"Take cover!" "Take cover!" "Move!" "Now!" "Bravo One, this is Alpha Two under heavy fire." " Casualties." "Request extraction." " No!" "Alpha Two, your rendezvous is 25 north by 16 east." " We're a hundred klicks away from the A.R.D. with no cover." " Aw, we're gonna get Spammed!" "We got cover." "There's our ride out." "So we're gonna be Spam in a can." "Let's move!" "Move!" "Go!" "Go!" "Go!" "Go!" "Let's go!" "Come on." "Let's go!" "Let's go!" "Move!" "Move!" "Shane!" " She's bleeding." " I got her." "I got her." "Let's get some help over here!" " She's bleeding." " I got her." " Hang tight." "Ah, come on." "Come on!" "Hey, open the freakin' hatch!" "You guys have gotta be kiddin'." "Does it look like there's an "open house" sign out front?" "Man, my butt ain't never gonna un-pucker." "Excuse me." "Louie Fox, Sergeant First Class, Seventh Cavalry." "From Custer's Last Stand to here." "If there's a massacre, we're in it." "Outta my way, doll-face." "Let's go." "Come on, baby." "You know it's your Louie, right?" "Do it for daddy, sweetheart." "Who loves ya, baby?" "Your Louie." "Come on, sweetheart." "Okay, here's the big one." "Attagirl!" "Hey, diddle, diddle." "Straight up the middle." "Yee-hah!" "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." " She needs medical attention." " We'll pull off at the next exit." "Look, Sergeant, my people are important to me." "So can the wisecracks and drive this APC." "You might think I'm some sort of army dogface, but Pearly is my tank... and when you're in my tank, I spout whatever the hell I please, capisce?" "This is our alternate rendezvous designation." " Two days, easy, maybe more with the Chigs on our tail." " That's cuttin' it close." "Extraction's in two days." "We need to radio for another location." "Hey, Pearly took some bad hits back there, all right?" "Radio's long since gone." "It's draining' our power cells." "I got one to spare... the one I risked my ass for when you bogarted my tank." "So we'll just have to get there." "Sorry, Colonel." "I, uh..." "I tend to get a little testy without my morning coffee." "You understand." "Mmm." "Oh, yeah." "Good stuff, sir." "Good stuff." "Uh, hold on to your Skivvies!" "Ah!" "Damn Chigs." "They got the whole planet booby-trapped." "But me and Pearly here, we got this simpatico thing goin', huh?" "Yeah." "You know what your Louie likes." "Don't you, sweet thing, huh?" "Come on." "Give us a little sugar." "Give us a little sugar, baby." "Come on." "Mwah!" "Looks like you and your APC are out of simpatico." " Tank!" " No need to get ugly, Sergeant." "Pearly is not an armored personnel carrier." "She's a tank." "You call her an APC one more time, I'll use your guts to grease her treads!" "Sir, Vansen's wound's reopened." " She's got a fever." "I think the infection's spreading." " Here." " You had ampicillin all along?" " Didn't think she'd make it." "Didn't wanna waste 'em." "The only thing we can't afford to waste is any time gettin' to the rendezvous point." " Well, let's get motivated, ladies." " Keep an eye on her." "Damn tank ditches." "Stinkin' Chigs got 'em everywhere." "Jiminy H. Christmas on a Popsicle stick." "Give me a small break." "Oh, man." "You've gotta be kidding me." "A broken tread?" "I know all's fair in love and war, but this is ridiculous!" "Here." "You jarheads take this." "You take these cables." "You attach 'em to the back." " I'm gonna fix the treads, all right?" "Let's move it." " All right." "Baby, what'd they do to you?" " Still bein' followed?" " You saw 'em, huh?" "Yep." "I dunno who it is, but they've been tracking' us since we turned tail and ran." "Good show." " Went rather well, wouldn't you say?" " Identify yourself." "Major Cyril Mackendrick of His Majesty's Coldstream Guards." " Colonel!" " Yanks, eh?" "Do you have any gin?" "Ah." "Many apologies." "This trap was meant for the Chigs." "You see, I constructed that anticline to resemble an enemy land mine... the thought being, they'd avoid it, and right into this trap they'd go." "However, you did." "Are there others with you?" "We're tryin' to reach a rendezvous point." "We could use some help." "My entire battalion was killed at the Battle of Mandrake Ridge." "That was eight months ago." "You've been here alone all this time?" "Yes." "Quite alone." "We have an injured marine." "She