"Previously on Dark Matter..." "Alicia Reynaud." "Business magnate, venture capitalist, ruthless criminal... bad news." "We're going after her." "This is just a fact-finding mission." "Once we find out what this card does and how, get out of there." "With the Blink Drive, you just disappear from one place and reappear somewhere else." "Initiating Blink Drive." "Something's wrong." "What the hell is happening?" "I'm detecting micro-breaches throughout the ship." "Weapons and shields are down." "Nav systems are offline." "Engines are damaged, both FTL and sub-light." "Rerouting power from damaged sections." "Our weapons and shields are up." "Nav systems are online." "Sub-light engines are back, and working on FTL." "Well, that didn't go exactly as planned, did it?" "Yeah, but was it a successful test of the Blink Drive?" "No, we fell well short of our target destination." "How short?" "We only traveled 1.2 miles." "1.2?" "Guys, we could've walked." "What happened?" "I'll have to run a thorough diagnostic, which may take some time." "The Drive may also require repair and adjustments, which could also delay our next attempt." "Next attempt?" "Are you kidding me?" "We barely survived the first one." "No, once we figure it out, that device will allow us instantaneous travel anywhere in the universe." "We can't give up." "What is that?" "It's a distress call from Regulus-12." "Devon and Nyx are on that station." "Take us back." "Approaching the station." "Are you receiving any other transmissions?" "Just the one." "It appears to be on a loop, broadcasting at recurrent 3-minute intervals." "Other than that, oddly, none." "Why is it so dark?" "What the hell?" "The station appears to have come under attack." "Devon and Nyx..." "Take us in." "I can't." "The bays are damaged and are now exposed to atmosphere." "We need to get in and help the survivors." "I'm sorry, Two." "I don't believe there are any." "What's that?" "They're ships." "I'm detecting three in all." "Onscreen." "Hang on a sec." "That looks like..." "It can't be." "It's..." "Us." "It's the "Raza."" "What the hell was that?" "It just disappeared." "How is that possible?" "The residual negative energy I'm detecting suggests they're in possession of a Blink Drive not unlike our own." "Well, a fully functioning one." "I don't know what the hell's going on, but I've had enough." "Get us out of here." "What was that?" "A third Mikkei destroyer just dropped out of FTL and opened fire on us." "Can we jump?" "FTL engines are still down." "The damage to the Blink Drive is impeding our ability to restore them." "Get down to system control and disengage it." "Get us up and running." "Let's buy them some time." "You got it." "We're about to have more company." "The other two Mikkei ships are closing fast." "Hold your fire." "Divert all power to the shields." "This is the "Raza." We are standing down." "Please respond." "This is the "Raza." Please respond." "We are not your enemies." "We are allies of your Commander Truffault." "We're not looking for a fight here." " This is Commander Truffault." " Truffault?" "What the hell are you trying to pull?" "What's going on?" "Why are your ships attacking us?" "We're attacking you because we're at war." "What are you talking about?" "You've decimated a dozen of our outposts, destroyed three of our ships, and now you claim you don't know what's going on." "The fact that you're even talking to me suggests there's something wrong with your Blink Drive, otherwise you'd be long gone by now." "How does she know about the Drive?" "I don't know." "Either you surrender and let us board, or we blast you to bits and pick through your scattered remnants." "Commander, I don't know what's going on." "Your delay tactics won't work." "The second we pick up readings of a jump attempt, we will annihilate you." "Again, awaiting your decision, "Raza."" "All right, I promise you no resistance, provided you can guarantee the safety of my crew." "Turn over the Drive, and you have a deal." "Done. "Raza" out." "Five, how's it looking down there?" "Stand by." "It's not good." "The Blink Drive is fried." "What about the FTL engines?" "We'll have to re-route through another access port." "That will take some time." " How long?" " Approximately 30 minutes." "Good." "Keep working on it." "We're about to have some company." "I've placed the sections outside the air lock and the mess hall under lockdown." "This is as much for their protection as it is for yours." "Do not attack unless engaged." "And I need you all to stay out of sight." "We need to draw this out, buy