"You wanna make that rendezvous with your skitters, I suggest you suck it up and fast." "Nice work, boys." "Looks like you dropped us into the middle of a good old-fashioned coup." "Shut up, Pope." "Why now, general?" "What were you waiting for?" "The perfect scapegoat?" "The 2nd Mass?" "I've been waiting for Dr. Manchester to come to his senses." "And patiently, I might add." "And I was acting in the best interest of our citizens." "The people voted for civil rule, not for a military junta." "Ah, don't be so naive, Arthur." "Eventually, the aliens will find us." "We have no choice but to go on the offensive now." "You with us or not?" "Not this way." "I'm sorry, but my vision of the new United States doesn't begin with a military coup." "I'll agree that Arthur lost sight of some of the original goals, but to put him in jail declare martial law?" "Your actions are misguided, sir." "I would have assumed, given its reputation the 2nd Mass would be chomping at the bit for the chance to take it to the enemy." "I guess I assumed wrong." "Lock them up!" "Get them inside!" "Appreciate the solidarity, Tom." "This has nothing to do with you, believe me." "That's an outer security perimeter breach." "Let's move!" "Let's move!" "Clear the area!" "Clear the area now!" "Move!" "Move!" "Prepare to fire!" "Stand by!" " General, wait." "Those are the rebels." " How can you be sure?" " The one with the red eye, I know him." " I said, prepare to fire!" "Stop!" "We're not here to hurt anyone." "Ben." " Are you all right?" " Ben!" "General, tell your men to lower their weapons." "Sir?" " Hold your fire." "Stand down." "We'll begin if that's okay." "It is good to see you again, professor." "I'm sorry that our last meeting had to end so badly." "No one is to blame, except perhaps our mutual enemy." "What the hell is going on here?" "The skitter talks through a human." "Don't ask me how." "What, uh...?" "What brings you here?" "Captain Weaver, I'm not sure you realize the prize you had when you captured the Overlord last week." "We didn't want any prize." "We were trying to survive." "Understandable." "That particular Overlord, however oversees all military operations in the eastern part of this continent." "And I am sure that if you had suspected his value you would not have let him live." "How can one fish- head be that important?" "The greatest strength of the Overlords is also their most profound weakness." "The Eshpeni, as they are called, have unimaginable intellectual capacity." "They have no need for computational or information-storage devices." " They keep everything in their heads?" "Yes." "Each one of them controls huge sections of their interplanetary operations." "But because they speak through many harnessed species, such as ourselves our oppressors must keep their plans secret." "I don't see how any of this concerns us." "General, if that Overlord had been killed, alien operations in this part of the world would have been thrown into complete and utter chaos." "You still haven't answered why this information is relevant now." "We have access through our operatives to the Eshpeni's movements." "We know when and where he will be and when he will be vulnerable." "Where?" "A weapon is being constructed on the 35th parallel, not 500 miles from here." "What weapon?" "What's its purpose?" "We were not able to acquire that information." "It's not relevant for our purposes." "What we do know is that the Overlord will be there three days from now." "So we just walk in and kill the damn thing?" "Surely there are defense mechanisms in place." "On the surface, but underground caves and narrow limestone fissures lead right up to the outside of the buried section of the facility." "If you have all this information, why do you need us?" "We cannot enter the area undetected." "They will sense our presence because of our harnesses." "Also, we lack the weapons needed to breach the compound and eliminate the Overlord." "This is why we have exposed ourselves and turned to you for help." "Well, that's a lot of information to digest." "We're gonna need some time to sort this out." "As you wish." "We will wait outside the city." "But time is of the essence, general." "A target of opportunity such as this rarely presents itself twice." "Ag reed." "You have to leave too?" "You can't stay just for a night?" " Your brothers would love it." " I can't." "At least not yet." "Gotta go." "I don't mind telling you I've never heard a bigger crock of bull crap in my life." "Sir, I know how it seems but, reluctantly, I've come to believe that the rebel skitters are real." "lam not sending my forces on a wild-goose chase with some red-eyed monster, no matter how real they may be." "I've known Dan Weaver and Tom Mason for a long..." "This discussion is over." "Take these men to their cages and secure the perimeter." "Those damn things come within 10 meters of here, shoot them on sight." " Yes, sir." " My son is still with them." "Regrettable, but hardly my responsibility." "What happened to "Let's fight the enemy"?" " You're out of line, professor." " Sir!" "What is it, captain?" "I'm losing my patience