"What seems like a fairy tale today may be reality tomorrow." "Here we present a fairy tale of the day after tomorrow." "There are no more national states, only mankind and its colonies in outer space." "We've settled distant stars... and the bottom of the sea has been made habitable." "At what are today unimaginable speeds, the spaceships of tomorrow traverse the Milky Way." "One of these spaceships is the Orion, a small part of the giant security system... which protects Earth from extraterrestrial threats." "Let us accompany the Orion and her crew... on their patrol-route at the edge of infinity..." "Earth Outpost Station 4 calling space cruiser Orion." "Orion 7, respond." "Respond and give coordinates, over." "EOS 4 calling Orion!" "Orion 7, respond!" "Respond and give coordinates, over." "Hasso!" "Jupiter Outpost Base to high-speed space cruiser Orion 7." "You are ordered to immediately return to Earth." "This is an Alpha Order from the Supreme Space Command" "Special order for Orion 7." "Immediate return to Space Station 13." "Orion, come in!" "This is an Alpha Order from the Supreme Space Command." "Reverse course at once!" "Mars Outpost to EOS 3." "Orion is underway at hyperspeed towards space sector 71-K!" "Orion, attention!" "Orion, respond!" "This is an Alpha Order... from the Supreme Space Command." "Commander!" "Resonance contact!" "Orion 7 here, Major Cliff Allister McLane commanding." "To Supreme Space Command, Section 12 Astrosciences Department... via Jupiter Outpost and EOS 3." "In order to test my theory that a landing on Rhea is possible, we will be setting down there momentarily." "Orion, over and out." "Prepare for landing." "General, the chief of the Space Rapid Deployment Force is here." "Send her in." "General van Dyke, you know why I called you here?" "I can imagine." "Is about McLane?" "Indeed it is, General." "That unauthorized landing on Rhea has put his neck in a sling." "Yes, he landed on Rhea against orders." "But it was a brilliant feat of space navigation, wasn't it?" "But he ignored an Alpha Order directly from the Supreme Space Command!" "I know very well how much you'd like to see..." "Commander McLane a convict working in the phosphorous swamps." "Let's get to the point, General!" "Personal sympathies... or antipathies can play no role here." "The fact is, as of now, McLane has been transferred to the patrol service... of the Space Reconnaisance Forces as punishment." "As McLane's superior, shouldn't I have been informed?" "That's why I asked for you to come." "McLane and his crew will be here soon." "I see." "I'm to join in the execution?" "It's out of my hands." "Mark my words, General!" "I regard this punitive transfer as the biggest scandal in the space fleet!" "You do?" "And McLane's escapades... and constant charging off on his own aren't scandals as well?" "His insane flight to the second moon of Jupiter?" "His mad breakthrough to Saturn Base during Space War 2?" "His unauthorized interference at Alpha Centauri?" "And on and on!" "These were not scandals?" "Without men like McLane, we might have lost both of the space wars!" "Perhaps, but..." "But we're here to discipline McLane!" "Putting McLane on patrol duty, General?" "Better to simply cashier him outright!" "Don't be overly dramatic, General." "No man is irreplaceable." "In a few years our cruisers will be manned entirely by robots." "And the front desks of generals' offices, I hope." "General?" "The crew of Orion is here." "Send them in." "General, shouldn't we first bring in that officer from GSD?" "Yes, of course." "See to it." "Yes, sir." "Lieutenant, if you please." "Is McLane so theatening that he needs a spook on board?" "Assigned by the Supreme Command, I'm afraid." "I cannot refuse." "Lieutenant Tamara Jagellovsk, Galactic Security Department." "This is Gen. van Dyke, chief of the Space RDF, including, until now, Orion and her crew." "You're familiar with the reports, records, and disciplinary proceedings regarding the Orion matter, Lieutenant?" "Yes, General." "And do you understand your duties and mission aboard that ship?" "I was briefed at GSD headquarters, sir." "As Orion's security officer, you're to prevent the following:" "Oversteps of command, violations of space fleet regulations, transgressions of military discipline, and to report accordingly." "Those are my orders, sir." "Don't go easy on McLane and his people, Lieutenant." "You