"EOS 4 to Orion 7." "Orion 7, do you copy?" "Report your position!" "Hasso?" "Jupiter Base calling Fast Space Cruiser Orion 7." "Return to Earth immediately!" "this is an alpha Order from Space Command." "Special order for Orion 7." "Return to space station 13." "Orion 7, do you copy?" "alpha Order from Space Command." "Return immediately!" "mars Station to EOS 3." "Orion 7 is flying with hyperspace velocity towards sector 71-k12." "Commander, we have contact." "this is orion 7, Commander Cliff Mcallister calling supreme space Command, section 12, department astrotechnology via jupiter base and EOS 3." "to confirm my theory that it is possible, we will shortly land on rhea." "try again, we have to contact the orion." "I'm doing all I can.l'll try Hyperion 29." "mars relay 1 is constantly lightcasting to training fleet 18." "I don't know whether I can establish a connection with Hyperion 29." "don't argue. we have an alpha order for Commander McLane:" "stop landing attempt and return to earth immediately." "this is Hyperion 29. satellite 116, via Mars relay 1 and jupiter base, has ordered orion to report." "she isn't responding." "McLane is nothing but trouble." "He has to return immediately." "If he has left his sector, I'll see that he is charged with insubordination." "enough is enough!" "ready for landing." "What sounds like a fairy tale today, can be tomorrow's reality." "Here is a fairy tale from a distant future." "Nation states have ceased to exist." "there is only humanity and its colonies in outer space." "Distant stars are settled." "the bottom of the ocean is inhabited." "Space ships cross the Milky Way at unimaginable speeds." "One of these space ships is called Orion." "She is part of a gigantic security force to protect Earth from threats from outer space." "Let's join the Orion and her crew on her patrols at the edge of infinity." "this is Galactic television with Star News." "my name is helma krap, your information Officer." "technological triump!" "alpha CO, a new work and battle robot, is ready for mass production." "Commissioned by the Galactic Security Service, the "human-simulator"" "was introduced to leaders of the Space Fleet." "according to the World Government, there is no immediate danger from extraterrestrials." "In the unlikely event of extraterrestrial aggression, alpa-CO robots are programmed to search and destroy the enemy at the flick of a button." "New weapon of mass destruction successfully tested!" "actung Overkill!" "Cliff Allister MacLane, Commander of the Fast Cruiser Orion 7, detonated a protoype of the new Overkill-bomb." "Overkill technology will replace the Star Fleet's laser weapons as soon as possible." "Overkill enables us to destroy an enemy fleet as soon as it is detected." "terra's Galyxo craze!" "a new dance sweeps the fleet." "It's the Galyxo from Croma, the amazon planet." "this exotic dance sweeps the Starlight casinos and makes our astronauts forget gravity." "more news from the Fast Combat Units right after this commercial break." "Galactic greetings!" "So you surfed 4000 visio channels and ended up watcing the fish again?" "Order the new Prolo tvs 3000!" "the program localizer with the galactic interface." "Put it on and coose your films telepatically." "terra channel 5!" "You love black and white movies?" "So do we!" "General van dyke, I assume you know why I called you?" "I think so." "McLane, I suppose?" "Yes, General. landing on rhea against his orders was the last straw." "landing was against his orders, but it was an astronautical masterpiece." "It was in violation of an explicit alpha order from space Command." "I know you'd love to see Commander McLane deported to the phosphorus swamps." "let's stick to the point, General." "Personal like or dislike isn't relevant." "the fact is that McLane will be immediately demoted to patrol duty." "why wasn't I informed, as McLane's superior?" "that's why I called for you." "McLane and his crew will report here in a few minutes." "I'm supposed to witness the execution?" "I wish I could have spared you this." "this demotion is the biggest scandal in the entire fleet." "really?" "and McLane's escapades?" "weren't they scandalous?" "His crazy flight to the 2nd moon of jupiter?" "His escape to the saturn base in the second stellar war, his unauthorized actions on alpha Centauri, and so forth." "No scandals?" "without men like McLane, we would have lost the two stellar wars." "Possibly, but dammit, we're not here to..." "McLane and patrol duty?" "General!" "It would be better to discharge him!" "let's not exaggerate, General." "No one is irreplacable." "Pretty soon our space ships will be manned with robots." "Hopefully also the headquarters." "General?" "the Orion crew as arrived." "send them in." "General, what about the security officer?" "Yes. this lady first." "Yes, General." "Lieutenant!" "are you saying McLane has to take a snooper on board?" "y the order of space Command." "there's nothing I can do about it." "lieutenant tamara jagellovsk, Galactic security service." "this is General van dyke, Commander of the fast Combat Units, of which the orion 7 was part until now." "You know the disciplinary proceedings concerning the orion, lieutenant?" "Yes, General." "You know your mission aboard the orion?" "I was briefed in the security agency's headquarters." "as security officer aboard the orion 7, you will prevent and report any breaches of duty, violations of service regulations and military misconduct." "these are my orders." "It won't be easy with McLane and his people." "I know." "You're pretty young for such a task." "You're not very experienced in the Galactic service." "I was recommended, General." "all right. ring in McLane and his gang." "Yes, General." "Commander." "Commander McLane and the orion crew!" "major, the investigation commission has ordered that you no longer serve with the fast Combat Unit." "for disciplinary reasons you are transferred to space Patrol." " for how long?" " 3 years." "and why?" "major McLane, spare me the effort of listing all your escapades." "In the future, major, the slightest irregularity will lead to your discharge." "do you understand?" "General, if it is the defence ministry's wish, I'll resign today." "shut up, McLane. don't cop out like an offended space cadet." "In 3 years you will report back to me!" "is that clear?" "Yes, General." "General." "one more thing: you will also have to take a security officer aboard." "General, you can't... don't argue with me!" "this is your new security officer, major." "lieutenant tamara jagellovsk." "I'm sure you know that Gss officers can issue alpha orders." "I hope there won't be any trouble." "I hope so, too." "I thought you wanted to leave?" "another Cognac?" "No, not for me. I have to go." "really, Cliff, I should have been home two hours ago." "Go then." "Yeah, I should be on my way." "didn't you ask me something?" "ask you?" "Yeah, you asked me something." "right, I asked you whether you wanted another