"Dad, it's Diego." "What?" "Don't you worry, Baby Bear." "We'll get him safe and sound." "Matt, you about ready, soldier?" "Yes, sir." "Come on, Matt." "That's the way to get it done, son." "That's the way to get it done." "Yeah." "Alpha, Alpha." "Phase one complete." "Stand by." "Three, two, one." "Let's go!" "Let's go!" " You ready, newbie?" " Yep." "Locked and loaded!" "Affirmative!" "Nice one, Benji." "Stop calling me that." " You love it." " No, I hate it." "No, you love it." "Diego!" "Diego, it's Jeanne!" "Don't you recognize me'?" "He doesn't." "Trust me." "We have to get him in the truck now." "Yes, sir." "That was easy." "Yeah." "Piece of cake." "Button it, the both of you." "Aw, come on, Cap." "The fat lady just sang." " Let's celebrate." " It's Colonel now, Pope." "And, besides, it ain't over until..." "It's over." "Take cover!" " Unh!" " Behind you!" "Maggie!" "What the hell is that?" "Wait for it!" "Fire!" "I'm out of ammo!" "I'm out!" "I'm out!" "Hold your fire!" "Hold your fire!" "Oh, I got to get me one of those." "Come on, Matt." "Let's go see your dad." "Jeanne." " Everything secure, Colonel?" " More or less." "Wasn't the easy mission we thought it was gonna be." "No?" "No, we were compromised, damn it." "There's no denying it." "We were like fish in a barrel for those damn megamechs or whatever the hell they were." "Looks like the Espheni have got more up their sleeve than we realized." "What do you say we get the hell out of here before they figure out what happened?" "Copy that, sir." "Great job, everybody!" "What do you say we all go home?" "Let's move out!" "CHARLESTON SALUTES THE TROOPS" "Glad to see you made it back in one piece, Mr. President." "Please don't call me that." "It's what you are, sir." "And I'm begging you not to go off on any more missions." " It's, uh, it's too dangerous." " Thank you, General," "I've been trying to tell him that for months." " Miss Peralta." " Professor Mason." "For once I agree with General Bressler, here." "The deal, as I recall, was that, if elected," "I wouldn't be stuck behind a desk or called president." " Yes, but that's the..." " I fight." "We all fight until the last damn alien occupier's off the planet." "I don't think I can be any clearer than that." "No, sir." "I want all key military personnel to meet in the war room in one hour." "Yes, sir." "How about Anne?" "Any word from her yet?" "I think I would have led with that, no?" "I suppose you would have." "How about Arthur?" "How's he holding up?" "Professor Manchester?" "Happy as a clam, doing what he does best, chairing committee meetings." "Diego!" "Better him than me, that's for sure." "Matt, great job out there." "Yes, sir." "I couldn't have done it without him." "Yeah, but..." "Hey, no buts about it, son." "You were outstanding." "It's just..." "I wish I could have gotten in a kill or two, that's all." "Hey, Matt!" "Let's go!" "Hang on." "See you, Dad, and Colonel Weaver." "Soldier." "See you in the war room, Dan, in about an hour?" "You can count on it, Tom... uh, sir, Professor..." "Mr. President." "What exactly am I supposed to call you now?" "Tom will do." "Nothing's changed, Dan." "Oh, I'd say, in these past seven months, plenty has changed." "Here." "Alley-oop." "Don't worry, hot wheels." "We'll make sure we don't drop you on your head." "Just be careful, okay?" " You got him?" " Yep." "We're good." "Eh, we'll go forward." "Oh, yeah." "All right, boys." "Don't mess with me now." "I'm mobile." "We really got our tails caught in it back there, didn't we, Dad?" "Not the best place to talk about it, son." "Yes, sir." "All right, girl, race you back to the barracks." "You're on." "Ben, we could use your help in the infirmary with those harnessed kids." "Of course, we just need to wrap up here." "All right, I'll see you there." "What?" "You and your boys, "The Fighting Masons."" " Oh, it's just..." " I think it's cute." "So this is the new order, huh?" "The Mason administration, friend to all." "Any old alien that just happens to blow into our camp." "You say the word, boss." "Mexico is looking better to me every day." "I need to work on my tan." "What do you say, Chief?" "Can't be any better down there." "I don't think so." "We got alien battalions just looking to fry our ass." "The hell with this." "I'm gonna go begin my beer therapy a little bit early." "I'll be in The Nest." "Diego." "Come on." "Are we almost ready, Dr. Glass?" "Just about." "You remember Diego?" "Of course I do." "He's gonna be fine." "Let's go." "His neck." "Fortunately, the harness hasn't been on Diego very long, so this should be a fairly quick procedure with a short recovery." "Think it'll be completely removed?" "Mm-hmm." "Completely, painlessly, and without side effects." "Almost." "Almost." "Got it." "Extracting now." "Hold tight." " Yes." "All clear." " Coming in." "Easy." "Got it." "You got a tray?" "He's gonna be fine, Jeanne." "We're just gonna take him to a recovery area." " Prep