"I wonder if the Chigoes have the same god." "All right, this ain't church." "Retrieve the collateral damage and move out." "This L.Z. is hot." "Let's go." "Yes, sir, over here!" " No one could survive this." " That's the tail section." "Come on." "Take a look at this." "Okay." "Stop him!" "Hold him!" "Hold him!" "Cut him off!" "Cut him off!" "Whoa, whoa!" "Wa-Wait!" "Wa-Wa-Wait!" "I-I-I'm the farthest man from home, okay?" " I-I-I'm the farthest man from home." " Okay, easy, sir." "I'm Captain Joyner, United States Army Special Forces." "We're here to help you get home." "Look at there." "Right there." "Up there." "See?" "Twelve billion people." "Twelve billion lives." "And then there's me, okay?" "Twelve billion lives, and then just me!" "Incoming!" "Just me!" "You can't get me home." "See these people?" "They can go." "I-I told them they could go." "But not me!" "Not me!" "They can go, but not me!" "I'm the farthest man from home!" "I'm the farthest man from home!" "I'm the farthest man from home!" "I'm the farthest man from home!" "There is no strife, no prejudice... no national conflict in outer space as yet." ""But why," some say, "the moon?" "Why choose this as our goal?"" "And they may well ask, "Why climb the highest mountain?"" "Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic?" "We choose to go to the moon!" "We choose to go to the moon in this decade... and do the other things." "Not because they are easy, but because they are hard." "Because that goal will serve to organize and measure... the best of our energies and skills." "Yeah, all right!" "Boom, boom, boom!" "Get some!" "Down!" "Good-bye!" "Thank you for tuning in to Adult Entertainment." "The Chigoes are launching an attack outside Proxima." "Hey, Vansen, why do they call aliens "Chigs"?" " Because they look like chigoes." " What are chigoes?" "They're like fleas." "They burrow themselves into your skin." "Well, to me they look more like praying mantis or a walking stick." " We could call them walkers!" " Let's blow the hell out of the walkers?" " Yeah." " Keep working on it." "...because that challenge is one that we're willing to accept... one we are unwilling to postpone... and one we intend to win." " This over?" " Commercial." "They're transmitting the Bears/Forty-Niners game." "The Niners suck." "They haven't won a Super Bowl in 68 years." "They're talking about canceling the season because of the war." "Now, I'll live through the war, but, man, I will die if I don't get any football." "Well, we can't have the aliens gettin' credit for a kill they didn't earn." "Next on the History Network, Planes of Yesterday." "Get some!" "Bam!" "Boom!" "Bam!" "Good-bye!" "Bam!" "Boom!" "See ya!" " I can't leave!" " I will find you!" "I believe in you." "Tellus, isn't it?" "Where you were gonna colonize." "I never thought I'd see it." "From Earth it would have taken 12 years for the next wormhole to open." "In space it's just a short cut through reticulum." "I was just thinking what it would have been like to have been with her." "Seeing Tellus together for the first time." " Ship's dropped anchor." " We're goin' in." "Way too hot." "We have a mission briefing in 15." " Maybe we'll know more." " Look." "An army A.P.C. where the hell did that come from?" "I'm going down in the observation room to get a better look." "Nathan, I hope you're not getting any ideas." "Bad ideas." "Ooh-ha, ooh-ha!" "Off of the rack in the middle of the night!" "Make a head call, and I'm ready to fight!" "Make a head call, and I'm ready to fight!" "Give me P.T. Good for you, good for me." "Sir." " Take him to the 14th middeck." " Yes, sir." "This way." "What's goin' on?" "Good to see you again." "They told me the light hurts your eyes." "I didn't wish to make you uncomfortable." "And I'm certain you didn't want to create any discomfort." "That's why I thought we should talk." "We wouldn't want to be irresponsible... with the account of your experiences... in particular, what you may have learned... from any extended exposure to the enemy." "You can trust me..." "because I know." "The marines killed one on Mars." "We've studied it." "And now I know more about them than anyone should." "So tell me." "Tell me what I know." "Tell me what I know." "Tell me, or you'll be taken away... and you'll be reeducated about your time on Tellus." "I can tell you what I know about you." "You're not the farthest man from home." "Sit down." "All right, this one's in the air." "Our mission is a reconnaissance patrol of two planets... in the Indi 20-9100 star system." "Both are hot." "Chigs own 'em." "West, what?" "Are you wonderin' what to get me for Christmas?" "The rules of engagement are as follows:" "Don't hang around for seconds." "We lost the entire 34th to an ambush on a similar patrol." "I want you on the flight deck at 1720." "The time will be 1650." "Ready, ready, hack." "I know that guy." "Sewell." "He's on the Aero-Tech board of directors." "He's one of the ones that had me thrown off the Tellus mission." " All the way down here?" "No." " What would he be doing?" "Saratoga could just be a layover for some civilian destination." "No." "There's a Tellus survivor on board." "You saw the army