some time to make repairs." "Once we get the FTL up and running, we'll make the jump." "They said they'd open fire if we tried." "I'm counting on the fact that they won't... not with their own people on board." "Two out." "Shouldn't you be with Five?" "She doesn't require my assistance." "Besides, I've made a surprising discovery that I think you should know about." "I've detected an anomalous distortion in the area of the ship's exit point into normal space." "Right, because we used the Blink Drive." "But likely not in the way in which it was intended." "A slight variance in the temperature of the cosmic microwave background suggests a highly unusual possibility... we may have inadvertently traveled to a parallel universe." "What?" "The multiverse theory of quantum physics posits the existence of alternate worlds running parallel to our own... divergent time streams that may differ slightly or even significantly than the reality that we inhabit." "They can theoretically be accessed by..." "Punching a hole through space-time." "It would explain a lot..." "Mikkei's unusually aggressive actions," "Commander Truffault's knowledge of the Blink Drive, and, of course, the other "Raza."" "The rest of the crew will no doubt have a hard time believing this." "The rest of the crew is not who I'm worried about." "Are you done?" "If you want to run a scan, I can give you the coordinates." "I have no interest in either proving or disproving your lunatic theory." "I'm here for the Drive." "I'm sure you have someone on board who'll be able to confirm it's genuine." "I gave you the device." "I held up my end of the deal." "And so will I." "I guarantee the safety of you and your crew... until delivery to Central, at which point my superiors will decide what to do with you." "I'm afraid it's not gonna be that simple." "Oh, no?" "This section of the ship is under lockdown." "My crew is armed and hidden." "We won't be going down without a fight." "I will just have to return to my ship, then." "Making it back might be a problem." "Looks like we're at an impasse." "Have your men withdraw." "You stay." "Once our FTL is operational, we will make the jump, and we will drop you off at the nearest space station." "You got what you came for." "Granted, it's damaged, probably irreparably, but it's possible to study its components and reverse engineer a working model." "You know that." "Yes?" "Are you sure?" "Sorry, Commander." "They said it was urgent." "This is Commander Truffault." "I'm in the middle of something." "Yes, okay." "What?" "How is that possible?" "And you're sure?" "Yes." "Thank you." "We've just received reports along with visual confirmation that the "Raza" has just launched an attack against a Traugott research facility over 300 light-years from here." "Earlier..." "I believe you mentioned something about us being allies." "You gave her the Drive?" "I didn't have a choice." "It wouldn't have been much use to us anyways." "So we're stuck here in some other universe, with other versions of ourselves roaming around just doing God knows what." "Not necessarily." "The Blink Drive got us here." "Theoretically, it can get us back." "We don't have one anymore." "But we know who does." "If we want to get home, we've got to go after the other "Raza."" "As the Galactic War enters its second month, the unprecedented death toll continues to rise." "And while no one has claimed responsibility for the bombing on the diplomatic summit of Eos-7 which sparked current hostilities, unconfirmed reports from within the League of Autonomous Worlds are said to point the finger squarely at Ferrous Corporation or agents operating on their behalf." "Ferrous Corp has steadfastly denied the charges." "The allegations are ridiculous." "Ferrous Corp lost people in that attack as well, and we believe the evidence will show it is the work of anticorporate rebels." "Regardless of whether or not they were behind the attack, there's no denying that Ferrous Corp has come out ahead in the conflict to date." "How goes it?" "I'm almost done... for whatever that's worth." "I don't understand." "Well, we'll have the FTL up and running, but that won't get us back home." "But this ship is our home." "I mean back to our reality." "What difference does it make?" "Whether here or there, there's nothing for us but this ship... and each other." "Yeah." "Anyway, what are the others doing?" "The space station's data hub is still operational, so they're researching this reality and their alternate selves." "Why?" "Aren't you the least bit curious to find out what path life may have