Cognac?" "Yeah, but then I have to go or else Ingrid will be mad." "she has every reason." "would you want to come with me?" "oh, please." "You did it again?" "Yeah, I promised her." "How many times have you promised her?" "I'm serious, Cliff. I quit." "are you serious or were you serious?" " You have to talk to her." " sure." "Base 104 to Xerxes 9." "Remain in waiting position until further notice." "Roger." "Ground Control to Base." "Orion 7 ready and cleared." "tank you, Ground Control." "Launcing in a few minutes." "Xerxes 9 to base." "Can we submerge now?" "the base will be clear in a few minutes." "Remain in waiting position." "We're coming all the way from andromeda 17 Beta 12." "18 weeks in space." "We've had enough." "Computer checked?" "Course programmed?" "Yeah, the egghead is all right." "don't ask about the charming bird I had to stand up for this." " Nobody's asking!" " she was so..." " Check the controls, lieutenant de monti!" " the controls!" "." "lieutenant tamara jagellovsk, Galactic security service,on board!" "all "controls" functioning, Commander." "Commander to astrogator: automatic pilot!" "automatic pilot Cd-10." "radar on, guide beam on." "orion ground control in contact with earth orbit station4." "Base 104 launc control calling Fast Space Cruiser Orion 7." "You are clear." "thanks, Base." "Base 104 anding over to Eart Orbit Station 4." "ready for take-off." "acceleration." "Commander McLane, may I bring it to your attention... lieutenant jagellovsk, take-off requires neither help nor supervision." "so please go to your cabin and activate the lntercom. that's a little button that says "lntercom"." "If you wish to see me, use the Visiophone." "In your locker, you'll find your equipment, provisions for 12 months and a paralyser gun, if you'd like to paralyse yourself." "for extremely bad conditions, we have deep-freeze sleeping chambers." "You'd really love to freeze me, wouldn't you, Commander?" "what I'd love to do is beside the point." "Please go to your cabin." "If something happened to you, people might say I wanted to murder you." "lg's on. acceleration 05. let's go." "You stay up here, Hasso?" "I'm on automatic, ground control." "Here we go again. launch.." "20, 19, 18, 17 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 1 1," "10, 9, 8,7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0." "Eart Orbit Station 4 calling Satellite 1 16." "Lightcast!" "fast space Cruiser orion is crossing ss 47232." "jupiter base 1 calling mars relay a1." "orion 7 is leaving controlled area." "No deviation from course." "In case you're interested, we're passing luna 1." "are the hydroponic tanks full?" "our babysitter won't be suffocating in her cabin." "do you want to keep her locked up all the time?" "that won't work." "we'll take care of this snooper." "I don't think it's a good idea to tangle with her." "too bad, "tangling" with her was exactly what I had in mind." "You show-off." "You don't have a chance with her." "Helga, baby, are you jealous?" " me?" "Ha,ha." "You've got a snowball's chance in hell!" "she's a robot in a girl's dress." "just wait. should we see what she's up to?" "I think she's changed." "she's very orderly." "do you think I could ask her to tidy up my cabin?" "what are you doing?" "I'll have none of this on my ship." "If you want to see her or talk to her, then call properly." "Come on, Cliff. she was fully dressed." "Here you go." "lieutenant de monti calling security officer jagellovsk." "Can you talk?" "switch on your Visiophone, please." " Yes?" "a private question, if you don't mind." "How about a sip of whisky in my cabin?" "Do you have whiskey?" "But of course, madam. a whole box!" "Very interesting. tank you for the information. I will report this." "at least she's pretty." "even a cobra is pretty." "one thing is certain: she won't serve 3 years here." "either she'll go crazy after the first 3 missions, or..." "or what?" "or she'll be Commander!" "and then, when I was swimming with Cliff in the euphra lakes, we..." "You seem to spend quite a bit of time together." "Privately, I mean." "we have so much in common." "Hobbies, I mean." "music, films, all sorts of sports." "the major is a man of many interests." "I wish he was a better dancer." "Have you ever danced with him?" "No." "But from what I hear, I haven't missed anything." "You know - it's like he can't let himself go, when he's dancing." "do you know what I mean?" "No." "But I'm sure you'll explain it to me." "You see, Cliff is a man who..." "Cliff is a man who is trying to get some sleep. turn off the intercom." "Your chatter is being broadcast troug the entire sip." "He always hears what he isn't supposed to hear." "distance 33/5, 30, 29, passing 26." "Can you establish radio contact, atan?" "Nothing." "as dead as a stone." "a disrupted radio satellite, model sky 77, probably terra-Cosmos Control." "I guess the solar storm blew it here." "It's dead. mario, blow it up." "all right, Cliff." "are you authorized to eliminate a radio satellite, Commander?" "darling..." "l'm not your darling." "I'm your security officer and I will not allow this satellite to be "blown up"." "this unit is worth 12 000 credits." "this "unit" isn't worth anything. lt's a danger for space ships in 3 sectors." "don't you think the next space station or e-base already knows that the satellite is non-functional?" "Not even I know how many satellites, probes or radar units are out here." "Probably 25 000. and in addition, we had a solar storm." "I'm warning you, Commander." "I bet there's already a tech assistance Cruiser headed out here to investigate." "do not eliminate the satellite!" "lieutenant de monti!" "log recording." "Gss officer jagellovsk prohibits the destruction of the radio satellite, coordinates xyz and so forth." "the Commander is going to bed." "I'm afraid the Commander won't go to bed." "we're passing mZ4" "so what?" "Clarence isn't answering!" "what?" "mZ-4 isn't answering?" "Never heard of that." "try again." "what's mZ-4?" "a relay and radio station, set up a couple of years ago." "and who's Clarence?" "the station Commander and a friend of ours." "If he doesn't respond he's either dead or drunk." "and?" "Nothing." "that can't be." "Orion 7 to mZ-4." "Clarence, do you copy?" "We just wanted to say ello." "Orion 7 to mZ 4." "Cliff, unidentified flying objects!" "." "what?" "4, 5, 7 of them!" "on my screen." "extraterrestrials in our galaxy?" "mZ-4 is one of the remotest outposts in no man's space." "are there any signs of..." "You have quite an anthropocentric world view for this century." "In our galaxy, there are 4 to 10 billion planets that could host intelligent life." "are you so arrogant to think that we are the only ones capable of arithmetic?" "I'm not that stupid, but theoretically... my god, Cliff, they're flying with incredible speed!" "we have to get away." "we're sitting ducks here." "emergency launch!" "Programming destination Eart." "mario, we need to abruptly switch from hyperspace