"One day, before there were days...  everything,  before there was anything- you, me, the sun...  and all the stars we can and cannot see- were together in a size smaller than this point oflight." "And then,  by an inexplicable somehow...  it became." "Ten million years later,  gravity tried to pull it back...  creating galaxies-billions...  stars" " Trillions...  and a solitary Earth made of one continent." "For the next 400 million years,  volcanic eruptions...  spewed toxic gas into an atmosphere devoid of oxygen." "Deadly radiation heated acidic oceans." "Comets and asteroids rained with a force greater...  than all the nuclear arsenals of the 20th century." "And yet,  by an inexplicable somehow...  life became- the first cell...  every tree in the Amazon,  everything." "Everyone that is alive or has ever lived...  is descended from the same ancestral form oflife- you, me, friends, enemies...  and all the life we can...  and are yet to see." "We thought we were alone." "We believed the universe was ours." "Until one night in 2063,  on an Earth colony 16 light- years away...  they struck." "And now we are at war." "My name is Lieutenant Colonel T. C. McQueen." "I'm an InVitro, a race of artificially gestated humans." "I command a Marine Corps squadron" " The 58th." "They call us the Wild Cards." "We fight when called- in space, on land and at sea." "To lose this war means more than defeat." "To surrender is to never go home." "All of us must rise to the call above and beyond." "Theenemyhasplayed right into our hands." "These images were captured by a reconnaissance satellite... above the planet Hera in the Helios system." "According to the Fleet Imagery Interpretation Unit... this is evidence of a large-scale troop movement onto Hera." "And that's just what we wanted." "False information to the enemy... planted during Operation Naye'i... indicated that a massive Earth forces offensive would originate on Hera." "In fact,  Operation Roundhammer...  will hit the beach at celestial body 2064" " K." "This is a moon of the Chig's home planet." "For the duration of this mission... 2064-Kwill be code named "Anvil. "" "Your mission is to proceed via ISSTVto Anvil...  and touch down on grid coordinate 305667." "On planet, you will execute intelligence gathering...  to supplement information gathered by Eyes in the Sky- soil composition, terrain obstacles and indication of enemy activity." "You will also insert Initial Terminal Guidance equipment...  which will aid landing craft upon the activation of Operation Roundhammer." "For this offensive,  we are the away team." "The atmosphere is unfriendly,  requiring O2 support units." "Although, you will find methane- based plant life...  and there is a risk of encountering enemy patrols..." "Anvil is believed to be uninhabited." "The window of operations from drop point to extraction is 112 minutes." "Anvil's orbit and ISSTVfuel restrictions...  do not allow for a secondary recovery." "You go in, you go do it,  you go out." "If successful, Operation Roundhammer could commence in the next 24 hours." "The determining fate of the Earth begins with this mission." "The survival or extinction oflife is in your hands." "Twenty-two, 12, 21, pact." " We should be approximately 55. 5 M. S. K. 's to target." " Okay." "Hawkes, McQueen said that the fate of the world is in our hands... and you're reading a comic book?" "Damned Chigs got Sergeant Geequed... strung up over some kind of tar pit thing." "Coop, you're living it, man." "What do you got to read about it for?" "I learn a lot from Geequed." "Everyone could learn something from the sarge." "Navigatorto58 ." "Anvil is 50,000 M. S. K. 's out." " We are closing." " All right." "Helmets on." "Hawkes, now." "Hey, over here." "I cut his air hose." "He kept fighting." "We're on Chiggie's playground." " I wonder why they're wearing cover anyway." " That's right." "Maybe Chiggie won't spooge when you take off his cover in his yard." "Forget it." "We've got to complete our mission." "Hang on, Captain." "I'm gonna finally see how ugly Chiggie really is." " Oh, that reeks." " A rude Chig." "It's not that they dissolve when they're exposed to our atmosphere." "I think they've got, like, a suicide pill setup." "They spooge if anyone tries to take their helmet off but them." "The soldiers must wear their gear all the time." "I guess I have some respect." "I can't deal with wearing this thing for 10 minutes." "I wonder if this poison pill is a voluntary thing...  or if it's imposed on them from the higher-ups." "I hate to break up the Chiggie sociology class... but you can study plenty of dead ones when we get back for Roundhammer." "Get him out of sight, and let's move." "Over here." "I saw something." " Enemy?" " I don't know." "It kind of had eyes like us." "Come on." "We could be running right into an ambush." "Damphousse, West, arc around." "We'll do the same this way and meet in 50 yards." "Go!" "" " Bulldog!" " Chesty!" "  Over there." "Lost it." "  Was it a Chig?" " I don't know." "Chigs won't let me see what they look like." " Doubt it." "It ran from them." " It ran from us." "Ifit'sanythingthatcould alert the enemy we're here...  we have to protect Roundhammer by finding it and killing it." "Are you sure about this, Hawkes?" "Intelligence reports this satellite is uninhabited." "I told you." "I looked right in its eyes." "Why are you doubting me?" "Chigs are proof there's