may depend upon that, sir!" "You are rather young for such duty." "Not a great deal of experience in the galactic service..." "I come recommended, General." "Fair enough." "Send in McLane and that gang of his!" "Yes, General." "Commander, if you please...?" "Commander McLane and the crew of Orion reporting, sir." "The Interplanetary Space Commission's Board of Review... has ruled on your case, Major." "Your posting with the Space Rapid Deployment Forces... has been cancelled as of now." "You all are hereby transferred to space patrol duty." "For how long?" "For three years!" "And the reason?" "Major McLane, kindly spare me... another tedious recitation of your assorted hijinks." "From now on, Major, the slightest violation... of the regs will bring your dismissal." "Do you read me, Commander?" "General, if the defense staff wishes it," "I will resign from the space fleet immediately." "You will shut your mouth, McLane!" "Don't act like some insulted space cadet!" "That way you'll be back with me in only 3 years." "Do you read me?" "Yes, General." "General?" "That's a bit better." "Now then, you will be under supervision." "A Galactic Security Department officer will be stationed with you." "General, sir, you can't seriously" "No comments, please." "May I present your future security officer." "Lieutenant Tamara Jagellovsk." "As I'm sure you know, McLane, GSD officials can issue Alpha Orders." "I hope you'll give her no trouble." "I hope so as well, General." "Good." "I therefore issue you and your crew... your first assignment as a unit of the space patrol." "Your mission begins tomorrow at 1800 hours... from Deep Sea Base 104 to patrol space sector 219-33-9." "Your orders, Commander:" "patrol, protect, and control all spacecraft... and traffic in your assigned sector." "An order fit for a cadet, eh, General?" "Consider it more of a pleasure cruise." "You could use it." "Is that clear?" "Perfectly, sir." "My adjutant Mr. Spring-Brauner will brief you on your sector." "Space sector 219-33-9, McLane." "The neighboring sectors are none of your concern." "Do you read me?" "Yes sir, General." "Thank you." "May I beg a moment of your precious attention?" "He's asking for it" "No, Hasso!" "Not him." "Weren't you leaving?" "Another cognac?" "No, no, nothing more for me." "I really have to go, Cliff." "I should have been home two hours ago." "So go!" "Yeah..." "I guess I'm dragging my feet here." "Say, what did you just ask me?" "Ask you?" "Yeah, you just asked me something." "Unless I'm wrong, I think I asked if you wanted another cognac." "Yes, I will!" "But then I must go, or else Ingrid will be mad at me." "With good reason." "Sure you don't want to drop by my place?" "Oh, Lord, is it that time already?" "Yeah, well, I promised her." "And how often have you promised her?" "She keeps believing it every time you do?" "I'm serious, Cliff!" "I quit!" "As serious as all the other times?" "Listen, you gotta talk to her." "Sure, sure." "I don't dare go home without you." "Now you don't have to." "Look." "Oh, hell." "She found me." "Check, please!" "You wouldn't leave me in a lurch, would you?" "No, no, no, it's on me." "It looks better if we've paid already." "Good idea." "Darling!" "Hello!" "I was just leaving." "Hello, Major." "Hello." "Hasso, do you really have crew meetings in here?" "Just some, Ingrid." "It depends." "Uh-huh." "I'm getting the picture." "Like I said, we were just leaving." "I asked Cliff to come along for a beer." "What?" "!" "Aren't you happy I'm going out with my boss?" "Hasso, whenever you bring your boss along, I know what it means." "Well, yes, Ingrid." "You see, McLane was thinking, uh..." "Yeah, Ingrid, I was thinking, um..." "How do I put this...?" "You needn't explain anything, Major." "Hasso's going out again, right?