the next patient." " Yeah." "Welcome back." "It's good to be back." " Marina." " Dr. Glass." "So can I talk you into sticking around for a while, at least until our baby is born?" "Yeah, I think I can arrange that." "What about you?" "Why are you still working so close?" "I hardly have a choice." "I'm the only one the aliens taught to work this machine." " Still..." " Professor?" "One second." "Just take it easy, okay?" "I promise." " Okay." "See you later." " Yeah." "Ten-hut!" "Sorry I'm late." "As you were, gentlemen." "Somebody mind telling me what our alien friend Cochise is doing here?" "The Volm are our allies, and they deserve to have a voice in any assessment of our missions." "As my son Hal just pointed out, we got our tails caught in it." "Big time." "Is that a fair assessment, Colonel?" " Fair enough, yes." " It had nothing to do with Colonel Weaver's meticulous planning." "It sure seemed to me like they knew we were coming." "Damn straight." "Walked right into it." "First time ever on one of these missions we were ambushed." "What are you saying, Tom?" "We got some kind of an infiltrator, some kind of spy?" "A damn traitor?" "This is the possibility we have to consider." "And in this age of alien doodads, eye worms and the like, it could be anybody in the city of Charleston." "Or any thing." "I mean, we have skitters camped right next to us, walking around our city like nobody's business." "Rebel skitters, loyal to the cause." "Skitters, nonetheless, sir, who, not too long ago, were indiscriminately killing humans at the bidding of their masters..." "Many of them have died side by side with humans, General." "They've given us no cause to doubt their loyalty." "Gents." "Can an old soldier put his two cents worth in here?" "Please do." "One year ago, if you'd asked me what our chances were to win this fight," "I'd have said slim to none." "Now it's seven months down the track, and we've done more than just stick the occasional finger in the enemy's eye." "We've put a hurt on him." "Yes, but in the long run, you are not gonna get a..." "General, let me finish my thought." "In fact, it's so effective that the enemy has had to resort to espionage as a counter." "And my opinion, that's good news." "Thank you, General." "I am pleased to hear you say that, and I agree with you wholeheartedly." "It is indeed most excellent... news." "I beg your pardon." "Is it not an appropriate moment in which to comment?" "It's quite appropriate." "Please continue." "Not only have the Espheni resorted to espionage, as General Porter has pointed out, but they have been forced to deploy their superior terrain droids, usually reserved for more technologically advanced forces." "You have unnerved the Espheni, sir." "A worthy and unique accomplishment, I assure you." "But there's been no decisive battle!" "But the Espheni know and understand large offensives, General." "What bedevils them is our consistent skirmishing." "That makes no logical sense." "Well, human logic is to be discarded when at war with extraterrestrial beings." "Well, we still have this damn mole to deal with, no matter what." "Agreed." "I suggest that we appoint Arthur Manchester to head an investigation." "Seriously?" "He's got a head for these things." "And he's the only one that didn't have any prior knowledge to the planning of the mission." "Thank you, gentlemen." "Sir." "I'm glad you came, Hal." "I wasn't sure you got my message." "Loud and clear." "Hal, I've missed you so much." "I've missed you more than you could ever imagine." "Another nightmare?" "Do you remember what it was about?" "No." "Well, it's got to be something to make you wake up in a cold sweat." "I said I don't remember." "Okay?" "Okay." "Maybe you can talk to someone at the clinic about it." "I don't need to talk to anyone about it, okay?" "What I need is my wheelchair, which someone put all the way on the other damn side of the room." " What are we doing today?" " Another crazy day." "Citizen's forum in two days?" "That's right." "Public works committee?" "That's... that's Arthur's." "Not since you put Dr. Manchester in charge of this secret investigation you have going." "I'm sure the rumor is already out that we have a spy." "They are, so be prepared for the forum to be less than fun." " Hello Ben." "Denny." " Got a minute?" "Sure I do." "What's up?" "The leader of the rebel skitters is requesting a meeting with you." "Did he say what it was about?" "Just that he'd like you to come to their camp tonight." "He can't come here?" "They don't feel comfortable within the city limits." "'Cause of the anti-skitter talk." "Anti-skitter talk." "Fine." "Tell him Colonel Weaver and I will come see him tonight when I get free here." "We'll tell him, Dad." "Thanks." "Professor." "He's doing much better." "I think so." "Yes." "Yeah, I mean, four months ago, he couldn't move." "Considering that, he's come a very long way." "And he's got the right attitude, you know?" "He