here." "You're right, sir." "It's insane to risk Charleston's army for a mission so dangerous." "But I do know one fighting unit that's capable of carrying out this mission successfully, and that's the 2nd Mass." "Sorry, Captain Weaver, but I'm not willing to risk even your sorry unit." "It's suicide." "We've been living at the edge of death for so long, we don't know any different." "Besides, you know we're gonna be a thorn in your backside as long as we hang around here." "Am I wrong?" "Quite correct, captain." "In fact, I'd make it my career." "Fine." "Muster your fighters." "You can reconnoiter with your skitter friends outside the complex." "Dismissed." "Clemmons, I'm sure I don't have to tell you that we have a target of opportunity here, sergeant." "And it's waiting right outside this complex." " You mean the skitters." " Exactly." "Get your men ready." "I don't want a single skitter bastard left alive by morning." "Yes, sir." "Hey, Ben!" "Hey." "What are you doing here, Hal?" "Can't a guy see his brother?" " You're not sleeping like that, are you?" " Tried it." "Blood rushed to my head and I passed out." "Guess I'm human after all." " I didn't mean it like that." " I'm joking." " Seriously, why did you come here?" " Seriously, to see you." "I know things got a little crazy between us, and, well, um...." "I just wanna say I'm sorry." "For my part in it, I'm really sorry." "I'm sorry too." "Nothing seems to have made a lot of sense recently, does it?" " Heh." "Amen to that." " Heh." "Until now." "Really?" "How so?" "I think I found the place I belong." " You mean here, with the skitters?" " Yeah." " Your place is with your family, doofus." " Hal." "No, seriously, listen to me." "Dad needs you." "I mean, we all need you." "All right?" "You had your fun." "Now it's time to come home." "The world doesn't work that way anymore." "You know, it wasn't that long ago we were fighting side by side." " We made quite a team, remember?" " We did." "But...." "You're staying." "With them." "Yes." "Boy, you can be frustrating." "I'm a younger brother." "That's what we do." "I suppose." "But you're so damn good at it." "Be careful, okay?" "You too." "Well, this was a short-lived paradise." "Honestly, I'm happy to get back on the front line." "I never thought I'd say it, but there's something about the...." "Rush?" " Yeah." "I suppose that's it." " Yeah." "Maybe we've just been fighting so long we don't know anything else." "I know...." "I'm sorry." "Um...." "Are you okay?" "Uh...." "Yeah, I'm fine." "It's nothing." "Um...." "Does Tom know?" "That I'm pregnant?" "No." "And I'm not gonna tell him till we're back from this mission." "Okay." "House arrest." "Could he possibly be more humiliating?" "I built this community." "I invited Bressler here to join us, for God's sake." "The general crossed the line." "No question." "But you've gotta take some responsibility for what's happened here." "Oh, I suppose." "I suppose so." "Yes, yes, I made some errors in judgment." "And the general is not an evil man, Tom." "The only problem is that he thinks with his rifle." "Arthur, I've never known you to be one for metaphors." " Well, in this case, apt, no?" " Without question." "When Colonel Porter teamed Dan Weaver and I up together, I thought he was insane." "I half expected him to kill me in my sleep." "But somehow, some way, we found a middle ground." "But we both know the dangers of military rule." "Perhaps, but as I've said, we can't just tuck our heads in the sand and pretend the aliens aren't out there." "Meaning that you're going on this suicide mission." " Yes." "You can't go in." "I've gotta see my dad now." "Dad, our camp, we were attacked." "Valuable intel." "This isn't Red-Eye." "I don't see him." " Where is he?" " He and a few others got away." "You can't get me anything on the attackers?" "The smallest detail might be helpful." "No." "It was dark." "All I could see was muzzle flashes." "They came from over there." "We ran in every direction, and then someone hit me in the head." ""We"?" "You mean the skitters?" " And the other deharnessed kids." "No boot prints." "Shell casings everywhere." "556 and 162s." "Eh." "Ninety percent of the weapons in Charleston fire these." " You know, we came here in trust." " All right." "Calm down." "Calm down?" "He was almost killed." "I understand why you're upset, professor." "If it were my boy..." " It wasn't your boy." " No." "My son was killed by a skitter." "Right in front of me." "Almost everyone in Charleston has seen loved ones murdered by those things." "Is it any wonder some got carried away with their emotions?" "You're not condoning the attack, are you, general?" "I'm saying what happened happened." "End of story." "Game over." "I'm canceling the mission." " You can't do that!" "Those are my orders." " Clemmons, clean this site up." " Dad." "We have to go on this mission." "This is about more than the rebels, more than the Overlord." "This weapon will wipe out everything if it's finished." " Red-Eye didn't have any information." " He didn't know if he could trust Bressler." "I understand." "It's just..." " I have the plans, the