needs medical attention now." "You have supplies?" "You have women traveling with you?" "If you help us, we'll return the favor and take you with us." " You have a problem with that?" " I won't be long." "Major!" " How do I know you'll come back?" " You have my word." "Your word means nothing to me till I see it backed up by actions." "Very well." "Can the girl be moved?" "My bunker's just over there." "Right." "Follow me." "I'm stayin' here and fixin' my honey." "Earth forces have been here 10 months." "Could've left anytime he wanted to." "You're not thinking he could be workin' with the enemy?" "Keep an eye on him." "Watch for any..." "odd behavior." "Mmm." "Oh, this is scrummy." "Can't remember last time I ate something other than a berry or a leaf." "Mm." "Mm." "I rather like this gelatinous substance over the layer of chunked beef." ""M.R.E." What does that stand for?" ""Meals rejected by the enemy."" "Vanessa should join us." " She's on watch." " Oh." "Remember, only half a cup of water each." "I know the lovely captain is ill, still, we must conserve." "I thought I'd die of thirst in the first few weeks." "Luckily, I came across an abandoned Earth Forces camp and found a URN-41." "Urine purification system..." "that's how I get this water." " And you haven't seen anyone for eight months." " No, sir." "You have a radio." "Couldn't you have signaled for help?" "It cannot transmit." "I can only receive transmissions." " Troop movements, Earth Forces positions." " Right." " Any trouble keeping busy?" " Of course." "However, I make it a point to stick to a strict schedule:" "Make three cups of water a day... brush my teeth twice a day and a daily constitutional..." " two on a good day." " Yee-haw!" "If you stop taking pride in your personal appearance and hygiene, you might as well be dead." "Viva la Pearly." "We fixed her treads... we laid down some traction, and old Pearly just hopped right on out." "Right." "Then you'd best be on your way." "I'll mark a path on your map." "It'll take you through an area light in enemy activity." "Perhaps the major should go with us." " Gather your gear, Major." " No, I-I don't care to leave." "You can't just choose to stay here, Major." "That's desertion." "You insult me, Colonel." "I have not nor would I ever desert..." " Chig attack jets." " I don't hear nothin'." "They've locked on a target." "They must have spotted the tank." "Get inside." "Damphousse, get inside!" "Take cover." "Everybody take cover." "Do as I say!" "I ain't taking' cover." "They're after my baby!" "Sergeant, get back here!" "Here I come, baby." " Get back here, Sergeant." " Daddy's comin'." "Come on, you mother-lovin' Chigs." "Take some of this!" "You want some Louie?" "You want some Louie?" "None of us heard the enemy planes." "How did you know they were coming?" "They told me." "What, like that?" "Let me check the manual." " You think this thing's gonna make it on one spare power cell?" " Sure." "The hell is this?" "If the Chigs come across the grave, they'll dig it up and mutilate the body." "Do you realize they had no concept of a life after death... until they heard it from us?" "My theory is, they believe half of us are living dead... an army of zombies." "Did they tell you that as well?" "The theories of burial are derived from study and observation of their behavior." "Knowing they were going to attack the tank is derived solely... from hearing their communications over the radio for an extended period." "You see, the Chigs emit whistles and clicks at various frequencies... similar to cetacea..." "dolphins and such." "I've heard them long enough to discern various echolocation patterns of Chigese... and associate them with subsequent events, such as the strafing." "You believe I've been out here too long." "What I believe is, we have to get moving, or we're not gonna reach our rendezvous point." "And yes, you are going with us." "Let's do this and move out." "Almighty God, through thy infinite love and mercy... graciously grant to the soul of this, thy dear departed servant, that he should achieve..." "Sir." "Excuse me." "Um, since we're pressed for time, I was..." "I-I figured Sergeant Fox might've preferred this." "I found it in his APC manual." ""Pearly..." ""what can I write that hasn't been said?" ""I never understood those techno-obsessed