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "Yes, Ingrid." "I was thinking that it'd be best... if I went out this one last time." "Seeing how we're so popular now with the higher-ups." "They've even foisted a GSD officer on us!" "It's not a good time to break in a replacement for Hasso." "I can never stand up to your excuses, can I?" "Cliff." "She actually laughed!" "Let's just call it a smile." "This calls for a drink!" "Come on!" "Base 104 to Xerxes 9." "Stand by in holding area 9 until further notice." "Roger." "Ground control to base." "All systems on Orion 7 are checked." "She is cleared for launch." "Thank you, ground control." "She will lift off in a few minutes." "Xerxes 9 to Base 104." "When are you giving us landing clearance?" "The base will be clear momentarily." "Stand by in landing position until further notice." "I'd like to point out that we're coming in from Andromeda 17 Beta 12!" "Understand?" "!" "We've been in space 18 weeks and we've had it!" "Sorry, Commander." "Orion 7's blocking the bay at the moment." "McLane?" "He's in the SRDF." "What's he doing at Base 104?" "You can ask him next time you see him in the Starlight Casino." "Hah-hah-hah." "Patch me through to Col. Mulligan, then." "I request we be rerouted to another base." "Sorry, but the second galactic fleet is occupying bases 81 through 106." "Besides, the colonel's on vacation." "Vacation?" "!" "Are you" "Commander Stein, you've been in space 18 weeks." "Do you really want to risk disciplinary action... because you couldn't wait another 5 minutes?" "We'll talk later, baby." "Gladly, Commander." "But what would your wife say?" "Computer checked?" "Course programmed in properly?" "Yeah, the smartass is working." "But don't even ask about... the gorgeous enchantress I had to blow off for this!" "Nobody asked." "She was" "Onboard control, please, Lieutenant de Monti." "Onboard control, aye." "Lt. Tamara Jagellovsk, Galactic Security Department, reporting, sir." "Control center on-line, Commander." "Commander to Astrogator, set autocontrols." "Autocontrols set at CD minus 10, sir." "Space monitor running." "Receiving beam." "Orion ground base in contact with Earth Outpost Station 4." "This is Base 104 launch control to high-speed cruiser Orion 7." "Cleared for lift-off." "Thank you, Base." "Base 104, handing off to EOS 4." "Preflight, complete." "Initiating acceleration." "Commander McLane, may I point out that" "Lt. Jagellovsk." "I need neither your assistance nor your oversight for launch." "Now, please go to your cabin and switch on the onboard intercom." "It's a small button there marked OIC for "onboard intercom."" "If you wish to see me, the visiophone is at your disposal." "In your closet you will find your luggage, 12 months worth of food rations, and a paralyzer pistol, in case you wish to paralyze yourself." "If it all becomes too much for you, you're free to make use of our cryosleep chamber." "You'd like to put me on ice, wouldn't you, Commander?" "What I like doesn't seem to count for much here." "Now please go to your cabin." "If something happens to you," "I might be accused of attempted murder." "IG, on." "Drive to 05." "You staying up here, Hasso?" "My control board's set to automatic, sir." "Then we're set." "Let's do this!" "Twenty." "Nineteen." "Eighteen." "Seventeen." "Sixteen." "Fifteen." "Fourteen." "Thirteen." "Twelve." "Eleven." "Ten." "Nine." "Eight." "Seven." "Six." "Five." "Four." "Three." "Two." "One." "Zero." "If anybody's interested, we're passing Luna 1." "Are the hydroponics tanks pressurized?" "Yeah." "Our nanny won't suffocate in her cabin." "You want to keep her locked in there the whole trip?" "I doubt you can." "We'll break this spook, I promise." "Or she'll break us." "I don't want to cross her." "Neither do I, which is why I have other plans." "Big words." "Like you have a chance with her." "Oh, darling Helga, are you jealous?" "Me?" "!" "Ha-ha-ha!" "The point's moot." "In my opinion, that's a robot disguised as a girl, not a real woman!" "We'll see." "Why don't we check what she's up to?" "Looks like she changed outfits." "Ah!" "How neat and tidy she is!" "You think she'd clean up my cabin, too?" "Are you nuts?" "!" "We don't do that here!" "You want to see or talk to her, then call her on the OIC, like normal!" "Sorry, Cliff." "But she did have her clothes on." "Go on." "Lt. de Monti to Lt. Jagellovsk." "Can you talk?" "Please switch on your visiophone." "Yes?" "Just a casual question for you." "Would you, um, like to share a drop of whiskey in my cabin?" "You have whiskey?" "But of course, my dear!" "A whole crate of it!" "Very interesting." "Thanks for the information." "Unfortunately, I'll have to report that." "Astrogator to Commander." "Alpha-priority dispatch from solar weather station Dragon." "Putting it on the speakers." "To all stations, eruption fields forming in sector 207-24-8." "One is moving towards sector 211-21-9... at a speed of 38 to 42 units." "Eruption duration is 27 minutes." "Radiation levels 150 times