to energy reserve." "what does the electronic brain say?" "the transformators would melt down." "don't you worry about my machines." "I know, Hasso, they' re yours." "oK, we'll quickly switch to reserve then." "what does the computer say?" "that would be a massive amount of energy." "what'll happen to the computer?" "lt will melt down and burn out." "then we'd be without navigation." "I'm afraid you have to come up with something." "Charge the transformators." "Carged, Commander." "mario, wat's taking so long?" "5...3...1...0." "Cliff!" "the computer's malfunctioning." "what's happening?" "what's happening to us, McLane?" "artificial gravity!" "they're manipulating the gravity field." "Cliff!" "all controls are dead." "they're jamming our frequencies." "the laser guns, mario!" "the guns!" "Let's get out of here, Cliff!" "Fast!" "We're in their gravitational field." "there's noting we can do." "switch to lightcast communication." "Get out, major, there's nothing you can do. return to earth!" "Gentlemen, this is not the time for long discussions." "one of our outposts has been occupied by extraterrestrials." "an extraterrestrial, space travelling species has entered our territory!" "wasn't that to be expected, sooner or later?" "I really admire your calmness." "the 1st and 2nd strategic fleets are in state of alert. I request a mission order." "I don't know whether this is the right response." "oh really?" "and what are we supposed to do then?" "wait until they occupy the other bases?" "It is too early to use force against someone who might not be an enemy." "But they came in from nowhere and eliminated the crew of mZ-4." "do you call this good manners?" "our cosmos has more galaxies than we can estimate." "You surely don't expect our conception of manners to be a universal standard?" "we hadn't even had the slightest clue about their existence." "But we have picked up extraterrestrial signals for centuries!" "I don't care for these aliens, as long as they leave us alone!" "with all due respect, but that is a highly antiquated attitude." "I beg your pardon!" "Peculiar, isn't it?" "Progress has enabled us to colonize mars and other planets, but our generals' attitudes haven't changed a bit in the last millenium." "we are here, and if somebody else shows up, we'll bring out the guns." "is there an alternative?" "what do you suggest, Villa?" "I strongly warn against large scale military confrontation before we know, firstly, who they are, secondly, what they want, and thirdly, what they are capable of." "Commander McLane, sector 15a 78 18." "We are returning to Eart." "Outpost mZ-4 conquered and destroyed by extraterrestrials." "Orion 7 managed to escape at the last minute." "here are the last Visiopone recordings from mZ-4, before lightcast signals faded." "this is wat the enemy looks like a Foreign Race Of Galactic Scoundrels, FROGS for sort." "General van Dyke, Commander of the Fast Combat Units, as departed for a reconnaissance mission." "By order of the World Government the Cruiser hydra will locate and destroy the FROGS'energy base." "and here is another alpa weather forecast." "Expect eavy magnetic storms in sectors 417 to 419." "Lightcast communication may be affected." "all sips are asked to avoid these sectors." "Galactic greetings!" "Uncle Cliff, can I get our space ship?" "what's her name?" "orion 7." "well, I hope your ship hasn't dented its hull." "Nonsense." "she's seen worse!" "thanks." "astrogator, anything you can do?" "Nothing, General. the magnetic storm has blocked our controls." "luckily, we're not in the center of the storm." "But that could still happen." "lightcast to earth." "ready General, transmitters charged." "Please speak." "General lydia van dyke speaking." "Commander of the fast Combat Units." "spaceship Hydra to all." "achtung!" "a planet in the sirius system has been catapulted from its orbit." "It clearly is a supernova." "Collision course earth." "Velocity 146000 km per second." "Its radius is that of a giant star." "Physical properties of the sun." "It will reach earth shortly." "General van dyke calling all stations." "mayday, mayday." "Can you tell us what happened?" "well yes, I'll let you know, then." "according to our intelligence, we are dealing with a guided supernova." "a guided nova?" "But that's not possible." "Nobody thinks it's possible." "But that's exactly what it is." "the supreme Council is in permanent session." "a nova is conceivable, but guided?" "Guided by whom?" "Here is General van dyke's report." "Please, take a look at the recording." "hydra calling all stations." "We are dealing with a guided supernova." "a planet as been catapulted from its orbit by interstellar lifeforms, probably the so called FROGS, to destroy Eart." "We are in the middle of a magnetic storm." "We're unable to manoeuvre." "General van Dyke calling all stations.' mayday!" "the FROGS are guiding a supernova towards Eart." "Calling all stations." "Supernova on collision course. lt as the pysical properties of a sun." "It will impact the Eart in a few days." "mayday, mayday from hydra." "I served with General lydia van dyke for 6 years." "is there any hope she can be saved?" "this is not about the General." "It's about the entire human race." "Colonel?" "Plan dX-17. save the earth!" "20, 19, 18, 17 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 1 1," "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0." "strange signals, Commander." "scrambled distress signals from the Hydra?" "No, these aren't terrestrial signals." "atan is feeding them into the computer." "maybe we can crack the code." "frogs?" "Could be." "they must have incredible transmitters." "why not if they can catapult a planet from its orbit!" "then we're in for a ride." "General, four a-tanks have been destroyed." "our oxygen supply won't last longer than 72 hours." "we'll take the oxygen from the space suits then." "General!" "earth orbit station?" "No." "Very strange signals." "Please listen." "No, these aren't terrestrial signals." "the Hydra!" "we have contact with the Hydra." "the General!" "atan, activate sub-space radio." "activated, Commander." "orion to Hydra." "General, I'll save you." "No!" "of course, I'll save you!" "I forbid you to save the hydra." "You know wat's at stake." "McLane!" "Do you copy?" "hello, Orion?" "Do you copy?" "what's wrong?" "Hello?" "we can't hear you?" "I command you to immediately... I'll save you." "set course for the Hydra - full speed!" "If you set course for the Hydra, I will melt down the control center!" "do you want to prevent me from saving the Hydra?" "Commander, I'm warning you." "I will do what I said." "are you out of your mind?" "No, not me." "You know what will happen if you melt down the control center!" "lt's suicide. I know." "don't go too far!" "It doesn't matter to me if I die because the control center is dead or because the supernova destroys earth and we have to cruise around the galaxy until we run out of oxygen." "the result is