A.P.C. arrive." "When I went to middeck it was restricted... but I saw someone in a biohazard suit under Green Beret escort." "Sewell was there." "Sounds like maybe a crewman was exposed to a chemical leak." "Aero-Tech had two colonies..." "Vesta and Tellus." "Vesta's three parsecs away, and Tellus is in reach." "Na..." "Nathan, the Tellus attack was weeks ago." " The chances that anyone is still..." " West." "She's dead." "Drive on." "It don't mean nothin'." " How the hell would you know what it meant, Tank!" " Enough!" "Nathan." "Nathan, he's right." "There is nothing you can do about her." "Nothing." "The only thing that you can do is get back in the war... and that we do in 30 mikes." "So suit up." "We want to be there at 0700 tomorrow." "Yeah." " Quittin' bell." " Yep, quitting' time." "We had to cut through the bulkhead yesterday." "Yeah." "Help!" "Coop, what're you doin'?" "They don't make nothin' with InVitros in mind." "Right." "I told you before." "Don't haunt me." "I was with the colony." "You know, you come here, and you sit here... and you... you walk here... and you... get in my head... and you-you-you get in my ears... and you get in my eyes!" "I-I-I did nothing!" "I did nothing but live!" "O-Okay, I'm far from home." "I'm very far from home." "You can go." "You can go home." "The others have gone home." "They've gone home, and they..." "they have left me here alone." "Kylen, Kylen Celina..." "Has she gone home?" "No." "She's far." "She's very far from home." "Hey." "All set, sir." "Where's West?" "Hey, you see that?" "What gives?" "West!" "What the hell are you doin'?" "He's overridden the system." "You are one dead marine if you don't stop right now." "Think about it, West." "Where the hell do you think you're going, soldier?" "You have a mission to fly." "Drop that cockpit, and you are gone!" "Gone!" "This is the dumbest move I've ever seen, West." "Tellus is hot." "The aliens own it." "You'll be boloed before entry." "Now you turn 'em and burn 'em right back here." "He's beyond insubordination." "He's on the brink of desertion." "He's out there operating with no regard for good order or proper conduct." "He thinks he's only putting himself in danger... but by bailing out of the mission, he puts all of your lives on the line!" "He threatens every grunt that hits the beach who relies on our recon." "This war wasn't made just for Nathan West!" "Every life in this war is tied together!" "Sir!" "It wasn't a selfish act." "It was a selfless one." "He believes people are alive on Tellus." "He went out after someone." "That someone better be worth dying for... 'cause that's what's gonna happen to him if no one does anything about it." "Sir, if you were able... if you weren't grounded by your injury, would you go?" "I'll be damned if he takes the easy way and dies before I can get at him." "Now, you've got a mission to fly." "Hawkes, I'm doin' it." "Goin' Elvis after West?" "74.6 megastatute kilometers into the sortie..." "I'm changing course to Tellus." "Wang and Damphousse are gonna cover for me." "It's a 48-hour patrol, so we've got 36 hours to go out and get him." " We?" " I need a wingman to C.M.A." "After me and West, you're the best jockey in the 58th." "You and West are after me." "Question is, are you and me goin' after West?" "All personnel clear the flight deck." "All personnel clear the flight deck." "Flight deck is clear." "Close flight deck bay doors." "Stand by for hammerhead launch." "Let's get lit." "Begin hammerhead engagement sequence." "Joker, this is Ace of Diamonds, 72.6 M.S.K.'s goin' Elvis." "Copy that." "It's now or never." "Ace of Diamonds, this is Jack of Spades." "I'm at your 4:00 tight." "Roger that." "I have a visual." "Let's smoke 'em." "Mary Gavin, Tellus colonist, number 45327." "Mike Bowman." "These are the tags of those who survived." "Russell Kettingham." "Never forget us." "Kylen Celina." "Nathan, we're always together." "Look to the high ground." "Kylen Celina." "Nathan, we're always together." "Look to the high ground." "Trans-Tellus injection complete." "Reports that the Colonial Cutter went down around the 31st Parallel." "We'll grid-search starting there." "Roger that." "They won't come here." "We seen them outside." "They don't come inside." "Ashford." "Theresa." "You were on my level." "It's Nathan." "Nathan West." "West?" "My God." "You were removed from the mission." "How..." "I'm here to find Kylen Celina." "Where is she?" "Where are the others?" " They took them." " Where?" "Show me." "No." "For all we know, they're dead." "For all we expect, they're dead." " But you're not certain." " They got them." "They got them and took them away." "These things kill." "That's all they do, these things." "You came to look for survivors." "We're all that's left." "Take us home." "I can't." "My plane's disabled." "I won't have enough power to escape orbit." "The marines know that you're here." "They'll send somebody after you." "No." "I'm here without authority." "They won't come." "Congratulations, West." "You got what you wanted." "You're finally one of us..." "Tellus colonist." "Is it everything you thought it would be?" "Stranded on this planet... waiting to die." "After the initial