normal." "Cut the autonav, Hasso!" "Man your station!" "We're changing course!" "Changing course?" "Then I request you inform EOS 4... of the change at once, Commander!" "Impossible during a solar storm!" "Space monitor, raise our protection field!" "EOS 4 doesn't care if we change course!" "They can't help us." "Solar eruptions cause rad levels to jump up to 10,000 times normal!" "I insist you inform EOS 4, Commander!" "MSBTUSER:" "POSX=360;" "SNAPX=1;" "POSY=411;" "SNAPY=1" "Be that as it may, Lieutenant, radio communication breaks down... during a solar storm!" "Perhaps I should send them a postcard?" "!" "We did it?" "We always do." "If the radiation is 10,000 times the normal levels in space, why doesn't Orion need a protection field 10,000 times stronger?" "The shield is naturally set to repel the highest levels of radiation." "Following the Cascade principle, we" "Who cares, Helga?" "Can you hold your beginner's course someplace else?" "What's eating you?" "#264 has worms." "Oh, the poor thing." "It's not eating anymore." "No!" "And I'm not with him." "Oh, that really is awful." "Please, what is #264?" "His dog." "A poodle." "One of the last 376 poodles left." "And that's a problem?" "!" "We're caught in a solar storm, and he worries about a...!" "What was that?" "What?" "We're exploding!" "Well, that's an occupational hazard for spacemen!" "Commander, aren't you going to do something?" "!" "Indeed, I am." "And that is...?" "Have something to eat." "A fine idea!" "May I join you?" "Naturally." "Onion soup or pepper steak?" "I'll have strawberries." "Enjoy your meal!" "What is the Cascade principle?" "I tried explaining it, but..." "Lt. Shubashi, you think I'm a total moron, don't you?" "God forbid." "Major McLane was just looking for an excuse to change course!" "Say, you took us awfully close to that radiation storm." "It shook us up pretty nicely." "Why?" "Aunty GSD doesn't like us to change course, so I changed it as little as possible." "That's why it was a little rough." "Oh, I get you." "I hope she gets the message, too." "You think that's the way to get rid of her?" "Well, you do what you can." "Still, she's pretty, isn't she?" "So's a cobra." "One thing's for sure, she won't last three years with us." "Either she ends up in the nut hatch after three missions, or else..." "Or else...?" "She'll be in command." "Range: 33/5, 30, 29." "Passing at 26." "Any signs it's functioning, Atan?" "None." "Just hanging out there like a dimwit." "It's a broken Sky-77 radio satellite." "Probably from Terra Cosmo control." "It was probably blown here by that solar eruption." "Well, it's dead, anyway." "Let's shoot it down, Mario." "Aye, aye, Cliff." "Are you authorized to simply shoot down radio satellites, Commander?" "My dear child" "I'm not your "dear child."" "I am the designated GSD officer aboard this vessel... and I forbid you to shoot that satellite!" "It has a value of 12,000 credits!" "A corpse, as they say so well, has no value." "It is a hazard to every spaceship crew within three sectors!" "You don't think a space station or outpost somewhere... already knows the satellite is inoperative?" "Even I don't know how many satellites, probes, and automated radar stations are out here." "Perhaps 25,000!" "And there was that little solar storm we had, too!" "Careful, Commander." "A tech support vessel is probably already on its way here to examine it." "You will not eliminate it!" "Lt. de Monti, enter this into the log." "GSD officer Tamara Jagellovsk forbids us to fire on the radio satellite... at coordinates such-and-such and so-and-so." "The commander is going to bed now." "I'm afraid you won't be sleeping, Commander." "We're passing by MZ4." "And?" "Clarence isn't hailing us." "What?" "MZ4 isn't hailing us?" "That doesn't sound like Clarence." "Try it again." "What's MZ4?" "A communications relay station set up a few years ago." "And who is Clarence?" "Chief of the station and our friend." "If he's not answering, he's either drunk or dead!" "Anything?" "Nothing." "That's impossible!" "Orion 7 to MZ4." "Clarence, please respond." "We just want to say hi." "There we go!" "Like hell." "Those are trinary groupings." "I've never heard anything like them!" "Should I record them?" "Yeah." "I want to know what's going on here." "Commander, we're ordered to reach our mission area quickly." "Gimme a sec!" "Listen to this!" "MZ4's gone crazy!" "A totally