"25.000" "Log entry 143." "Flight time 010, elapsed 90." "We have reached course delta red 2." "New heading locked in, all systems functioning." "Log entry closes." "[DOOR OPENING]" "Ah, come on in." "I could do with some company." "I feel sleepy all of a sudden." "I'll just finish marking up this." "There it is, look." "Circling every two minutes." " When did you pick it up?" " Just before I called you." "It's circling all the time?" "Yes." "Zen says it's a Mark Three Galaxy Class cruiser." "Galaxy Class?" "That's outer planets manufacture, isn't it?" "Right, but Mark Three went out of production at least fifty years ago." "Getting any signals from them?" "No, she's as quiet as a grave." "Probably guidance control systems" "That ship's in trouble." "It's the only thing that makes any sense." " You think so?" " Mmm." "All right, we'd better take a look at her." "Zen, abort course programs." "Take us in to 200 spacials and match vectors." "Confirmed." "I want everything in the data banks concerning Galaxy Class cruisers." "Complete data is extensive." "Good." "How long before we're in teleport range?" "That will depend on speed as yet unspecified." " Standard By Four?" " 16.140901 minutes." "Approximately speaking, of course." "It is estimated that you will require 128 hours to assimilate all available data on Galaxy Class cruisers." "Mark Three?" "No sign of any external damage." "According to the data banks, Galaxy Class cruisers are fitted with communicators." "See if you can raise a voice contact will you Cally?" " I don't like this." " That's unusual." "Mock if you like, but I can always sense danger." "Yes, even when there isn't any." "Scan doesn't show any modifications." "I think it's just what it seems to be." "An obsolete civilian cruiser." "Any luck Cally?" "No response on any channel." "All right, I'm going across." "Will you come with me, Avon?" "Cally?" "Vila?" "You don't need me to come over!" "Confirmed." "There you are, deserted." "If they did abandon, they certainly did it in a hurry." "If the last of this mark is built half a century ago, this ship could have been here a very long time." "No, these space condition reports are recent." "There is an odd smell, sort of sickly sweet." "Yes, there is something." "Could be the change of atmosphere, a different recycle system to that of the Liberator." "No, it's more than that I can't place it." "All right, shall we get on with it?" "You go on down towards the stern," "Cally and I'll work up towards the flight deck." "Right, I'll just contact Vila." " Are you awake?" " No." "That's what I thought." "It's very quiet here." "If it should get noisy, I'll be in touch." "It's that same smell again." " The girl's alive." " So's this one." "The pulse is strong." "No visible sign of injury." " D'you think they're drugged?" " What?" "They could be drugged." "Possibly I don't know possibly." "They're certainly in a coma of some sort." "No, it's no good." "We'll we need the Cally, that's it." "Cally, wake up!" " Alone." " Yes, Cally!" "What?" "It's Sonovapour Tranquillising gas Gas?" "That's why we're so sleepy." "Must be bypassing the filters." "I must find the filter system." "That'll cut off the flow, it was coming through the ventilators." "Filters." "See what you can do for those two." "Avon." "Have you found anything?" "Take a look." "He's the fourth one I've found, all of them unconscious." "It's Sonovapour." "Yes." "I know." "We found a couple." "It must be coming from the filters." "Yes, well that should be this way." "It's over here." "Here it is." "Not a very expert job." "Just stuck the tubing into the primary feed." "It's effective, though." "Look at the gauge." "The cylinder is almost empty." "Once it was empty, the filter system would have cycled the gas out of the atmosphere." "At which point everybody would just wake up." "On the face of it a seemingly pointless exercise." "So wake them up and ask them what it's all about." "Increase the oxygen supply, it will speed recovery." "He's dead." "Very." "Someone was very thorough." "All this damage has jammed the main controls on a circular flight pattern." "Can it be repaired?" "That would depend on what their replacement stores are like." "Look at this it's blood." "He tried to write something." "54124." "Whatever that might mean." "Could be anything." "Call sign, transmission frequency, navigation index, anything." "But it is important." "He must have been dying when he wrote it." "[SCREAMING]" "I'm sorry, I just don't know." "I haven't any answers to your questions." "All I remember was I went my quarters and fell asleep in a chair." "At least that's where I was when I woke up a few minutes ago and found all