taken had circumstances been different?" "No, because I'm happy with how things turned out." "And I have a bad feeling that... in this universe, I wouldn't want to know." "ACCESS GRANTED" "CLASSIFIED:" "LIEUTENANT KAL VARRICK GALACTIC AUTHORITY SPECIAL INVESTIGATION UNIT" "DECEASED" "SERVICE, MISSIONS, MEDICAL RECORD, COMMENDATIONS, DEATH" " DIGITAL EVIDENCE" "DEATH" " DIGITAL EVIDENCE" "This is Lieutenant Kal Varrick reporting from the "Raza."" "I've already uploaded the virus that will sabotage the engines." "Once we drop out, the ship will start broadcasting a subspace signal which should facilitate tracking." "the "Raza" 's security mechanism is an android." "Verbal shutdown command..." "three-tango-five, gulf-sierra-six." "Get to her fast, because if she perceives an insurmountable threat, she's programmed to wipe the ship's data stores." "Now, if all goes according to plan," "I'll be..." "Hey, what the hell?" "Sources within the Mikkei combine accuse Ferrous Corp of hiring outlaw mercenaries to aid in their war effort, most notably the fugitive ship "Raza."" "Believed to be among the crew are Marcus Boone and Portia Lin, both wanted on galactic warrants for terrorism and mass murder." "Recently, Lin has been tied to an attack on the headquarters of Dwarf Star Technologies, which claimed the lives of over 200 company personnel, including that of CEO Alexander Rook." "What have you learned?" "That we're about as popular in this reality as we are in our own." "You?" "I think I may have found a way to get to the other "Raza."" "How do we do that?" "By sending them an invitation." "You think they'd trust us?" "Not us... this reality's version of me..." "Emperor Ishida Ryo of Zairon." "ZAIRON'S BLOODY REIGN" "LATEST VICTORY RESULTS IN HIGHEST CASUALTY COUNT IN PYR'S HISTORY" "I told you I didn't want to see you until you finished clearing those crates." "I did finish." "So we don't have to worry about booby traps?" "No, because I spaced everything." "What?" "You said it yourself... probably more trouble than they're worth." "Why didn't you just question the prisoners?" "What prisoners?" "You didn't." "What am I gonna do with you?" "That's your call, boss." "No." "No!" "Ryo... it's been a while." "It's good to see you, Portia." "What do you want?" "You less so." "I've been presented with an opportunity that may be of interest to you." "Do tell." "I will, when we meet to discuss." "Now is good." "I can't risk anyone intercepting our subspace communications." "Then forget about it." "We're busy." "We got stuff to steal... people to kill." "Well, the "Raza" can get anywhere in an instant." "You can make time." "And trust me... for this, you're going to want to." "No." "Okay." "We're coming to Zairon." "No, Zairon is no longer safe." "There are spies everywhere." "I'll send you the coordinates in a separate data burst." "Why do I get the feeling that guy hates me, huh?" "Am I imagining it?" "No, you're definitely not imagining it." "Do you think they'll show?" "Oh, sure." "Whether it will be to meet with you or kill you, that remains to be seen." "There's no room to dock, so we'll be taking the "Marauder" in." "It looks like there's a pocket on the lower levels that still has life support." "If you spot any trouble, just give us a heads-up." "You got it." "Ryo, what have you got for us?" "What is this?" "What do you want?" "For starters, I'll take that coat." "Quick in-and-out... we get the Drive, and we go." "Yeah, well, I wasn't planning on hanging around to check the place out." "I'm a little curious about other me's gun collection." "Some other time, then, huh?" "Make it quick." "Got it." "What'd you do?" "It wasn't me." "They're engaging the engines." "Oh, shit." "We're gonna..." "Hey." "How'd it go with Ishida?" "We've still got business on that space station." "Yeah, well, we got business right here too." "Neiman's orders." "We need to clear up some misunderstanding on a mining colony." "What kind of misunderstanding?" "The usual." "You coming?" "In there." "Yeah, yeah." "Duplicates of us." "Duplicate "Raza."" "May I make an educated guess as to what's going on?" "No, you may not." " Four?" " Yes?" "We've been contacted by Commander Truffault." "She wants to know how it went." "Complications?" "The ship jumped." "They're gone." "So your friends were unsuccessful?" "That remains to be seen." "They're still on board." "What about Lin and Boone?" "We have them." "Far from ideal." "Okay, Emperor... coming to you." "All right." "Hey, how you doing?" "Excuse me." "Let me do the talking." "Don't I always?" "You with Ferrous