always the same." "I don't care." "I'm warning you, lieutenant." "I'm just as determined as you are." "Commander, everybody knows you're a rebel." "But I didn't know you were stupid and completely irresponsible." "You're telling me this with a gun in your hands?" "Your mission is to save earth." "as long as you stick to your orders, do what you want." "But complete your mission." "General van dyke is..." "General van dyke, General van dyke!" "don't complicate the problem." "we have discovered the frogs' control center." "we have to destroy it." "whatever happens to the Hydra's crew is completely irrelevant." "earth is in danger and you don't have much time." "esides, if you hang around much longer just to argue with me, you risk being shot down by the frogs before you can give a single order." "Put the gun away." "Yes, Commander." "listen!" "Here is the nova on its trajectory towards earth." "we are here, approximately." "let's call this line 'a', the middle line " and the one closest to the planet 'C'." "when we reach line a, Hasso, you go hyperspace." "line : energy reserve." "line C: energy reserve plus montor." "at the precise moment when we go through line C we drop 15 anti-matter bombs into the trajectory." "then we leave the danger zone." "10 seconds before the nova hits our bombs we detonate them." "If this explosion doesn't blow the thing to bits, I'm fresh out of ideas." "what's our course after line C?" "we swing into the trajectory and try to get out of range with the remaining energy reserve." "aren't you afraid we will get into a critical situation?" "of course, but what can I do?" "achtung propulsion deck!" "line -81." "target-Visio on supernova!" "target-Visio synchronized!" "weapons computer standby." "Weapons computer standby!" "distance plus minus 0." "Hasso, energy reserve!" "ship on energy reserve." "achtung propulsion deck and battle station!" "montor and bombs ready. reaching line C." "C -30." "weapons computer standby." "Standby!" "7, 6, 5 achtung, Hasso!" "4, 3, 2, 1, 0!" "Bombs on trajectory!" "Detonate them, mario, detonate!" "Dammit!" "montor off, reserve off." "Quick, Hasso, or the ship will explode!" "Commander, why didn't it work?" "our antimatter had already passed the nova's trajectory when it detonated." "damn!" "was it my fault, Cliff?" "No, mario." "Help him!" "what's going to happen to earth now?" "l don't know I shouldn't have listened to you, General. this is futile." "and which mission would have been more promising?" "we should have reached a decision long ago. the disaster can't be prevented." "we should have used all ships for evacuation." "the 200 cruisers hunting the nova are useless up there." "the government has to carefully weigh the pros and cons of an evacuation." "I thought the government had decided against an evacuation?" "Not completely. the pros and cons have to be considered very carefully." "that takes time. we don't have time." "News, marshall?" "Nothing." "Not even the orion's position is known." "does that mean McLane..." "McLane has other problems than entertaining us with reports." "and with the chaos out there, lightcast transmissions are probably dead." "where is the nova now?" "Here." "How much time do we have?" "6 days until impact." "approximately 4 until armageddon." "wennerstein. I implore you!" "the government has to decide before it's too late." "all cruisers are returning to earth." "None of them can reach the nova." "and the frogs' control center?" "McLane will do it!" "General, considering the situation, your trust in McLane is almost childish." "well, than let me say something less childish for a change." "one question has been bothering me for quite a while now." "How can it be that the frogs established a control center to guide a supernova?" "all of this happened on our doorstep!" "?" "!" "It certainly had to be planned long in advance!" "I assume this question is for me?" "It's for us all!" "the mZ-4 disaster taught us that the frogs are trying to destroy us." "But that's all we know." "we don't know who they are, we don't know where they are." "they appear and disappear at will." "and we're just sitting here waiting for their surprises." "If there is a miracle, it's McLane!" "there's only one solution left." "we charge the orion with negative energy, intercept the planet, steer the ship into the center and blow it up." "It's our last chance." "Yes, for earth!" "But I don't want to die. do you?" "Commander?" "If I understand correctly, your plan implies we won't come back?" "I don't know. we'll charge the orion and steer her into the nova's center." "efore that, we'll man the lancets and try to reach the Hydra." "what do you want with the Hydra?" "she's a wreck. that's a waste of time." "we're finished, no matter what." "there is no other way." "let's try it." "I'd rather drift through the galaxy on the Hydra than commit suicide with the orion." "she's not that dear to me." "at least we have the chance to repair the Hydra." "do you think the crew is alive?" "we'll see. let's take all expendable oxygen with us." "atan, the computer!" "we need the exact data about when to leave the ship." "mario, lancets ready!" "Coordinates for the Hydra. flood a and C decks!" "and hurry up. we have to catch up with the nova." "Cabin 11, 12, 13." "Hydroponic systems flooded!" "energize -deck and air locks." "energized!" "Commander, 3 minutes." "Commander to lancet 1." "Bay 1. man Lancet!" "X -170. autopilot for take-off." "Confirm." "do you think it'll work?" "Status report." "Evacuate main deck." "Enter bay 2." "X -120." "roger, Commander." "Go!" "Ignition." "Supernova destroyed." "Eart saved!" "In a dramatic rescue operation, the Orion crew repaired the hydra." "Bot crews returned safely." "that was the 7t Orion you wrecked." "You'll need number 8 now." "FROGS defeated, says Colonel Villa of the Galactic Security Service!" "the FROGS, says Villa, have witdrawn beyond the interstellar buffer zone." ""they won't attack again", Villa told Space News." "Orion 8 completes its first mission." "Commander McLane frees Pieter Paul Ibsen, Sci-fi writer and son-in-law of the minister for Extraplanetary affairs, from the ands of criminals." "From now on I will only write about you." "You're more exciting tan the future." "Ceers." "We will talk about is plans for the new trilogy" ""Space Sip Orion" " Prelude to the last Period" at a later date." "Galactic greetings!" "simply write that it was destroyed by a magnetic storm." "He got too close again." "You have to submit a detailed report anyway." "But for now your signature will suffice." "is anybody ever going to do something about all this paperwork?" "what do you think?" "we have other worries." "Compared to yours ours are only minor, of course." "all we had to do was shoot down a supernova." "a supernova?" "what's that?" "You really drink like a fish." "Yup." "did McLane teach you?" "talk of the devil... why are you so nervous?" "I'm not nervous." "Yeah, always when McLane is around" "McLane!" "don't