"Agent Sandoval, we have a problem." "Report." "Two unidentified shuttles have made an unscheduled appearance in Earth air space." "Contact the shuttles." "The pursuing shuttle is trying to contact us, but... the transmitter is damaged." "Notify Zo'or at once." "Subtitled by Axarion" "They are the Companions." "Aliens come to Earth on a mission of peace." "Their true mission, the secrets they hide, forever alter humanity." "Caught in the struggle between these Taelon Companions and the Human Resistance is Liam Kincaid." "A man who is more than human." "The mysteries of his past hold the key to Earth's future and the fate of mankind." "On Earth Final Conflict." "94.2 degrees." "Just perfect!" "You can tell the exact temperature just by dipping your toe, huh?" "You know, Liam, you may not know this, but... this isn't my first time." "Wake up out there!" "I just had third degree burns over half my body!" "Yeah, well Da'an just took off, but he wouldn't tell me where." "Just said I'd be on my own for three days, and that I wouldn't be able to reach him." "Well, maybe he's trying to give you a subtle hint like "get a life!"" "Yeah, funny." "How could you not know where Da'an went?" "Weren't you the one that flew him there?" "I was scheduled to, but he used an ID portal that he just had installed in his office." "Even programmed the destination himself." "Something's up." "Two shuttles were just involved in a chase and one of them crashed." "Da'an disappears mysteriously and now the shuttle crashes?" "Any indication that Da'an was involved?" "No, but the pilot that survived was a Taelon." "Pull up the mother ship air traffic control sphere." "That's the shuttle being pursued." "Was being pursued." "Find out who was on board." "I can't match any of these energy signatures with any of the shuttles in the current fleet." "Got a theory as to why?" "No, for once, I don't." " I've got to figure out what's going on." " Wait, wait, wait!" "You know, the Taelons might have found out that we've tapped into their air traffic control system." "It's could be a trap, Liam." "I have sensed the loss in the Commonality of the pursuing pilot." "Both shuttles were being piloted by Taelons?" "That surprises you?" "I've just never been exposed to Taelons flying with such aggression." "We did navigate across several million light years to get to Earth, or have you forgotten that, Captain?" "We have been unable to identify the shuttle Zo'or." "Perhaps, you could assist." "The identification of the shuttles is a Taelon matter." "Your orders are to locate the surviving pilot." "Our search would be more effective if we knew what we were looking for." "You are looking for a Taelon who will not be cooperative when you find him." "He must be apprehended at any cost." "At any cost?" "Are you suggesting that we kill this Taelon if he doesn't cooperate?" "Was my order unclear, Captain?" "It was crystal clear." "I will notify the Synod at once of this incident." "Da'an must be notified face to face." "Certainly." "I'll instruct Major Kincaid to bring Da'an to the mother ship." "No." "I will go to Da'an myself." "It would seem to be more efficient to bring Da'an to you at this time of crisis, Zo'or." "I have stated my wishes, Agent Sandoval." "All that is required is for you to fulfill them." "Captain Marquette has your assignments." "We don't have the exact location of the survivor, but we have pinpointed the general area." "This is our search grid." "We'll work in every section from the outside toward the center, giving our survivor very little chance of escape." "We'll keep pulling in tighter and tighter until we squeeze him out." "Your target is a Taelon." "This Taelon is a traitor to his own species." "If necessary, you are authorized to use deadly force to apprehend him." "Any questions?" "Good, move out." "Got you." "You were just lucky." "Let us go again." "No, we gotta get going, my mom's gonna get worried." "Do not be afraid." "I will not harm you." "Are you a Taelon?" "Yes." "Greetings." "Touch him, Jesse." "How did you do that?" "Our touching allowed me to sample your DNA so that I could affect the facade that you would see on other Taelons." "Yeah, right, sure." "I never imagined human beings would be so innocent." "You can call me Bel'lie." "I'm Jesse." "This is Ricky." " Can you help me, Jesse?" " How?" "I need to find a place where I can rest." "You can come to my house, my mom won't mind!" "No." "I want our meeting to be a secret between you, Ricky and I." "I must go somewhere where no one can find me." "I know the perfect spot!" "Only me and Ricky know about it." "Please, take