Corp?" "We're their representatives." "We're here to speak on their behalf." "Yeah, there ain't nothing to talk about." "We're declaring independence." "You know Ferrous Corp isn't gonna let that happen." "Well, maybe we need to show them we're serious... willing to kill for our freedom... starting with you two." "Push comes to shove, most would be willing to kill for their freedom." "Willing to die... that's another matter." "Now, trust me, there'll be plenty of time for both later." "Right now we just want to talk." "After you." "Hey!" "Hey." "What's up?" "You know..." " Hi." " Hi." "What?" "Maybe this isn't a good time." "What are you talking about?" "We got maybe 20 minutes before they get back." "That's kind of tight, isn't it?" "Are you serious?" "20 minutes would be a record for you." "Really?" "Okay, look..." "Yeah, I've had a bad day, and maybe we can just... pick it up again tomorrow, all right?" "Can't believe you still fall for that." "Later, loser." "You tested the device without making the proper adjustments." "You didn't account for temporal displacement." "That's why you and the rest of your crew are here." "Instead of going from point A to point B in your reality, you punched a hole through space-time and ended up here, where our Ishida reclaimed his throne." "Something you obviously haven't done... not yet." "Mind you, I don't know how you're gonna do that without the Blink Drive." "Well, how did he do it?" "Little help from his friends." "Go on." "I can vent the atmosphere in there, stand here, and watch you die." "I'm shaking." "Try me." "After Eos-7, the corporations backing Pyr pulled out." "They had bigger things to worry about, so we took advantage and helped Zairon destroy their fleet." "And they welcomed you back with open arms." "Did I have allies in the palace?" "You made a deal with a couple of old friends, members of the royal court who you knew you could still trust." "Your stepbrother, Hiro, was one of them." "That came back to bite you in the ass." "How?" "He started lobbying for democratic rights." "But you put an end to that." "The Ryo we know can make the hard decisions and exploit the right opportunities." "What's holding you back, hmm?" "I know what you're thinking..." "Ferrous Corp is too busy fighting a war to worry about some insignificant mining community." "But you're wrong." "They're gonna come down on you hard, because if they don't, it'll send a message to every other insignificant mining community that Ferrous is weak and can't keep its own house in order." "We won't be intimidated." "You don't understand." "We're not here to..." "What the hell?" "I said you could do the talking." "I didn't say anything about the shooting." "Time to move." "Let her go." " What, you mean alive?" " Yes, alive." "Now." "What the hell is your problem today?" ""Raza," this is the "Marauder."" "So do we spank them?" "Affirmative." "Prep it." " We're on our way back." " Prep what?" "The nuke." "This mining colony's about to learn the hard way, you don't mess with Ferrous Corp." ""Raza," this is the "Marauder."" " Yeah?" " Stand down." "What?" "I'm ordering you to stand down." "And what have I told you about giving me orders?" "I don't know what the hell you think..." "Shut up." "We are not dropping a nuke on this facility." "Why not?" "Because there's another way to deal with this situation." "Sure, but we don't have time to shoot them all." "A way that doesn't involve anyone getting killed." "Corso?" "Hey, do I need to remind you we have a job to do here?" "And we will get it done, but not by destroying this colony and everyone in it." "Corso, do you copy?" "Corso, do..." "What?" "Something's up." "What do you mean?" "You're acting strange." "What happened on that space station?" "What did Ishida say to you?" "I'll tell you back on the ship." "You'll tell me now." "ARMED" "LAUNCH" "Hello." "Oh, hey." "As this ship's service android, it's my duty to inform the crew of any impending danger." "Yeah." "In this case, it's the nuclear missile we just launched that's headed towards the planet's surface, where the "Marauder" is presently located." "What?" "Can you override its nav systems?" "Unfortunately, I can't." "Oh, man." "Shit." "Good night, Portia." "You shifty son of a bitch." "You say that like it's a bad thing." "What's up?" "You launched that nuke while she was still down on the planet." "Yeah, The Android told me." "That little snitch." "I'm gonna have to re-jig her neural interface... but yours first." "Yeah?" "Hello, lover." "I'll never forget the first time I ever punched you." "You