layout in my head." "I can get us there." "I can get us in." " Captain?" " Get in and out before they can react." "It's gonna be a much smaller team, but yes." "Hell, yes." "General!" " What is it?" " Sir, with all due respect the 2nd Mass is going on the mission." " I just gave you an order." "I understand that, sir." "But we're doing it nonetheless, with or without your permission." "Fine." "You've got my permission." "Yes, sir." "Here you go." "Packs loaded!" "Weapons ready!" "Moving out, Dai." "It's good to see you dressed all normal-like, cap." "You said it, Dai." "It enhances the captain's rugged good looks." "Yeah, the captain is styling now." "All right." "Stow it." "Or this styling, rugged, size-11 boot will commence to kicking some ass." "Yes, sir." " All right, let's move." "Right." "Hey, Jeanne, what are you doing?" "What's it look like, Dad?" "Getting geared up." "Oh, no." "No, you're not going with us." " I think I can handle myself in combat." "There's no question about that." " You need fighters you can depend on." " Yeah." "We do, of course." " But that's not the point." " It is." "You need to be here in Charleston." "Charleston?" "No, Dad, my place is by your side, fighting." "Sweetheart." "The truth is..." "The real truth." " I can't bear the idea of losing you again." "Well, same here." "At least we'll die together." "It's better than waiting for you to come home." "Well, somebody's got to survive this war, finish what's been started here." "And you know what?" "After seeing you stand up to Manchester at the forum I believe...." "I know that you're such a person." "I just..." "I don't want you to die, Papa Bear." "Aw, don't you worry about that, Baby Bear." "You know your papa's way too ornery to die." "I didn't know you could draw." "Neither did I. One of the many benefits of being harnessed." "I'm impressed." " What's that thing?" " Well, it's my specialty." " I call it "the wall crasher."" " Say what?" " Blow a hole in anything, anywhere." " Sounds good to me." "Finally, after all these months of running, we're taking the fight to them." "Tick, tick, boom." "We could have used these a while back." "Yeah, well, we've got them now." "That's all that counts." " We'll see you on the flip side, Jim." " Bring them home." "All right, move it." "This ain't no coach tour." "Thought we were going to the Grand Canyon." " Hey, you...." "Ha, ha." "Bro, you got steel-plated cojones showing up here after putting a hole in my arm." " I'm sorry about that, Lyle." "I truly am." "Clemmons was gonna kill you." "What happened to your uniform, soldier boy?" "Threw it in the incinerator." "Should have known better than to put it on." "Didn't like what it did to my head." "So you wanna take me back, Pope?" "I got my mind right." "Now, what do you think I should do with you, Tector?" "I suppose that's up to you." "Indeed it is." "Drive the truck." " Dad!" "Hey, buddy." "I wanted to wish you good hunting." "Thank you." "I'll be back in a couple of days." "Up here." " I know." "What else?" "It's just, uh...." "Well, I thought I'd proved myself as a good fighter." " Seriously, you're the best." " Then why aren't you taking me with you?" "Isn't it obvious?" " Well, no." " Lourdes." "She's had kind of a tough time lately, with Jamil and all." "I needed to make sure that there's somebody here that can keep her safe." "Roger that, Dad." "You don't have to come on this." "You mean just leave the woman at home while you men go off and fight the alien?" " That's not howl meant it." "I've seen you around blood, Tom." "You turn green at the sight of it." "Wouldn't want anyone bleeding out while I wasn't there to prevent it." "Hey." "Take care of yourself, okay?" "Let's roll!" "Don't wanna be late for our date with that fish-head." " You all right?" " Yeah." "I'm just not good in tight, cramped places." "You should have told me." "Could have stayed at the trucks with Lyle and Crazy Lee." "Oh." "Don't start this again, okay?" "You're right." "I'm sorry." "Old habits." " It's sweet, in a retro sort of way, but..." " I get it." "Enough said." " Unh." "I was thinking...." " Yeah?" "I was thinking this would be a good place for crawlies." "Thanks for that thought." "Seriously, though if we don't find the exit door to this ride I just wanna say..." " Don't." "Okay?" "We're gonna make it." "We always do." " But if we don't..." " We will." "The chamber's on the other side of this wall." " It matches the layout." "Go on and set her up." "Come on." "Set it down, set it down, set it down." "Okay, hold it straight." " I need some more slack." "All right." "Right, just give me the wire." "Dad." "He's here." "I can feel it." " Okay." "Hold it, hold it." "We'll go face the bastard together make sure he doesn't get off the planet alive." "How we doing, boys?" " A few more seconds." "All right." "Everybody take cover." "Hold on." " Fire in the hole." "Back up." "Back up." "Aliens had to hear that." "So where are they?" "Oh, you can bet they'll be along directly." "Which way, Ben?" "I'm not sure." "Anthony, Maggie, get the C-4." "Yes, sir." "All right." "Tom." "You take Ben, Hal, Maggie, Anne, Dai