me there." "Alright, but you have to promise you won't tell anybody." "It is a promise." "Da'an was not in the shuttle." "Zo'or's gone to see him now." "Where?" "He didn't say, but before he left, he ordered Sandoval to launch a massive search to find the surviving pilot." "Boy, Zo'or is really bent on finding this Taelon." "I need you to throw Sandoval's men off the trail." "Look, I can slow them down, but I can't hold them off forever." "Do it." "Liam?" "What a pleasant surprise." "We have a report of a downed shuttle." "I need to find the surviving pilot before Zo'or does." "How can we help?" "Take the best people from your cell, put a team together." "I'm coming for you right now." "Okay, we'll be ready." "Listen, now that you know it wasn't Da'an on that shuttle, could you just do me a favor and give me a little bit more time so I can make sure that you're not walking into a trap?" "I don't have the time." "Zo'or is definitely rattled." "If we don't locate this pilot first, we may never find out why." "There's a clearing about a hundred yards past that growth of trees." "According to Augur, that's where the pilot crashed." "Okay, guys, fan out and follow our lead." "You better hurry up, Sandoval's onto us." "You won't be alone for long." "Found them lurking in the bushes." "Watching us." "Lower your guns." "Give us 5." " Establish perimeter." " You heard her, move out.." "Do not worry, we're not gonna hurt you." "You're really convincing!" " Is that better?" " Yeah, I guess." "What's your name?" "Jesse." "Why were you watching us, Jesse?" "No reason." "A shuttle crashed around here, the pilot was a Taelon." " Do you have any idea where he might be?" " No." "Tell him, Jesse." "Look, I know you're scared, but if you wanna help this Taelon, you've got to tell me where he is." "Why?" "So you could take him away?" "Listen, Jesse, in about 2 minutes there's gonna be a whole lot of people coming down here that wanna hurt the Taelon." "How do I know you're telling the truth?" "I know it's not fair that you're in this position, but it's up to you to decide what happens to the Taelon." "You either have to trust me or not?" "What happens if I don't tell you?" "We'll just have to try and find the Taelon ourselves." "Hopefully, before his enemies do." "Okay, Jesse." "I understand." "We're gonna have to split up and search in teams." "Wait." "I don't want anything to happen to Bel'lie." " Can you tell me where he is?" " Yeah, he's in our fort." "We have an emergency." "It is inconceivable that you would interrupt me during the Ka'arpaaj." "You have destroyed the sacred moment." "A Taelon has crash landed on Earth and survived." "Have you identified the survivor?" "All of your senses are now directed toward fulfilling the Ka'arpaaj." "If you were not engaged in this anachronistic ritual, you would certainly have sensed this particular" "Taelon's presence in the Commonality." "Enough of your manipulation." "I demand to know the identity of the survivor." "It is Bel'lie." "I'm going in alone." "It's your funeral." "Take up blocking positions." "I don't want to hurt you." "Although your actions speak otherwise, I shall take you at your word." "I am Companion Agent, Liam Kincaid, I'm here to take you to the mother ship." "You cannot take me to the mother ship." "And why not?" "I am in great danger from my own species." "But as a loyal Companion Agent, I do not expect you to understand this." "Try me." "I will end my existence on this plane before I will be taken to the mother ship." "You'd rather die than be turned over to the Taelons?" "Yes." "Then that's what you'll have to do, because my orders are to take you to the mother ship." "I have come from another planet, also occupied by Taelons." "I come in search of human resistors to help you retake your home!" "Come, let's go!" "We can't outrun it." "You've got about 2 minutes till the next wave of shuttles arrive." "Get the hell out of there!" "We'll take him to Augur's, wait for me there." "I've got to report to the mother ship." "We lost 3 volunteers in addition to the shuttle." "The firepower that brought down the shuttle could only have come from the Resistance." "And there's no sign of the Taelon survivor?" "No, sir." "We have no idea how they effected their escape." "It's as if they vanished." "Have you located the Taelon survivor's shuttle?" "Yes, sir, it sustained minor damage during the chase, but it's still operational." "Bring it to the mother ship immediately." "Capt. Marquette will meet you in the shuttle bay with a technical team to examine it." "Major." " Are you fully briefed?" " Yes." "I want you to