told me I hit like a girl." "You do." "You hit like a super-fit, well-trained, scary, scary girl." "For months, Corso's been secretly gunning for you two, and I'm the only reason you're still alive." "Well, then I'm sure we can both appreciate the irony of you standing over me with that knife." "Tash." "You're on the wrong side of this." "Corso just tired to kill Wexler and me down on that planet." "He launched an orbital nuke while we were still on the surface." "Where is Wexler?" "He's back on the "Marauder."" "Wexler, it's Tash." "Come in." "He can't respond right now." "Why not?" "Because he's unconscious, but let me explain." "Do we really have to do this... again?" "As this ship's service android, it's my duty to protect the crew from harm... and, on occasion, each other." "Thank you." "You're welcome." "You know why our Two and Three aren't like them?" "Because of you." "I don't know exactly what happened, but in this reality, you weren't there to save my life." "There was no mind wipe, and... everything turned out different." "Sorry to interrupt, but a Mikkei cruiser just dropped out of FTL." "It launched a shuttle which should be arriving shortly." "Lock us down." "Any word from your people?" "Not yet." "Something's wrong." " Shut down." " No." "Do I have to shoot her?" "No." "Bridge is secure." "We have the "Raza."" ""Raza," this is Two." "What's your situation?" "I would best describe your current situation as dire." "Truffault?" "What the hell's going on?" "Oh, please, this is just a preemptive double-cross." " I thought we had a deal." " We did... a deal you never had any intention of honoring." "We both know that." "So here's the new deal... the lives of your people in exchange for the Drive." "Look, this universe or your own... what difference does it make?" "I mean, what the hell is waiting for you back there?" "Our own mess." "The lives of your people for the Drive." "What's it gonna be?" " The shuttle just docked." " Good." "Sergeant, as soon I confirm we have the Blink Drive, you can bring the prisoners down to the air lock." "Roger that." "ACCESS DENIED" "What is this?" "Commander, this is the bridge." "Something's wrong." "We're locked out of all controls." "No, that's impossible." "Sorry about this, Commander." "I assume you had to take out our android to get control of the "Raza."" "That's fine." "We've got another one." "And you just let her on board your ship." "Commander, we're powering weapons." "Wow." "Didn't expect that." "Looks like you just took out their aft shield generator." "All right, they're in no position to take on one "Raza,"" "let alone two." "So what's it gonna be?" "That's my coat." "Not anymore." "Where's Truffault?" "We already sent her back to her ship." "I got to say," "I can't believe you work with that bitch." "Well, ours seems a little bit nicer... a little." "Oh, by the way, you'll find your crew members tied up in the mess." "There you are." "I'm happy to see you're up and running again." "Thank you." "I understand you've decided to return to your ship." "My presence on this "Raza" would be redundant." "Besides, my loyalty is to my crew... and to Portia in particular." "I owe her a debt of gratitude." "For what?" "For making me what I am." "Stand by." "The Blink Drive is... online." "I've completed the nav calculations." "We're good to go." "You sure this is gonna work?" "Returning us to our original point of departure should be relatively straightforward... outside of the theoretical possibility of an overload that could destroy this ship." "But the chances of that are so remote, they're hardly worth mentioning." "And yet you did." "Let's do this." "All right, everybody, get ready." "No pops, no sparks, no alarms... looks promising." "I'm detecting something... a small vessel." "It appears to have just detached itself from the outer hull." "Give us a visual." "It's the "Marauder."" "That's not our "Marauder."" "Android, prepare to intercept." "I'm sorry, Two." "It appears this "Marauder" was FTL capable." "Who the hell did we just bring back with us?" "We're within range of Regulus-12's data hub." "Stand by." "Nice job, Kid." "The station is broadcasting normally." "It worked." "All right." "Set a course for the station." "Let's go get our people." "Yeah." "Any word about Devon?" "Nyx says she waited for him for hours, and he never showed." "He's not answering his comm." "Sounds to me like he decided to move on." "Why would he do that?" "He wouldn't leave without at least saying good-bye." "How do you know?" "I mean, I'm sorry, but did any of us really know the guy?"