, I'd settle for some indication we weren't the only people left alive in this miserable tree sanctuary." "Look, why don't you go and collect some firewood?" "Because it's dark out there." " Surely you're not afraid of the dark?" " Only when it's unilluminated." " What's that?" " All right, Vila, you've made your point." "No, listen." "(High-pitched whining)" " What is it?" " Flyer, coming fast." " Flyer, as in transport?" " As in transport." " Let's get out there and attract their attention." " Wait a minute, Vila." "That's the sound of civilisation." " Not necessarily." " It's got to be better than this!" "I wouldn't bet my life on it!" "(High-pitched whining fading)" " They might have been friendly." " They might have come to apologise... for shooting down Scorpio, but it doesn't seem likely, does it?" "All right." "So who do you think they were, Soolin?" "I've no idea, Vila." "But one thing I do know, if you want to survive on this planet you have to assume that everyone is out to get you." "I always assume that wherever I go." "The difference is on Gauda Prime you'll be right." "Sir?" "Are you still not awake, sir?" "I would be most grateful if you could try to stir yourself and listen to my report." "My emergency power cells are virtually exhausted, I'm afraid." "There is a flying vehicle approaching, sir." "I'm sorry, but I will have to close down now." "Crash damage and power loss make it impossible for me to continue." "May I express the humble hope that the same is not true" "for you, Tarrant." "(High-pitched whining)" "BLAKE:" "Lie still." "Who's that?" "Let them think you're dead." "Plasma ammunition is scarce." "You're lucky that you weren't hit." "They won't want to waste any more." " Who are they?" " Gunrunners." "Gunrunners?" " Why would gunrunners be shooting at me?" " They're not." "They're shooting at me." "(High-pitched whining)" "(Explosion)" "AVON:" "I wouldn't do that, if I were you." "What happened?" "Avon?" "The fire was stupid." "Putting Vila on guard was suicidal." "What's the matter?" "Is staying alive too complicated for you?" "It's beginning to look that way." "How did you get here?" "I teleported and I walked, just like you did." "Is he dead?" "No more than usual." "He'll recover." " What about them?" " They're dead all right." "What hit me?" "Don't worry, Vila, they went for your least vulnerable spot." " Oh, my head." " Exactly." "So, who are they?" "Bounty hunters." "I did warn you there were a lot of them about." "You didn't say the woods were full of them." "Do you know how they found us?" "They have heat tracers in their flyer." "At night the equipment is sensitive enough to pick up normal body heat within a radius of two miles." "You can imagine what they made of that." "Their inboard computer almost rejected the data as too gross to be correct." "Did you find out what they were doing in this area, Orac?" "They came to investigate my distress signals, naturally." "Naturally." "You wouldn't have set us up, by any chance, would you, Avon?" "Now that is an unattractive idea." "I really could be quite annoyed, if I thought we'd been the bait in a trap you'd laid for them, Avon." "Where's Tarrant?" "I had no idea it was you." "And it shouldn't have been." "As a matter of interest, you've been walking in the wrong direction if you want to get out of this forest." "I asked where Tarrant was." "Still, that's no longer a problem." "We just inherited a flyer." "Avon, if you're here and Orac's here, how did Tarrant get off the ship?" "(Tarrant coughing)" "You feeling better?" "A little." "Whose ship is this?" "Why?" "You thinking of making an offer for it?" " Want to tell me your name, then?" " Not particularly." "I did just save your life." "You just saved your life." "It was you they wanted, if you remember." "Actually, it was these they wanted." "They had some quaint idea I was going to pay for a consignment of arms in advance." "I had some quaint idea they were trying to cheat me." "Yes, well, it's difficult to tell who you can trust these days." "But as tests go, isn't that and this a bit obvious?" "Maybe." "It's getting light." "Shall we go?" "Why did they land it so far away?" "Presumably they thought the noise would alert someone." "In your case they could have put it down on the roof without any trouble." "ORAC:" "Avon, the other flyer has just lifted off." "The other flyer?" "What other flyer, Avon?" "Our guide." "Come on, we don't want to lose him." "So how far is this base of yours?" "We'll be there soon enough." "We'd be there a lot sooner if your computer stuck to direct line of flight." "Is the constant change of direction for my benefit?" "No." "ORAC:" "The other flyer appears to be manoeuvring to conceal its true course." " Because of us?" " Not unless the pilot is clairvoyant." "Well, why, then?" "From the programming of the inboard computer, it is standard procedure." "Just keep monitoring." " A random programme?" " It's an old smuggler's trick." "Did you learn it from an old smuggler?" "No, from a young one, actually." "Her name was Jenna." " What happened to her?" " She tried to run the blockade once too often." "Happens to all of them eventually." " You made the capture?" " Nobody made the capture." "She