geeks..." ""who cared more about their computers than a human being..." ""but on this day, when my crew, my friends..." ""four lives were lost, you saved mine." ""It gets me mad that there's no way to repay you for this..." ""except to change your power cells when you're low..." ""and keep you supplied with frags when you're out..." ""and grease your treads when you feel like you can't go on." ""I've never been able to trust anyone, believe in something, as much as you." "I know you're only a tank and all, but I feel like you believe in me."" "I think we've been followed since our retreat from the battle back there." "We can't waste time by stopping." "Up ahead we have to go around that land formation." "I want you to fall quietly back, gather what information you can... cut across that hill and meet us on the other side." "Yes, sir." "May I see your hall pass?" " Get off me!" " Say the magic word." "I'll give you a hint." "It's "master"." "Say it:" ""Please, Master Elroy, may I get up?"" " Say it." " Go to hell." "Can't you just kill anyone without all the theater?" "No, no, no, no, no." "My sweet Feliciti, please." "We need him to get the part to make you well." "You're never getting anything from me again." ""Again?"" "I killed non-combatants." "I dropped bombs on civilian populations." "I destroyed the innocent." "Are you guilty of war crimes?" " Yes." " Hm." "And how does what you've done make you feel, Lieutenant?" "I feel shame." "Ah-h-h-h." "Well, well, well, my darling." "Another Elroy-EL model... has already broken this carbonite at the Kazbek penal facility." "Yes." "Confessed to war crimes, did we?" "Oh..." "Your friends will think that's a very bad thing." "Get him up." "Hands on your head." "Feliciti." "Feliciti, my sweet." " Are you all right, my love?" " Shut up." "Just get the battery." "May I confide in you, Lieutenant?" "Yes?" "Feliciti O.H. and myself were separated from our silicate patrol." "She has been wounded by stray weapons fire... and her power is fading." "I, too, am sick." "Now, perhaps it is a silicate virus, perhaps it is just spring... but I have developed certain... feelings..." "For the Feliciti OH unit that I am not programmed to understand." "Thus, I am willing to take a chance, if you are." "Yes." "One power unit from the APC... could restore her to 87.4% capacity." "If you bring back one cell..." "I promise that I will erase internally... the memory bank of your confession." "Your mistake, Wang Paul, will never have taken place." "If you don't, then I promise... that I will play the disk loud and clear for your fellow marines... your family and all your friends back home." "Nothing to report, sir." "So, Vanessa..." " Do you mind if I call you "Vanessa"?" " Yeah, that's fine." "It's an enchanting name, wouldn't you say?" "Va-nes-sa... rolls off the tongue like nectar." "Did you know "Vanessa" means "butterfly" in Greek?" "Oh?" "Really?" "Power cell's dead." "Pop in the last one." "Got it." "It's gone." "Who moved it?" " You sure, Hawkes?" " Yeah." "I put it right here." "Well, we're screwed without it." " It had to be Mackendrick." " Yeah." "He never did want to leave." "The guy speaks Chigese, for God's sake." "A little too close to the enemy for me." "What seems to be the problem?" " You tell us." " What?" "The tank is missing a spare power cell, Major." "You all think I stole your blasted power cell?" "I should strand us out in the middle of bloody nowhere... when just as easily I could have done it back at my bunker, where I could give us some shelter?" "Why would I steal this power cell anyway?" "You could be working with the Chigs." "I'm a human being, for God's sake." "There are no double agents in this blasted war." "The 58th has been together too long, Major." "We know each other too well." "I've lived through eight months of hell... only to face a kangaroo court of wet-behind-the-ears grunts?" "Not bloody likely!" "You want loyalty?" "I can trace my family's service in my very regiment... back to the Coldstream Guards fighting against Cromwell!" "No!" "Major, your weapon." "Please." "Wang." "Major, you're under arrest by order of the United States Marines." "Let's get this set up early." "We need at least two hours' sunlight to recharge enough juice... to reach the rendezvous point." "Minerva's sun sets 2335 