you have a different subject?" "You started it!" "me?" "let's have some fun." "I hear you're quite a battle-axe." "shhhh, quiet. don't spread it any further." "esides, only when I'm on duty." "I agree. for the moment." "when you're with the secret service, the bad reputation comes with it." "You're staring at each other as if your eyes were overkill weapons." "or are you jealous - both of you?" "General van Dyke, General van Dyke!" "I have to go, Cliff." "don't smile, Cliff." "Your security officer might think we're dating." "Can I get another drink?" "Commander McLane?" "an urgent order from the General." "do I get my orders from secretaries now?" "If you would prefer to talk to Lieutenant Spring-Brauner..." "Good heavens!" "keep that fop away!" "You're pretty, at least." "the Orion crew." "send them in." "this is Gss cruiser tau, Commander lindley speaking." "Please confirm my distress signal." "transpluto to tau." "We read you." "Calm down, McLane. another 6 months and your suspension is over." "once you're back with the Combat Units, you can do what you want." "But pull yourself together as long as you're here." "General, distress signals from the tau. they are in trouble." "switch to eos 1." "transmission via transpluto 0/3!" "We're calling transpluto 0/3." "Our situation is opeless." "We are without controls and energy." "We're caugt in a solar storm." "You know who's aboard the tau?" "Colonel Villa and 8 of his staff." "Villa?" "How horrible, if they..." "Launc 492 for space station Gordon." "Situation is opeless." "I've never seen such a powerful solar storm." "entire energy supply blocked." "we can't get out." "this isn't a solar storm, lindley." "these are oscillating gravity waves!" "there's only one chance." "man the lancets!" "the lancets?" "that would be our death!" "death's awaiting us here." "and if we don't man them quickly, the lancet launchers might fail, too." "distance to Gordon?" "still 492. we're stuck like a..." "Get lancets 1 to 4 ready." "we'll try to reach Gordon." "I won't leave before you report that we are trapped in oscillating gravity fields." "this could be crucial information." "Colonel, be reasonable." "we have to get out!" "earth has to know. this could be an extraterrestrial attack." "Prepare lightcast to ssc and TRU." "Your nerve." "this is Colonel Villa aboard the tau." "I tink the tau is trapped in antigravitational fields." "Similar to McLane's situation awile ago." "Extraterrestrial activity possible." "We will try to reac Gordon in the Lancets." "Cances are minimal." "try to contact Gordon. we have to know what's going on up there." "Gordon says they haven't noticed anything." "Nonsense. the tau is caught in a hurricane of oscillating gravity fields and Gordon doesn't notice anything?" "try again." "and then get me space Command." "I'm calling for an emergency meeting and an investigation." "Yes, General." "what was Villa doing out there, General?" "doesn't the head of the secret service belong behind his desk?" "Not always, if the circumstances call for it." "and did they call for it?" "I don't know if we'll ever know." "Villa used to show his hand only if he was absolutely certain." "But you never liked the secret service?" "there were exceptions." "Villa was a great man and a great boss." "I still can't believe it." "Yes, he was smarter than most others." "Naming no names." "I'll always be grateful that he gave me permission to fly to Chroma, when everybody else in the ssc called for war!" "even if he seemed to be a cold intellectual, he nevertheless was an idealist, a pacifist of the universe." "I hope his successor won't be the opposite." "If you want to sound me out, McLane, give it up." "It's so secret that nobody knows about it." "major McLane, here is an order from TRU for you." "thanks, honey, thanks." "Villa's alive!" "what?" "Yes." "He and his staff reached Gordon in their lancets." "only lindley and the crew seem to be lost." "But how?" "Villa is aboard the Zephir." "He'll be here in 3 days." "I've been summoned to a ssc meeting." "I really can't explain how we managed to reach Gordon in this solar storm." "I can't tell you, dear Villa, how glad we all are. we had given up hope." "did you say solar storm?" "Yes, solar storm." "But in your last transmission from the tau you said something about... what was that again?" "oscillating gravity fields!" "You said they could have been the result of extraterrestrial activities." "Yes, I remember, I can't deny that I had said something like that." "But honestly, I had lost all control over what I said." "locked propulsion!" "that's what I encountered, when the frogs chased us from mZ4." "and if I had been closer... so what's your question?" "why are you so sure that it was only a solar storm?" "You may be aware that Gordon has registered only a normal solar storm." "this 'normal solar storm' could be a result of artificial gravity fields." "Commander lindley said it was only a solar storm." "Commander lindley and his crew are missing." "we have no possibility... are you saying that I'm quoting Commander lindley inaccurately?" "I just want to..." "McLane, that's enough now." "why am I in this meeting, when I can't point out discrepancies?" "these discrepancies are accounted for!" "Gentlemen, whatever I said in the transmission, there certainly were no extraterrestrial activities." "the catastrophe simply made me see ghosts. I apologize." "may I ask what the purpose of your mission aboard the tau was?" "I will inform the space authorities in a classified report in due time." "too bad you're so secretive." "I have no obligation to reveal secret information to a cruiser captain." "I have to ask you now not to bother Colonel Villa with any more questions." "But something's not right here." "on the one hand..." "McLane, no more discussions!" "No need for further questions." "I'm talking to you, McLane." "McLane, you surely don't miss an opportunity to make enemies." "I thought an investigating committee had to investigate. I learned my lesson." "No you didn't." "Go back to your duty now." "tomorrow, you'll go on patrol, as instructed." "would you mind if I flew to Gordon instead?" "just to see what's going on up there?" "are you out of your mind?" "do your job and forget this whole thing." "rQ 15 2d hello?" "is this you, tama..." "lieutenant jagellovsk?" "Yes, Commander McLane?" "I have to talk to you, urgently." "why don't you turn on your Viewscreen?" "take a guess." "You're not alone." "No, no." "But I don't have any clothes on." "I'm about to take a bat." "are you joking?" "all I might see is your neck." "Yes, but my neck looks so private without a uniform on." "Just a minute." "So, wat's up?" "No.." "Nothing. ut that'll change if you don't get.." "if you don't get me an appointment with your boss." "Colonel Villa, now?" "Yes, right now." "But he's in a meeting." "I know. and that's why I need you." "request a meeting by alpha order." "that could get me in trouble." "Come on." "all right. I'll