certainly is working hard." "I know." "It's just..." "I mean, he's putting up a good front and all, but he's been having these nightmares the past few weeks." "Bad ones." "And he won't tell me what they are, but I can tell they are freaking him out." "Well, like Dr. Glass said, there's nothing physically wrong with him." "But something's wrong with him." "Something happened to him." "I think it's something she did to him." "Karen?" "Yeah." "I'm not saying it's not possible." "But we examined him thoroughly, as best we can, anyway." "I know." "And we didn't find anything." "I know." "Thank God he's had you these past seven months, though, Maggie." "He never would have made it without you." "Hey, good looking." "You want to dance?" "Look, I just want to say, um, I'm sorry for acting like such a..." "Jerk?" "Yeah." "That." "All is forgiven." "Get back to work." "Yes, ma'am." "I can't begin to tell you how pleased" "I am that you agreed to meet with me, Anthony." "Well, I don't know how much help I can be, sir, but Professor Mason did ask me to meet with you, and, well, here I am meeting." "I'm given to understand that you worked for the Boston Police Department prior to the invasion." "Yes, sir." "Five years in blue, and five years undercover narcotics." " Impressive." " Thanks, I guess." "We have a situation, a bad situation." " You mean with the spy?" " You know about it?" "There isn't a soul in Charleston that doesn't." "And, frankly, people are pretty upset about it." "Well, I've been tasked with the job of investigating the mole, and, frankly, I could use someone with experience." "I'm not sure if busting a couple of small-time drug dealers qualifies me for espionage work, Dr. Manchester." "Besides, how do you know I'm not the spy?" "Well, I don't, actually." "Well..." "I'll tell you why I'm not the spy." "Motive." "It's the first thing you look for." "What in the hell would my motive be for helping the same bugs" "I've been trying to kill for two years?" "I see your point." "Uh, there... are some files that I would like you to take a look at." "And here's the list." "There are a lot of names here that I recognize." "Some I know really well," "I fought side-by-side with." "Yes, I'm afraid so." "What do you need me for?" "Because I've got about 50 possible suspects on that list, and to be candid, I could use some help narrowing it down." "Thank you for coming on such short notice," "Professor, Colonel Weaver." "You said you had something important to tell us?" "We have received reports that the Espheni are once again preparing a major offensive against Charleston." "Let 'em try." "They failed the past three times." "I agree." "Thanks to the Volm, our defenses are stronger than ever." "Suddenly they want to attack us?" "Gluttons for punishment, I guess." "You've put them behind schedule." "The Espheni do not like their timetables disrupted." "Glad to know we've been making it tough for them." "True, but it bears repeating that the humans are not the ultimate target... the Volm are, and their troop ships are heading toward your planet." " To destroy the Espheni?" " So they say." "Thank you for the advance warning." "We'll discuss a strategy and inform you of our plan." "As always, we're standing by to assist, Professor." "There is one more thing." "A new overlord has replaced the one killed by you." "It is rumored to be even more dangerous and ruthless than its predecessor." "That's hardly surprising." "Ordinarily, I would agree, except that this particular overlord is human." "Human?" "Correct." "Karen." "What are you doing?" "You fell asleep on top of the bed with all your clothes on." "Oh, I was trying to sneak in a nap." "It's been a long couple of days." "I bet." "Twenty-five kids de-harnessed, not one complication." " That's got to feel good." " It does." "A lot." "I only wish we had the Volm's technology a couple of years ago, so many children lost." "How are you?" "How's your day going?" "Same." "Crazy." "Miles to go before I sleep, I'm afraid." "What?" "This is Marina and her scheduling neurosis..." "This isn't Marina." "Somebody needs to stop telling her to play White House." "White House and the president of 20 square blocks." "And Charleston's growing." "Refugees are coming in every day." "There's got to be a feeling of safety and security, or it will all end up in chaos." "I never thought I'd say this, but I miss being on the road, being chased by skitters." "It seems like we had more time together." "I know." "I'll see you later." "It's just something he needs." " Hey." " Hey." "You wanna grab a bite to eat?" "Someone opened this Shawarma stand in Pope Town" "I've been dying to try." "I'm sure we could barter a couple of house calls for a meal or two." "Honestly, I'm beat." "I'm gonna check on that appendectomy in bed 17 and then crash in my bed like a 10-ton weight." "I totally get it." "Rain check, then?" "Yeah." "Absolutely." "Hey, I got it." "No, I got it." "Unh." "Uh-oh." "My