this going on." "Yes, I know exactly how you feel." "Just relax and try to remember." "Where were the rest of you when all this was going on?" "What gives you the right to ask?" " You need our help." " Do we?" "We do." "I was off duty." "I share quarters with Pasco." "We were both there." "Routine rest period." "And your name?" "Sonheim." "We must have slept through it all, as Dr Kendall did." "And you?" "I was in the communications centre trying to make repairs." "I remember feeling very drowsy, that's about all." "And my name's Grovane." "That's all." "Mandrian and I were together." "The first thing I knew was when I came out into the corridor and saw Rafford." "And you?" "I am called Levett." "Did you see or hear anything?" "I was asleep in my quarters." "Would anybody else have seen you there?" " Why should anyone else bother?" " All right, there's no need for that." "There are worse things than being alone, Sonheim." "Being with you is one of them" "We're getting away from the point a little, aren't we?" "You were all knocked out by Sonovapour." "At some time in the last 12 hours, your pilot was murdered." "And since you're the only people here on board, then I presume..." "No, we're not." "Dortmunn isn't here." " Who is Dortmunn?" " Flight engineer." "Well, where is he?" "I want him found, Mandrian." "Search the whole ship." "He's got to be here somewhere." "Sonheim, Levett." "Whilst your people look for him I'll go and see how my people are getting on." "They're on the flight deck assessing the damage." "Will you come with me?" "Right." "Well, there's nothing I can do with that, it'll have to be replaced." "What's the situation?" "We can fit some of it back together, but there are a lot of components that will have to be replaced." "Can it be made operational?" "The interesting thing is, as far as I can see, that all this damage was done but for one purpose:" "To prevent the orbiting flight pattern, which you are now in from being altered." "I don't understand any of this." "First the trouble with the communicators, and now sabotage." "What happened to the communicators?" "Just after we started back on the return trip there was a burnout in the main circuits." "Grovane, the communications officer, thought the damage couldn't be accidental." "Apparently, all the safety circuits were still intact, they'd been bypassed somehow." "It's still not working." "This man Dortmunn they're looking for, could he have any reason to sabotage you?" "None that I can think of." "He's a fine man and a first class engineer." "[COMMUNICATOR CHIME]" "Kendall." "Mandrian." "We're in section 9, Doctor, you'd better come down." "There's something you should see." "Lead the way." " This is a pity." " What is it?" "The Ison crystal." "Even if we get the ship operational, it'll be blind." "With this fractured, there isn't a chance of outside vision." "What have you found?" "Life Rocket Two has been launched." "That explains where Dortmunn got to." "He's taking a tremendous chance." "Those life rockets have a limited range." "It certainly couldn't carry him to the nearest habitable planet." "But why?" "Why would he do that?" "If he killed Rafford, he's got nothing to lose." "A ship this size, you can't hide forever." "It still doesn't explain why." "Not just the murder, the malicious damage, the..." "It's not possible!" "I'd better check just to be sure." "For a moment, I thought Dortmunn might have taken this." "If he had, everything that has happened would have made sense." "But it's here." "It had to be, of course." "It's impossible to open the safe without a molecular key and combination, and I'm the only one on the ship who has those." "Well, what is it?" "It's an energy refractor, a neutrotope." "What does it do?" "I'll explain." "I and my crew come from Destiny, way out here on the edge of the galaxy." "Yes, I've heard of that It was colonised what, about a hundred years ago?" "That's right." "But you're still not members of the Federation?" "They've approached us, threatened, but we've resisted so far." "Ours is an agricultural economy." "We've a small fleet of mercantile ships to trade with our nearest neighbours." "Our people live well, but simply." "At least they did." "What happened?" "Towards the end of the last growing season, just as the main crop was coming into maturity, reports came in that the plants were dying, wilting and dying." "It spread across both our continents with incredible speed." "We estimated that in under a year there would be no living vegetation left on the planet." "But did you isolate the cause?" "It was a fungal disease." "Identifying it was one thing, but destroying it it was resistant to everything" "In