coordinate a search in North America from the embassy." "I must apprise Da'an of the situation with the Taelon survivor." "I have already done so." "Zo'or, I can't fulfill my obligation to protect Da'an if he's separated from me." "Da'an is engaged in a Taelon ritual we call the Ka'arpaaj." "Most enlightened Taelons have abandoned the Ka'arpaaj, but there are still some Taelons who feel compelled to complete it." "They see the ritual as a time for self-examination, and renewal." "Where does the ritual take place?" "In a specific location on the Taelon home world." "The Taelon home world?" "Da'an travelled there?" "We have designed a simulation, to spare us the time required for the journey." "I need to discuss this directly with Da'an." "Da'an has refused to interrupt the Ka'arpaaj." "Direct your efforts towards locating the survivor." "That is in the best interest of all Taelons." "Which is of course, your duty." "Is it not, Major?" "You said you came here in search of human resistors to the Taelons." "Well... you found us." "Why did you really come?" "I do not support the Synod's current strategy of subjugating other species to aid in our war with the Jaridians." "How many other planets are the Taelons inhabiting?" "Hundreds, but it is an accepted truth within the Commonality, that humanity represents our best hope for survival." "Well, what about our survival?" "I am in agreement with you." "What we are doing is wrong, and there are many other Taelons who feel the same." "You came all this way to tell us that?" "Yes, and to bring the best of the resistors back with me to join forces with the other Taelons who believe as I do." "Your presence down here is gonna lead the Taelons right to us." "I need proof that you're telling the truth." "The proof is in the data banks of my shuttle." "Lili's conducting the search of the shuttle." "Get a message to her." "Tell her about the information in the data banks." "Your friend is not totally incorrect." "I am a part of the Taelon Commonality, and as such, I do pose a threat to the security of this facility." "But the Commonality doesn't serve as a locator." " The Taelons can't trace you here." " That is only partly true." "The basis of the Commonality is a psychic link between all Taelons." "Eventually, that link will lead the Taelons to me." "Then we need to cut that link." "Separate you from the Commonality." "That is impossible." "I cannot voluntarily sever myself from the Commonality." " And even if I could..." " No!" "No, no, no!" "I've already had one place destroyed by a Neanderthal Taelon, thank you very much!" "They canceled my insurance after that." "No." "What are you talking about?" "When a Taelon is separated from the Commonality, they revert to their most primitive form, it's call an Atavus." "And the last time a Taelon reverted to an Atavus, whole lot of people were killed." "They're bad enough as Taelons, but as an Atavus, they're like a wild animal." "He couldn't control himself even if he wanted to." "No, no, no, we can prevent that." "Augur can sever the Commonality link and he can redirect the psychic energy of a human being to a Taelon that will take the place of the Commonality, and prevent Bel'lie from reverting to an Atavus." "You're willing to risk human lives in order to save a Taelon?" "!" "No, I won't ask any of your people, we'll do it." "What do you mean "we", kemosabe?" "We can't afford to have you outta commission." " I'll do it." " No, that wasn't my intention." "I'm not saying it was." "You understand that Augur has to put you into a state of near death?" "We may not be able to bring you back." "I understand." "Now, can we get on with it?" "You sure about this?" "I've just download the human interface." "First we're gonna go over it inch by inch, and then we're gonna take it apart piece by piece." "Download the data banks." "The data core has suffered a lot of damage." "I uh, I have to run a retrieval program." "It could take some time." "I'll wait." "I wanna know how he escaped, who helped him, and why he came here." " Got lucky." " Download it to a disk." "We've accessed the data banks, Zo'or." "We're downloading the information now." "Done." "Transmitting data from the shuttle's data banks." "Emma Peel would be proud!" "Guess she doesn't watch old reruns on the spy channel." "Not bad, Augur." "Yeah, considering what I had to work with, but it'll serve our purposes." "Listen, you have to stay hooked up until we pull you out, okay?" "Right." "Which we'll do at the first sign of any danger." "It's not too late to change your mind." "I'm ready." "With this I will identify your Commonality