to the left." "The rest of you are coming with me." "Start laying out those charges." "Meet at the entrance." "We're gonna blow this thing and the Overlord to high hell." "On me." "Let's go." "All right, let's do it, pronto." "Go, go, go." "Divvy it up." " It's pointing up at the sky." " I know." "Why?" "They already wiped out the Air Force." "It wasn't meant for humans." "Skitters!" "Run!" "Dai!" "No!" "Dai!" "Professor Mason?" "Karen." "What an unpleasant surprise." "Anne, are you all right?" "Yeah." "I'm okay." "I think it's safe to say Dr. Glass will never be okay again, Tom." " Don't listen to her, Dad." "She's just trying..." " That'll be enough, Ben." "My master has tried to be so patient with you, Tom." " But he finds you a constant nuisance." " I'm glad to be of service." "Must have scared the hell out of him, though." " What, was he afraid to show his ugly face?" " On the contrary." "He's right here." "He's quite curious how you found this facility and knew we would be here." " I bet he is." "You'll tell us." "Everything." "You might as well just get it over with and kill me." " I'm not gonna tell you a damn thing." " You're going to die, Tom." "As will all of you." "I'm afraid my master will insist on it." "But first I'm sure you remember this." "And the pain it can inflict." "Karen!" "Stop it!" "Stop it!" "I've been wanting to do this for quite some time now." "Get away from him!" "Get away from him!" "Hal!" "Tell us everything you know." "Go to hell." "We'll save Dr. Glass for last, I think." "For old times' sake." "That the best you got?" "Is he enjoying watching you torture us?" "He doesn't care any more about you than you would care about a mosquito buzzing around your face." "You're just an irritant to him." "I was hoping to avoid this." " No!" " Don't touch me!" "She's pregnant, Tom." "She's pregnant with your child." "Oh." "You didn't know." "All right, I'll tell you whatever you wanna know." "Just, please, don't." "Hal?" "Hal, you're gonna be fine." "It's not over, Tom!" "You'll never win!" "Never!" "Over there!" "We'll go get help." "I understand." "We'll keep the fight going." "We have to go." "Anthony, Pope, get those charges ready." "Everybody else, move to the cave." "We're gonna blow this pop stand." "Tector, give me a hand with Dai's body." "Yes, sir." "Second Mass coming in." "Mission accomplished, sir." "All right, get these people some food!" "In fact, get them any damn thing they want!" "Well done, Dan." "I can't tell you how proud I am of the 2nd Mass." "Wasn't pretty, but we got it done." "Although we lost Dai." " He was a good man." "Yeah." "Dad!" "Ben!" " Was it cool?" " That's one word for it." "So are you staying?" "With us, I mean?" " Matt, Ben's got important work to do." " Of course I'm staying." "I think we should get a game of Monopoly going, if you think you can beat me." "You know I can, sucker-fish." "Hey, where's Hal?" "I'm not exactly sure what's wrong." "He might have a slight concussion but his vital signs are normal and he's breathing on his own." " Meaning what?" " Meaning nothing, really." "We just have to wait and see what happens." "Right now, I think it's best if we just let him rest, okay?" "I promise I'll keep an eye on him." "So?" "So?" "You're pregnant." " I was gonna tell you, but...." " I know." "Um...." "How do you feel about it?" "I'm not sure." "You?" "When I think about it, I'm happy." "What?" "I don't know." "I just...." "I wonder how fair it is to bring a child into this kind of world." "If there's any future for us for any of us how can we not?" "Ah." "The conquering hero." " Or prodigal son?" " Never." "It's good to have you back safe, in one piece." " I'm so sorry to hear about your son." " Yes." " We can only hope." " Of course." "Of course." "Well, you have my prayers and every resource of this facility." "Much appreciated." "Would you like a drink?" "No, thank you." "You sure?" "Scotch, neat." "I hear Bressler's agreed to restore civil rule." "Yes, well, there's a caveat to his agreement." "It's on condition that I no longer hold the office of majority leader." " I see." " Truth be told, I'm happy to comply." "It's a job better suited to a younger man." "Someone such as yourself." "Arthur, I can't." "I'm flattered, but no." "I'll stay around for as long as it takes Hal to recover but Captain Weaver and I have already agreed Charleston's not the place for the 2nd Mass." " That's not the answer I was hoping for." " I know, and I'm sorry." "When those bastards are gone I promise I will be the first to get out my old hammer and start beating my sword into the best damn plowshare you ever saw." "But until that day I'll fight." "Not because I want to." "Because I have to." "How'd he take it?" "Not well." " So?" " The sooner we get out of here, the better." "Yeah." " We've come a long way, you and I." " Yes, we have." "And I don't exactly know what's out there for me, for the 2nd Mass." "No, me neither." "But whatever it is I'd just as soon we did it together, like a team." "You know?" "I do." "Earthquake?" "No." "Not an earthquake." " What the hell are those?" " Nothing we've ever seen before."