other life out here than us." "There's got to be more of it, right?" "In fact, I'm surprised we don't run into it more often." "I'll go under the assumption that Hawkes saw something." "The question is, is it advanced enough... or friendly enough with the Chigs to tip off our presence?" "Now, we got about 75 minutes to extraction." "We search for this thing, we jeopardize completing the mission." "Over here." "Tracks." "Not Chigs'." "But it is a two-legged animal." "Look." "See those leaves?" "They've all been stepped on." "The tracks lead off in that direction." "Wang, Damphousse, West, you stay here and complete the assignment." "You have to work double- time to make up for me and Hawkes." "We'll try and track this thing." "Captain,  if you locate this, uh...  whatever it is, do you have to kill it?" "I mean, if you determine it poses no threat to us or to security, why kill it?" "I mean, it if poses no threat." "Right?" "Come on." "Let's go." "We only got about an hour." "The tracks just stop, and the ground cover up ahead hasn't been stepped on." "Did it look like it could fly... or, at least, jump into those trees over there?" "Ifwehaveany hopeoffinding this thing, we gotta cover more ground." "Let's split up and circle around." "We've only got 50 minutes until extraction." "Having trouble getting clear reception over there." "O. P. D. meter indicates that the EGAT system has to be set up another 20 feet away." " Okay, fire it up." "" "I'm still not getting a strong reading." " Hey, West, try moving the EGAT system again." "" "No, go back." "Signal's fading." "What the hell was that?" "It came from that direction." "Wait!" "We should get that system out of sight first." "I'll stash it." "Hoo-yah." "It came from over there." "Vansen. !" "I saw it go that way." "I saw movement in that direction." "Hawkes, this is where those tracks disappeared." "That's where he went." "This thing's setting traps that are meant to kill us." " I'd take that as Chig friendly." " Extraction in about 35 mikes." "We gotta get in fast,  terminate it and get out." "Let's do it." "It's 2239, sir." "Extraction in 30 mikes." "If all goes well on Anvil... the old man's given his blessing to bump up the go time." "It's been a long time since I've had butterflies." "Sir, receiving transmissions from Initial Terminal Guidance systems on Anvil." "All is nominal." "Spread the word amongst the fleet." "The balloon goes up." "Forwardportbattery aligning on target now." " Do you see it?" " Just the room." "And it keeps going." "I can't tell how far." "We don't have time, and we don't know how many could be waiting." "These things on the wall" "They must be some kind of underground munitions depot." "This is gonna sound really weird... but something about this room feels... familiar." "I studied in Rome for a semester." "We'd tour the catacombs." "You know, where the early Christians secretly buried their dead?" " It was just like this." " Could this be a cemetery?" "Just the opposite." "Thirty-sevenFighterWave, report to Launch Base 6." "Thirty- seven Fighter Wave,  report to Launch Base 6." "AllHammerheadcrews, report to your aircraft immediately." "All Hammerhead crews,  report to your aircraft immediately." " " "Those embryos-Are they Chigs?" "If they are, those things Cooper saw would have reported it by now... and we'd be faced with a couple of enemy platoons." "Even if it's not the enemy doesn't mean it won't cooperate with them." "YouknowwhyIdon'tthink  it's the enemy?" "It doesn't feel like it." "I've killed a few close-up with my hands." "It's as close as you can get." "Close enough to hear that weird sound they make before they die." "When you kill something face- to- face...  there's a connection with the life you're taking... even if it's the enemy." "And I don't feel it." "Not here." "So you want us to endanger the success of Roundhammer on your feelings?" "That's all we have time to go on." "If it's not the enemy,  if this is some innocent life...  whose home is about to be turned into a devastated battlefield, do we try to warn it?" " Do we tell it about Roundhammer?" " No!" "No way!" " It'd screw it all up." " Why don't we just take it back with us?" "No time." "And I doubt it could survive in our atmosphere." "Maybe it's a colony." "Before the Eckerly Principle...  when people thought you couldn't travel faster than light... some scientists proposed Earth would colonize other planets... by sending ships with frozen eggs and sperm... which would be conceived after hundreds of years of travel." "Silicates would have been the organic life's caretakers." "Probably like that alien Cooper saw." "That's why there was only one." "There's a chance those chambers could be all that's left of that life." "If we don't warn it, then by this time tomorrow... it will be gone from the universe." "Well, Captain?" "When I was a kid, we went to the San Diego Zoo to see the last living panda." "You had to stand in line an hour just to have a look." "It just sat there eating bamboo." "It had no idea." "The point is, isn't it enough to remove life from our own planet?" "If we don't defeat the enemy right here on this ground, we don't have a home." "Do you think the Chigs are gonna care if this thing gets in their way?" "You think the old man will?" "Nothing is gonna stop this battle." "In a few hours, millions- millions of human lives... are gonna land in this hellhole, and one of them's gonna be mine." "Another's gonna be yours." "Now, if you tell this thing... and we fly out ofhere without being assured of its silence...  