our time." "That's only 85 minutes." "Looks like we got some cloud cover moving' in." " Can we make it in time on foot, sir?" " No way." "We had that power cell, we'd make it with time to spare." "Feed the line up." "The power port's on top." "I guess all we can do is put our faith in Pearly." "Shane, it's dinner." "You gotta eat somethin'." "Oh, Hawkes, minced ham." "That's worse than a shrapnel wound." "She's feelin' better." "She's startin' to bitch again." "Jolly good." "Wonderful how you can demonstrate such care and concern for one human being... while unjustly turning on another." "Bravo." " You know, Sedgwick..." " Mackendrick." "I've spent a lot of time alone before." "I don't know what you think is so great about it." "Well, to begin with, when alone... one rarely ties oneself up and holds oneself prisoner." "For me, bein' so alone was like bein' in a prison." "You know?" "Yes." "Yes, Lieutenant, that's true." "Then why'd you wanna stay so bad that you'd take our power cell and leave us stranded?" "I didn't take the blasted cell." "Lieutenant Hawkes, the entire time in His Majesty's service, I was assigned as... what you young Americans would call a "pencil-pushing geek"." "Supply, support." "And every year, I would request a transfer to a unit that would taste the sting of battle... so that I might do my part to serve my country and my planet." "And every year they turned me down." "Eight months ago, at the Battle of Mandrake Ridge... the Chigs hit our supply lines... and I finally felt..." "battle's sting." "I saw..." "men and women so dear to me... so mutilated... they were unrecognizable as human forms... let alone as people I loved." "I'm sure you know." "No, I don't like being alone, Mr. Hawkes." "But it has offered me the chance to study our enemy... learn his tactics and some of his language to a degree I'm certain no human has achieved." "And one day I will return with what I've learned here, alone... and that information will help defeat this horrific enemy that massacred my friends." "But if I were to return now... they'd have me back on inventory of packaged foods and blankets... while completing Forms 18, stroke, 79." "And while I realize the vital importance of that role..." "It's not enough... for me... for those friends I've lost... it's not enough." "But in the meantime, I'm perfectly happy... suffering this indignity at the hands of my allies." "Minced ham?" "Will you untie me so that I may not suffer the further humiliation of being spoon-fed?" "Then bug off!" "I gotta go to Congress." " Where's the latrine?" " This whole planet's a head." " West, you got my copy of Stars and Stripes?" " Yeah." "No." "That's mine." "Don't make it last, Wang." "I'm goin' too." ""Death, that hath sucked the honey of thy breath... hath had no power yet upon thy beauty."" "Looks like you're not gonna need that power cell." "Put your hands on your head." "She's dead, you're dead." "Return, my love." "Yes." "Yes." "Wang!" "Wang!" " What the hell happened?" " See, I just..." "I just found the power cell." " Where, here?" " Yeah." "I was walking, and I heard something... and I, uh, ran after the noise, and I came up over the hill, rifle ready... and, uh, man, I just ate it on a branch." " Right here, on the ground?" " Yeah." "Whoever took it must have totally freaked out and took off when they heard me comin'." "Least we got it back." "Come on." "Let's move out." "Let's move it." "We've only got 30 minutes of daylight left." "Hey!" "You found it?" " Hey, Paul found the power cell!" " Wang!" " So, where'd you find this?" " It's a long story." "I..." "I was goin' to the head." "I heard this noise, and it was just sittin' there in the clearing." "Now we can get outta here, right?" "Wrong." "This cell is empty." "West, what are you doin'?" "West!" "Major didn't take the power cell." "Tell 'em who did, Paul." "I did it." "One time, I was in a car accident." "It was my fault." "The light turned from yellow to red, and I gunned it." "And a guy in a truck was making a left... and I ran into him." "And I'll always remember how fast your mind works." "In a second... in less than a second..." "I thought..." ""I should've hit the brakes."" "I even remember thinking..." ""I wish I could have that second back, so I could stop."" "And that's when I hit the other