under three months, half the planet was buried in a covering of slimy white fungus." "The stench was vile and it was still spreading." "You think this uhh, neutrotope will provide the answer?" "My experiments show that radiation from our sun was deficient in certain specific wavelengths." "The neutrotope will provide the necessary frequencies to kill the fungus." "And you'll mount this on a satellite to be activated by your sun?" " That's right." " Hmm." "We've calculated the orbital pattern required to maintain a balance and save our planet." "Impressive." "Yes, this has cost us." "Well, let's say it's bankrupted our economy and mortgaged our future." "Why so much?" "The yield from the ore containing the element is minute." "This neutrotope and the few others that exist are the most valuable objects in our galaxy." "I can see why you were concerned that Dortmunn might have taken it." "Yes, it's enough to tempt anyone." "There are men who would betray their companions for a lot less." "What a very cynical thought, Doctor." "But realistic, I'm afraid." "Cally and I have finished checking the damage." "I can give you a fairly accurate assessment of the situation now." "We can fit things together and we can make repairs." "And?" "There is, however, a problem." "When we've finished, you should have a ship that will navigate and get you back to Destiny." "The problem is that without this, you will have to travel at sub light speeds." "I estimate that the journey will take you approximately five months to complete." " But that'll be too late!" "We'll miss the planting season!" " Five months?" "It'll set us back a full year!" "When I heard the news I was as concerned as you." "A delay that long would be disastrous, but there is an alternative." "Liberator can make the journey in four days." "What I've suggested is that Avon and Cally stay here and help you with your repairs." "I take the neutrotope to Destiny, and then come back to collect them." "No." "We can't do that." "We can't just hand over the neutrotope to some passing stranger." "I agree." "We've been trusted with this mission, we can't simply forget our responsibility." "There are plenty of ready markets for the neutrotope." "If it was stolen and sold, a man could be wealthy beyond imagining." "That thing is a temptation even for those of us with our homes, families, and lives at stake." "You have nothing at stake, nothing to lose." "It is frequently easier to be honest when you have nothing to lose." "The responsibility for the neutrotope belongs to all of you." "There is a risk that if you entrust it to me," "I may fly off never to be seen again." "You have to weigh that chance against the effects a year's delay would have, on the possibility of your planet's recovery." "We've made the offer, the choice is up to you." "Remember that Avon and I will be staying." "We will regard ourselves as hostages against Blake's return." "Well thank you Cally, what a clever idea." "Blake will return." "You can bet your life on it." "In fact, you've just bet both our lives on it." "Personally, I have no hesitation about accepting the offer." "Delivery of the neutrotope is vital." "And anyway, after what's happened here, it may well be safer with Blake." "However, we'll vote on it." "Those in favour?" "That's about four to three, in favour." "We accept gratefully." "Right, I'd like to get started right away." "Of course." "Sara, would you get the neutrotope, please?" "Sorry." "It's a natural reaction." "Right, I'll get back to you as soon as I can." "You're quite sure about volunteering to stay?" "We must help these people." "Must we?" "Personally, I don't care if their whole planet turns into a mushroom." "I shall stay because I don't like an unsolved mystery." "You don't think Dortmunn and his life rocket are the answer?" " No." " Why not?" "There is something else that has to happen before it all begins to come together." "Thank you." "You'd better give me your guns." " Don't fail us." " I won't." "Vila, bring me up." "My people have a saying, "A man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken"." "Life expectancy must be fairly short among your people." " 3210?" " Check." "32100?" " Where are Cally and Avon?" " It's a long story." " What's in the box?" " It's an even longer story" "I like stories!" "Zen, get a locator fix on the other ship." "I want to be able to pinpoint its position at all times." "Confirmed." "Set a course for Destiny, speed standard by six." " Where's that?" " Confirmed." " What have you got there?" " Why are we leaving them behind, what's going on?" "Where is Destiny?" "!" "According to Avon, it's a story that doesn't have an end yet." "All right