crazy, nonsensical code..." "Is knowing if MZ4 has gone crazy or not part of your orders?" "For our part, Lieutenant, I wonder what's up with our buddy Clarence." "To our security officer, however, I have a different answer." "In 48 hours, the unmanned laboratory cruiser Challenger... will pass by MZ4." "It needs to get a course correction from them." "If it instead gets what we're picking up here, it'll be a disaster." "The cruiser will run straight into the planetoid." "Am I clear?" "Clear, but..." "Is there no way for us to radio the course correction to Challenger?" "I might have been able to do that, but you forbade me to shoot down that dead satellite." "That dimwit junkpile you care about so much... is jamming the frequencies in the area Challenger is." "So, what do we do?" "Land on MZ4 and try to fix what's wrong." "After you've already made an unauthorized course change?" "Naturally." "Flood magnetic cushion, cut engines, generators off." "Orion, flooding magnetic cushion." "Range: 800." "We can't get any closer." "MZ4 is too small." "Relative speed: zero." "I'm still getting those trinary groupings, but I can't tell from where." "That's why we're here." "I need two volunteers." "Why do you even bother asking?" "Nobody ever volunteers." "Fine, Hasso, you can go then." "And, um..." "Take Atan with you." "Prepare Lancet 1 in launch bay 1." "And put on your pressure suits." "Pressure suits?" "The oxygen generator on MZ4 works as well as ours!" "If their com system's broken, their O2 system may be broken as well!" "Now, man the Lancet!" "Why are you doing this, Commander?" "You wouldn't, in my place?" "I follow my orders." "So do robots!" "Meeting you has made me appreciate robots even more." "They at least know their obligations." "Then why do we even need humans?" "Good point." "A robot would take little time to find out what's wrong down there." "Ah." "Lancet 1, preparing to launch." "Your course is programmed in." "Lancet 1, FORB check, please." "Fuel..." "Oxygen..." "Radio..." "Batteries..." "FORB check, clear!" "Cliff, we're all set." "Then send them off!" "Stand by, Hasso." "Ten." "Nine." "Eight." "Seven." "Six." "Five." "Four." "Three." "Two." "One." "Zero." "Should we put these things on here?" "You heard him." "If the com system's broken, the O2 system may also be broken." "Check your pressure indicator." "Barely any oxygen, like we're in a deep sea aquarium." "Their hydroponic plant must be broken." "Yeah." "And the lights don't work, either." "Funny." "Funny?" "Yeah, I'm laughing already." "Look!" "It's tuned to a frequency we never use." "This isn't right..." "Where the hell are they?" "!" "Who?" "Clarence and the crew, who else?" "!" "Who else, indeed!" "I get the feeling someone else is here." "My God!" "Jim and Francois!" "Dead!" "Who dies like that?" "!" "Mid-motion, fork in hand!" "There's lots of ways to kill someone, but what we see here...!" "You think it's because of the O2 plant?" "Impossible!" "Do they look like they suffocated?" "But, then what...?" "The ventilation system." "My God, Hasso, what was that?" "!" "Nothing human, that's for sure!" "The beam just went right through it!" "Exoterrestrials..." "There's no time to lose!" "Sigbjornson on MZ4 to Orion 7!" "Sigbjornson on MZ4 to" "What's up, Hasso?" "Everyone's dead!" "Clarence and the whole crew." "You hear me?" "!" "Understood, Hasso!" "Explain!" "There's an exoterrestrial here." "An alien!" "What, in this area?" "Impossible!" "Even so, Cliff, they are!" "And they're immune to our beam weapons!" "Where are you?" "In Clarence's control room." "Did it notice you?" "Yeah." "I don't know why it didn't kill us like Clarence!" "Double-time it back to the Lancet!" "Get back here at once!" "Sure thing, Cliff." "We'll try." "Prepare for emergency scramble!" "Man your station!" "Begin constant space monitoring!" "Alien life forms in our galaxy?" "!" "MZ4 lies right on the edge of no man's land." "But are there signs of" "Your anthrocentrism is quaint in this day and age!" "There are 4 to 10 billion worlds in the Milky Way, and some of them must support intelligent life!" "It's the height of arrogance to believe... we're the only ones who learned to add and multiply!" "I'm not stupid, but in theory" "Did Hasso's report sound very theoretical to you?" "!" "Orion 7 to Engineer Sigbjornson on MZ4." "Hasso, where are you?" "Can you take off?" "Sigbjornson here." "We're en route to