try." "By the way, nice gown." "thanks." "especially when you haven't closed the front." "I thought you wouldn't show up." "do you know what time it is?" "what happened?" "what happened?" "the usual." "It's not my fault that I'm a man in my prime." "that's not the impression I got." "what does she mean?" "did you hear that, Cliff?" "we were invited. really nice people." "our hero here persistently tried to hit on a nice young lady." "oh, and the young lady was you?" "oh no!" "don't be so mysterious. they might think there's a punch-line to your story." "I thought there was a punch-line." "especially when the young lady said:" ""lieutenant, you're old enough to be my father."" "is this the right outfit for take-off?" "is your flight uniform in the laundry, lieutenant?" "No, but I won't need it anyway." "one minute, Please." "what do you mean?" "take-off is in 50 minutes." "No, it isn't. I'm coming from Villa." "mission cancelled." "Gss order. take-off cancelled." "mission performed by Gss!" "long live the Gss!" "does that mean we're off duty?" "obviously." "that's great, Cliff." "Can we go?" "Yes. I'm sure mister Villa knows what he's doing." "I only hope he asked wamsler. lf not, there's going to be trouble." "Come on, guys, before they change their mind." "mario!" "don't forget, you could be her father." "what was that about?" "oh, he just got turned down again." "what about you?" "me?" "Never!" "I meant: do you want to stay here?" "tamara, since when does the Gss perform routine patrol flights?" "don't you find that strange?" "I'm sure Villa has his reasons." "sure. I'd just like to know what they are." "we were supposed to check radar satellites in sector Vesta." "that's near Gordon. something happened there and Villa is keeping it secret." "You're too suspicious, Cliff." "maybe." "But something's wrong with Villa since he returned from Gordon." "Come on, no more horror stories." "It's not a horror story, it's the facts." "He plays down what happened on Gordon, he takes over space reconnaissance and controls the fleetbases now." "I wonder what his next step is?" "But that implies he'd have a goal." "what do you think that is?" "If it wasn't so absurd, I'd suggest he's preparing a coup." "switch all radar sections to 'record only'." "I have to be certain that no information is passed on." "Certainly." "at Cosmos -164 we will issue an alpha order for all units in space:" "return to bases immediately." "at Cosmos -164 all units in space return to bases immediately." "Cosmos -200 starts at 2300. mission completed at cosmos plus 200." "something must have happened on Gordon that turned him completely inside out." "He takes over mulligan's command of Ground Control, even though he had praised his work only 4 days before the tau accident." "I had heard that myself, in wamsler's office." "is this all you can talk about tonight?" "I'm sorry. would you like a drink?" "thanks, no." "How long are we supposed to sit around?" "do you know their plans?" "No." "and what are you up to?" "a new job?" "No. that means, yes." "I had been transferred to the orion to prevent Commander McLane from breaches of duty, violations of service regulations and military misconduct." "Babysitter!" "But there are nice babysitters." "am I too strict?" "will you help me?" "I have to speak with Villa, tomorrow." "why do you have to speak with him?" "I will simply ask him for special permission to fly to Gordon." "If he grants it, I'll know I was wrong." "But if he doesn't... what would that prove?" "tamara, I never claimed to be very intelligent, but I have an instinct." "I can't say more for now." "all right, if it will help you sleep tonight: okay." "I'll talk to Villa and see whether he has time for you tomorrow." "thanks. and while you're at Gss headquarters, would you do me a favor?" "what else?" "look around. maybe you'll find out why Villa went on this mission near Gordon." "there must be documents." "Cliff, are you crazy?" "do you know what you're asking for?" "Interesting, Lieutenant, isn't it?" "Your friend McLane will be very pleased with you." "Or rather.' he would be." "But you won't have the opportunity to notify him of your discovery." "It was only curiosity." " Yes, McLane's curiosity." "McLane has nothing to do with it." "Nonsense." "McLane asked you to snoop about in here." "and I let you, because I wanted to know wat e wants to know." "Now I do. arrest er." "we're getting many lightcast requests from earth outposts." "they're asking about the unidentified objects and why TRU is down." "tell them ssc and government know about it and countermeasures have been taken." "we have to stall them for 2 more hours." "why do you keep me here?" "for a good reason." "will you finally tell me what you are up to?" "I suppose you already know." "Your friend McLane certainly told you why he wanted you to spy in here." "It is true then." "You're planning a coup?" "a coup?" "what an infantile term." "Coup. that's something for megalomaniac generals." "I'm not dealing in such trivial matters." "Commander McLane?" "Yes?" "Galactic security service." "we have to ask you to come with us." "where to?" "Gss headquarters." "You know, McLane, I always supported your idealistic plans." "But what in the world do you want to achieve on Gordon?" "I just want to make sure that you and Commander lindley were correct in your analysis of the tau incident." "Your defeat in the or meeting the other day is still bothering you?" "Yes, something along these lines." "the specialist's hurt pride, I guess" "You still believe that this recent incident resulted from extraterrestrial activity?" "I don't believe anything. I'd just like to exclude this possibility." "why don't you ask wamsler?" "He would kick me out before I could say "Gordon"" "all right. fly there." "I'll arrange everything." "thank you, Colonel." "McLane!" "what if there is indeed something strange going on out there?" "what if you get into the same mess as the tau?" "that's my risk." "No, I won't take responsibility." "to be safe, the orion will be outfitted with a gravitational field generator." "Great." "But that will take time." "Not too much." "we have a new system which is about to be introduced in the entire fleet." "do you know Chief engineer Kranz?" "only by name. supposedly an expert." "the leading expert in artificial gravity." "He will accompany you." "thank you, Colonel." "McLane, I almost forgot." "Your charming security officer can't come with you." "what?" "Yes, we sent her on a special training mission." "How could I know that you would ask for this mission?" "why didn't she tell me?" "she didn't?" "No." "that's not nice." "or is she mad at you?" "You can never tell with her." "women!" "base 104 launch control to fast space Cruiser orion 8." "Cleared for take-off." "roger, base." "Base 104 anding over to Eart Orbit Station 4." "I'm so glad that Colonel Villa let me test my system aboard the orion 8." "all right, Kranz." "You've told me once every hour and we've been