then, we'll start with the beginning." "Probe." "Does this mean anything to you?" "54124?" " No, I don't think so." " Should it?" "Is it important?" "Yes, it is important." "Monitor response?" " The air is stale in here." " The ventilator's closed." " Well?" " Zero response." "There's nothing I can do." "It will have to be replaced." "I shall need laser transfer linkage." "Have you got any?" "I think so, in the storage hold." "I'll go and check." "Stay here, I'll get it." "You'll need a torch." "[METALLIC CLICKING]" "[ELECTRONIC HUM]" "Fourteen?" "Right." "Where is the storage hold?" "What do you want down there?" "We need some laser transfer linkage." "I don't know that we have any." "That is what I'm going to find out." "Can you tell me, please?" "Don't mind him, he lacks affection." "Blue corridor." "Go down past the filtration plant and it's the next door on the left." "Thank you." "Be back in a moment." "Muffled voices:" ""You are always snooping"" ""I am not snooping" "Yes you are"" ""I am not!" "Now I want to know what it is"" "It's Dortmunn." "Someone among us is determined that this mission should fail, and frankly, I can't even guess at a motive." "Try greed." "It's usually reliable." "When you set out on your return journey, you were carrying something extremely valuable." "As he said earlier, if the neutrotope could be sold, it would make a man wealthy beyond imagining." "Well, it obviously wasn't beyond the imagination of someone here." "I just meant that we were taking an enormous risk by entrusting it to a stranger." " It never crossed my mind that any of us." " But it did cross your mind, didn't it?" "A temptation, you said, even for those of us with our lives at stake." "The value of the neutrotope is all the motive you need to look for." "Now I don't pretend to know the whole plan, but parts of it seem fairly clear." "The damage to the communications centre, that isolated the ship." "You couldn't receive any messages, nor could you put out a distress call." "I'm not sure when Dortmunn was killed, but Cally thinks that the death of the pilot Rafford was an accident." "What d'you mean?" "An accident?" " A misfortune." " It certainly was for him." "I think that it was not part of the plan." "Whoever put the Sonovapour into the ventilation system intended to put the whole crew to sleep, while the controls were being sabotaged." "Rafford was supposed to be sleeping, too." "But the ventilator ducts on the flight deck were closed, consequently Rafford was unaffected by the gas." "The murderer was using an oxygen mask to stay awake." "Reaching the flight deck and finding Rafford conscious must have been a shock." "And that shock killed Rafford." "The ventilators shouldn't have been closed." "It's against flight operating procedure." "The next shock was when we arrived." "Now that really was misfortune." "Pure bad luck." " Rafford should have known better." " Shut up, Pasco!" "Go on." "Even the most meticulous of plans could not have anticipated our arrival." "Meticulous?" "The murderer had to cover up, and quickly." "Dortmunn was killed." "I think the plan was to put his body into the life rocket and launch it into space." "That way, it would appear obvious that Dortmunn was guilty." "So why didn't it happen?" "I think it was too difficult." "Dragging the body across the spaceship to the launch area without being seen?" "That proved to be impossible, so the murderer settled for the next best thing." "He launched an empty life rocket." "And that worked." "We all believed that Dortmunn had escaped." "But whoever did it must have known the body would be discovered sooner or later." "Of course." "He was playing for time." "The plan had gone to pieces." "The best the killer could hope for was to delay a full inquiry for as long as possible." "As a matter of fact, I think that was a waste of effort." "I know, we all know, that one of you is the murderer." "But proving which one." "Unless, of course, as seems quite likely, someone other than the murderer already knows." "Already knows." "Naturally, the whole matter will be put into the hands of the authorities when we reach Destiny." "Despite what you say Avon, the murderer will be found." "In the meantime, you will all resume your normal duties, and anything that you see or hear that seems unusual, report to me at once." "Thank you." "We'll get back to the repairs now." "A couple of hours, you should be able to set off for home." "Something you wanted, Grovane?" "Yes." "It just occurred to me." "You said one of us was the murderer." "That's right." " There is another possibility." " Yes?" "There could be somebody else on the ship, somebody we don't know about, a