hit the self-destruct." "And when it blew, she took half a squadron of gunships with her." "Brace yourself." " How does it feel to be home?" " I wouldn't know." "ORAC:" "The target flyer has entered an underground silo." "Can you pinpoint it exactly?" "I can do better than that." "Aren't you always?" "My capacities are frequently underutilised, it's true." "Just tell us what you're offering, Orac." "When we reach the appropriate coordinates, I can simulate the necessary signals to open the silo and allow this flyer to enter." " Sounds good." " No, it isn't." "Sooner or later we're going to drop into one of these holes in the ground and never come out." "Sooner or later everyone does that, Vila." " You still on watch?" " I decided to stay on." "There's too much activity up there somehow." " Like what?" " I don't know." "It's not something I can pin down precisely." "One or two transports have crossed without clearance, some flyers that weren't planned for the area, that sort of thing." "Could be the Federation's observers finally arrived, of course." "Yes, that's probably it." "Gauda Prime seems to give law and order a certain priority." "You could say that." "Is that the main control centre?" "Deva can tell you more about that than I can." "Well, now, bounty hunter, that was a short trip, even by your standards." "Short, but profitable." "Even by my standards." "Was it something I said?" " Who is he?" " His name is Tarrant." "Your flight computer mentioned it whilst you were unconscious." "Tarrant." "I wouldn't run it through the computer just yet, Deva." "You see, this one has a very high Federation price on his head." "Are you sure?" "Give the man credit for knowing his trade, dirty though it is." "He also has several associates with Federation prices, and one of them is particularly valuable." "And all of them are particularly dead." "In which case, that other flyer was merely a coincidence." "A coincidence, however, that might just have analysed a random flight programme." "And the significance of that is?" "A very useful device called Orac." "Why don't you sit down, Tarrant?" "BLAKE:" "If it is Avon we shouldn't have much longer to wait." "Doesn't it occur to you to wonder where he's got all this information from?" " Give the man credit for knowing his trade." " Oh, surely you're not that naive." "You're wasting your breath, Tarrant." "(Electronic beeping)" " Yes?" " KLYN:" "There's a flyer just put down in the silo." "It had all the right signals, but it isn't one of ours." "Let them through." "Let them through." "Is that wise?" "We don't want them damaged, do we?" "Get me one security guard." "I'll deal with it." "Send a security guard to my office, will you?" "What on earth happened to you?" "Oh, most of it wasn't on Earth, Tarrant." "Not what happened to me." " Do you want him killed?" " No, of course not." "When he knows as much about this as you do now, he'll join us, like you did." " He passed the test, then." " I'm satisfied." "These stupid games you insist on playing, Blake, will get someone killed eventually." " I have to test each one myself." " No, you don't have to!" "I set up systems for that." "I broke the security codes on their central computer." "I got us access to official channels, information, everything we could possibly need!" "You don't need to be involved at all." "All right, I find it difficult to trust." "It's a failing, I admit!" "And any one of our people could select the people you've collected." "You don't need to do the bounty hunter routine either." "Indulge me." "Do I have a choice?" "Oh, there's always a choice, Deva." "Not for me, there isn't." "I'd said I'd follow you, and I will, until the Federation's finally destroyed." "But if you're killed, where does that leave us?" "With a base, the beginnings of an army." "Yes, and all of it useless if you're not there to lead it." "You worry too much, Deva." "Somebody has to." "It might be an idea for somebody to start worrying about the one we just lost." "Why?" "He isn't armed." "I didn't notice that slowing him up." "That's true." "Relax, Deva." "Nobody's indispensable." "Hey, you." "Wait a minute." "(Alarm sounding)" "I'm glad you made it." "So am I. Avon, I think he's here." "Security personnel to main tracking gallery." "Security personnel to main tracking..." " Is it him?" " It's him." "He's sold us, Avon." "All of us." "Even you." " Is it true?" " Avon, it's me, Blake." "Stand still!" "Have you betrayed us?" "Have you betrayed me?" " Tarrant doesn't understand." " Neither do I, Blake." " I set all this up!" " Yes." "Avon, I was waiting for you." "Avon." "Blake!" "They've found us." "The base is under..." "Arlen, what happened?" "He happened." "Be so kind as to drop your guns, all of you." "You and this nest of rebels are now prisoners of the Federation." "Your friend Blake said he couldn't tell anymore who was Federation and who wasn't." "He was right." "He couldn't." " You're a Federation agent?" " I'm a Federation officer." "Now, look, I've never been against the Federation." "I mean, I've only ever been along for the ride." "I'm not even armed." "You can't kill me." "I'm completely harmless and armless." "Sorry." "Avon!" "(Alarm stops)" "(Guns firing)"