frequency." "Now, once you're separated from the Commonality," "I'll need to re-stabilize you every 10 minutes or so." "Other than that, you can move around freely." "The nobility of the human species is known to all Taelons, but you have exceeded even my loftiest expectations." "I am humbled by your sacrifice." "It's time." "He's separated from the Commonality." "They both are stabilized." "What if Bel'lie destabilizes and becomes an Atavus?" "Well, I think we all know the answer to that." "This is the data Lili downloaded." "How do we know this came from Bel'lie's shuttle?" "Because Lili said it did." "Well, the Taelons could have planted it there, right?" "You know, Julia, we actually thought of that, but maybe we should look at it first before we judge it." "Is that okay with you?" "Good." "Look." "He took a hell of a trip to get here." "You see that?" "As a human being," "I do not believe you can fully understand what it means to be separated from the Commonality for the first time in my life." "The notion of finally being alone with your own thoughts must be liberating." "And terrifying as well." "There is great comfort in the Commonality, in knowing that you are never alone." "We have a saying that you're born alone and you die alone." "But most of us spend the rest of our lives just trying to escape that inevitability." "As a part of the Commonality, we can never act against the interests of the majority of Taelons." "Even when we know that the majority is wrong." "But Zo'or acts against the Taelons all the time." "Because, on some level, the Synod agrees with Zo'or's actions." "If they did not, Zo'or would not be able to act aggressively against any Taelon." "But he doesn't just act aggressively." "Zo'or has tried to have his Taelon enemies killed!" "Is the Synod aware of that?" "They may not know the full extent of Zo'or's malevolence, but they do understand that he has a reservoir of aggression within him, and have chosen not to dissipate it through the Commonality." "The Synod wants Zo'or to do what they can't, and in this way, they can escape all responsibility for his actions." "Yes, and now that I can reason as an individual," "I can see how cowardly that is." "Bel'lie, we can't sustain your separation from the Commonality indefinitely." "Then you must release me, and let fate take its course." "There may be another way." "I serve as the Protector to a member of the Taelon Synod who may be receptive to your thoughts." "His name is Da'an." "Da'an?" "He was the most outspoken advocate against my views." "He banished me to the farthest reaches of the galaxy, so that I would no longer be heard." "Da'an is the most sympathetic to humanity of all the Taelons." "Da'an is the architect of the Taelon strategy for galactic destruction as a means to defeating the Jaridians." "He must be stopped." "And each of you will coordinate the search from your own region." "Do not deviate from our official statement that this Taelon has been kidnapped by the Resistance." "Carry on." "Has there been any reluctance on the part of the human authorities to aid in this search?" "On the contrary, Zo'or, despite our recent problems, the human law enforcement, even at the highest level, has been most cooperative in our search." "Excellent." "That degree of cooperation will prove essential when the time comes for us to execute our strategy for the planet." "Something's not right." "Before Da'an disappeared, he asked me to ready the shuttle." "He wanted me to take him somewhere." "Yeah, it must be that Taelon ritual, the Ka'arpaaj." "Then he had a meeting with Zo'or, and cancelled the shuttle flight." "Well, obviously he didn't want you to witness the ritual." "I understand that, but I still could have flown him anywhere." "He didn't have to share the details of the ritual with me." "Okay, I'll see what I can find out." "Hey, what's going on?" "It's okay, it's okay, the instruments are set to warn us of even a slightest change in the readings." "Liam doesn't want anything to happen to him." "No, Liam said that you would get him out if there was any sing of danger." "Yes, if he was in any danger." "But I agree with you." "We've got to do something very soon." "Very soon?" "Okay, I wanna him outta there right now!" " Hey, it's not your call!" " No, and it's not Liam's either!" "You're right." "It's his, he volunteered, remember?" "Liam, we've gotta do something very soon, we can't keep Bel'lie down here much longer." "Alright, that's it!" "Take him off the machine!" "It's not Mitch, something's wrong with the sphere!" "Well, then fix the damn thing!" "It's jammed, I've