stowaway." "Detectors indicate a meteorite storm directly in Liberator's flight path." "Scale and intensity?" "Scale nine." "Intensity twenty seven." "Twenty seven?" "I think eight's about the strongest we've had so far." "My teeth are still rattling from that." "Twenty seven is a lot of very fast rocks." "Scale nine puts the storm over a vast area too." "How much would it add to our flight time if we went around it?" "Estimated flight time of 84 hours would increase to 336 hours." " Four times as long." " Confirmed." "Would the force wall hold if we went straight through the storm?" "It is within the maximum design tolerance, however there would be no safety margin." "Is there enough reserve power to maintain the wall?" "Insufficient data for accurate projection." " In other words, he doesn't know." " Confirmed." "Let's go round." "Are the others still searching?" "Yes, nothing so far." "Do you want any help on the flight deck?" "No, we've almost finished." "Sonheim, there was something I wanted to ask you." "Go ahead, I'll catch you up." "What is it?" "Finding Dortmunn's body put it out of my mind." "Why did you follow me to the storage hold?" "Why do you think?" "You're an attractive girl." "You asked where the hold was, I snapped at you." "I came after you to apologise." "To apologise?" "Of course." "What other reason could I have?" "Perhaps you were afraid I would find Dortmunn." "That's ridiculous!" "I didn't know his body was there!" "I told you." "I followed you to apologise." " I believe you." " It's true!" "Of course." "The transfer linkage you asked for." "About time." "Any news from the search parties?" "No." "No, there won't be." "It was an unlikely idea, keeping out of sight for the length of time this ship has been in flight." "Not really possible." "I agree." "So who do you think it is?" " Mandrian." " Why?" "Instinct." "I discount Dr Kendall." "I thought you mistrusted instinct?" "I do, so I am probably wrong." "It could be him I told you I heard him quarrelling with Sara, didn't I?" "Sonheim makes me uneasy, too." "He would be next on my list." "The answer is here." "If only we could see it." "I knew you'd be here." "[DISTANT METEOR IMPACTS]" "How far are we in now?" "Halfway I can't be sure." "The detectors are swamped." "The force wall's eating into our power reserves." "There's a field drag effect too." "We're having to use a lot of power to maintain our speed and heading." "Avon, I saw Mandrian with this." "Then he put it back in the bottom of Sara's flight bag." "What is it?" "That's what I want you to tell me." "[ALARM]" "Look!" "Filtration malfunction." "We'd better get down there." " Dr Kendall wants you." " Filter plant?" "There's been another killing." "[ELECTRICAL DISCHARGE]" "[ELECTRICAL DISCHARGE]" "Tell me what happened." "I was coming past, and I heard a noise." "So I looked inside." "Mandrian was just as you see him." "Sonheim was standing over him, with this dagger in his hand." "I didn't kill him." "I didn't kill him!" "Power reserves are almost gone" "In 103 minutes, it will no longer be possible to operate force wall and main drive simultaneously." "Please decide which to close down." "Without main drive we'll never get out of this." "Without the force wall we'll be smashed to pieces!" "Have the locators detected the outer edge of the storm yet?" "No.Yes!" "No." "Maybe." "Which is it, Vila?" "It's "maybe"." "Directive is now required." "Jenna, stand by to feed all power through to the main drive when the force wall is down." "Ready." "Gan, deactivate the force wall." "Deactivating." "Why?" "For what reason?" "Perhaps Sonheim was still trying to cover up." "Mandrian knew about him and threatened to expose him." "Or perhaps he went into the filter plant while Sonheim was sabotaging the equipment?" "But why damage the filter?" "What possible reason could he have for delaying the flight still further?" "How bad is it?" "The damage was minor." "I've got Levett working on it." "We've locked him in the storage hold." "He seems quiet enough." "Has he said anything more?" "Nothing new." "He claims he went in and found Mandrian dead, picked up the knife, that's where I came in." "He still says he didn't kill him." "I believe him." "But I saw him with a dagger in his hand!" "But you didn't see him use it." "I didn't see Mandrian die either, but I know he's dead." "I've just spent the last ten minutes in the filter plant looking for something that should be there but isn't." "The cable that was damaged carries a high energy charge." "In order to cut it, he would need a laser knife or an insulated saw." "Neither of which were there." "Then, somebody else was the saboteur?" "Yes." "Mandrian came