the landing bay, Cliff!" "Still no further contact with them?" "No, but don't ask me why." "Continuing to the landing bay." "If they killed Clarence and the others, why don't they attack Sigbjornson and Shubashi?" "I can't read minds, let alone alien ones!" "Cliff!" "Unidentified flying objects!" "What?" "!" "Four..." "Five..." "No, seven!" "Give me a visual!" "Range?" "40/9, 39/8, 38/6." "My God, Cliff, their speed is fantastic!" "We gotta get out of here." "We're sitting here on a platter for them." "Initiate scramble!" "What about Hasso and Atan?" "My God, where are they?" "!" "Hasso, Atan, what's up?" "!" "Are you in the bay?" "Why haven't you taken off?" "We're in the Lancet, but we can't get away, Cliff!" "The bastards smashed our electronics!" "Dammit, Hasso, we're under attack!" "Seven unknown objects!" "I can't wait another second for you!" "Can you scramble without me?" "I have to try it!" "I have to get in position to attack!" "Hide yourselves as best you can down there!" "We'll extract you later!" "Over and out!" "Course correction, programmed." "Mario, we have to be in range in 130 seconds!" "And I have a job for you." "Send a priority LightCom to the SSC and the TSRF:" ""Exoterrestrials on MZ4." "Crew, eliminated."" ""7 unknowns approaching." "Moving to engage."" "Yes, but" "Why are you waiting?" "!" "I thought all radio traffic here was being jammed!" "Why?" "!" "The dimwit!" "Look, just send it!" "There's no time to explain!" "Mario!" "Search beam, acquired." "Objects, marked!" "Twelve..." "Seven..." "What's taking so long?" "!" "Five..." "Three..." "One..." "Zero!" "Fire throwers!" "It's pointless, Cliff!" "They're not nearly in range!" "Cliff!" "Cliff, the computer's gone dead!" "What is it?" "!" "What's wrong with us, McLane?" "!" "I'm guessing mass attraction!" "It's affecting our gravity field!" "Cliff, all instruments are down!" "They're jamming our frequency system!" "The throwers, Mario!" "Fire the throwers!" "For God's sake, Cliff, get us out of here!" "We're helpless while we stay in their gravity field!" "Switch to LightCom systems!" "Forget it, Major!" "We don't stand a chance!" "We have to return to Earth!" "Return to MZ4!" "Why MZ4?" "!" "I have to try and get those two out of there!" "The range these guys have is incredible!" "It's hopeless, Major!" "They'll catch up with us!" "What then?" "!" "I won't just abandon them!" "There's more at stake here!" "Unknown objects have affected Orion in an unexplainable way!" "The ship's electronic brain has recorded all the data on this!" "We have to get that data to Earth!" "This could be the start of an invasion!" "Cliff, whoever they are, they're years ahead of us!" "If they get any closer, they'll crack us like nothing!" "I don't think they're after us at all!" "I computed their course." "They're headed for MZ4!" "And we're helpless!" "We must do something." "Oh?" "What do you suggest?" "You know Alpha Directive 3B... for space cruiser commanders as well as I do." "Yes." "Tell me truthfully, Commander." "Is it technically possible to destroy MZ4... before they catch up with us?" "Technically, an energy blast could do it, but while the smallest chance remains... that Sigbjornson and Shubashi are alive, I refuse to" ""In the event of forceful entry of a space base by alien life forms,"" ""it is to be destroyed immediately, without regard to our own losses!"" "I hereby issue an Alpha Order to carry out this directive!" "You unfeeling" "She's right, Mario." "She's right." "LightCom to the TSRF." "From Maj. McLane of high-speed space cruiser Orion 7." "Advised by security officer to destroy base MZ4 via energy blast... due to compromise of base security by exoterrestrials." "Hostile objects approaching at unprecedented speed, therefore we are returning to Earth." "Record following losses:" "Engineer Hasso Sigbjornson and astrogator Atan Shubashi." "Over and out." "Ready the light throwers." "I didn't think you were capable of that." "They're either dead or in the hands of the exoterrestrials." "We have to at least try to make voice contact!" "Why, so I can say "Sorry old friends, but I have to kill you?" "!"" "Where are you going?" "You'd do it for me?" "!" "Commander McLane" "Commander?" "!" "The commander quits!" "Give it up." "They did too good a job." "Too true." "And here we sit, in their trap." "Cliff will get us out of here." "If he can." "If you ask me, pal, we're finished." "I