been locked out!" " Somebody sabotaged it!" " Mitch!" "Mitch, wake up!" "Wake up!" "We gotta get you off this thing, okay?" "Come here." "Uh-oh, take cover!" " Uh-oh." " What?" "I've seen this before, there's gonna be a lot of damage!" "Kill it!" "Liam, there's definitely going to be a problem." "Tyler, right?" "Captain Marquette." "Yeah, I understood your brother served in the SI War." "Yes, ma'am." "I'm certainly aware of your service record." "You checked my service record?" "Absolutely." "Before I joined up with the Taelons, I wanted to know who I'd be serving with." "It's an honor to follow in your footsteps." "Listen, um, maybe you could help me with something." "I'm trying to find some information on the portal construction program." "You know that information is classified, Captain." "Oh, yeah, I know, I just, I'm concerned that they're cutting back on my shuttle flying time and I was just wondering when they decided to install portals in Taelon embassies." "We're not doing that." "Oh..." "Da'an just had one installed in his office." "Oh, it wasn't Da'an." "That's what I thought." "Zo'or ordered the portal for Da'an's office." "Over a week ago." "You were ready to kill Bel'lie at the slightest provocation." "I did not touch the sphere." "Your team and Augur were the only ones with access." " Then why don't you ask him?" " Oh, this girl is a piece of work." "Look, I said it wasn't me, and it wasn't any of my people either." "I guarantee it." "Bel'lie told us that it was Da'an who was leading the charge against humanity and had to be stopped." "Bel'lie had access to the sphere to stabilize his readings." "I mean, that was the point of this whole exercise." "What are you saying, that Bel'lie actually pulled the plug himself?" "But why would he want to become an out of control, wild animal?" "I saw the rage in Bel'lie's eyes when I mentioned Da'an." "There was murder there." "A Taelon murdering another Taelon?" "Doesn't that violate some sort of Taelon code of ethics or something?" "Yeah, if he remains a Taelon." "But not if he becomes an Atavus." "You think he became an Atavus on purpose?" "He might." "If it was the only way he could kill Da'an." "I've gotta get to the embassy." "Hold it!" "Stop." "Da'an..." "Where is he?" "The portal." "The settings haven't been changed." "What happened?" "It's the Atavus, sir." "He escaped through the portal." "Bel'lie!" "I have waited a long time to kill you, Da'an." "Da'an!" "I can save you." "You can live to fight another day." "Killing Da'an can't be the answer you're looking for." "No!" "Hang on, don't let go!" "You're wrong about Da'an." " Let us help you." " Do not trust Da'an." "He will betray you." "Why would he make that accusation?" "He knew me in a different time." "I am no longer the Taelon I once was." "Will you betray me, Da'an?" "The data from Bel'lie's shuttle seems to back up his story." "There are hundreds of images like that." "Planets in different stages of destruction." "Well, I didn't trust Bel'lie." "But we can't deny what we're seeing here." "I mean, he says that Da'an's gonna betray us, I believe him." "I don't know." "Our alliance with Da'an is critical." "Lili's right." "We'll have to live with that risk for the moment." "Besides, I'm not ready to turn my back on Da'an." "Well, I just hope that when you are ready that we are not all found floating in a blue tank somewhere." "Because that's exactly where we'll be if you're wrong." "It's not exactly that simple." "I did some unofficial checking into the portal in Da'an's office, and Zo'or is the one who had it installed, not Da'an." "But Zo'or didn't want anyone near that home world recreation." "He was taking no chances." "Liam's flown to the moon base before, Zo'or knows that." "Liam could have easily flown Da'an to the moon base without ever knowing about the recreation." "Zo'or wanted someone to have direct access to the home world recreation from Da'an's office." "Like Bel'lie." "Are you saying that Zo'or planned this whole thing, and brought in Bel'lie to get rid of Da'an?" "Maybe, or maybe Zo'or set it up so that Bel'lie could escape." "Bel'lie never even knew that he was being used." "So then, how much of this is real?" "There's only one way for us to know for sure, and that's to go there ourselves." "Find out if there are Taelons out there who really want to help us." "You insist upon viewing our home world as it was." "You are in a state of denial." "I draw strength from experiencing this beauty." "I prefer the truth, Da'an." "I draw my strength by always remembering how the Jaridians destroyed our home world." "Subtitled by Axarion"