in, discovered whoever it was, and had to be silenced." "The murderer then went out, taking the saw with him." "Sonheim's story is true, he just happened to be the one to discover the body." "Then who did kill Mandrian?" "The same person who killed Rafford and Dortmunn." "And I know who that is now." "You know?" "Yes." "I should have seen it right from the start, but my mind had conditioned itself to see the wrong thing." "As Cally has been saying all along." "You found the meaning?" "Yes." "Just before he died Rafford managed to scrawl this out." "54124?" "Precisely What's it mean?" "Absolutely nothing." "As a number it has no significance at all, but in the filter plant just now, I noticed one of the instruments." "Liquid crystals show a number, then the confirmation circuit translates those numbers into the written word." "From the start, we thought that those were numbers." "They are not, they are letters." "Letters?" "Rafford was dying." "It's difficult to be neat under those circumstances." "Let's start with the one and the two." "And the first letter." "So now you know." "It doesn't matter, you'd have known soon enough anyway." "Sara, why?" "I wanted the neutrotope" "Or at least the money it would give me." "It's that simple." "Was Mandrian in it with you?" "No, but he found out." "I asked him to share it with me, but he wouldn't." "He wanted me to come to you and admit the whole thing." "If I didn't, he was going to tell you himself." "So but none of that's important now, I only need a little more time." "You're not going anywhere, Sara." "You just don't get off a spaceship and run." "I'll kill the first one that puts his head outside this door." "Well, she's one of your crew, you'd better get after her." "Locked!" "It's clear enough why she acted as she did, but why go on with it?" "Once Blake left with the neutrotope, there was no need for more killing." "I don't understand that myself." "What worries me is that she's still so confident." "She hasn't a hope of escaping yet she's still holding out." "How did she hope to dispose of the neutrotope when we reached Destiny?" "She probably made contact with a prospective buyer when you were collecting it." "It wouldn't be too difficult." "What is it?" "I know what she's planning." "Why she sabotaged the ship." "Well, don't keep us in suspense." "Ever since the controls were damaged we have been in the same space position." "A homing beam transmitter and it's operating." "Anyone tuned into its frequency can locate us exactly." "That's why she's not worried." "Another ship is coming to get her and it's on its way now." " Destroy it!" " Too late." "They will have had a fix on us for some time now." "And when they get here and find the neutrotope not on board?" "It wouldn't matter if it was." "They will have to destroy the evidence." "And that, I'm afraid, includes us." "I don't think I feel very well." "I hope nothing's been broken." "So do I." "It's still on the Ortega." "We've got to get back to them." "Now I know I don't feel very well." "If we could get back onto the flight deck, how long would it take to finish repairs?" "No time at all." "It's virtually all done." "In flight we'd stand some sort of chance, like this we're a sitting target." "We would have to burn through the flight deck door." "And if we did, she's armed, remember." "She could still hold us off." "Then we have to get her to come out." "Well she's hardly likely to do that." "Oh yes she is." " Visual." " Confirmed." "There, there she is." "How long before we're in teleport range?" "23.16 minutes." "We're getting another reading, look!" "Another ship." "It must be coming to collect the neutrotope." "Zen, can we get there first?" "Liberator will be in teleport range 3 minutes before the unidentified ship makes contact with the Ortega." "[MUFFLED LASER BLASTS AND SCREAMING]" "You'd better get her out of here, I really rather enjoyed that." "Teleport range will be achieved in one minute." "Come on, Vila." "They're getting very close." "Blake!" "How did you get back so soon?" "Get ready to leave." "There's a ship coming up on you fast." "You've got about three minutes." "We have the neutrotope now, nothing else matters." " I'll get the others." " I'll be back in a minute." "He's cutting it too fine." "Come on Blake, get out of there." "No, no I won't!" " She must be taken back for trial." " Agreed." "I won't go!" " Everything set?" " Yes, ready." "Bring us across Vila." "They're locked on." "[EXPLOSION]" "What was that?" "I rigged a charge on the entry hatch." "Right, I think we can get you all home now." "Zen, set a course for Destiny, speed standard by six." "Confirmed." "Take us round the easy way this time."