attack, many of us were still alive." "But they were waiting, those things." "I don't remember landing." "I was just suddenly aware that I was running and running." "I saw flashes of light... and flashes of their weapons firing on the wounded." "It's funny how the mind works sometimes." "Even at those moments with the colonists running in all directions..." "I became aware that this planet looked a lot like Earth." "Theresa and I were followed." "We hid in the cave." "We believe they know where we are." "But I think they're afraid of their dead." "When it seemed safe..." "I went alone to the spot where our colony was gonna be." "There." "Twenty-five miles northwest." "The aliens burned everything." "I looked at the charred remains... and even after all those deaths, that's when I knew... our dream was over." "You know where they've taken her?" "Tell me." "Theresa will never go, and I won't leave her alone." "Fifty years from now... on that burnt spot... the trees will be back, and so will we." "Now tell me where she is." "Still no sign of him." "We're bingo on zero plus 45." "Roger that." "Maybe West got his mind right and went back... or never made it." "I got something..." "38.5 degrees north, 60.2 degrees west." "That's his hammerhead." "There's a flat surface, like a lake bed... four degrees north-northeast." " Looks like we can put 'em down." " Roger that." "Let's go in." "That's no lake bed." "They must have corked their position." "They've got us locked on." "We got incoming!" "Whoa!" "I've been hit!" "I'm goin' down!" "Crankin' the chicken switch!" "Queen Six, this is Ace of Diamonds." "Come in." "This is Wild Card Base." "Go ahead." "Have met heavy enemy resistance." "Jack of Spades is down." "Please advise." "Hold tight, A.O.D." "Dispatch an A.P.C. to Tellus immediately." "Sir, that area's restricted." " Do it!" " There's no air cover." "There will be." "If I was a Chig, you'd have a hole in your head right now." "Why don't you light a bonfire?" "You're supposed to extinguish all flame before moving on." "Look who's talking regulations." "I wouldn't even be here right now if you hadn't made yourself your own commander-in-chief." "A survivor told me she was alive." "And is she?" "All you heard is what you wanted to hear." "I never asked you to come for me!" "Oh, my misunderstanding." "I'll just go back." "Wait!" "My plane's in a million pieces, and I'm taking incoming." "It's too hairy!" "They're gettin' closer!" "I ain't goin' back till I'm outta rounds." " I'll follow you." " I know a place they won't go." "Whoa!" "Get outta here!" "Get the hell out!" " We're under fire!" " You brought them here!" "Now they know where we are!" " You said they wouldn't come!" " We're gonna die because of you!" "Wait!" "Listen!" "You were both right." "No, it's not them." "West!" "Come on." "You're goin' home." "Let's go!" "We got 30 seconds!" "Go!" "Go!" " Come on." " Oh, I can't do it." "I can't do it." "Hammerheads!" " We're rollin' in on your six." " Let's send a rattlesnake right up their..." "Air cover!" "Move!" "Move!" "Kylen." "Kylen!" " Get him in here." "Five seconds!" " Come on!" "Get in!" "Five seconds!" "Five seconds!" "Let's go!" "Colonel McQueen, with the crap you've pulled in your career... that you continue to pull, you should've been drummed out of the Corps." "Sir, with my war record, I should have been made a general." "Why not?" "You give orders like one." "Insubordinate orders." "Who the hell do you think you are sending your people... and army personnel into a hot L.Z.?" "Sir!" "I volunteered, sir!" "Volunteered?" "You deserted your mission." "Sir, I insisted Lieutenant Hawkes do so." "I thought you wanted to be a Marine Corps officer, Vansen." "Your parents were officers." "What would your father have thought of his daughter being court-martialed?" "Sir, this starts and stops right here." "This was my misconduct, my responsibility." "I went over the hill." "I took the aircraft." "Neither my superior officer nor my fellow officers... would have engaged in a breach of duty if not for me." "I was aware of the severe consequences... and am prepared to be the only one to face the repercussions of my actions." "They rescued two survivors, sir." "Your actions, each of you... and the repercussions of which have been reclassified... compartmentalized." "You understand that all actions and accounts upon the planet Tellus... did not exist, nor will they exist." "Any breach of this understanding... is a violation of compartmentalized information... and there will be severe consequences." "Dismissed." " What the hell was that?" " Enough!" "It's not to be talked about." "Those were orders." "I know Commodore Ross." "He wouldn't hesitate for a second to court-martial all of us." "Someone higher up obviously pulled a string." "If we're not careful, we could be hanging from it." "See you in 50 years, Nathan." "I heard we're shipping' out." "Chigs are hittin' Procyon." "Third Wing's gettin' their asses kicked." "It's gonna be hairy." "It's far from here." "Real far." "I want you guys to know..." "I was close." "To her?" "To home." "All hands, this is the captain." "Prepare to set sail." "Watch your hands." "Watch your hands."