didn't ask you!" "If they had to fight the aliens, they're long dead." "You forget that guy in the hall?" "They're immune to our beam guns." "McLane doesn't stand a chance!" "We've thought that before many times." "Mario." "Thrower 2, standing by." "Commander McLane, you must eliminate MZ4!" "Yes, I know I must." "But I don't want to!" "I CAN'T!" "Cliff..." "Cliff, they're blocking our energy!" "What's causing it?" "I don't know." "But we can't destroy MZ4 now!" "Cliff, they're approaching!" "We have to jump to escape velocity!" "We can't do anything more here." "All right, take us to escape velocity." "Here they come, Hasso!" "And none missing." "McLane couldn't even take out one of those things!" "Meaning he's dead." "Just like us, in a few minutes." "We'll take a few of them with us." "How?" "!" "They're immune to our beam weapons!" "Those things are absolutely amazing!" "They don't even need oxygen!" "Oxygen..." "Oxygen..." "Atan, we're idiots!" "It's not that they don't need oxygen." "It's probably poisonous to them!" "You mean...!" "Yeah!" "We have to find the circuits for the hydrotanks!" "Here!" "What's this?" "What are you waiting for?" "!" "Kill them!" "Turn the oxygen up!" "And the others?" "What about the ones landing now?" "They won't come in when they see the place is flooded with oxygen!" "They'll have helmets to guard against oxygen, like we have ones for it!" "They'll come in and kill us, like Clarence and the others." "Why haven't they done it already?" "!" "Like I know?" "!" "Maybe they want us alive!" "They've trapped us!" "They act like there's nothing to fear." "Why?" "!" "They probably destroyed the O2 plant." "I'll check by flooding this room!" "Nothing." "Kaput." "Would have been a nice break for us." "Can you fix it?" "We have to try!" "Too late!" "They're landing!" "Damn it!" "Where can we get oxygen here?" "On the Lancet!" "The oxygen tank!" "You want to go out there to get it?" "It's either that or kill ourselves right now!" "Come on!" "Let's go!" "Those bastards." "They thought of everything." "We have to get back!" "Oh, what's the point?" "What about this?" "Doesn't this have oxygen in it?" "!" "If we explode it...!" "Will it be enough?" "It's a 90-day supply, which is probably enough for this nutty base!" "I can share your supply then!" "Okay then!" "Come on!" "Where are they?" "!" "Not close enough!" "But they don't have helmets on!" "I'm ready!" "Hang on!" "What if they come in one at a time?" "!" "Don't lose your nerve now!" "We have to wait till the last one is in there!" "Atan, no!" "Not yet!" "Here they come!" "Now." "I always knew I was a genius." "Then maybe you can tell me something." "How do we get out of here?" "Gentlemen, this is no time to be discussing principles!" "The situation is that one of our outer bases... has been occupied by exoterrestrials!" "We face a specific threat!" "An alien spacefaring race has infringed on our territory!" "We had to expect it sooner or later." "How comforting your calm analysis is to me!" "Did you expect our neighbors would be immune to our beam weapons?" "!" "And have spaceships that can..." "How did McLane's last message describe them, General?" "If McLane's only option was to run, you know what that means." "I've put the 1st and 2nd strategic space fleets on alert... and request a deployment order!" "If we..." "I don't know if that's the right thing to do, sir." "Oh?" "And what do you think we should do?" "Just wait till our other bases are occupied?" "I just think it's premature to take strategic measures... against an opponent when it's not clear yet if they're our enemies!" "After they kick in our front door and kill MZ4's crew?" "!" "An example of good manners, I suppose." "The universe contains more galaxies than we can estimate." "Can we expect our concepts of "good manners" to be universal?" "We had no clue of their existence before this!" "Except we've been picking up signals from alien worlds in space for centuries." "MSBTUSER:" "POSX=360;" "SNAPX=1;" "POSY=410;" "SNAPY=1" "Who cares about alien worlds, as long as they leave us alone?" "!" "I consider that viewpoint to be somewhat antiquated, sir!" "I beg your pardon!" "Strange, isn't it?" "We've advanced and established bases on Mars and elsewhere, yet the attitudes of our generals have been fixed for thousands of years!" "If any strangers pop up, we respond with our light cannons!" "The question is, do