water broke." "Dad, Anne's having the baby now." " Tom, I think I've done it." " Done what, Arthur?" "Narrowed the list down to a dozen possible suspects." "Now, you're not gonna believe it, but..." "Oh, I can't talk right now." "Anne's having the baby." "Oh." "Oh." "It can wait." "It can wait." "A militia group from Wisconsin spotted your camp when they were crossing over the black hills in Kentucky." "Kentucky?" "Really?" "We've been trying to rescue as many of the harnessed kids as we can ever since the new aliens provided us with technology to safely remove the harness." "Did you know I'd be there?" "Every camp we went to, I looked for you." "This time, I got lucky." "Is that their place, the new aliens?" " That's it." " How many are there?" "Twenty." "Twenty-five." "No one knows for sure, since they mostly stay in their bunker or whatever they call it." "Where'd they come from?" "I'm not exactly sure." "They told us their planet had been invaded, same as us." "For hundreds of years, they've been chasing the overlords, trying to liberate planets they've tried to destroy." "Do you trust them?" "Well, it's because of them Charleston is safe." "They've given us new weapons and strategies." "It's hard not to believe what they say is true." "Who can argue with winning?" "But do you trust them?" "They're aliens." "Who's to say they're any better than the overlords or worse?" "Curfew's not for another half an hour." "I want to show you the horses." " So he's a butler?" " Right." " From 19th century England?" " Yes." "Fighting what?" "Grim reapers?" "With his ten year old master?" "He's 12." "Look, it's Manga." "Weird, is what it is." "Give me some plain old superhero any old day." "No, no, no." "You can't compare comic books to Manga." "Says who?" "Call, raise, or fold." "What's it gonna be, sweetcakes?" "Great." "Yes." "Yes, man." "I'm telling you!" "It was either the Lobsters or the Elephant Men." "Either one of them could have tipped off the Fishheads." "That's what I'm hearing." "Now, we should be kicking them both out of town, right now." " What are we waiting..." " Lars!" "My boy." "Listen, I know you've had a long and hard day in the trenches." "You mind if I offer you just one small, little piece of advice?" " What?" " Shut up!" "All right?" "You keep that kind of stuff, you tuck it way down inside that thick skull of yours, all right?" "Save it for your memoirs." "So what, are you an alien lover now, Pope?" "You got all the answers, huh?" "That it?" "You got all the smarts, is that right?" "No." "Tell you what." "I'll buy you a drink." "Huh?" "On the house." "Everybody!" "Chill out!" "All good things can be had right here at The Nest!" "Welcome!" "Lyle, do me a favor and buy those boys a round on me, all right?" "The cheap stuff." "Keep an eye on 'em, as well." " Thank you." " You got it, boss." " You should get some sleep." " I'm fine." "No, you're not." "We miss it?" "No, just my water broke." " Matt." " What?" "Geez." "Sorry, I thought she was having a baby." "That's fine, Matt." "You guys, it's gonna be a long night." "Trust me." "We could be here for a while." "Might be a good time to break out the old..." "Monopoly." "I'll go get the board." "Seriously?" "It's kind of a Mason family tradition." "Oh, okay." "Oh, I didn't even hear you come in." "Is it that time already?" "So it's you?" "Unh!" "Dad." "Look, I'm no ballistics expert... but it's a safe bet Dr. Manchester was shot with a gun modified with Volm tech." "That narrows it down to the military." "We're the only ones with access to the modified weapons." "We should at least make sure all those are accounted for." "Yes, sir." "This is my doing." " No." " Hell no, Tom." "You're not responsible for this." "Arthur claimed he was getting close, that he'd narrowed down the list of suspects." "That is possible, I suppose, but if he wrote it down, it's not here." "Which means his killer took it with him, which means he must have been close." "Too close, I'm afraid." "Dr. Manchester was basically a good man." "Sometimes misguided, but his heart was always in the right place." "Anthony, I'm gonna need your help to get to the bottom of this." "If this is the work of the spy, we need to know who, and fast." "I'll do my best, but I don't have much to go on, just that list that Dr. Manchester gave me." "It's a start." " General Porter." " Sir?" "Coordinate with General Bressler." "I want a full vetting of all military personnel." "Yes, sir." "Keep Miss Peralta in the loop." "It probably doesn't need to be said, but I'll say it anyway, we need to find this bastard before anybody else gets murdered and any other mission gets compromised." "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm about to become a father." "Okay, come on, Anne." "One more big push, okay?" "Oh." "You did it." "I got her." "It's a girl!" "It's a girl." "Oh, come here." "Oh." "Oh." "Oh." "On, hi, baby." "On, baby." "Look at you." "Oh, hi." "Oh." "Before we