out here for 18 hours now." "something positive can't be said too often." "I hope it is positive. lf we get into the same mess as the tau, your system had better work or we'll all be going to hell." "Cliff, something's up. I have radar contact with moving objects." "awfully far away, but hey, something's up out there." "alien objects?" "Can't tell." "should we set course there?" "our mission says... who asked you?" "see if you can get a signal." "I've got a hell of a signal!" "listen to this!" "tri-Codes!" "Cliff, something's fishy." "remember mZ-4." "If that's the frogs, it means they passed two outer radar circles without warning." "Control station 47 36 a5." "te invasion fleet's vanguard as reaced the invasion route as planned." "No obstruction by terrestrial bases or units." "fabulous. at Cosmos -164 the invasion forces will leave the assembly areas." "Yes Sir!" "Colonel, what does that mean?" "Invasion forces?" "You're not saying..." "But this is madness!" "why is everything the average mind can't grasp called madness?" "But Please, think of... we don't have time for discussions." "listen. I suppose McLane will call us sooner or later." "He would call TRU." "Possibly, but TRU won't hear him." "I took the liberty of manipulating their encoding converters." "oh, you... when McLane radios here, you will talk to him." "and now I'm going to tell you what to say." "lightcast to TRU." "orion 8 to TRU!" "orion 8 to TRU!" "I have an urgent message." "Why can't I get troug, dammit?" "TRU, do you copy?" "what's up, Commander?" "Who the hell are you?" "You're at the right place." "I need a connection with TRU." "who are you?" "Lightcast to TRU is down at the moment." "We're redirecting." "do you have a report?" "You bet. we detected unidentified flying objects in 4 sectors:" "rs 118 Kl90 to rs 118 Kl94." "they have passed the outer radar circles." "they're taking a course towards earth." "we know." "Countermeasures are being taken." "that I'd like to see." "Does General Wamsler know about this?" "of course. stay on course and wait for further orders." "But our course is leading us away from the intruders!" "that's ok." "do you know who it is?" "frogs?" "I'm not authorized to tell you. over!" "No connection with TRU?" "that's never happened before!" "who was this mystery-monger?" "No idea." "they're on a course towards earth." "No doubt." "they're coming from 3 directions, heading for the sectors around Gordon." "Precisely where we were supposed to check the radar systems." "atan, lightcast to TRU. try again, I need to speak to wamsler." "Useless, Cliff." "TRU is still down." "who knows what's going on?" "they'll redirect us again." "try, I said. lf we're redirected again, at least I know what's up." "and you, my friend, give me your gun." "why?" "what are you doing?" "Now!" "You're not authorized." "Come on!" "don't work yourself up." "just a precaution." "maybe Villa hasn't just sent you along to do us a favor." "ridiculous." "all the better. we'll see." "orion 8 to TRU!" "orion 8 to TRU!" "You can kill me, but you can't force me to give false orders to McLane." "firstly, I can force you to and secondly, I'm giving the orders." "and be certain he'll follow them." "You don't know McLane." "lightcast from orion to TRU." "take it." "But you talk:" "I want to hear how much he knows." "this is Commander McLane, Orion 8 Calling General Wamsler." "speak Commander." "I want to speak to the General and no one else." "I told you an hour ago that ...that TRU is down." "Don't give me that rubbish." "I'll act on my own now." "talk to him or I melt you down." "McLane, this is Villa." "I have a surprise for you." "Villa, I knew it. lf we ever meet again, I will have a surprise for you." "with me is security officer lieutenant jagellovsk." "I swear the girl will die on the spot, if you don't obey my orders." "do you understand?" "major!" "McLane!" "You were right." "It's too late." "Villa as won." "the invasion is on, it's the FROGS, do you ear me?" "lieutenant!" "lieutenant!" "Yes?" "did you hear this, McLane?" "I'm not bluffing." "the girl's life is in your hands." "will you do what I say?" "Wat sail l do?" "where is Kranz?" "on the bridge." "Get him over to the lightcast unit." "this is Kranz." "Colonel, I've been disarmed." "I thought so." "McLane, you have one minute." "after that Kranz will report that he has taken over the command." "50 seconds left." "this sounds like a bad joke!" "really?" "she must have redirected it to TRU." "she knows what she's doing!" "Go notify wamsler, or and the government." "Use messengers." "don't stand there like idiots, what should I do?" "10 seconds." "l can't decide that alone." "7 seconds." "Cliff, give it to him." "Give it to him!" "You have to give it to him!" "4 seconds!" "well done. and now, don't move!" "Please?" "I thought he hadn't noticed." "Colonel Villa, this is Kranz. 01, 00, 2,3, algol, Vesta, lnterkosmos, U, Indigo." "roger, lndigo. over." "He's taken care of." "Cosmos control, please." "Invasion forces in the assembly areas." "No obstruction by terrestrial forces." "Cosmos -150." "enter the invasion route now. the beam from Gordon will supply the energy." "what about her?" "eliminate her?" "No, that can wait until Cosmos -50." "maybe we'll need her again, when TRU gets on our case." "she's well connected." "Get her out!" "what my people are telling me is scary." "Villa must have gone mad." "He's preparing an invasion by the frogs!" "Isolate the GSS complex electromagnetically." "then force open the doors with Vargo-rays." "Yes, marshall!" "Villa has to be caught off guard!" "all forces to the area of operations, plan delta." "all security measures according to plan delta effective as of now." "News embargo!" "Cosmos -100. lock the fleet bases." "low up the launching bays." "lightcast to all operative terrestrial units. alpha order." "return to earth." "this is an alpha order." "this is terrestrial reconnaissance. alpha alert!" "frog invasion forces approaching earth." "frog invasion fleet approaching sectors 118 Kl12 to 118 Kl4." "resistance futile. invasion unstoppable." "we suggest negotiations." "Government to SSC." "Negotiators will be court-martialed." "the enemy as to be stopped by any means." "terrestrial reconnaissance Unit calling all stations:" "lightcast communication between bases and operative units is being redirected by Gss and is therefore futile. I repeat:" "Lightcast communication is being redirected by GSS and is therefore futile. I repeat.' what took you so long, gentlemen?" "You are too late!" "the operation is under way and nothing will stop it." "within 24 hours the earth will finally be in the hands of intelligent beings." "If these beings aren't significantly more intelligent than you, we don't have to worry." "Come on!" "You're being expected on Gordon." "who is expecting us?" "wait and see." "frogs?" "Intelligent beings. they're very interested in our overkill system." "You will give a demonstration, McLane." "I'd rather be