we have any alternatives?" "So, Villa, what do you advise?" "I advise that before entering into... wide-scale conflict, we learn the following:" "First, who they are." "Second, what they want." "And third, what they can do." "What they can do?" "McLane can sing you a ditty about that!" "Jupiter Outpost Base is hailing us." "Cliff?" "We're almost home." "Right." "LightCom to Jupiter Outpost." "Running normally." "Request Terra entry coordinates." "Commander, I know how difficult this must be for you." "I don't mean to intrude, but..." "If it helps, I can speak to Mrs. Sigbjornson." "Thanks." "I appreciate it, but I have to do it." "If not for me, Hasso would be home right now." "Cliff!" "Cliff, we're idiots!" "We forgot something!" "Yeah." "Challenger." "I know." "But, if we don't do something, the lab cruiser will... crash into MZ4 in 4 hours!" "We have to reroute it!" "Why?" "MZ4's in the hands of the aliens." "Hasso and Atan are dead." "The lab cruiser is fully automated, with no one on board." "Just carrying radioactive waste..." "Challenger is going to do what we couldn't." "Eliminate MZ4." "Challenger to MZ4." "Challenger to MZ4." "Requesting new coordinates." "Requesting new coordinates." "Range: 48/7, 47/6, 46/5." "Requesting new coordinates." "Distance, critical." "Distance, critical." "Challenger to MZ4." "Distance, critical." "Requesting new coordinates." "All for nothing!" "We survived everything, even the exoterrestrials, and now that stupid lab cruiser's... going to come down on top of our heads!" "If we're receiving Challenger's signals, doesn't it stand to reason we can transmit to it?" "!" "Hasso, get it through your head!" "They altered the transmitter!" "Sorry, but I'm not one of these Frogs!" "I don't know how to fix the crappy thing!" "And you call yourself the greatest astrogator in the fleet!" "Challenger to MZ4." "Distance, critical." "Distance, critical." "Requesting new coordinates." "Range: 36/5, 35/4, 34/3, 33/2." "Challenger to MZ4." "And to whom do they owe their rescue?" "Who blew up Challenger before it could crash on MZ4?" "That would be the Frogs, sir." ""Frogs?"" "The exoterrestrials." "We nicknamed them the Frösche, but that seemed too normal and earthlike, so we decided on Frogs." "I thought you'd already killed the Frogs with your oxygen supply." "We had." "Fortunately, they'd erected a magnetic screen... around MZ4 which destroyed Challenger." "They only let the Lancet through, likely to have us as guinea pigs." "After that, it was child's play to fix the LightCom and call for help." "Child's play?" "Hah!" "It took you 17 hours!" "And?" "It's not like we didn't have plenty of time!" "So you thought!" "If you'd known the plan... was to send the 2nd galactic fleet to destroy MZ4, those 17 hours probably would have seemed like a damned long time." "What?" "You were going to destroy us?" "!" "I suppose we have you to thank for that!" "You're lucky to be standing here thanking anyone." "We were convinced you were dead." "But if you want to thank anyone, thank my boss here." "He prevented them from taking action against MZ4." "You seem to have formed a surprisingly close attachment already." "I think Lt. Jagellovsk will get used to us." "The future will show who will get used to whom, Major!" "One thing I'll never get used to, though!" "Being lied to!" "I lied to you?" "Naturally!" "Telling me that dimwit satellite was jamming radio traffic!" "Um, that was..." "That was a lie, Major!" "And if you think I'm going to stand for" "Lieutenant, perhaps that's a problem best discussed... with Commander McLane over a glass of whiskey." "I'd love it if she'd have a drink!" "Who says I wouldn't?" "!" "Well, on the ship, you" "On the SHIP, Major." "But we're not talking about being on the ship now." "Now, if we were in the Starlight Casino, well..." "See, Commander?" "She's inviting you out for a nice glass of whiskey." "The whole thing was a nightmare, wasn't it, Atan?" "Worse!" "It was science fiction!" "Space Patrol" "The Fantastic Adventures of the Spaceship Orion" "Attack from Outer Space by Rolf Honold and W. G. Larsen" "You have been watching..." "Space Patrol" "The Fantastic Adventures of the Spaceship Orion by Rolf Honold and W. G. Larsen" "STARRING" "SETS" "COSTUMES" "EDITING" "AUDIO" "MUSIC" "SPECIAL EFFECTS" "CAMERA" "ASSISTANT DIRECTOR" "LINE PRODUCER" "PRODUCER" "DIRECTOR" "A PRODUCTION OF BAVARIA BROADCASTING"