begin the traditional citizens' forum," "I hope you'll allow me to announce the arrival of our newest citizen to the New United States." "Alexis Denise Glass-Mason." "Thank you." "We also lost a good man this week..." "Arthur Manchester, whose legacy will live on forever right here with us, the citizens of Charleston." "He's just the latest casualty in a war that's already claimed more than we can count." "Our enemy is hell-bent on our destruction." "They will accept nothing less than our complete and utter annihilation." "For two long years, we've suffered at the hands of our oppressors, and yet, against all odds, we have survived." "And in these last seven months, we are finally winning!" "Our alien allies, the Volm, have given us superior weapons." "They've given us hope." "They've given us encouragement." "But our real weapon, the weapon that will ultimately gain us victory, is the strength and tenacity of the human spirit." "I think I'm gonna be sick." "Mexico, Boss." "I'm telling you." "We ought to be headed for Mexico." "Lyle, have you ever known me not to have a plan?" "No." "Guess not." "I don't understand." "What am I doing here?" "What are you doing here?" "All I ever wanted was for us to be together." "I've never stopped thinking about you, even after the transformation." "Transformation?" "When I became one of them." "You did something to me." "I planted a probe in your cerebral cortex." "A simple device, really." "Why?" "So we'll be connected to each other always." "No." "No, no." "It's not right." "It is right." "We were meant to be together." "I woke up paralyzed from the neck down." "That was you." "Fighting the probe." "You can walk now, don't you see?" "'Cause this is a dream." "Who cares if it's a dream or not, Hal?" "This... is all that matters." "Come in." "I..." "I've been saving this for a special occasion or something." "Well, anyway." "Should be good." "Congratulations on the birth of your daughter." "Thanks, Dan." "That means a lot." "Have a seat." "You want scotch?" "Oh." "Well, I won't say no to that." "Thank you." "To you and to Anne." "To the future." "Wow." "That's good." "Arthur certainly knew his scotch." "You ever wish that we'd left when we said we were going to?" "You remember?" "Before these damn Volm landed?" "Sometimes, yeah." "But" "I know." "I know." "Ahh." "You mind if I just directly speak my mind?" "I've never known you to do otherwise." "This alliance that you've created with this new set of aliens," "I, for one, think what they're selling us is a load of crap." "Yeah, I got the impression you felt that way for about the last seven months." "I mean, what are we doing here?" "What are we really doing?" "We're winning, Dan, pure and simple." "And we've got Cochise and the Volm to thank for it." "And, you honestly think that after the overlords are wiped out, theses guys are gonna just, what?" "I don't have any illusions about our allies if that's what you're getting at." "Well, that's exactly what I'm getting at, Tom, with all due respect." "You think Roosevelt and Churchill wanted to work with Stalin?" "They knew what he was about." "They needed him to win the war." "This is our war, Tom." "It's a human war." "And the minute we start forgetting that, the minute we start depending on somebody else to do this work for us, we're on a bad road." "You're never gonna get me to change my mind on that." "And if I could?" "I don't understand." "Come with me." "What are you doing over there?" "I'm looking for your boots." "They were right here." "That's where we left them last..." "last night." "Yeah, well, they're not there now." "You sleep okay last night?" "Yeah." "I did." " Finally." " No nightmares?" " No, not one." " That's great." "Here they are, way at the back." "That's weird." "Do Bressler and Porter know about this?" "I'm the only human that knows about this project, except for you now." "Cochise and I agreed it posed too much of a security risk." "You and Cochise?" "All the skirmishing, all the missions, everything that we've been doing has been designed to keep the Espheni off the scent of this." "It's kind of a big thing to have kept from me," " wouldn't you say, Tom?" " I know." "I have to take responsibility for that action, Colonel Weaver." "I asked Professor Mason to keep this project secret until the very last moment." "You know the tower in Boston we tried to blow up?" " All too well." " It's one of thousands." "They create a sort of defensive web that prevent the Volm ships from being able to enter our atmosphere." "Eliminating just one of those towers will be enough to open up a gap sufficient to let one of our ships enter the atmosphere." "This is what the mole has been after." "I don't get it, Tom." "What?" "A big gun?" "What is this?" "More than just a gun, Colonel." "When completed, it will be the decisive factor in ending this conflict." "A chance to win this war, Dan." "Think of it." "What's this bad boy supposed to do, anyway?"