and the Chigs are waiting here, popping us out of the sky... those millions of lives are gonna be lost because of us." "Then the Chigs are gonna return to our home planet and wipe out everybody there." "Cooper, you said that those chambers felt familiar." " That's how you were born." " And because of that, I'm not like you." "I know life is cheap." "I cost less to make than that I. T. G. system." "Look, marines aren't put here to slaughter the innocent." "I'm not convinced it's innocent." "But I am convinced it's dead, no matter what." "And if leaving here with that thing alive... means that we might come home dead, then I know what has to be done." "And if none of you have the dark hearts to do it, I do." "Don't leave without me." "  " "All sections reporting ready." "We are on an operational hold at this time." "Thank you, Lieutenant." "Current conditions on Anvil at H-Sight- winds southwesterly at five knots... visibility fair at 500 meters." "Excuse me, Colonel." "Commodore,  the supreme commander on Channel Four." "Good morning, sir." "Yes, Commander." "Recon extraction in 20 minutes." "Preliminary reports from H" " Sight are satisfactory." "Yes, sir." "Saratoga battle group forces are ready and waiting." "Yes, Commander." "Operation Roundhammer has been raised and is ready to strike the Anvil." "" " I. T. G. S. is operational and has been transmitting." "Soil samples secured." "Damphousse, take a final B. R. P. Reading and record it in" "Greased two Chigs in the room." "I guess they were there for the same reason I was." "I may not be a good human being, but I'm better than a Chig." "Go ahead." "Tell it." "Sit." "Sit... down, pasty." "On the ground." "Sit on the ground. !" "How are you supposed to tell it about warfare when you can't get it to sit down?" "It gets what my weapon can do." "If she says, "We mean you no harm, " I'm gonna shoot her." "Damn." "How do I start?" "Um" "In that old movie Close Encounters,  they talked to aliens like this." "I don't even know what it meant." "I guess he's seen it too." "Um" " Uh" "I" " I" "Uh, us" "All of them... um, are from- live there." "There." "No, pasty, not my hand." "Up there." " Just like my cat." " What does background matter?" "It's not an interview." "We're running out of time." "What do you want me to say?" "It doesn't understand our words!" "Look." "He does understand your emotions." "I got an idea." "  " "Here." "You" "You-|" "Ah, screw it." "I" "Sorry, man, I thought I knew what I was doing." "Man, I got what you were going for." "Hey, 10 mikes." "Like that last panda, it has no idea what's about to happen." "This life could disappear because our words are useless." "This." "Get it?" "This." "And this." "All this!" "All this." "Here." "Wait." "You-Y-You." "You die." "You go... from here, now. !" "Go!" "Go!" "Get out of here!" "Go!" "All right." "Let's go." "Let's move." "We're about ready to take off." " I hope we did the right thing." " We did." "I can't figure out what this is all about." "A way to tell you it understood?" "No, a way of saying we all come from the same place." " How do you know?" " I can feel it." "Dang." "I left G. I. Geequed out there." "Don't sweat it, Hawkes." "We'll be back." "Saratoga, be advised extraction complete." "We are clear of planet at this time." "The Lincoln Battle Group that was spoofing the enemy at Hera... has changed course and is en route." "Operation Anvil was a success." "The ISSTV has the 58th, and they're due to arrive at anytime." "" "  Approaching craft off the starboard bow." "Ten thousand M. S. K. 's and closing." " That must be them." " Inform all necessary personnel." "I want them standing by for that ship and all information processed quickly." "" " Commodore, it's not transmitting an I. F. F...  and the LIDARsignal is unfamiliar." " Tell them who we are." " Unidentified spacecraft off my starboard bow...  you are approaching the U. S. naval carrier Saratoga." "Request you alter your course and identify yourself immediately." "Repeat, U. S. S.  Saratoga to unidentified spacecraft." "Alter your course immediately, or we'll be forced to take you under fire." " It's a single-enemy craft, sir." " Take it out of my sky." "It's sending continuous transmissions in rough Morse code." "What does it want?" "Peace." " It's awaiting permission to land." " I say it's horse pucky." "What if it's not?" "This war could be over today...  without any further loss of life." "Advise that craft to maintain its current position." "Where's the Spooky Unit stationed right now?" "The Alien Interpretation Unit is aboard the Nebraska,  sir." "I don't trust those people, but get them over here." "Crow, get me the supreme commander on the horn." "Inboundsatellite, you're clear for landing on Pad 7." "Roger." "Pad 7." "Thank you." " Colonel Rabwin." " Are you McQueen?" "Boss Ross's orders are you're to witness the interrogation." "Or there'll be no interrogation." "Clear Loading Bay 6." "We'll need a sealed room." "Pump in these gases in this mixture." "Yes, Commander." "The rough code suggests... the enemy is prepared to present a peace proposal." "It's a solo craft, sir." "The A. I. U. is onboard and is prepared to interrogate the enemy pilot." "Yes, sir." "Roger that." "Let 'em in." "Watch your hands." "Watch your hands."