car." "Imagine that moment..." "that feeling... gnawing at you every... minute of your life... only the consequences of your actions were much more life affecting... like some kids who didn't take a second to use a rubber and a teenager ends up pregnant... or... somebody doesn't take a moment to lock the gun cabinet, and a child dies." "A marine... who didn't stop to think he was betraying the Corps..." "His country..." "Wang, those A.I.'s tortured you, man." "What else could you do?" "I could've let 'em kill me!" "Paul, no one ever believes those confessions." "Everyone knows that you're not a war criminal." "That's not the point of them!" "The point is to show that they can break your spirit." "Why couldn't my body have broken down before my soul?" "They may as well have cut off a hand or a leg... because they took something from me I can never get back." "It so obsessed me..." "so possessed me... that when the chance arose to erase it without anyone knowing, I took it." "I swear, I never..." "Never intended to give them the cell." "I just wanted the optical disk with the confession." "I thought I could get back what they took." "I needed it back... even if I was risking your lives..." "Lives that mean more to me than..." "Than my own." "We have no choice but to see how far the... partially-recharged fuel cell will take us by morning." "Paul, I know how alone you feel." "You have people in your life now... who can help you get back what you lost." "Major, I'd like to apologize for not coming forward when you were accused." "I'm the one who can't be trusted." "Apology accepted, Lieutenant." "Shall we move on to the rendezvous point?" "All right." "Here goes." "Come on, Pearly." "Who loves ya, huh?" "You know it's me, baby." "Yes!" "All right, all right." " That weirds me out on so many different levels." " Be prepared." "This area coming up's heavy with Chig activity." "Oh, I think the power cell's fading." "Come on, baby." "Come on, Pearly." "Sunrise is only 30 minutes away." "Hey!" "Hey!" "Did you hear that?" "I hear it." "That's a Chig T-77 tank." "If we had a radio, I could figure out if they were heading towards us." " We turn the main power off, maybe they won't spot us." " We probably don't have... enough power left to engage them anyway." "Well, we just can't sit here blind." "Let's open up her eyes." "Ah, no way." "He's movin' at us like he knows exactly where we are." "That's how they were homing in." "Five hundred meters to range solution." "Do it." "Tank stops, we run our ass off to the rendezvous point." "Let's move!" " I need someone on the battlesight range input." " I'm on it." " I'm on the scope." " I need a gunner topside on the twin .50s." " I'll do it." "Do you mind?" " Who's the loader?" " No loader." "It's automatic." " Chig 75 meters at noon." " Target acquired." " Tallyho!" "Tallyho, you monsters!" " Neato." " Hold on, guys." "This beer's on you, Chiggie boy." "Direct hit." "But still coming." "Tallyho, ya monstrous creatures!" "You crustaceans!" "Chig T-77 has a high-density ceramic front end." "We'll need a side hit with a sabot." " I got the wheels." "You just tell me where to go." " Sixty-five degrees port, hard!" "We're losing power." " Tallyho!" " There's no way we can outmaneuver 'em." " Bloody monsters!" " Just keep movin'." "You'll get the side shot." " Paul!" " Trust me." "Ten degrees north, closing!" " He's locked on us!" " I can't shake 'em!" "Wang Paul... you have done a very bad thing." "You took the battery... and now my sweet Feliciti belongs to the ages..." "And so will you." "Splendid marksmanship, Lieutenant." "I'm not so bad either, I'm delighted to say." "Here's the optical hard drive." "It'll have your confession on it." "I hope that'll get your moment back for you, Paul." "Come on." "This should be the place." "Hawkes, check it out." "You got it." "Hey!" "Hey, guys, we got 'em!" "Whoo!" "Move out!" "Guys, right here!" "Oh, come on!" " Well, I knew she could make it." " There's even a little extra juice to spare." "Let's go!" " Hey!" " Come on!" "Hey!" "Let's go!" "Let's go!" "We got a Chig squadron 300 klicks out." "Come on!" "Let's go!" "Come on!" "Let's go, let's go, let's go!" " They're in." "Wheels up." " Where's Mackendrick?" "God save the king!" "Ah, let him go." "A couple of more months, he'll be our best weapon."