killed." "well, well. on Gordon you'll first sleep for awhile and when you wake up, everything will look different." "we're going to be brainwashed?" "just like what they did with Villa!" "Propulsion deck to Commander!" "transformers 3 and 5 are malfunctioning." "Wat sail l do?" "what do you mean, malfunctioning?" "Sall I give a technical description of a transformer and its functions?" "Or rather why they might be malfunctioning?" "order your man to fix it." "this means... this means that we temporarily have to fly at alf speed." "McLane, what you're doing is sabotage." "and what you're doing isn't?" "don't try to bluff. lf the orion isn't back to full speed asap, I will have to decide which crew member is most expendable." "How many cruisers are in space?" "the standard security eighth. lt's nothing compared to the size of the attack." "the invaders are passing laser gun batteries 7 to 9." "they've taken strong losses, but haven't changed their course." "It's an incredible number. even if the batteries melt down half of them..." "Can't you force Villa to do something?" "You can't force Villa to do anything." "He's in reckwalt's mental ward!" "marshall, we deciphered the code Villa used to direct the invasion." "Yes?" "they obviously had problems supplying the energy for the advance." "that's why they're all approaching via Gordon." "Gordon has them on a beam which supplies energy and guides them." "that's why they didn't change course when they passed our batteries." "In other words, the only way to stop the attack is to destroy Gordon." "and which unit can reach Gordon in time?" "None. y Villa's last order, they all returned to earth." "only McLane could reach Gordon. and he's in Kranz's power. lt's a nightmare." "we've been trying to contact the orion for an hour." "we have her on the screen, but she doesn't answer." "lieutenant!" "don't get nervous." "or else I'll get nervous and that could end up badly." "Invaders are passing sector 1 16 Lm 4 course uncanged." "Orion 8 is not responding." "we have to do something." "really?" "and what?" "the Hydra under General van dyke has set course for Gordon." "Useless. she'll reach Gordon too late." "she'll be there before the orion." "since when is the Hydra faster than the orion?" "the orion has been flying at half speed for awhile." "Couldn't the Hydra reach the orion?" "Yes, but what for?" "do you think the Hydra will scare Kranz into a deep-freeze cabin?" "order the Hydra to attack McLane." "are you mad?" "If the orion was attacked, McLane might have the chance to regain control." "Kranz needs to defend the orion." "He will need McLane and de monti." "You understand?" "He needs them and therefore might lose control over them." "we have to try." "all right." "Wat's taking so long?" "I tried to accelerate." "But you saw the result." "Negative." "Sigbjornson, I've had enough." "I don't believe you." "If you don't believe me, ask McLane." "You're not saying anything?" "You know sigbjornson is right." "I know as soon as I've killed one of you and we're still flying at half speed." "Come on then, what are you waiting for?" "You're risking a lot, McLane." "radar alert!" "flying object." "rapid approach, distance 144,143." "Commander to propulsion deck." "do we have full speed?" "and if you ask a tird time, General." "the hydra is giving everyting se as." "Commander to battle station:" "attack the orion from distance 109." "You know what this is about!" "the orion must not be disabled!" "a battle ship of the orion class." "distance 110." "Cliff, it's the Hydra." "sigbjornson must accelerate." "distance 109." "Cliff, they're attacking." "we're within their range." "Your own people won't attack you!" "Not us, but you!" "General van dyke is probably convinced that we're dead." "I command you to defend us." "How?" "attack the ship - now!" "as you wish!" "mario, man the battle station." "Keep cool, my friend." "mario. I have to go back down." "orion to Hydra." "General van dyke, this is McLane." "we're alive and we'd like to live a bit longer, copy?" "are you fully manoeuvreable?" "technically, yes." "Our nerves have suffered a bit." "where is Kranz?" "Rigt here. he seems a bit depressed." "fly at hyperspace speed to Gordon." "eliminate Gordon with overkill, by order of the world Government." "Hasso, what about hyperspace?" "No problem." "I knew it!" "You're a clever man." "General, the marsall would like to speak with you." "Yes, marshall?" "Wat do you tink?" "Can the Orion make it?" "If anyone can do it, it's McLane." "McLane is a good man." "Who was the genius who demoted him?" "that was you, marshall!" "me?" "Oh." "Cliff, the FROGS have us in their search beams." "We're getting a clear signal from them." "Yes, now there's already 7." "We're it." "Generators 3 and 4 are failing." "overkill." "receiving impulse." "enemy base ahead." "radar on. distance?" "distance 37.4." "Commander to battle station." "Ready, they're within sooting range." "distance 37.3." "Propulsion deck to Commander." "Running on ultra-impulse." "distance?" "10, 9, 8, 7,... ln five seconds fire overkill." "ready, mario?" "Ready!" "achtung - overkill!" "Lightcast to Eart." "Experiment Overkill successfully completed." "Set course to Earth." "these are the heroes of the battle of Gordon." "Commander Cliff Allister McLane and his crew are returning to the headquarters of Space Command." "the World Government expresses its gratitude to these men and women, for defending our freedom to drink whiskey and dance Galyxo." "Galactic greetings" "Your departure to Gordon was against my orders!" "It was... a misconduct that saved us from being killed or brainwashed, though." "You would be discharged now, if you hadn't been right about this!" "Please, if you..." "Colonel McLane!" "Colonel McLane!" "Your duty with space Patrol ends today." "Your disciplinary transfer is over." "You're back with the fast Combat Units." "If you tell me where you'll drink to that, I'll join you." "ln the..." "starlight Casino!" "Your duty starts with 3 months special leave for the entire crew." "that's it for now." "Congratulations on the promotion." "thanks, thank you." "I'm glad that you're back with your old unit." "that's great for us all." "Yes well, I don't know." "I have no idea what I will do." "Yes why?" "won't you stay with us?" "my babysitter job was only supposed to last as long as you were transferred." "Yes, I thought you had forgotten." "I 'm going to talk to van dyke." "I'll tell her I want to keep my babysitter or else I'll quit the service." "Can you only think about the service?" "don't you need a private babysitter?" "thanks, Cliff. that's enough." "mario and I had a bet." "this expert here claimed you wouldn't dare to?" "kiss in the SSC meeting room." "I've won 10 bottles of champagne." "thanks." "You scoundrel." "I underestimated you, Cliff. I thougt only an expert could pull this off." "You're full of surprises!" "Come on!" "3,2, 1." "It was just a nightmare, wasn't it?" "worse, it was science fiction!"